Zero Punctuation: Thief - Stealing a Classic

[LtAdams2247]

Ok, ok, I won't buy it, you don't have to yell. K, actually you do because it seemes that the closer the vocalization of these vids comes to the title of the show the more passionately you hate the subject matter.

e.g. The review for Spec OPS: The Line had plenty of punctuation while here I had to rewind a couple of parts to let it sink in ;-)

 

[Muspelheim]

Ah, Thief... you promised to steal my heart, but you made off with my childhood instead.

I beat it to death in the hall with my baton. It really wasn't as good as it thought...

 

[tzimize]

Well, that's that then. I'll remove Thief from my Steam wishlist and go buy Thief from GOG instead.

Thanks, Yahtzee!

Best. Decision. EVER.

OT: Played the new one for about 30 minutes, realized I was bored out of my mind and quit. Probably wont ever take it up again either.

 

[V4Viewtiful]

He actually sounded restrained more than usual to me, maybe it just really got to him?

 

[Tallim]

Well that was entirely expected. Not that I disagree at all mind you, I had such high hopes after Deus Ex: HR actually being an alright game (well apart from the Bullshit boss battles and the crap ending) and then... this. I have a recommendation for anyone thinking of buying this game: Play Dishonored again, you will have much more fun.

Or play The Dark Mod
http://www.thedarkmod.com/main/

 

[Colt47]

Yahtzee sounds pissed.

Yep, they essentially took our beloved Thief series and pulled another AAA game cash grab poor console port jobby on it that learned nothing from the previous games and was essentially Thief in name only.

Welp, now I'm pissed, too.

It's gotten to the point where I think 70-80% of the game development and publishing industry needs to sit down with the board gaming industry to see how games made with clear, well defined mechanics are made and how they focus on them to make the game good. Instead of running off to the random writers club, attempt to create a convoluted story while also throwing in stealth like mechanics and check points.

 

[MeisterKleister]

So, in short: "WHIIINE, IT'S NOT A COPY-PASTE OF THIEF 2, WHIIIINE". But then again, you don't go watching Yahtzee to see an unbiased review.

Jim Sterling wrote an unbiased review once:
http://www.destructoid.com/100-objective-review-final-fantasy-xiii-179178.phtml

But that pretty much IS most of his review - he even admits it himself that he cannot give the game a fair treatment instead of comparing everything to Thief 2. Some of his criticisms are spot on but most of them are just "this is different than Thief 2".

At 0:47 Yahtzee explicitly makes the point that it barely makes a difference whether he compares the game or judges it on its own merits.


By the way, "Stealing a Classic"? Do Zero Punctuation episodes from now on have subtitles? Just curious. Also, the description being center-aligned seems new as well.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

i feel he was particulary pissed at this one

 

[Tanis]

When SKYRIM is a better 'Thief' game, then the new 'Thief'.

You KNOW there's a problem.

 

[Grey_Area]

Well, I knew what I was getting into watching this. Despite a few points, I'm having fun in Thief. I think the sound, spinning guards and repetitetitetitetitive conversations are just in need of a patch. Some things could be improved, and I know I am apologising for the game. Still, I'd like to see DLC or a sequel come along with the complaints addressed. It worked for the idea of XP, so you never know, it might happen again.

No, it's not Thief: The Metal Age, the best of the lot, I am aware. But as I said, I'm having fun.

 

[t850terminator]

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
YES YAHTZEE! AVENGE OUR DISAPPOINTMENT!
Goddamn reboots.... how dare they spoil the Thief series...

 

[Thanatos2k]

Well, I knew what I was getting into watching this. Despite a few points, I'm having fun in Thief. I think the sound, spinning guards and repetitetitetitetitive conversations are just in need of a patch. Some things could be improved, and I know I am apologising for the game. Still, I'd like to see DLC or a sequel come along with the complaints addressed

The game is bad and you want to PAY MORE TO FIX IT?

No wonder they get away with it.

 

[Muspelheim]

When SKYRIM is a better 'Thief' game, then the new 'Thief'.

You KNOW there's a problem.

It is a sad state of affairs, this one thinks. Khajiit might like Skyrim, but the venerable Thief should be better at its job.

*Swipes another table of cutlery into the sack*

At least they did not have swarms of Mudcrabs around every corner.

 

[TheMadDoctorsCat]

Only "critic" I've seen who actually enjoys this game is TotalBiscuit and his merits for liking a game, which effectively excludes story, characters, setting, sound-engineer and pretty much anything else that doesn't fit his narrow definition of gameplay, makes his opinion pretty much irrelevant.

That said, this video kind of made me want to try Dishonored again.

Erm... and?

Doesn't he talk about all of those things you mentioned in some detail (including the poor sound design) and what difference they made to his enjoyment of the game?

More to the point, do you have any basis whatsoever for agreeing or disagreeing with either of these two critics? Have you even played the game? 'Cause that might be, y'know, kind of an important thing to mention.

Look, if you don't agree with Total Biscuit then that might make his opinion irrelevant to YOU. (I don't agree with Yahtzee often either, although I still find his videos entertaining and occasionally informative.) I fail to see how that makes them irrelevant to anybody else.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

And considering what he said in another video, I don't have to wait until I have a PS4 before I get my copy: I just have to wait another 4 to 8 weeks for the price of the PS3 version to hit $20 and I'm good to go with my share of the gruel! I think TB gave this game the most glowing review and while I'm interested, I still haven't played Dishonored yet so I guess I know which direction to throw my money in for the time being.

 

[TheMadDoctorsCat]

So, in short: "WHIIINE, IT'S NOT A COPY-PASTE OF THIEF 2, WHIIIINE". But then again, you don't go watching Yahtzee to see an unbiased review.

Jim Sterling wrote an unbiased review once:
http://www.destructoid.com/100-objective-review-final-fantasy-xiii-179178.phtml

Honestly if that's Jim's takeaway from the "Bioshock Infinite" debacle then he's completely missed the damn point.

I don't expect him to be UNBIASED. I do, however, expect him to give a fair and frank review of the game, such that it helps me make an informed purchasing decision. That's half of a reviewer's job (the other half is delivering constructive feedback to the game's creators so that they can improve the job that they do in future).

He might say he loved the game despite its flaws. That is fine. I will happily admit that I love, say, "Skyrim" despite its flaws - which are numerous and occasionally near-game-breaking.

He might say that some people will not be bothered by the flaws. He might go into some detail about WHICH people are likely to appreciate the game, based on its characteristics. All of this is also fine. I would recommend "Skyrim" to fans of open-world games and exploration, but not people who like in-depth character-driven storylines in their games.

He might say "If you like X, Y and Z then this game is perfect for you; but if you don't like A, B or C then give it a miss." Provided that this is reasonably accurate, that's what I'd expect from a game review aimed at helping a consumer make an informed choice.

Buying into "hype", however, is NOT fine. Ignoring objective flaws of the game (and if somebody says "but all flaws are subjective!" then I'll end up starring in one of those youtube videos of people who break their monitors over their heads) is NOT fine.

A professional games reviewer gets PAID to do a job, and do it properly. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect more from the professional than the random guy on t'Interwebs.

 

[floppylobster]

Nice to hear Yahtzee passionate about something again.

 

[TheMadDoctorsCat]

And by the way, I'd apply almost none of what I've just said to "Zero Punctuation", which I regard as an entertainment show about videogames more than a serious critical look at them. Not that there isn't serious criticism involved, but you watch and episode of "Zero Punctuation" primarily for the humour and for Yahtzee's personality, not for an in-depth critical look at the games he's reviewing.

What you expect from a "review" does obviously depend on the medium and the intention of the critic.