So now, I recently finished RE5. I don't think it's as good as RE4. RE4 has the better inventory system. So there.
In other news, I got bored with the tvtropes forum. I still go to the website, and I still respect the community, I'm just not going to the forums right now, even though my profile still links to here.
Anyways, let's talk about GameFAQs.
This really is a remarkable website. I've been going there since 2005. Most of the games I have beaten since then, I have beaten with the help of a GameFAQs guide. It's rare when I can beat a game without using GameFAQs at all. It, and similar websites, has changed the face of gaming forever.
But that's not what I wanna talk about right now. I wanna talk about its members, whom I refer to as Gamefaqkers. Despite the title, it's not a derogatory name.
The GameFAQs community is infamous. Its messageboard is said to be a hive of scum and villainy. This, is probably true. However, I have visited a messageboard once, but I quit not because of trolling, (because I didn't witness any) but rather because of its inanity. EVERY POST I SAW THAT DAY WENT EXACTLY LIKE THIS:
[gamefaqker 1] Can U tell m3 how 2 git past tha boss n SOTC?
[gamefaqker 2] *post contains nothing more than a link to a Shadows of the Colossus GameFAQs page*
[gamefaqker 1] kthxbye.
IS THAT ALL YOU HAVE TO TALK ABOUT!? Of course, I know, this is a generalization. Given the size of GameFAQs, I'm sure some members do engage in meaningful conversation, and I'm sure some of them troll each other as well.
But you know what I like to do besides getting tips and cheats? Reading the reviews. Because GameFAQs lets anyone submit reviews, it's my go-to site for amateur game reviews.
The upside of amateur reviews: unlike professional reviewers, amateur reviewers don't have to worry about pissing off sponsors. That scandal involving a somewhat low score of Kane and Lynch? Couldn't happen in an amateur review. (And besides, that guy shouldn't have been fired; that game wasn't very good anyways.)
The downside? Amateur reviewers aren't always English majors. And they aren't always fair either. This is the ugly side of GameFAQs that I have seen. I've seen a gamefaqker diss Half-Life 2 simply because "It's not Halo 3." I've seen Nintendo fanboyism, Sony fanboyism, rampant homophobia, fangirlish squeeing, (that last part is totally not made up on my part), They Changed It Now It Sucks, the works.
And the worst of it? Any negative review of Final Fantasy 12 ever posted on GameFAQs.
Holy mother of fuck.
I mean, I know FF12 isn't my favorite game in the franchise, but still, peoples, it doesn't suck. Oh yeah, you got your graphics whores, your storyline whores, (definitely a lot of storyline whores, that's for sure) you name it.
And yet, every now and then, there's a really good review, even if it's one I disagree with. It's like shifting through mud (or bullshit in the case of FF12 bashing) and finding the occasional gold nugget.
Yeah. GameFAQs is a gift. And a curse.
But peoples, I'm surprised at your attitudes. You think GameFAQs is the worst gamer community ever? Oh, not by a long shot. I mean, sure, there is the occasional boorish troll, but trust me, I have been to the abyss. I may be the only person to travel to Hell, and return with my soul intact, for I seem to be the only person who reports the godlessness of what really is the worst online gamer community ever.
I speak of none other than the Gamespy forums.
Gamespy itself? Great website. Its forums? Worst. Forums. EVER. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVER.
How can I best describe it? Okay, you know how people complain about people that play games that appeal to guys insecure in their masculinity? You know, like Halo, Gears of War, and so on? You remember what people often say? "Don't ever turn on your headphones unless you wanna year a 12 year old cuss you out."
The gamespy forums is those 12 year olds, only replace the game with an online community.
I'm dead serious; many of its members actually are kids. Kids who figured out that cussing and being a retarded immature fucktarded asshole on the Gamespy forums doesn't get them in trouble. It's true! The times I've seen them admit their age, they're often between 10 to 14. Dead fucking serious! But then again, it makes complete sense.
And also, there is no moderation. No. Moderation. To speak of. Oh sure, they claim there are rules, and that punishers will be kicked off, but that's bullshit. No one enforces anything.
So: immature boys + complete state of anarchy + complete abuse of said anarchy = such classy lines as:
(note, they are all paraphrased. I sure as shit ain't lookin' up the actual quotes.)
"Metal Gear Solid is the best game ever made, and if you disagree with me, then you're a queer."
"Doom 3 is the worst game ever made." "Shut the fuck up, fucking faggot!" "Suk my mutherfucking cok!"
"Final Fantasy 10 sucks because it's not Final Fantasy 7. And it's also really gay."
"Why else? I'm just disagreeing with you just to piss you off."
"Zelda fans are homos! Play some real games for once, you fucking Nintendo fanbabies!"
(In a thread about Star Wars: KOTOR) "Only pussies play the Light Side!"
Buuuuuuuuut,
that seemed to be true back in the earlier part of this decade. I just got back from its forums like a second ago. I didn't see any douchebaggery. I even saw a forumer deride the "homophobic assbags that dominate the gaming demographic." (Again, a paraphrase). Hmm, could it be that Gamespy has redeemed itself? Do they actually moderate now? Ah man! That kills all of my fun!
But it doesn't change the fact that, at least back in the PS2/GC/Xbox generation, it was a bad, bad place. So bad, it was horrible. But not anymore, apparently.
Oh whatever. I'll just go back to rolling my eyes at all the Gamefaqkers who hate FF12 for bullshit reasons again.
