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Five Reasons Kotaku is Not For Me

LiK said:
LOL, yes, let's skip the story which is one of the primary reasons for playing the game....
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Probably can't read Japanese, is just stumbling through a demo he can't fully understand, months late and expect people to give a shit. This is why you are laughed at, Kotaku.
 
Kinyou said:
This made me lol

upwk0kw4.jpg


Shows how much effort he put into this
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Admittedly that IS kind of esoteric, while I'm sure a search would've turned up something at least it's better than "Oh right, I could've just pressed X".

I'm guessing the idea of this IS basically "I'm some total newbie to this series trying it on a whim, here's what I think", which has some merit for a certain type of newcomer I guess, but is obviously going to look bad to anyone whose been playing the series. But then I haven't really dug into the article, just skimming parts and reading the specific reasons since I really don't see much I'd get out of this.
 
i could literally jump on any established franchise ive not played/lacked interest in and write something about this level, ugh

seriously, i hate that the exposure this tripe will get could possibly get to SOA and affect a localization decision, on any level

sub_o said:
It's Richard Eisenbeis. He's the one who wrote "The Guy Who Made Bayonetta Is Clueless About Valve And PC Gaming" article.
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...wow, surprising he still gets work at this point. not sorting out text-skipping is the least of his sins

Nibel said:
What a gaijin

#DoYouEatShit
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heh

Dantis said:
Seriously though, I saw that yesterday and completely disregarded it. Awful article.

EDIT: This is when you know something may be wrong:
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yeah, playing the demos...huh
Dantis can't stop banging that anti-idol drum, but the power of love and believing in one's self from budding haruka-chan would pierce his heart yet~
 
No, he isn't say that. He's saying that the writer's complaints of not caring about the story and just wanting to blast through the game is dumb as hell. Because Yakuza is a very story driven series.
 
Dead Man said:
Wait, are you saying haveing skippable conversations is bad?
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What, how do you even get that? He is saying the reason you play Yakuza games is for the story, skipping the story parts makes playing through the game pointless. Yakuza is and always has been about the story.
 
Recall said:
What, how do you even get that? He is saying the reason you play Yakuza games is for the story, skipping the story parts makes playing through the game pointless. Yakuza is and always has been about the story.
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I get that becuase it was not clear that it was only on a single playthrough, from the writers complaints about having to replay large sections it sounded like he had to go through conversations several times.

But hey, if you can't see how criticising a writer for complaining about unskippable sections (wrongly) can be construed as criticism of said features, then you go ahead.
 
The story is the main focus of the Yakuza games. You can skip the cutscenes. I have no idea what the problem is.
 
Hmmm... I get the thing about following agendas and (desesperately) seeking for clicks, but isn't counterproductive in the long run? Just look at the people that has posted in this thread (and myself included).

I just can't grasp the logic behind this at all...
 
However, in the game's defense, all the things I have problems with seem to be standard fair for the series at this point, which leads me to believe that fans of the series will probably find my complaints a non-issue
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Quite. Filler articles, not enough industry scoops yo!
 
the good news: the next time someone asks you what the expression ' pearls before swine' means, you can simply direct them to this article :) ...
 
It's not as if his main points don't have merit. The Yakuza series has really been resistant to evolution in those key areas. The whole package is quite good - it's one of the best experiences I've had for really breathing in a Japanese city, and I love interacting with the world that's there, and the stories, while pure cheese, are eminently entertaining, like a BAD BOYS movie.

But you can tell that Sega is reluctant to change anything about the formula unless it's in the way of adding onto it to make it bigger, broader and more badass. To someone who is new to the series (as the author points out), I could see how some of the flaws that have carried over from the start would be off-putting.
 
odd_morsel said:
It's not as if his main points don't have merit. The Yakuza series has really been resistant to evolution in those key areas. The whole package is quite good - it's one of the best experiences I've had for really breathing in a Japanese city, and I love interacting with the world that's there, and the stories, while pure cheese, are eminently entertaining, like a BAD BOYS movie.

But you can tell that Sega is reluctant to change anything about the formula unless it's in the way of adding onto it to make it bigger, broader and more badass. To someone who is new to the series (as the author points out), I could see how some of the flaws that have carried over from the start would be off-putting.
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You just wrote a better article than that guy.
 
I stopped reading it after

Until I sat down and played Yakuza 5, my knowledge of the Yakuza series was limited
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When i read "was limited" i immediately knew he never played a game outside of a demo and his complaints that i skimmed through after backed that up. What was the point of the article?
 
His 5th point makes no sense, when you can skip them.

Also he say's "my knowledge of the Yakuza series was limited, to say the least" so surely he should get a better understanding of the series.
 
What an awful article. Its sad because this type of crap may encourage others to ignore Yakuza as a whole. He obviously knows very little about the franchise, this article shouldn't even have been written.

No wonder Kotaku is the worst gaming media outlet.
 
However, in the game's defense, all the things I have problems with seem to be standard fair for the series at this point, which leads me to believe that fans of the series will probably find my complaints a non-issue. But for me personally, I feel no urge from here on to play a Yakuza game ever again. Simply put, Yakuza 5—and probably the whole series—-is simply not for me.
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Then why even bother writing the article? If there was a long running series with lots of fans, and I jumped into one of them and didn't like anything about it, I would write it off as 'this isn't for me, people shouldn't have to read my ignorant opinions' and move on. But not at Kotaku.
 
Eusis said:
Admittedly that IS kind of esoteric, while I'm sure a search would've turned up something at least it's better than "Oh right, I could've just pressed X"..
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Incidentally, this is also a great strategy if you end up opening a kotaku link by mistake.
 
Any site that associates themselves with such blatant ignorance should be put on GAF's blacklist.
Kotaku should disown this guy... but clearly they'd rather just sell out any remaining credibility for shock hits.
If they really want to coddle ignorance they should just become a right-wing political site. Would get far more hits that way doing the exact same thing.
Articles on Chartz are more informed and better researched than this tripe.
 
Eusis said:
Admittedly that IS kind of esoteric, while I'm sure a search would've turned up something at least it's better than "Oh right, I could've just pressed X".

I'm guessing the idea of this IS basically "I'm some total newbie to this series trying it on a whim, here's what I think", which has some merit for a certain type of newcomer I guess, but is obviously going to look bad to anyone whose been playing the series. But then I haven't really dug into the article, just skimming parts and reading the specific reasons since I really don't see much I'd get out of this.
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While I agree that pressing R1+X is somewhat obtuse, it is literally just one google search away to find out how you can skip cutscenes in yakuza games. That's the least amount of work I'd demand of a journalist.
 
what the heck kotaku ?

everything he said is totally wrong.

First there are many weapons that have a long range and there are plenty of ways to hit more than 2 ennemies at a time .

Second , there are no need for checkpoints , the missions aren't that long . for that mission he took the long and painfull approch and didn't even have a correct inventory .( it wouldn't surprise me since he probably rushed the game )

Third it's made like a rpg with habilities to level up and you can finish those fights in less than 8 secs ( unless he really suck at the game ).Also you can avoid battles !
An adventure rpg game with battles that you can avoid if you pay attention ....

Fourth :
Each time you complete one of the game's five sections, you start as a new character in a new city. This would be fine, except you start again at level one and all your skills are gone as well. It felt like all my hard work had been for nothing and that I was being forced to start the game over. It was almost like being punished for playing the game as intended. It left me incredibly demotivated.
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Anyone who has played Y4 know how stupid this is. Given that's it's a new character with new habilities and a new set of stories.

Fifth :
Already said ..bogus complain

However, in the game's defense, all the things I have problems with seem to be standard fair for the series at this point, which leads me to believe that fans of the series will probably find my complaints a non-issue.
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i love how he knows his article is a mess and has already started to defend himself.

No fans of the series knows that you don't know what you're talking about !
 
sub_o said:
It's Richard Eisenbeis. He's the one who wrote "The Guy Who Made Bayonetta Is Clueless About Valve And PC Gaming" article.
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Does the management at Kotaku even bother to check their articles? Or are they quite happy that a large proportion of gamers and members of the industry think they are worthless, and tabloid trash.
 
Is there like, a Kickstarter I can donate to that will raise enough money to buy Gawker and shut it down? I never visit Kotaku, but I feel that simply ignoring it is not punitive enough. These guys make Glen Beck look like Walter Cronkite.
 
jimi_dini said:
That's like saying I played Call of Duty and there were too many people to shoot.
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I think that's a pretty valid complaint and I'd love to read a preview or review of a Call of Duty game written by someone who has never played and has no interest in shooters. I think they'd be able to deconstruct the absurd genre tropes better than those of us who have played so many shooters that we've come to expect them.
 
jetsetfluken said:
Screw that. I do find it kind of funny though, that someone has to write up something like this to validate themselves out of something that they didn't really have their heart towards in the first place.

It really seems like the Western media, after being babied by this gen's mainstream Western offerings, have grown a dislike towards the gameplay structure of Japanese games whether they know it or not. The same styles that were praised by them the PS2 gen and before. "Gamey" games that have entirely solid and no-filler experiences aren't favored by them now, and in turn, the many readers of the site then share the same opinion.

Like the hiveminds who read those popular news sites need more reasons to spread pessimism on another game that they haven't played.

This one, along with 1&2 HD Edition, are actually in danger of never being localized. We don't need negativity like this from Western media.
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There's no "seems" there, friend (not a Yakuza fan).

Stumpokapow said:
I think that's a pretty valid complaint and I'd love to read a preview or review of a Call of Duty game written by someone who has never played and has no interest in shooters. I think they'd be able to deconstruct the absurd genre tropes better than those of us who have played so many shooters that we've come to expect them.
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I'd not be your man for this, as it would make me come off as petty, willfully ignorant, and unproffessional. :D
 
hi! & welcome to 'the ponce!'...

each week, i'll be spending some time playing the most recent game in a series i've never really been interested in or had any enthusiasm for, then letting you all know just what a piss-poor time i had while playing it. i'll describe exactly how bored i was in following the story, how clearly ignorant i was of both the series' history & the game's basic mechanics, & just how incredibly unpleasant i found the whole experience...

should be fun :) . stay tuned...
 
Replicant said:
LOLtaku strikes again. At this point, I can't help but wonder if their articles are just some attention-whoring attempts.
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Let's see if it meets the Internet click generator check list:
1) A list of 5 or 10 - Check
2) Hateful oppinion of a nitch series - Check
3) Basic misconception in order to make fans comment - Check
4) Multi page article that is just new screen shots and a small caption paragraph - Nope
5) Unrealistic expectations (that leveling one Pokemon levels all Pokemon) - Check

This article gets a 4/5 for attention whoring. It'd get a 5/5 if it were on Joystiq.
 
Eusis said:
Isn't that more for straight up lying on a constant basis? This is just an opinion piece, even if it's one that no one who's invested in the Yakuza series will agree with.
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I thought it was for taking articles from other site (even fake ones put there to catch them) and then saying they only do it because they respect that site so much.
 
Stumpokapow said:
I think that's a pretty valid complaint and I'd love to read a preview or review of a Call of Duty game written by someone who has never played and has no interest in shooters. I think they'd be able to deconstruct the absurd genre tropes better than those of us who have played so many shooters that we've come to expect them.
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you realize that doesn't make any sense right?
 
Stumpokapow said:
I think that's a pretty valid complaint and I'd love to read a preview or review of a Call of Duty game written by someone who has never played and has no interest in shooters. I think they'd be able to deconstruct the absurd genre tropes better than those of us who have played so many shooters that we've come to expect them.
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Can I interest you in this article from the New Yorker, then?

Altogether, it took me an astounding twenty-four hours to get through the single-player version of Modern Warfare 2—three times longer than the average player takes. But I made a lot of notes, and that stretched the time out some. What fascinated me most were those moments in the midst of a fierce firefight when you were given a chance to find some “intel”—on the second floor of a house on the Russian border, say, where Makarov, the paleo-Soviet terrorist, was rumored to be hiding out. During these tranced lulls, I found, you could wander at your leisure from room to room while your squadron-mates stood around waiting for you to act. As they waited, they cracked their necks from side to side and scratched themselves, as idle men seem always to do under the guidance of artificial intelligence.

I found many interesting things while exploring this house, not wanting, particularly, to get back into the action and be killed again. Some Russians lay in pools of blood in the upstairs hall. In the master bedroom were books on a bookshelf, including “The Jungle Book,” a law treatise, and what appeared to be a biography of the Dutch painter Gerard van Honthorst. I’d seen these same books back in northern Virginia, during a break in the frantic action there, before the bloodbath at Burger Town. In the bathroom there were sections of illegible newspaper and a Teddy bear fixed to the wall with a knife through its nose. I went into a smaller bedroom.

In it were seven or eight sleeping bags, unrolled, empty, and a lot of rollaway suitcases. Also a pinup of a clothed woman wielding a machine gun. There was something touching about this tableau of sleeping bags, since I knew that the soldiers who had slept there were now dead. If I got down on my stomach, I could crawl right through the sleeping bags, which was an interesting experience—seeing the underside of the texture. I could even crawl through a dead body, and I did once—for everything in a video game is just a contortedly triangulated, infinitely thin quilt of surface. What, I wondered, was in the suitcases?

The only way I knew how to look inside a random object was to shoot it. So I shot at a suitcase. A dingy striped shirt flew out. I shot at another suitcase: another dingy shirt. These rang a bell: I’d seen them hanging from a clothesline in the Brazilian favela, the setting for an earlier battle. In the master bedroom, I shot at some cardboard boxes. Bags of potato chips and beef jerky popped out, and little cherry pies. Down in the kitchen, I noticed an old crate of potatoes—also bags of flour and basmati rice. These staples, too, I’d seen in the favela.

I began to think a lot about the hardworking set dressers for this game, who cleverly reused the same props in different ways in different countries. What moral were they offering—that people were basically the same everywhere? That most of life was getting up in the morning, putting on your clothes, and eating basmati rice? That war, even for the soldier, was the aberration? Or were they just being thrifty, or playful?
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Hahahaha OMG I thought this was an original thread and came in to say "That reads like a Kotaku headline", guess I really know those shitty "journalist" huh.
 
This would be fine, except you start again at level one and all your skills are gone as well. It felt like all my hard work had been for nothing and that I was being forced to start the game over.
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Hard work? You mean playing a video game?
 
Kinyou said:
While I agree that pressing R1+X is somewhat obtuse, it is literally just one google search away to find out how you can skip cutscenes in yakuza games. That's the least amount of work I'd demand of a journalist.
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It needs to be obtuse, so that people won't accidentally press it and unintentionally skip a cutscene. It's also almost certainly listed in the game's instruction booklet (if it came with one) or on an in-game tutorial tip or something. Not that I'd expect this guy to read or look for such a thing.
 
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