Gamer Podcasts

kaptainbarbosa wrote:

I find it funny that 4 years have passed and Jaffe still will not shut up about that one Gamespot review he didn't like.

Also, I did kind of agree with him that it would be preferable if game critics were more critical of AAA games that don't do anything new, but I think the audience needs to mature first. I mean, a lot of gamers like to talk about how reviewers are hyperbolic, give big franchises a free ride, or even make accusations of payola schemes, but this is the same audience who screams bloody murder about jaded critics who should be fired for bias whenever that doesn't happen (such as Gerstmann's "scandalous" 8.5 for a Zelda game.)

Don't the journalists have to drag the audience kicking and screaming on this one?

kaptainbarbosa wrote:

I find it funny that 4 years have passed and Jaffe still will not shut up about that one Gamespot review he didn't like.

Also, I did kind of agree with him that it would be preferable if game critics were more critical of AAA games that don't do anything new, but I think the audience needs to mature first.

While I like new, I also like things that are refinements of good and proven game play mechanics. I don't think a game should be knocked down for simply being a great update to a traditional format.

So if you make the best shooter or football game ever, you should still get a good review IMO, not be knocked down because you didn't necessarily add completely new ways to play games.

Just like car reviews, most cars have been doing the same basic thing for decades. You don't knock down the car just because it's still running on four wheels.

Jaffe was pretty far off, but he had one point - that BF3 tank demo ran awfully long and was not a particularly interesting watch.

But in car reviews, while you don't see great cars getting dinged for not revising/upgrading, you also don't see "The X5 M Is Just Like Last Year!" banners. Deserving a great review and deserving great press aren't the same thing.

Blind_Evil wrote:

that BF3 tank demo ran awfully long and was not a particularly interesting watch.

You sir, are incorrect.

RolandofGilead wrote:
Blind_Evil wrote:

that BF3 tank demo ran awfully long and was not a particularly interesting watch.

You sir, are incorrect.

If you say so. Those sentiments were echoed by others in later livestreams too, so I know I'm not alone.

Don't get me wrong, the game looks good. The multiplayer trailer was really exciting. That tank part probably is fun, but I don't think it's the kind of thing you should stretch out for five minutes during a stage demo. It drags.

Blind_Evil wrote:

It drags.

It is a rarely seen phenomenon seen in videogames and fiction called scale.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...

I can appreciate the scale when I have the full 10-15 hour game to play through. When they're trying to sell me on it over a brief couple videos, they should trim the fat.

CptGlanton wrote:

But in car reviews, while you don't see great cars getting dinged for not revising/upgrading, you also don't see "The X5 M Is Just Like Last Year!" banners. Deserving a great review and deserving great press aren't the same thing.

Also, that fact that a 2012 model car is released doesn't mean that your 2011 model is essentially useless.

Finally got a chance to listen to Weekend Confirmed after managing to go through all what, 12 hours of Giant Bomb stuff? It was definitely Luke Smith being himself (not so much his opinions that bother me as his smarmy, low brow attitude) and I really like John Davison but it's a real shame he's gone down the Apple rabbithole so far that he has to compare everything to the iPad, even when the comparisons are not really relevant. You know if the iPad 3 has a rear touch pad, he'll be singing its revolutionary praises. Other than that, pretty good discussion though.

Giant Bomb by far did the best coverage this year though. Their video content was all great, their podcasts were epic but had tons of amazing insider insights if you were able to listen to them all and the write-ups they did do were great and not just regurgitating PR like most other sites. I'm really glad they exist and I hope they're doing well. Between them and this community, I don't need another source of gaming information anymore.

Patrick Klepick adds an interesting element to Giant Bomb. His reporting is fantastic, and he is one of the few gaming writers out there who can be called a journalist without it being tongue in cheek.

TheCounselor wrote:

Patrick Klepick adds an interesting element to Giant Bomb. His reporting is fantastic, and he is one of the few gaming writers out there who can be called a journalist without it being tongue in cheek.

That's true. I wasn't a huge fan of his at 1UP but when he's left to write as he wants, he does an amazing job.

Parallax Abstraction wrote:
TheCounselor wrote:

Patrick Klepick adds an interesting element to Giant Bomb. His reporting is fantastic, and he is one of the few gaming writers out there who can be called a journalist without it being tongue in cheek.

That's true. I wasn't a huge fan of his at 1UP but when he's left to write as he wants, he does an amazing job.

I never even noticed him at 1UP. That says a lot. I've noticed him since, though.

GB needs to hire Johnny V.

oilypenguin wrote:

GB needs to hire Johnny V.

Or at least bring him on the Bombcast at least once a month.

TheCounselor wrote:

Patrick Klepick adds an interesting element to Giant Bomb. His reporting is fantastic, and he is one of the few gaming writers out there who can be called a journalist without it being tongue in cheek.

I was really annoyed when he was hired. I hated him when he was 1up. He just doesn't know when to shut up and has a bad habit of talking over other people. I will say that there has been a very noticeable increase in both the quality and quantity of news stories on Giantbomb since he came on but he's still annoying when he's on the podcast or videos.

oilypenguin wrote:

GB needs to hire Johnny V.

He's pretty much the only reason will listen to their conference podcasts.

Parallax Abstraction wrote:

Finally got a chance to listen to Weekend Confirmed after managing to go through all what, 12 hours of Giant Bomb stuff? It was definitely Luke Smith being himself (not so much his opinions that bother me as his smarmy, low brow attitude) and I really like John Davison but it's a real shame he's gone down the Apple rabbithole so far that he has to compare everything to the iPad, even when the comparisons are not really relevant. You know if the iPad 3 has a rear touch pad, he'll be singing its revolutionary praises. Other than that, pretty good discussion though.

I cringed when one of the guys, possibly Davison, said in declaring the Wii U's imminent failure, "Everyone has an iPad." The Wii U may fail, many reasons to see that as a possibility. And it may be that audience that is most likely to connect to the console (depending on price) might be the same audience that is filled to the brim with iPads, but it annoyed me to see how disconnected they were. And sure, iPads are popular and have sold very well, but it's a technological ivory tower from whence such a comment can be made.

demonbox wrote:
Parallax Abstraction wrote:

Finally got a chance to listen to Weekend Confirmed after managing to go through all what, 12 hours of Giant Bomb stuff? It was definitely Luke Smith being himself (not so much his opinions that bother me as his smarmy, low brow attitude) and I really like John Davison but it's a real shame he's gone down the Apple rabbithole so far that he has to compare everything to the iPad, even when the comparisons are not really relevant. You know if the iPad 3 has a rear touch pad, he'll be singing its revolutionary praises. Other than that, pretty good discussion though.

I cringed when one of the guys, possibly Davison, said in declaring the Wii U's imminent failure, "Everyone has an iPad." The Wii U may fail, many reasons to see that as a possibility. And it may be that audience that is most likely to connect to the console (depending on price) might be the same audience that is filled to the brim with iPads, but it annoyed me to see how disconnected they were. And sure, iPads are popular and have sold very well, but it's a technological ivory tower from whence such a comment can be made.

What's the problem here? All of his California-based writer friends have one. Why would we want that silly Wii thing? There's only so much room on our mahogany coffee tables.

Space Indaver wrote:

What's the problem here? All of his California-based writer friends have one. Why would we want that silly Wii thing? There's only so much room on our mahogany coffee tables.

Yeah, I see iPhones plenty out here, but I have never seen an iPad in the wild, and I do some hanging around in coffee shops and whatnot. Plenty of Macbooks though.

Speaking theoretically, I'm no longer so sure that the low price points for iOS games are going to bankrupt traditional gaming as many writers would have us believe. Steam prices generally beat the sh*t out of console prices, but people buy 360/PS3 games anyway. At first I thought maybe that was a bad comparison, but looking at it...

Prices: gaming PCs are expensive, Apple products are expensive
Games: Games are cheaper on both
Market: Both are very commonplace, big install bases

Well, after seeing all of this love for the Bombcast, I decided to give it a try today, listening to the last regular recording before E3. FFS, what the heck do people see in this? this is why I couldn't stomach more than few episodes back when it launched. I had hoped it had gotten better.

Twelve minutes before even talking about a single videogame. And it was nothing but stupid parroting of each other and what amounted to dudebro chatter. Then their take on LA Noire was so lacking when taking into the discussions I had already heard on the CC and JtS. From there it was silly mocking of a guy playing Witcher I before playing Witcher II. Then finally, they showed off why it is smart for non-sports game fans to keep their mouths shut when it comes to sports games as they chatted up Madden.

That was 33 minutes of some of the worst podcasting I have heard in a long time. It was like listening to sixteen-year-old dudes that just love the sound of their voice on the radio. But then, I guess i am just old. The CC and JtS feature actual adults talking games from a perspective I can relate to.

It's too bad, becasue I like the Giant Bomb web site for reviews and especially their quick take videos. And all complaints I have do not include Brad Shoemaker. I think he brings a lot to the table, but he is totally lost in this group of manchildren.

Ugh!

... wow. Well fair enough.

Sorry about leading you down a path where YM Ved so very much =)

Weird.

I think the Giant Bomb podcast crew is about as far removed from "dude-bro" asthetic as you can get.

Aaron D. wrote:

Weird.
I think the Giant Bomb podcast crew is about as far removed from "dude-bro" asthetic as you can get.

In terms of relative to other podcasts, I would have to strongly disagree. They're not so far gone that I don't enjoy the podcast, but they are way further on the dudebro end of the continuum compared to brainygamer or a life well wasted.

Aaron D. wrote:

Weird.

I think the Giant Bomb podcast crew is about as far removed from "dude-bro" asthetic as you can get.

To me, they occupy a rare but important niche in between the "dude-bro" and the "why we play/ omg games is art" crowds, neither of whom I can relate to. I enjoy that they have well-thought out criticisms of the games and are "well-read" while still primarily approaching games as fun.

Plus, I find their banter largely enjoyable, though there is indeed no accounting for taste. Bombcast is definitely the entertainment branch of the GB enterprise. I think all the serious stuff goes on in reviews and Quick Looks.

Yeah, I had to stop listening to Giant Bomb because they meander so much. Also am I the only one annoyed that their "quick looks" have generally ballooned from 20 minutes to an hour?

Yeah, after the truly annoying 12 minute into of nothingness, I had a hard time putting their analysis of LA Noire into a context that made sense after hearing Rob Zacny and Certis deconstuct the game, and then a hilarious rant from Bill Abner on JtS. It just didn't compute.

And on both podcasts, there were very positive takes on the game to go with some strong criticism. You know, it was mature discussion, that also made me laugh a lot. But I am probably just too much of an old fart.

Latrine wrote:

Yeah, I had to stop listening to Giant Bomb because they meander so much. Also am I the only one annoyed that their "quick looks" have generally ballooned from 20 minutes to an hour?

It might be annoying, but I just skip ahead and quit out early when it stops being interesting. Mostly, i want to see the game being played, and I think Gerstmann and Shoemaker both do really nice job of commentating.

Latrine wrote:

Yeah, I had to stop listening to Giant Bomb because they meander so much. Also am I the only one annoyed that their "quick looks" have generally ballooned from 20 minutes to an hour?

It depends on the game. For example, I really liked having a super long QL for the Witcher 2. I don't think 15 minutes is enough time to really get a feel for that kind of game.

The GB guys always came across as quite self aware to me. I like the podcast for its humour and the chemistry between the cast.

Jayhawker wrote:

And it was nothing but stupid parroting of each other and what amounted to dudebro chatter.

I'm not sure discussion about hair trimming and going out to the theater with your parents qualifies as dudebro chatter.