I just lost a whole lot of faith in the state of internet videogame journalism.

JSweeney

JSweeney

CAGiversary!
While browsing around on gamefaqs boards, which is either good for a laugh or a cerebral anyurism, I stumbled across this link...
http://www.gameforms.com

The site itself looks professional enough, as the site design is fairly cohesive and somewhat aesthetically pleasing. So, I start to look through the news.. not so bad, only lagging other sources by either a couple of hours, or a day or so. Not that bad so far. I then click over and look at thier review section... or rather, what they call a review section. One would image you'd hold back adding features until you actually had some content to put in them. Perhaps I'm just spoiled by instant access to content, but when you have a staff of numbering over a dozen, you should at least be able to push some content other than late news, anemic information on current and future games.

It may be unfair, but I'm judging it in comparision to http://www.game-science.com This site is run by basically two people.. and has broken enough stories that IGN and Gamestop take thier media and throw it in thier insider service. If two people can do this, and it isn't there job, what excuse to over a dozen have for a rather anemic offering that treads the same ground that the "big boys" have already covered.

I guess you'll then say "but they'll put a different spin on it, since it isn't a job for most of them." Well, they do.. and maybe that's my problem with it. This site employs someone that may of you have around CAG for a while will recognize. Chris Gesualdi. You know, Endless Chris.
I didn't care to hear his biased opinions when he posted them here, and I like them even less when they take them, put them on website, and actually give him an air of legitimacy.

Of course, maybe there are some people that like that kind of thing... but I'm not one of them. Of course, before I get to sounding to harsh, I wish Chris luck.. it's good for him that he's got a forum for his ideas where there are some like minded people...

But the fact that such a place exists in a somewhat journalistic capacity concerns me.
 
I got no idea about gameforms.com and all that jazz but since you mentioned gamefaqs.com I figure I have to go off on a tangent.

You know what's money about gamefaqs.com and it's users? They got that Spring contest going on for the Best Game of All time, and Mario RPG beat out Street Fighter II. Whatsupwithdat?
 
Didn't Chrono Trigger win the Summer Contest of greatest character of all time? Someone needs to declare jihad on that site and it's users.
 
This just serves as a reminder...anyone can run their own website and use it to do whatever they feel like.

I'll stick with the mainstream sites, thank you very much. Even though IGN isn't all that great, it's still miles ahead of Endless Chris... *shudders*
 
Is it a really a secret that Gamefaqs is viewed primarily by RPG gamers and their contests always reflect that? If you want a less biased version of it you should check out the Gamespy one. It's skewed towards FPSs more, but FF7 got eliminated in the first round by Chrono Trigger, so it's not all bad.
 
[quote name='JimmieMac']Didn't Chrono Trigger win the Summer Contest of greatest character of all time? Someone needs to declare jihad on that site and it's users.[/quote]

Ha! A non FF7 character winning a popularity contest at Gamefaqs?! It is to laugh!
 
I just don't get how one trick ponies win any sort of contest. Chrono? Some dude from one of the Final Fantasies? How can they be more popular than people like Mario, Link,or even any one of the Street Fighters or Mortal Kombat characters?

I'm just saying that I think you should be in more than one or two games before you can be considered the Most Popular of All Time.
 
I do not even vote in those polls because everyone votes for a Square character no matter what. Seeing as I am not all that big into RPG's and never owned a PS1 or 2 my opinion carries no wieght on a site like that.
 
gamespy just had a contest like that. Half life beat out 63 other games for some stupid title like Best Game ever or something like that.
 
[quote name='dcfox']gamespy just had a contest like that. Half life beat out 63 other games for some stupid title like Best Game ever or something like that.[/quote]

that one is a no brainer though. The site geared toward PC gamers, and most of them were probably addicted to CS at one point
 
Gameforms is the husk of what was once thegia.com. The one thing they both have in common is that both are (or were) extremely pretentious. Other than that, I would at least hit thegia.com a few times a month, if for nothing else than their kick-ass artwork section. I may check Gameforms once or twice every few months, and then just out of sheer boredom.

I do think it's kinda silly to get upset about something like this tho. I mean, for the price of a domain name & a little hosting space you too can post whatever drivel you want about anything you want. That doesn't make you a journalist tho, so I think applying that label to these guys is equally silly. ;)
 
In the GameFAQs polls, I stopped voting for the character/game I thought deserved it. I started voting for the underdog, unless the underdog was a Square/Nintendo creation. The Square/Nintendo fanboys will always skew the voting.

Super Mario RPG is made by Square AND Nintendo. Do the math.

Wow, this is some tangent.
 
[quote name='PsyClerk']In the GameFAQs polls, I stopped voting for the character/game I thought deserved it. I started voting for the underdog, unless the underdog was a Square/Nintendo creation. The Square/Nintendo fanboys will always skew the voting.

Super Mario RPG is made by Square AND Nintendo. Do the math.

Wow, this is some tangent.[/quote]

On another tangent: it would be nice for them to put Mario RPG out in GBA form.
 
I voted for whatever I had on my ballot :)
The boards and polls on Gamefaqs do tend to lean toward the fanboyish, but I rely on Gamefaqs for walkthroughs/hints/cheats/codes for virtually everything. They could have a poll that says 'Are video gamers losers or geeks?' and I'd still visit the site.
 
[quote name='dtcarson']I voted for whatever I had on my ballot :)
The boards and polls on Gamefaqs do tend to lean toward the fanboyish, but I rely on Gamefaqs for walkthroughs/hints/cheats/codes for virtually everything. They could have a poll that says 'Are video gamers losers or geeks?' and I'd still visit the site.[/quote]

Yeah, their actual content is great, but there's, like, a quantum retardation field surrounding their message boards, especially the system specific ones. It used to be kind of fun to rile up the fanboys, but now...
 
There is the occassional board on GameFAQs that's not filled with 10 year old boys comparing genitalia. Most of the better boards are for lesser known games, especially strategy games and PC-only games.
 
[quote name='argyle']Gameforms is the husk of what was once thegia.com. The one thing they both have in common is that both are (or were) extremely pretentious. Other than that, I would at least hit thegia.com a few times a month, if for nothing else than their kick-ass artwork section. I may check Gameforms once or twice every few months, and then just out of sheer boredom.

I do think it's kinda silly to get upset about something like this tho. I mean, for the price of a domain name & a little hosting space you too can post whatever drivel you want about anything you want. That doesn't make you a journalist tho, so I think applying that label to these guys is equally silly. ;)[/quote]

I have to agree, the guys at gameforms are hardly journalists. I'd consider that site to be more of someone's personal side project than anything else. They say something interesting every now and again, and had a blasphemously hilarious april fools joke this year, but nothing more really.
 
It's a Nintendo 1st-party title w/ Mario in it, it's an RPG and it's co-produced by Square. I really enjoyed the game and all, but if there was a God, it shouldn't have been anywhere close in the voting to Street Fighter II. Then again, those three facts mentioned above go a LONG way in a GameFAQs tourney. The God there is a wee bit biased I'd say. =) Just gotta take it into account that it's a GameFAQs tourney and make your brackets accordingly. It is a grave injustice to say the least, some of the #*&! that's taking place.

-Soujirou
 
Allow me to sum up 99% of the GameFAQs forum content:

1. Rate my DVD and/or game collection
1a. I have $xx, which of these two completely unrelated games should I buy?

2. I just accomplished this video game feat that is actually impossible (OMG swim code for GTA!!!1)

3. I just found out this super-secret video game information that no one else knows (HAY GUYS no HD for xbox2 CONFIRMED)

4. I can only afford (or more likely my parents will only buy me) one console so therefore that is the best console of them all and the others are all for losers

5. obvious questions/thoughts (HAY GUYS I heard the Xbox is dropping to $149 soon is this true? nt)

6. whining about glitches or flaws, real or imagined, in every game ever (this is especially prevalent on sports game boards)

7. again, mostly sports boards, but e/n ridiculously long missives about what someone is doing in their franchise/dynasty
7a. HAY GUYS whut free agents/trades should I do in my season thx

And God help you if you ever try and read their "current events" or "war on terror" boards, it's like the guy said in Billy Madison, "everyone here is now dumber for having listened to that".

Feel free to add to my list.
 
Elwood, you forgot to add that #4 in your list should be repeated every other spot on your list. I DARE you to even politely say "I prefer the Xbox" anywhere on GameFAQs and not get flamed to hell and back. Even on the Xbox general board.
 
When it comes to gaming news sites - what we really have to worry about is the increasing influence game publishers have on reviews of their games.

And I went to gamefaqs the other day to see what was up and it is still the crap hole that it has always been. I saw a thread where someone was asking a serious question and everyone was flaming him because they thought he should have known the answer, and shouldn't be asking.
 
[quote name='Scrubking']When it comes to gaming news sites - what we really have to worry about is the increasing influence game publishers have on reviews of their games.

And I went to gamefaqs the other day to see what was up and it is still the crap hole that it has always been. I saw a thread where someone was asking a serious question and everyone was flaming him because they thought he should have known the answer, and shouldn't be asking.[/quote]

Let me guess...
"Dude, it's called GameFAQs for a reason!"
or the other classic...
"Game Info | FAQs & Guides | Codes & Secrets | Reviews | Check Prices"

I've seen that too many times...The social boards aren't too terrible (The Forum is one of the better ones), but the game boards are utter crap for anything that's popular.
 
To be honest I haven't had any real problems posting on GameFaqs. The only board I see a lot of crap on is the Fighting Games board. There are some fools on there who are so elitist, foolish, and obnoxious that its not even funny. If you go there, you probably know the 2 biggest morons on that board.
 
[quote name='Gothic_Walrus'][quote name='Scrubking']When it comes to gaming news sites - what we really have to worry about is the increasing influence game publishers have on reviews of their games.

And I went to gamefaqs the other day to see what was up and it is still the crap hole that it has always been. I saw a thread where someone was asking a serious question and everyone was flaming him because they thought he should have known the answer, and shouldn't be asking.[/quote]

Let me guess...
"Dude, it's called GameFAQs for a reason!"
or the other classic...
"Game Info | FAQs & Guides | Codes & Secrets | Reviews | Check Prices"

I've seen that too many times...The social boards aren't too terrible (The Forum is one of the better ones), but the game boards are utter crap for anything that's popular.[/quote]

Actually it was a special interest board, and the question was about a movie. He got flamed to hell cause he didn't understand the plot of a movie and asked about it. Isn't gamefaqs great?
 
I don't take any website seriously. Except this one of course because we get great deals and the games are tangible results of everyone's hard (or not so hard) work. Otherwise, who cares what they think about this game or that? I won't like Zelda or Mario or FF7 just because everyone seems to worship them. To me, they are crap and no one is going to persuade me otherwise. End of Story.
 
argyle wrote:
Gameforms is the husk of what was once thegia.com. The one thing they both have in common is that both are (or were) extremely pretentious. Other than that, I would at least hit thegia.com a few times a month, if for nothing else than their kick-ass artwork section. I may check Gameforms once or twice every few months, and then just out of sheer boredom.

I do think it's kinda silly to get upset about something like this tho. I mean, for the price of a domain name & a little hosting space you too can post whatever drivel you want about anything you want. That doesn't make you a journalist tho, so I think applying that label to these guys is equally silly.
Click to expand...


I have to agree, the guys at gameforms are hardly journalists. I'd consider that site to be more of someone's personal side project than anything else. They say something interesting every now and again, and had a blasphemously hilarious april fools joke this year, but nothing more really.
Click to expand...

I never much cared for thegia.com but I agree they did have a great artwork section, and I did agree with the occasional review. I lost interest soon after it went down. Gameforms was supposed to be the second coming of thegia, wasn't it? It's seems like it never really got underway..
 
Sweeny - you have to understand the background for Gameforms. Reviews were never the point - but concerning Gameforms, I wonder what is. It's a mere shadow of what the GIA was (news was always on top). Sad.
 
Yeah I filled out an entry in the gamefaqs contest for best game ever, but when Super Mario RPG beat SFII, I lost all hope. Not only did SFII lose it got slaughtered.

Now I will just keep voting to make sure FF7 doesn't win, it is God there.

[quote name='jmcc'][quote name='dtcarson']I voted for whatever I had on my ballot :)
The boards and polls on Gamefaqs do tend to lean toward the fanboyish, but I rely on Gamefaqs for walkthroughs/hints/cheats/codes for virtually everything. They could have a poll that says 'Are video gamers losers or geeks?' and I'd still visit the site.[/quote]

Yeah, their actual content is great, but there's, like, a quantum retardation field surrounding their message boards, especially the system specific ones. It used to be kind of fun to rile up the fanboys, but now...[/quote]

I agree about there msg boards, your analysis is spot on. I have posted there just to rile up some fanboys, too. I was bored.
 
[quote name='JimmieMac']So it's agreed. We must cleanse gamefaqs.com with fire. All shall perish, even the penitent.[/quote]

nuke it from orbit just to be sure
 
[quote name='ElwoodCuse']Allow me to sum up 99% of the GameFAQs forum content:



6. whining about glitches or flaws, real or imagined, in every game ever (this is especially prevalent on sports game boards)



Feel free to add to my list.[/quote]




Actually, in my experience, whenever anyone points out a glitch or flaw that is very real, they get crucified! This is especially true on the home board of that particular game making game specific boards almost useless if you need technical assistance.

I've been attacked heavily and consistently for vocalizing the independently well-documented problems with:

tomb Raider angel of darkness {everything}

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 {the glitches are so well-known they are standard practices for winning arcade matches and are included in the faqs}

Motion sickness problems with various games

Super Mario Sunshine {severe collision detection problems the longer a person stays in one area for extended periods of time}


Kabuki warriors {linking to the game rankings page and various other reviews in "should I get this game" topics}



There is also been some minor squabbles along these lines concerning other games, but those are the major fanboy freakouts I recall.

Remember, it's not whining if it's real -- it's a public information service that it wouldn't hurt people to be a little more grateful for.
 
Yeah. I can relate. I went on the Harvest Moon: A Wonderful life board, and was participating in a thread ABOUT glitches, and tried to remind people that Harvest Moon games have never exactly been a glitch free game... I mean heck, Natsume even had their OWN name listed as NATUME on one of them..
but these people just couldn't find their way to understanding that... it's even worse, since it's obvious most of them just started playing with Friends of Mineral Town.
 
Remember, it's not whining if it's real -- it's a public information service that it wouldn't hurt people to be a little more grateful for.
Click to expand...

I agree. For game-killing glitches or problems, yes, talk about it all you want. I mostly mean the people that are like "OMG this team has the wrong color socks is this a glitch?" Or you get the people who just plain suck at the game an attribute this to a "glitch".
 
[quote name='ElwoodCuse']Or you get the people who just plain suck at the game an attribute this to a "glitch".[/quote]

Remember kiddies...it's not the game's fault that you suck! :twisted:

Also...EC? Having a user with that in their name in a thread that mentions EndlessChris scares me...I'm hoping that it's just a coincidence, but still...
 
Yeah, their actual content is great, but there's, like, a quantum retardation field surrounding their message boards, especially the system specific ones. It used to be kind of fun to rile up the fanboys, but now...
Click to expand...

lol...there's something of an infinite regress there as well. You have the common whiners who are always second guessing anything and everything, then come the flamers, then those pretentious posters who like to pretend they're adults and put down both the whiners and flamers, then the even more pretentious (if that's possible, and it seems to be so in this case) come along to put down the previously mentioned posters....and it goes on like this, until everyone is clamoring for the top of the "I'm an intelligent adult and know best" hill.
 
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