so...who are you...aragorn?(i didn't spell that right did i...)

This won't end well...

cue the fervent tolkien/jackson fanboys.

the overrated madness of the overrated movies based upon overrated books.

Haven't read the books, sadly. But something tells me that most of the world disagrees with you.

What's wrong with LOTR, Mark? Did an Ent steal your lunch money as a kid?

mark mark mrak....

you are outnumbered, dramatically...

It's a dangerous business, Wilson, going out your door

In Soviet Kotaku, thread trolls you!

"I though that pop culture had finally overcome the overrated madness of the overrated movies based upon overrated books."

Where have you been Harry Potter is still converting kids all over the globe.

Who is the poster? Apparently his anger and fanboyish hatred of LOTR overcame his sense of spelling and grammar.

Why did this topic come up now? Gears of War is so November 2006, it is now time to see how the world ends.

philistine.

@edb87:
I have been trying to read the books for the last 3 years. They are like reading a history textbook, void of any excitement. The only reason I press on is.... oh wait I quit part way through the second book.

The books are overrated in terms of actual literary quality - there are far better written things out there. But they're still pretty great.

And I don't see how the movies can be called overrated. They're fantastic and genius.

Overrated books? One step too far, but I hear you man.

While I can forgive you for hating the movies, and the merchandising, and all the recent pop culture bullshit, but going after the books ... that's too far.

@Huxleyhobbes: Indeed, the movie was by far real well done. I was greatly impressed and loved the cast.

@A-Rude-Hero: Perfect timing. XD

But yeah, calm the hell down. Its one man's feelings. Hes allowed to not like something. I don't give a shit if this is the Godfather of nerdom or something. Jeez.

Ive read LOTR books for the first time when i was 14 and really loved them.
About jackson's movie adaptions...i dont know...i always fall asleep somewhere in the middle =_='

Indeed, I found the LOTR trilogy to be very, very overrated. There are much better books out there.

@xot: LOL

Its cool to hate things that other people like. Its the new black.

wow mark wilson, at the risk of getting banned I need to say that you have just lost all credibility with me. Way to slam the only reason why fantasy as a genre is where it is today. Everything would be different without lord of the rings, hell fantasy would probably only exist as children's stories if at all as we currently have it.

So you didn't like the movies or books, fine... saying lord of the rings is overrated is like saying Beethoven or Bach is overrated. The medium owes MUCH to lord of the rings.

I think Mark was told there is no Santa, Tooth Fairy, or Easter Bunny from a very early age. ;D

@Infradead:

That are likely in their entirety derivative of Tolkein's books.

just where did developers get their inspiration for mindlessly attacking monsters before LotR?

@A-Rude-Hero:

lol

Films overrated? Okay, I'll go for that.

But the books? I'm pretty sure that I learned in confirmation that, and I quote, "Thou shalt not trash Tolkein's writings".

Yup, that's how it went.

(Someday the backlash will end, precious. Someday ...)

Speaking of things being overrated, isn't there some game coming out next week that people are giving too much credit to?

@JeffTheDragon: Thats two weeks.

@thebluick:
@execrationist:

Hahaha you beat me to it. I was about to say, Fantasy didn't became a very well recieved genre till after the LOTR trilogy, and Tolkeins buddy C.S. Lewis's little Narnia collection hit shelves in the 50's.

There are lots of things in this life that are over rated such as Starbucks and Halo 3, but LOTR- no effing way.

(i love starbucks and halo 3 btw, lol)

Its all a matter of opinion. Its pointless to try to argue with a thread posted by a guy that already hates lotr and we are not about to change his mind no matter what we say.
However I wounder if he has even read the books. often with books people bahs them without reading them. Bible, Harry Potter are a good example. The huge popularity just annoys them, so they never give it a shot and turn to hate it. Its also happening with halo. halo is one of the biggest games out there and some people learn to hate it with all the popularity its gained.

You think LOTR is overrated? The book is awesome, the Silmarillion is awesome, Tolkien is awesome, and the movies were great. You should go back and read it again.

Yeah. It's called "backlash". Evidently it's a bitch.

@TheBluick
Howard's Conan, Lovecraft's Cthullu and Jules Verne (although that could be described as some sort of sci-fi) clearly show that fantasy without Tolkien is possible. You are right that it would be a different fantasy, but fantasy for grown ups nonetheless. Even ancient Babylonian or Roman "religious" fictions had strong fantasy themes.

I think this newspost is more overrated than the movies.

The ignorance in this thread is palpable.

@4thVariety:

Not to quibble but Lovecraft is technically considered "weird fiction" although some of his Dreamlands stuff does border on the fantastic.

@thebluick:

I agree completely. Reasonable people disagree on the quality of different things, but sometimes an opinion is so overstated and ridiculous that I can no longer trust anything that the person says again...this is one of those times.

Mark Wilson is dead to me (which probably will be ok seeing as this post may get me banned).

the movies were good, but you have to be commited to finishing them. which is similar to the books for me. the books got sort of lost on me towards the middle of the third book. just me, i guess...

@edb87: Oh, no, most of the world does agree with Mark that the books are overrated, but most of the world doesn't spend that much time on the internet.
AND just doesn't care enough to show those convinced that Tolkien is teh b3st writer why they are sadly mistaken.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the books, but they are a wee bit overwritten.

Kudos and accolades to Tolkien for crafting such a cohesive, coherent and imaginative world, as well as helping fantasy to enter the mainstream.
Also, as a Dungeons & Dragons veteran, I know how much RPGs owe Tolkien.

That said, his sheer literary merits don't scream genius.
He was a linguist after all. (Read what you will into that last sentence.)

I think it's possible to both acknowledge LOTR's importance, legacy and huge impact in many areas, AND recognize that it is not an absolute literary masterpiece.

(And not being called an elitist snob for doing so.)

LoTR sucks, Gears of War also sucks, so I agree with this post, gg.

One lucrative commodity to rule them all,
One IP to find them,
One property to bind them all,
And in surplus revenue find them.

In the land of licensing where brands dwell.

How can you be metal and hate Tolkein? Isn't that, like, physically impossible?

When do I get a Dark Tower game?

Overrated? You hold your tongue, sir!

@4thVariety:
neither conan or lovecraft are considered very literary. conan has more to do with pulp than actual literature. and jules verne was more early sci fi.

almost every fantasy book written since 1960 owes a huge debt to tolkien, and to argue that shows a lack of education...

@kmattson:

LoTR is not \m/; it's more like Zeppelin. Gears of War is much more \m/, consider "Gears of War" by Megadeth ver....

Smart bombs, precision guided armaments!!!! I wish I didn't have to shoot a guy 60 times to kill him, it doesn't make sense!

@thebluick: There's tons of examples of things that were iinfluential being bettered by things they influenced. That's how they become overrated, they're mostly known for being "the first" so that nobody bothers to judge whether or not they're good.
That being said, I like the books, but I always found the structure annoying, the way you get really into one story line and have to start over with another. I just don't like the movies. Somehow more boring than reading.

Mark you just lost serious stock with me. Not cool, at all.

Say what you will about Jesus, but leave "The Rings" alone.

Why is this posted ? SO he wants the enemy to be organized with some intelligence so what? Isnt that what every developer wants?

You're over-reacting...

Did you say overrated books???

@THE-HATER:

I'm not saying that LotR is metal, I'm saying that metal is LotR:

See: Blind Guardian, Burzum, Gorgoroth, Aman Amarth, Cirith Ungol, etc., etc.

@thebluick:

This attitude towards Lovecraft is changing.

The only way to snipe at things that are critically hailed and publicly adored are to call them "overrated," since such a claim is impossible to refute empirically. Should anyone disagree, one can simply label their tastes inferior and/or uninformed and call it a day.

Those who do not enjoy a particular work of pop media often feel compelled to rationalize their dislike. They generally do this by adopting an elitist mentality wherein they consider the populace to be drawn to a certain work for shallow or unjustified reasons, thus not only legitimizing their own opinion but elevating it above the majority in such a way that it cannot be easily refuted.

While a person confident in the justification of their opinion would simply say, "I don't enjoy this, but I can understand why others would," or something to that effect, the insecure elitist would say, "people enjoy this because they don't know any better."

I call this behavior "fear of pop."

I like the LOTR series and the books. Hating LOTR is like hating Star Wars - pure craziness.

However, what in god's name GeOW has to do with LOTR is beyond me. But, Cliffy B is crazy. So, ya know...

LOTR is better then Bread & Butter. You know it &