Weekend Confirmed 76 - PAX 2011 live show

So, there is already a truncated thread regarding the importance of review scores here on this page. Some people are arguing that scores don't matter. Others are saying that it is foolish to spend $60 without some sort of insight into the quality of the game.

I would never argue with someone else preferences on the matter, but I will speak to my personal experience.

I have been a gamer almost all my life. I'm always open to new experiences, but at the same time I do have a fairly good idea of the kinds of games I enjoy, and the kinds of games I don't enjoy.

Out of all the games I've purchased in the past 3 years, the only ones that have disappointed me are the ones I purchased purely because of positive reviews. Games like Vanquish, LA Noire, Dead Space 2.... all great games, but just not for me. The thing is, I was never excited about these titles. I only bought them because of how excited other people were about them.

All of my favorite games (the ones I still play constantly) were day-1 purchases. Games like Halo Reach, Mass Effect 2, Bad Company 2, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood.... I never bothered to read any reviews for these titles.

I personally feel that we get so much comprehensive preview coverage that I can tell if a game will be enjoyable for me or not, long before the reviews are released.

Just throwing this out there, but I find that I tend not to read reviews of a game until after I've already started playing it, and if I like the game, I'm far more likely to gravitate towards negative reviews.

Anyone else do this, or is it just me?

Was thinking about what Jeff and Garnett were talking about when it came to the Deus Ex Human Revolution boss battles.

I strongly agree with the notion that boss battles are not a necessary element of game design. They should not be included in all games, just because.

However, there are certain narratives and story-lines that I feel would be incredibly difficult to tell in satisfying fashion without some kind of direct conflict between the protagonist and antagonists. Deus Ex is such a game. The bosses in this game ...spoiler I guess... are the people directly responsible for crippling the main character and killing somebody he cared about.

This isn't a case like Bioshock or Mass Effect 2, where your dealings with the threat are generally indirect over the radio or through proxy minions. In such cases, the sudden appearance of a 'big bad' to finish the game feels forced and out-of-place. But when a story STARTS personal, then it should be personal throughout, and that means memorable encounters with your central antagonists.

A few weeks ago on the subject of journalism in gaming there was much debt, and P. Klepek was brought up in defense of pro journalism. Yesterday rants about the added circle pad place him once again in fanboy reporting game press. Just a FYI there is no journalism in games press just reporters.

I was very disappointed to hear "Fuck 3D!" at the end of the podcast.

I recently bought a budget projector which happens to do 3D really well. I've been playing Prince of Persia HD remake on the PSN in 3D. I really think this 3D provides a more natural and realistic image than 2D, and I've come home from work every day for the last week eager to experience the game in 3D just a little bit more. Then today I get "Fuck 3D!" which might as well be a "Fuck you!" from my favorite podcast.

I'm 100% fine with people not liking 3D. I don't like it for everything either. I understand why many people don't like 3D. That's fine. Why doesn't the anti-3D crowd provide the same respect for those who like 3D? 3D is an option. You can play games with it or without it. You can buy a TV with it or without it, or a TV with it but not use it. I would simply like 3D to exist as an option for those of us who like it. Why is that worth a "Fuck 3D!"?

QUESTION - With the departure of Ryan P. from 343 we have learned that he wanted to take Halo 4 into a totally new direction. One thing that is harped on many times on the show is the constant churn of the same old thing over and over (see Call of Duty). But how ready are we really to have that change? Is it better to change the thing that the majority of gamers love for change or is it better to take that new idea and wrap it up in a new IP?

Quick little observation on the importance of reviews. How many times have you seen a commercial for a car, a phone, a stereo, or TV and been like sweet what fucking game is that. Only to be jaw dropped by the fact that it's not a game it's just a commercial. This ever happen to you?

I could care less about review scores, and so do most of the people I know.

The people that love and are interested in games, check out twitter, forums, podcasts to see what the buzz of a game is like.

The vast majority of consumers buy a game based on what they see their friends playing, what the commercials look like, or the brand name attached to it.

Does anybody really think the sales of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 will be significantly impacted by lower review scores?

My guess is, the people would buy it whether it was scoring 7s or 10s. They buy it cause their friends are playing it and because the box says Call of Duty.

A few questions, maybe for the warning, maybe just to get some insight:
1) We are a few months out now from the PS3 outage. What do you think has changed, if anything?

For me, it has meant very little. I went and changed all my passwords to be on the safe side, but I haven't heard of any big fall-out or complaints about it.

2) Do you think that EA's Origin may be the first of many? If EA can pull it off (in that Origin is the one stop shop for EA title's online) will other's take their content off Steam? Yes right now Steam has the most users, but EA would be quite happy knowing they don't have to give Valve a slice of every battlefield, SW:TOR, etc. Blizzard already do it. Will Activision, Ubisoft or other big names become independant IF Origin is a success.

This has to be the best sound quality I have heard for a live show you have been part if Garnett. Great job all around to the production crew! Wished I was there :-)

What is the name of the song at the end of the show? Anyone knows?

Alright I just have to say this many times forget about the Wii 3. If we don't get "Ni no kuni" for the playstation 3 I might just FREAK out. In case your wondering it's a RPG from level 5 and studio Ghibli which the moment I hear Ghibli it's already been Bought.

I really do hope it makes it to our shores it looks amazing!

Playing Warhammer 40,000K Space Marine and absolutely loving it.

It's probably the only game (aside from bouts of Reach multiplayer, but that's a constant) that could tear my from my second, 'foxiest of hounds' run of Deus Ex.

It's a simple game. Straight up brawler, shooter. Nothing more, but it does what it sets out to do flawlessly.

And it demonstrates to me, that you don't have to necessarily do something out-of-the-box or insanely innovative with a licensed property to appeal to fans. You can turn an ok game or a good game into a FANTASTIC game for fans of the license, just by paying RESPECT to the universe they love.

Reminds me of Wolverine: Origins in that regard. Standard brawler really. God of War influence was on it's sleeve, but the love the creators had for the Wolverine character and universe, and their unwillingness to pull any punches on the stylistic violence and one-note badassery of the character made it a worthwhile experience for guys like me, who grew up on X-Men comics.

Damnit, another great game sent to die.

I am SHOCKED by the positive response I'm hearing for Drive: SF on forums and twitter, from the few that have gotten their hands on it thus far.

Had this game released in the early summer, I would be all over it. I love driving games, especially those that mess with the traditional formula abit.

But now? This month? With the onslaught of games on the horizon that will demand my dollars AND time (not to mention the time I'm already sinking into Deus Ex and Halo Reach)... I can't reconcile the $60 purchase.

I would LOVE to see the spread-sheets in the marketing departments in these companies, that show how the added number of consumers in the marketplace (because of the xmas season) somehow makes up for the amount of sales lost to both direct and indirect competition.

An interesting article on #atldevblogaday, would be great to get your opinion.
http://altdevblogaday.com/2011/09/06/why-do-we-restrict-content/

A response from Gamasutra on the article:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/37011/Opinion_The_Content_Conundrum.php

Fuck 3D indeed Jeff.

Just a heads up to Xav, Garnett and Jeff - the comments section for last week's show had some pretty good conversations, so you may want to check it out when you choose stuff for the warning this week.

Enjoyed the PAX show! Should have been longer with a panel of such greatness.

I think I might care more about a MMO, if i felt like I had a effect on the world. Namely most games your assuming the role of the hero/villain, and your action directly affect the masses. At least in storyline, with MMO's it just seems like your the Z-team just some guy looking to pluck some flowers and sell them for a sheep skin shield. It all feels like busy work, while the major changers of history battle around you.

Hearing so many voices from people I love, respect, and feel like I know made me come to a realization: There is a funny path to acceptance if you are a video game reviewer right now. It seems like there is an almost set path you have to take to be fully embraced by an audience if you are new to them.

First comes doubt, or the more aggressive version, "Who the hell does this person think they ARE?" That comes as you first come into a readers sphere of entertainment. It can be exacerbated if you have the balls to say something that the listener/reader happens to disagree with.

Next comes a begrudging acceptance. This is where the listeners/readers come to recognize your existence, but have yet to truly embrace you. This level can jump to rabid fanboyism on part of an audience if you happen to say good things about whatever niche product they have decided to dedicate their lives to.

As the audience gets used to you, you either gain more rabid followers, or become notorious for your "Japanese-game hating ways," or get pigeonholed as the "sports" guy, or take the safer route of becoming the "AAA game lover."

I don't remember ever questioning the comments of the commentators I listened to even a few years ago like I do now. I think a large part of that is because of how excellent, astute and memorable people like this weeks panel are/were, but I think there is an issue of the audience expecting to be devoted from the get-go to a new member of a crew like WC. I think we have seen that happen with Andrea and others, and I think it is a bit sad that it seems harder to become a figure like Shane was back in the day. I don't know if it is that there are just too many damn voices out there, or that we have gotten more critical or are just harder to please, but I feel like games media is in a very different place than it was even a few years ago... and I miss the halcyon days of the 1up Show and 1up Yours...

I do love me some WC, but there is simply no big crew site-wide at any outlet that makes me feel as at home as I did back then.

That said, I am finding Shack to be a nice home, and think WC is an extraordinary podcast in a sea of copycats of 1up Yours.

The thing is review scores matter, and they don't. What doesnt matter are reviews, reviews are far less important than the screen shots that accompany them. Review scores matter on a game your on the fence about after 9 months of "P"reviews.

Yes previews matter we are given all the nuts and bolts about a game long before a review even begins to be irrelevant. Besides reviews only matter if they're 8.5 and above at least. The only games I'd buy that aren't high scores, where bought the moment the game was announced, or directly after I read the mechanics/genre of the game added to the graphics. That's the only time a review matters, and before you cry foul think how many games per year hit that score. At least 30 games a year.

I'd say reviews lack importance because previews provide the necessary back drop for the games. All that matter from the review is the number, and the screen shots. If the score is below a 8 and you weren't planning on buying the game before that chances are most people probably won't be swayed to open they're wallet.

Oh so dimensions aren't actually the same things as portals. Portals connect space, and dimensions means different versions of the same environment. So yeah. I think you could compare that Jenny whats her name game to like wearing night vision goggles in games, or in Zelda when you time travel.

Also Luke is right about Deus Ex being a lot like Metal Gear Solid. Its pretty interesting how its almost as much a sequel to that franchise as it is to Deus Ex. I think the first person to third person shifts are effectively a direct evolution of MGS1's camera shifts from top down, to facing Snake as he wall hugs. In first person mode you're able to explore the environment, while in third person mode you're able to observe enemy soldiers and execute stealth.

In a way it answers game mechanic questions that Kojima never could. It has all the tension and intrigue MGS1 and the best of 2, but not as janky weirdness of MGS3 and 4.

Random but speaking of not always focusing on games that are new, it would be awesome if on a show like this Garnet could get say the developers of Deus Ex for a retrospective interview. I would like to hear developers talk about the immediate reaction to their titles more. Like why did they make the boss fights the way they did. How about the controversy surrounding the black hobo? I would like to ask them myself about the similarities to Metal Gear. I mean, without necessarily making them a part of the whole panel---they could to a 30 minute Skype interview or something. I have to imagine that would be feasible, and more of those kinds of interviews would work against the "cult of new" thing that goes on.

Was interesting hearing shane comment, even off-handedly, on how expensive games are. It was nice to hear as I'm not sure if games journalists can appreciate the magnitude to which price effects the purchasing habits of gamers.

It's too bad expo panels have to be so short. Whatcha Been Playin' is usually the segment I snore through and there wasn't any time left for the interesting stuff. Still, sounds like it was fun for the crowd.

There's been so much talk recently about what we want in a next gen system: better graphics, more RAM, improved AI capabilities, etc.

Do you know what I want? A system that will just freaking turn on. With all the Red Rings of Death, Yellow Lights of Death, etc. is it too much to ask of the next gen systems to just work properly?

Delicious. No video?

I'll forgive the lack of a fresh show and brief length for this awesome cast.

So no new eps this week?

Y'all out at CoD XP or something?