I chose a bad time to watch this. I had to laugh inside my head. It just doesn't feel the same.
I'm going to wait here for you to link to where he's made this same analogy before.Frederick II said:In advance, I would like to apologize for the application of the universal "we". I think that very few people on this form can claim to both be American, and not enjoy a sarcastic quip about America. However, as one who has seen all the Zero Punctuation and read all the Extra Punctuation (a fact I am not sure I should be proud or ashamed of), the joke is a bit long in the tooth. Its old and several reviews (video or otherwise) later, it seems that a George Lucas has been pulled. The charm of making fun of the big 5000000000000 pound gorilla as it lumbers throughout the global political area leaving waste and commercialism in its wake is lost when you have made the joke 12 times already. If you take something you have already done better, and do it again just to shove in more useless crap you are left with a net sum of useless crap. Yes, taken completely out of context, I can appreciate the joke; no, I refuse to allow that to pass unchecked when there are dozens of other jokes he could have used that are new and original; better, not necessarily, but interesting and creative, yes. And I especially expect Ben Croshaw to maintain that level of creative dignity when he refuses to allow anyone else to get away with it (see extra punctuation: on remakes and nostalgia).
Neither could I, I remember trying the first one when everyone was calling it a MGS killer (back when MGS mattered) and I found the game way too linear, the story completely dull and unoriginal, and the gameplay cheap forcing you to progress through trail and error which I completely hated.Da Joz said:I just couldn't get into the splinter cell series.
[quote/]I'm going to wait here for you to link to where he's made this same analogy before.Frederick II said:In advance, I would like to apologize for the application of the universal "we". I think that very few people on this form can claim to both be American, and not enjoy a sarcastic quip about America. However, as one who has seen all the Zero Punctuation and read all the Extra Punctuation (a fact I am not sure I should be proud or ashamed of), the joke is a bit long in the tooth. Its old and several reviews (video or otherwise) later, it seems that a George Lucas has been pulled. The charm of making fun of the big 5000000000000 pound gorilla as it lumbers throughout the global political area leaving waste and commercialism in its wake is lost when you have made the joke 12 times already. If you take something you have already done better, and do it again just to shove in more useless crap you are left with a net sum of useless crap. Yes, taken completely out of context, I can appreciate the joke; no, I refuse to allow that to pass unchecked when there are dozens of other jokes he could have used that are new and original; better, not necessarily, but interesting and creative, yes. And I especially expect Ben Croshaw to maintain that level of creative dignity when he refuses to allow anyone else to get away with it (see extra punctuation: on remakes and nostalgia).
I disagree. Splinter Cell does a lot more for stealth than some people give it credit for. It takes into account not just line of sight but "sound" and "lighting" as well. Obviously cover plays a factor in it.DoomBlackDragon said:I will agrea the SC series has been very weak on it stealth game play. As you said it only one thing to do in the game not very big on options and Sam does play very sluggies. Great review. Glad I am not the only one wjo has a brain and can see the flaws in the game as clear a day.
The game is based in America. He made a pretty relevant point then elaborated with a joke. When he's done other games he always jokes about the regions they're in and the accents, culture etc - it's just most games are based in America so they're usually the subject of the treatment.Frederick II said:Snip
I'm going to stand by my first comment. If you actually feel insulted by this joke, you need to learn to laugh at yourself. And I dispute the claim that it's 'old hat'. It's topical humour, what with all the malarky surrounding the introduction of free health care.Frederick II said:Aha, I see what you have done hear. While he does not ever make the SAME analogy before, he continues to harp on the SAME subject matter, America and the fact that it is a big easy way to generate jokes and controversy (maybe). For most other critics, I would accept this joke as merely another in a running tally of "mandatory poke fun at America Joke", however, I hold Mr. Croshaw to a higher standard, as I have found he can be far more eloquent and insightful than that. Now call me unfair (because I am being unfair) but my distress is more of a response to the fact that Mr. Croshaw himself has repeatedly expressed that "living up to expectations" is a submission to mediocrity because one never planned to better, to exceed; rather one strives to placate. To me, this felt like that, the review lacked the flash and thunder of other reviews, it felt rather sterile (fecal jokes aside) and that is not what I have come to expect from Mr. Croshaw.
On a side not, I do not think any less of him for it. It was not some egregious error that has irreproachably harmed my image of him, I will still watch the videos and read his column, I am not above posting criticism about what I feel is lazy. Insulting American in this manner is lazy and for spectacular laziness, I will and feel justified saying that I expect, nay demand, more.
UGH. I have NO PROBLEM WITH MAKING FUN OF AMERICANS. You seem to have failed to read my last post so to reiterate, I have a problem with LAZINESS. The review felt lazy and having read and seen his other work, he has eloquently and humorously addressed Americans in their represented medium in a far more effective way. Once again, I don't care; I am currently based in Japan, and if I have ever heard more criticism openly and vigorously flung at Americans, it must have been during a semi-comatose state of watching CBS. And yet I, the baka gaijin I am (and American to boot), manage to get along just fine with my peers, because I am not setting a standard of excellence for their critique. Ben Croshaw is a game critic, and much like a film critic, if laziness is abound, I feel something is lazy, and have the means to address the person in question to say as much, I am well within my right to do so. And Mr. Croshaw is well within his rights to outright ignore my foolish, clearly xenophobic rant. But perhaps the problem is that I have failed to succinctly express myself so, in as few words as possible:Desert Tiger said:The game is based in America. He made a pretty relevant point then elaborated with a joke. When he's done other games he always jokes about the regions they're in and the accents, culture etc - it's just most games are based in America so they're usually the subject of the treatment.Frederick II said:Snip
He even makes fun of England and Australia (where he's born and where he lives) on a regular basis, too. You want him to stop making jokes about Americans? Get on the horn to a games company and get them to stop making games based in America.
Being an evil genius with plans for world domination, controlling the country with the world's larges GDP, with a state that taken alone has the fourth largest GDP in the world, coupled with an arsenal of nuclear weapons that are more than sufficient to nuke the entire surface of the planet several times over might be the reason.Doomsday11 said:that was great the jabs at America were quite true why would you want to take over america if your not american?
But surely if you want size or easy access to weapons and/or nukes why not take russia instead?Frederick II said:Being an evil genius with plans for world domination, controlling the country with the world's larges GDP, with a state, that taken alone has the fourth largest GDP in the world, coupled with an arsenal of nuclear weapons that are more than sufficient to nuke the entire surface of the planet several times over might be the reason.Doomsday11 said:that was great the jabs at America were quite true why would you want to take over america if your not american?
But I digress, video game bad guy logic has almost always evaded me.
If you would humor me, and if Yahtzee is reading this you as well, how much do you know about the proposed health care bill? Having several family members in the medical care sector, I have gotten a number of mixed, well informed opinions. Not to sound patronizing, but how much research have you done? If it is a fair degree, I am more than happy to debate the finer points of the proposed bill in a slightly less public setting; a private message maybe.Shamanic Rhythm said:I'm going to stand by my first comment. If you actually feel insulted by this joke, you need to learn to laugh at yourself. And I dispute the claim that it's 'old hat'. It's topical humour, what with all the malarky surrounding the introduction of free health care.