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What's wrong with this guy lately? I generally love his essays on old games, but last two entries? First, he bashes Full Throttle, an absolute gem, and my fav

What's wrong with this guy lately? I generally love his essays on old games, but last two entries? First, he bashes Full Throttle, an absolute gem, and my favourite LucasArts adventure. Next, he is not happy with "The Dig", a game I deeply loved back then. If he didn't write an essay on Star Control 2 earlier, at this point I would filly expect him to be unimpressed even by SC2.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
So your complaint is that he criticised games that you liked? You can still like games that have serious objective flaws, dude. It's ok.
- Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago
  His criticisms of Full Throttle were completely unfair, this is a one game that doesn't have any flaws at all. Well, maybe it is too short, if you play it for the second time. One such criticism is his bashing of the second arcade puzzle (the demolition derby) - he complained about the objective being "unclear". How can it be "unclear" after the player is given a briefing on what to do and is constantly bombarded by voice instructions during the whole event?!
  - AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
    It doesn't take much effort to find other dissenting opinions: "The problem is that Full Throttle is still a SCUMM adventure game, but layered with bizarre action sequences that have aged like a tuna sandwich someone left in the back of the fridge for two decades. A few motorcycle fights mid-game are awkward but bearable, but a late-game demolition derby sequence is just about as obnoxious and unplayable today as it was 20 years ago." [0] A guy I watch on twitch played Ocarina of Time for the first time a year or so ago. I love that game, having played it to death in my childhood. He hated it. I asked him why. He then proceeded to enumerate all of the ways he hated it: Navi's interruptions, time-wasting animations and transitions, and of course the entire water temple [2], to name a few. I had to tell him that yeah, every single one of his criticisms was entirely valid. I love the game anyway. Is it nostalgia? Maybe in part [2], but I think it's also possible that the things I really enjoy about it outweigh the things I dislike. Either way, it doesn't make his criticisms any less valid. It's possible Maher's criticisms aren't very fair, I don't know since I never played Full Throttle. But I will say that I highly doubt that's the case from having read his other work. [0] https://www.pcworld.com/article/3190569/full-throttle-remastered-review-a-new-coat-of-paint-doesnt-quite-hide-this-games-age.html https://www.pcworld.com/article/3190569/full-throttle-remast... [1] If you played OoT and don't know why people hate the water temple, it's because you played on the 3DS, where they made some changes to make it less confusing and tedious. [2] He also hated Outer Wilds, and once again I found no flaw with his criticism but love the game anyway.
  - dbalatero 5y ago
    I'm a huge Lucasarts fan and I played FT for the first time last year. I found it to be the weakest adventure title and found his criticisms mirrored a lot of my experience. I found a lot of the puzzles and gameplay (particularly the action-y ones) not very fun as well. So, YMMV.
  - djur 5y ago
    I grew up with Full Throttle and like it more than he does (mostly because I really enjoy its aesthetic and humor), but I didn't see a single criticism in his article that wasn't spot on.
  - WorldMaker 5y ago
    In addition to the other comments in the thread, it is useful to point out that even the game's manual itself was critical of the action sequences, especially the demolition derby and went out of its way to point out the key sequence to just skip them. (As a player, while I've grown more tolerant of the motorbike action sequences than I was as a kid who didn't play much in the way of action games, I can't say if I've ever completed the demolition derby "properly". Just can't find the interest in me.) (Personally, I still think more games should have a "I'm bored with this action sequence / boss fight, please just skip it" button and hold up this aspect of Full Throttle as one of the best parts of its design, even if it was offered mostly as an apology that they didn't quite get what they wanted from the aging SCUMM engine in terms of action.)
- grillvogel 5y ago
  >objective flaws opinions are not objective
  - StrictDabbler 5y ago
    He sets out a dispassionate approach to evaluating interactive gameplay as an art and craft over the first year or two of his blog while he's still dealing with the early Infocom games and such. He's drawing on the wisdom of Ron Gilbert, the Infocom inquisitors, and all the other interactive game designers who tried to get it right. If you follow through the whole series it becomes clear that this system is actually objective. It's not about opinions. When he says a game has puzzles that can't be solved using information in the game he's not expressing an opinion. He plays the game, finds the answer, checks if any part of the game supports that solution, reaches out to any living members of the design staff to talk about how the game was developed, and eventually he says "Quest for Glory IV was released in a broken state, and later patches fixed it only because the patch notes told you which part of the game had broken and what to do to work around it now that it was patched." He's objectively right. It doesn't matter that QFGIV is one of my favorite games of all time. The art, the music, the humor, the world-building, all are top notch and he gives those a nod. But the game is totally screwed up. That's objective. When he says Full Throttle has action sequences that have no clues as to correct behavior, where you have to figure out the correct actions and timing by extended trial-and-error, that's not an opinion. Full Throttle has those sequences, just like Dragon's Lair. That's objective. Just because you love something doesn't mean it's objectively well-made.
    - Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago
      No, it is not objective. He just failed to get the clues. In the second action sequence the player is told what to do twice: first in the briefing, and then he is given clear voice instructions what to do during the event itself. First action sequence is more difficult, but is solvable, too, once you understand that different weapons have different effect on enemies.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
lou1306 5y ago
For better or for worse, he puts a high, high premium on gameplay. He already gave non-enthusiastic reviews of many games that many consider "classics" (such as most Sierra adventures, or Myst, just to name a few examples). It's an opinionated approach, sure, but at least he's open about it and seems to apply it consistently.
- the_af 5y ago
  To be fair, backlash against games like Myst started as soon as they were released. I remember reading at least more than one games author from the Halcyon Days book (freely available online) complaining about "games like Myst don't appeal me, where is the gameplay?"
taneq 5y ago
How dare people not like what I liked?!
endymi0n 5y ago
Having played both, I must say I was more intrigued by The Dig than SC2. Granted, Star Control had a pretty great story arc, but the feel was just very comic-arcade-like. I also played it because it was so hyped and maybe my expectations were just sky high because of that. Then again, I played The Dig much younger as a pre-teen and can still distinctly remember that intro. It was one of the few games that pulled you in just like a movie. The atmosphere was really dense and it felt way more like a movie you could interact with than a game. I didn't care about the shallow, less coherent story back then and I also don't remember it as a game that was so great I wasted months on like XCOM, but it was definitely pretty good.
- Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago
  The Dig and SC2 are very different games, but they share one key theme: the touch of unknown, a great mystery that lies beyond. And I loved them for it.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago

So your complaint is that he criticised games that you liked? You can still like games that have serious objective flaws, dude. It's ok.

Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago
His criticisms of Full Throttle were completely unfair, this is a one game that doesn't have any flaws at all. Well, maybe it is too short, if you play it for the second time. One such criticism is his bashing of the second arcade puzzle (the demolition derby) - he complained about the objective being "unclear". How can it be "unclear" after the player is given a briefing on what to do and is constantly bombarded by voice instructions during the whole event?!
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
  It doesn't take much effort to find other dissenting opinions: "The problem is that Full Throttle is still a SCUMM adventure game, but layered with bizarre action sequences that have aged like a tuna sandwich someone left in the back of the fridge for two decades. A few motorcycle fights mid-game are awkward but bearable, but a late-game demolition derby sequence is just about as obnoxious and unplayable today as it was 20 years ago." [0] A guy I watch on twitch played Ocarina of Time for the first time a year or so ago. I love that game, having played it to death in my childhood. He hated it. I asked him why. He then proceeded to enumerate all of the ways he hated it: Navi's interruptions, time-wasting animations and transitions, and of course the entire water temple [2], to name a few. I had to tell him that yeah, every single one of his criticisms was entirely valid. I love the game anyway. Is it nostalgia? Maybe in part [2], but I think it's also possible that the things I really enjoy about it outweigh the things I dislike. Either way, it doesn't make his criticisms any less valid. It's possible Maher's criticisms aren't very fair, I don't know since I never played Full Throttle. But I will say that I highly doubt that's the case from having read his other work. [0] https://www.pcworld.com/article/3190569/full-throttle-remastered-review-a-new-coat-of-paint-doesnt-quite-hide-this-games-age.html https://www.pcworld.com/article/3190569/full-throttle-remast... [1] If you played OoT and don't know why people hate the water temple, it's because you played on the 3DS, where they made some changes to make it less confusing and tedious. [2] He also hated Outer Wilds, and once again I found no flaw with his criticism but love the game anyway.
- dbalatero 5y ago
  I'm a huge Lucasarts fan and I played FT for the first time last year. I found it to be the weakest adventure title and found his criticisms mirrored a lot of my experience. I found a lot of the puzzles and gameplay (particularly the action-y ones) not very fun as well. So, YMMV.
- djur 5y ago
  I grew up with Full Throttle and like it more than he does (mostly because I really enjoy its aesthetic and humor), but I didn't see a single criticism in his article that wasn't spot on.
- WorldMaker 5y ago
  In addition to the other comments in the thread, it is useful to point out that even the game's manual itself was critical of the action sequences, especially the demolition derby and went out of its way to point out the key sequence to just skip them. (As a player, while I've grown more tolerant of the motorbike action sequences than I was as a kid who didn't play much in the way of action games, I can't say if I've ever completed the demolition derby "properly". Just can't find the interest in me.) (Personally, I still think more games should have a "I'm bored with this action sequence / boss fight, please just skip it" button and hold up this aspect of Full Throttle as one of the best parts of its design, even if it was offered mostly as an apology that they didn't quite get what they wanted from the aging SCUMM engine in terms of action.)
grillvogel 5y ago
>objective flaws opinions are not objective
- StrictDabbler 5y ago
  He sets out a dispassionate approach to evaluating interactive gameplay as an art and craft over the first year or two of his blog while he's still dealing with the early Infocom games and such. He's drawing on the wisdom of Ron Gilbert, the Infocom inquisitors, and all the other interactive game designers who tried to get it right. If you follow through the whole series it becomes clear that this system is actually objective. It's not about opinions. When he says a game has puzzles that can't be solved using information in the game he's not expressing an opinion. He plays the game, finds the answer, checks if any part of the game supports that solution, reaches out to any living members of the design staff to talk about how the game was developed, and eventually he says "Quest for Glory IV was released in a broken state, and later patches fixed it only because the patch notes told you which part of the game had broken and what to do to work around it now that it was patched." He's objectively right. It doesn't matter that QFGIV is one of my favorite games of all time. The art, the music, the humor, the world-building, all are top notch and he gives those a nod. But the game is totally screwed up. That's objective. When he says Full Throttle has action sequences that have no clues as to correct behavior, where you have to figure out the correct actions and timing by extended trial-and-error, that's not an opinion. Full Throttle has those sequences, just like Dragon's Lair. That's objective. Just because you love something doesn't mean it's objectively well-made.
  - Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago
    No, it is not objective. He just failed to get the clues. In the second action sequence the player is told what to do twice: first in the briefing, and then he is given clear voice instructions what to do during the event itself. First action sequence is more difficult, but is solvable, too, once you understand that different weapons have different effect on enemies.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

lou1306 5y ago

For better or for worse, he puts a high, high premium on gameplay. He already gave non-enthusiastic reviews of many games that many consider "classics" (such as most Sierra adventures, or Myst, just to name a few examples). It's an opinionated approach, sure, but at least he's open about it and seems to apply it consistently.

the_af 5y ago
To be fair, backlash against games like Myst started as soon as they were released. I remember reading at least more than one games author from the Halcyon Days book (freely available online) complaining about "games like Myst don't appeal me, where is the gameplay?"

taneq 5y ago

How dare people not like what I liked?!

endymi0n 5y ago

Having played both, I must say I was more intrigued by The Dig than SC2. Granted, Star Control had a pretty great story arc, but the feel was just very comic-arcade-like. I also played it because it was so hyped and maybe my expectations were just sky high because of that. Then again, I played The Dig much younger as a pre-teen and can still distinctly remember that intro. It was one of the few games that pulled you in just like a movie. The atmosphere was really dense and it felt way more like a movie you could interact with than a game. I didn't care about the shallow, less coherent story back then and I also don't remember it as a game that was so great I wasted months on like XCOM, but it was definitely pretty good.

Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago
The Dig and SC2 are very different games, but they share one key theme: the touch of unknown, a great mystery that lies beyond. And I loved them for it.