Okay, I'm gonna pipe in because I live in Metro Detroit and am pretty familiar with the areas of Michigan the game takes place in.
Detroit isn't as much of a hellhole as the media loves to make it out to be, but it's certainly no paradise, and there ARE a lot of people there who lack proper homes, decent educations, and who dig through trash for the 10 cent deposit on cans and bottles. It's ugly, no one likes it that way, and it looks like it might be slowly changing for the better, but there it is. You call Letitia's dialect "Southern Black Caricature" but there are plenty of African-Americans in the area who DO speak like that--many of them destitute and living in the inner-city. There are also many who are much better off financially who still speak with a distinctive "stereotypical" accent, and there are some who don't talk like that at all.
It seems rather selective to forget all of the black characters who work as engineers or high-level managers at Sarif Industries and who don't speak with stereotypical accents--the ones you had to walk past to leave the building and run into Letitia. And Letitia certainly isn't any more stereotypical than, say, Detective Chet Wagner, white trash extraordinaire.
I felt like DX did an excellent job of honestly portraying the diversity of Southeast Michigan. Yes, at the moment Detroit is not particularly diverse, but the surrounding area is one of the most diverse regions in America (my hometown has the highest percentage of Asian-Americans in the country outside of San Francisco, and Dearborn is the single largest Middle Eastern hub in America). It's not inconceivable that an economic upturn in the city would bring that diversity back to Detroit.
I'm certainly not saying that people who are offended don't have the right to be; I just think DX deserves credit for NOT simply going the easy route and showing Detroit as being full of drug-addled gangster stereotypes. Hell, half the cast of The Wire talks like that and that show is lauded for its realistic portrayal of inner city life.
Also, it's certainly a step up from the first game's... ahem, sensitive portrayal of nonwhites and non-Americans.
Detroit isn't as much of a hellhole as the media loves to make it out to be, but it's certainly no paradise, and there ARE a lot of people there who lack proper homes, decent educations, and who dig through trash for the 10 cent deposit on cans and bottles. It's ugly, no one likes it that way, and it looks like it might be slowly changing for the better, but there it is. You call Letitia's dialect "Southern Black Caricature" but there are plenty of African-Americans in the area who DO speak like that--many of them destitute and living in the inner-city. There are also many who are much better off financially who still speak with a distinctive "stereotypical" accent, and there are some who don't talk like that at all.
It seems rather selective to forget all of the black characters who work as engineers or high-level managers at Sarif Industries and who don't speak with stereotypical accents--the ones you had to walk past to leave the building and run into Letitia. And Letitia certainly isn't any more stereotypical than, say, Detective Chet Wagner, white trash extraordinaire.
I felt like DX did an excellent job of honestly portraying the diversity of Southeast Michigan. Yes, at the moment Detroit is not particularly diverse, but the surrounding area is one of the most diverse regions in America (my hometown has the highest percentage of Asian-Americans in the country outside of San Francisco, and Dearborn is the single largest Middle Eastern hub in America). It's not inconceivable that an economic upturn in the city would bring that diversity back to Detroit.
I'm certainly not saying that people who are offended don't have the right to be; I just think DX deserves credit for NOT simply going the easy route and showing Detroit as being full of drug-addled gangster stereotypes. Hell, half the cast of The Wire talks like that and that show is lauded for its realistic portrayal of inner city life.
Also, it's certainly a step up from the first game's... ahem, sensitive portrayal of nonwhites and non-Americans.
"like a drunk uncle, a leering stranger, a repeat sex offender." Probably the best description of Duke I've read. There's a way to make that funny, and I've even chuckled at the game a few times, but it really seems like the devs have no idea just how lame Duke Nukem really is. The jokes are all presented with an absolute minimum of effort or wit. "Here are some boobs." "Here is a line from a movie."
The key thing they've missed is that these things aren't inherently funny. Boobs CAN be funny. Boobs themselves aren't funny. Maybe to a ten year-old, like I was when I played the first game. And I guess maybe to George Broussard? But I'm sorry, sticking random alien tits on the wall and letting you slap them around is not funny, it's not clever, it's not even offensive. It's just pathetic. It's the gaming equivalent of Meet the Spartans or Epic Movie.
I am having fun with the game as a historical artifact. It's been a long time since we've had a game with so many first-person jumping puzzles, and that's kind of bringing back the good ol' days. And it does have enough of the old Duke touch--levels with an absurd amount of pointless interactivity, some creative (if clunky) level design that would have been revolutionary had the game come out on time. But the humor--I feel dirty after playing the game, and not the good kind. Not because I can't handle sexual humor, but because there ISN'T any real sexual humor in the game.
The key thing they've missed is that these things aren't inherently funny. Boobs CAN be funny. Boobs themselves aren't funny. Maybe to a ten year-old, like I was when I played the first game. And I guess maybe to George Broussard? But I'm sorry, sticking random alien tits on the wall and letting you slap them around is not funny, it's not clever, it's not even offensive. It's just pathetic. It's the gaming equivalent of Meet the Spartans or Epic Movie.
I am having fun with the game as a historical artifact. It's been a long time since we've had a game with so many first-person jumping puzzles, and that's kind of bringing back the good ol' days. And it does have enough of the old Duke touch--levels with an absurd amount of pointless interactivity, some creative (if clunky) level design that would have been revolutionary had the game come out on time. But the humor--I feel dirty after playing the game, and not the good kind. Not because I can't handle sexual humor, but because there ISN'T any real sexual humor in the game.
@Pissed Off PC Gamer: This is the exact reason I'm incredibly excited for this game.
@peteer02: hates geofencing:
Perks in RPGs have been around at least as long as the Fallout series, which predates the MW perk system by almost a decade.
Perks in RPGs have been around at least as long as the Fallout series, which predates the MW perk system by almost a decade.
Holy muzzle flash, Batman!
@Smeagol92055: Fair enough.
I'm not about to argue that Tron was in any way scientific or grounded.
I just find myself on the other side of the fence, where people are over-thinking a movie that doesn't demand or intend to be subjected to such thought.
But hey, one man's treasure and all that...
I'm not about to argue that Tron was in any way scientific or grounded.
I just find myself on the other side of the fence, where people are over-thinking a movie that doesn't demand or intend to be subjected to such thought.
But hey, one man's treasure and all that...
@dracosummoner: If you needed a star and I had one to give... it would be yours.
Nostalgia's a funny thing.
Have people forgotten the flood of "Doom-clones" in the early 90s? Or the ungodly number of JRPGs that have been ripping off Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest for 25 years? Or how about the glut of horrible, lazy late-90s "3D-ifications" of beloved 2D franchises?
The industry has always been full of knock-offs, hangers-on, and lazy design (how many movie adaptations turned into completely nonsensical side-scrollers?)
But hey, it's fun to hate on Call of Duty, innit?
Nostalgia's a funny thing.
Have people forgotten the flood of "Doom-clones" in the early 90s? Or the ungodly number of JRPGs that have been ripping off Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest for 25 years? Or how about the glut of horrible, lazy late-90s "3D-ifications" of beloved 2D franchises?
The industry has always been full of knock-offs, hangers-on, and lazy design (how many movie adaptations turned into completely nonsensical side-scrollers?)
But hey, it's fun to hate on Call of Duty, innit?
@a.seivewright: Yeah, I was honestly shocked to see all of the complaints about the plot. I found it more intriguing than I expected. I even *gasp* cared what happened and found myself liking the characters. That, at the very least, in an improvement over the original.
But also, yes, PRETTIES.
But also, yes, PRETTIES.
@Smeagol92055: I can't really see how people will gladly buy the real world -- grid transition but find the reverse to be a major issue.
The laser converts their phsyical matter into code and vice-versa (as is evidenced by Sam's ability to leave the Grid, as well as Kevin's return in the first film). Why shouldn't it be able to convert a program into physical reality?
In the end, it's like being upset that every planet in Star Wars has Earth gravity. Clearly, hard science is not the focus or intent. There is very little in Tron that makes scientific sense, and as a concrete representation of the inner workings of a computer, it fails on every level. But that's not really the point.
The laser converts their phsyical matter into code and vice-versa (as is evidenced by Sam's ability to leave the Grid, as well as Kevin's return in the first film). Why shouldn't it be able to convert a program into physical reality?
In the end, it's like being upset that every planet in Star Wars has Earth gravity. Clearly, hard science is not the focus or intent. There is very little in Tron that makes scientific sense, and as a concrete representation of the inner workings of a computer, it fails on every level. But that's not really the point.
@mrlegoman: Wounded, maybe?
@Benevolence: Telltale didn't do the remake. They made the episodic Tales of Monkey Island, which was fantastic.
@IMonkey: That's exactly why I canceled my sub after three months and have never lasted more than a few weeks every time I try to start up again.
@buddhatooda: I'm not, currently. But I've given pretty much all of the major MMOs and quite a few lesser known games a shot. I always stop after a couple of months because I'm bored stiff.
That's why TOR excites me. It looks like it might actually give context to questing, even at earlier levels.
My point was that I think there is an audience for an MMO that concentrates on story over stats. Because I am emphatically a part of that audience.
That's why TOR excites me. It looks like it might actually give context to questing, even at earlier levels.
My point was that I think there is an audience for an MMO that concentrates on story over stats. Because I am emphatically a part of that audience.
@Helis: From what I can remember, most older RPGs with dialogue trees and morality systems still used the 'good response on top, neutral in the middle, bad at the bottom' formula.
@IMonkey: This MMO player is desperate for attempts at good characters and story and couldn't really care less about gear, levels, or talent points (dungeons are cool by me though).
I'm looking for a game that doesn't go 'oh, don't worry, once you get to the level cap, it gets AWESOME'. I want a game that engages me at the beginning. I'm not saying that The Old Republic is going to be that game, but it sure looks like that's what they're trying to make it. And that sounds great to me.
I'm looking for a game that doesn't go 'oh, don't worry, once you get to the level cap, it gets AWESOME'. I want a game that engages me at the beginning. I'm not saying that The Old Republic is going to be that game, but it sure looks like that's what they're trying to make it. And that sounds great to me.
@Dragorith: This. I had a better time at Tron then I had at Avatar, which was a critical darling hailed as the "future of cinema."
I could, and did, predict every single beat of Avatar. And I've seen pretty much every idea in Avatar presented in other media.
I'm not trying to put down Avatar (I really did enjoy it) so much as I am expressing bewilderment at the relative shellacking that Tron has taken by critics.
Tron actually surprised me, even after having seen and scoured every shot of every trailer. I thought the plot was serviceable and contained more interesting ideas than most other bang bang pew pew CGI-fests. The acting was actually pretty great. And of course, the visuals and soundtrack were awe-inspiring and innovative.
My only real complaint with the movie was the over-use of 'game' metaphors. This might have been cute in the happy-go-lucky original Tron but "The only way to win is not to play, man" just doesn't work with the darker tone of Legacy. Other than that, I was in full-on twelve year-old fist-bumping-the-guy-next-to-me grinning-with-excitement mode.
I could, and did, predict every single beat of Avatar. And I've seen pretty much every idea in Avatar presented in other media.
I'm not trying to put down Avatar (I really did enjoy it) so much as I am expressing bewilderment at the relative shellacking that Tron has taken by critics.
Tron actually surprised me, even after having seen and scoured every shot of every trailer. I thought the plot was serviceable and contained more interesting ideas than most other bang bang pew pew CGI-fests. The acting was actually pretty great. And of course, the visuals and soundtrack were awe-inspiring and innovative.
My only real complaint with the movie was the over-use of 'game' metaphors. This might have been cute in the happy-go-lucky original Tron but "The only way to win is not to play, man" just doesn't work with the darker tone of Legacy. Other than that, I was in full-on twelve year-old fist-bumping-the-guy-next-to-me grinning-with-excitement mode.
It wouldn't really be a Michel Gondry film if it wasn't at least sort of a mess, wouldn't it?
@mkirkland: Ugliness can be beautiful, when done artfully. That's one of the great powers of art.
@cptkrush: My sarcasm detector went off just in time to prevent a very angry response to this comment.
That said, good point. Bioware can pretty much do no wrong.
That said, good point. Bioware can pretty much do no wrong.
@drizzt_rocks: Wow, I guess I missed the part where the people in the video said "Fuck you, asshole" to straight kids who are being bullied.
These are gay people concerned about the epidemic of teen suicide that is overwhelmingly affecting gay teens. That is a noble cause, and it takes some seriously cynical, fucked-up backwards logic to interpret these videos as a selfish, insular message that purposefully shuns straight kids.
Of course bullying of straight kids is an issue, and I seriously doubt that anyone involved in the It Gets Better campaign would say otherwise. But suicide rates for gay teens are astronomically higher than for straight teens.
I'm seriously bewildered and saddened at how many people can look at a campaign that's doing a lot to PREVENT PEOPLE FROM KILLING THEMSELVES AT A YOUNG AGE and only think "Well, it doesn't relate to me, so fuck it."
These are gay people concerned about the epidemic of teen suicide that is overwhelmingly affecting gay teens. That is a noble cause, and it takes some seriously cynical, fucked-up backwards logic to interpret these videos as a selfish, insular message that purposefully shuns straight kids.
Of course bullying of straight kids is an issue, and I seriously doubt that anyone involved in the It Gets Better campaign would say otherwise. But suicide rates for gay teens are astronomically higher than for straight teens.
I'm seriously bewildered and saddened at how many people can look at a campaign that's doing a lot to PREVENT PEOPLE FROM KILLING THEMSELVES AT A YOUNG AGE and only think "Well, it doesn't relate to me, so fuck it."
