SrsAboutGaming

[icycalm]

I finally seem to have found the FPS expert I've been looking for for a long time:

http://srsaboutgaming.wordpress.com/

He was brought to my attention by the link to Insomnia in his latest commentary, which is quite worth reading, and even foreshadows a few things I will be saying in future essays:

http://srsaboutgaming.wordpress.com/201 ... n-general/

I am currently going through reviews on his blog, and considering emailing him to ask permission to repost some of them (Bullletstorm, Call of Duty: Black Ops and the Medal of Honor reboot for starters).

He is a really good writer, and I am not exaggerating. It is a joy to see such complicated games being examined with such expertise, perspicacity and obvious passion. He may also be committing some mistakes -- I don't know, because I haven't played the games, and I wouldn't be surprised if this were so since it takes a really great critic to not fuck up with complex modern gaming -- but in any case his is the most worthwhile commentary I've come across on FPSes, aside from the odd offhand comment by an expert on some random modern gaming forum.

So, we'll see how this goes. I advise people to check out his site anyway, and bring to my attention any posts or comments worth reading.

[icycalm]

Really dumb site name, though... Some people just can't come up with good titles.

[Worm]

Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty 3 are the only games in the series I haven't played yet, but I don't think you need to know the series to see that his Black Ops review is pretty bad.

He mentions "enemies who magically spawn in areas you've cleared" and the invincible AI teammates, and he says that the game is a "heavily scripted, unpolished, meaningless on-rails shooter," but those are the only comments I see that address the mechanics at all. He doesn't explain why these supposed flaws are so detrimental (his insights about "how this ultra-linear approach completely fails" are being reserved for a future article, apparently), nor does he mention that most of them have surfaced in every Call of Duty game to date. The only comparisons he makes to other games in the series are to contrast their thematic tones.

Most of his complaints are about his distaste for the game's lack of realism and treatment of the covert operations theme.

[Modern Warfare]’s offensiveness was only apparent in retrospect. Modern Warfare 2 then ruined any semblance to decency in video games.

I felt ashamed of myself for having played it. It made feel dirty, like I had partaken in some rotten and corrupted cultural ritual.

This game is a trashy amalgamation of the deformed images pop culture infuses into the minds of teenagers when they hear about the CIA, black operations, Cuba, and Vietnam. It serves as emotional reinforcement of their deluded fantasies.

And then he ends by calling the game a "cultural failure." I can see his writing talent and passion, but here he seems most passionate about moralizing.

[ronan]

He is stating today that this review has been rewritten. It is now quite longer.

My first review, for Call of Duty: Black Ops, has been completely re-written. My reviews back then were too short and my writing suffered some severe inhibitions that are beginning now to disappear. My theoretical framework has also moved around, which means that scores will have to shift.

[icycalm]

What basically happened was that I read his theory essay, which led me to reading the first review of his I could find out of curiosity (Bulletstorm), which seemed to me pretty damn good as regards emphasis on mechanics, analytical capacity, etc., and then in a sort of euphoria at having at last found an expert who seemed to care enough about FPSes to write at length on them (as opposed to simply making brief forum comments) I skimmed through the other reviews and posted a message on his blog asking for permission to repost them.

And yeah, the Black Ops review was really goddamn weak -- an artfag review almost, in fact. But he sent me a couple of emails apologizing for its quality, and as ronan noted he has now substantially rewritten it, and from an outsider's perspective (since I haven't played the game and I am very little familiar with the series) it seems fine now.

I suspect he has an account here, because he told me that he's been planning to delete his blog and start a new site (with a new name, presumably, which could be a response to my comment that the current name sucks), and because of how quickly he reacted to the substance of Worm's criticisms. On the other hand, it could just be a coincidence, since he says the Black Ops review was the first one he had written (and comparing it to Bulletstorm (the last), it's easy to see the huge improvement in his reviewing skill), in which case it would only be natural for him to be aware of the deficiencies of his earlier effort.

Either way it doesn't matter. Worm, can you read the new review and tell us what you think? I am seriously considering posting four of his FPS reviews on the frontpage, and accepting the risks of my site coming off as stupid in the eyes of expert FPS players, if for no other reason than to attract their attention and to begin the process of discussing these (very important, for the future of the artform) games, in the forum and on the frontpage.

I myself am hugely knowledgeable on these games, but I am not currently in a position to write about new titles (though I will shortly be covering all the classics in the Videogame Art section).

This might change soon though. I should be able to review at least Portal and Vanquish sometime in the next few weeks. After that I'd need to buy some PC parts and build a new machine...

[icycalm]

lol at me categorizing Vanquish as an FPS. I blame Gears for that, which blurred considerably the distinctions.

Discussion on Black Ops and the review has moved here:

http://forum.insomnia.ac/viewtopic.php?t=3528

[jhan]

To be honest I thought you weren't the real Kierkegaard at first when you commented on the blog because my early stuff is such shit.

I'm aware of the poor name choice. Always was horrible at coming up with names for things, always will be.

About that "game reviewing in general" essay, there are many parts that if you published would not make any sense at all on Insomnia because they reference stuff on my blog. Do you want me to rework it so that it stands alone, and not as the blog post it currently reads like?