Zero Punctuation Reviews E3 2008 (Badly)
- Scribbled on July 30th, 2008 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in E3, Editorial Content, Game Genres, Platforms, WTF
I think our little Brit in Australia curmudgeon is started to slip off his rock a little - the first sign of jumping the shark? He reviews E3 2008 and complains there’s nothing new out there, and that everything is one big sequel.
Did he not actually pay attention? I can think of Spore and Mirror’s Edge right off the bat without thinking. Did he miss Dead Space or Dragon Age: Origins? Tom Clancy’s ENDWAR? I Am Alive? Even just looking at Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network titles like Braid, Castle Crashers, and PixelJunk Eden, how can you not see the originality and creativity?
Ben, E3, even in its shrunken state, is still huge enough that you actually have to do what we like to call “research” before making blanket statements. And don’t say they were buried - Electronic Arts and UbiSoft showcased Will Wright and Mirror’s Edge respectively.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Yatzhee has a formula now, regardless of what it is he is playing/watching/criticizing… and it works he isn’t going to mess with it, and he certainly isn’t going to let reality get in the way of it… the guy is just phoning things in these days…
July 31st, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Several things here:
1. Zero Punctuation happens to have an approach that, if he deviates from, gets complaints. His style is to see the worst, make fun of it, and get laughs. You know what you are getting with him.
2. His focus apparently ended up being what Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft mainly focused on. And it is sequel after sequel after sequel.
3. He did point out a few things in the end that do balance a bit (like Mirror).
4. By the way, remind me which of these really are innovative:
- Spore. It is a sim game, albeit enormous in scope. It is SimEarth the sequel. Not to say a bad game, but innovative?
- Dead Space. Remind me how a game inspired by Aliens is innovative.
- Dragon Age: Origins. You are aware of his thoughts on RPGs, right? Also, tell me how it isn’t the return of Balder’s Gate.
- Tom Clancy’s ENDWAR. Ok, so Tom Clancy produced an RTS. And it is not an RTS how?
- I Am Alive? Please tell the world about this game. I would like to hear how it counters what he said.
- Braid. That is an old school platformer, right?
- Castle Crashers. How is this not an old-school side scrolling beat’em up, along the lines of Golden Axe?
- PixelJunk Eden. Why is Zero Punctuation supposed to look at every single nook and cranny to find some counterpoint?
July 31st, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Richard, question: Are those all original IPs with their own style? Yes, they are.
You can’t use the old “All shooters are just DOOM clones!” argument.
What, you want an RTS that’ll make you dinner? ENDWAR is a new RTS that does RTS is new and exciting ways.
Honestly, how many Spore clones are there?!