Risen 3: Titan Lords - Zero Punctuation Review

As some already mentioned, Zero Punctuation videos are first and foremost satires, not actual reviews and like most works of satiric nature, they work best when they make fun of something that is already big and mainstream. So you have to judge Yahtzee based on his videos about military shooters (which are grade A satire IMO), not a cult title like R3.

Also Yahtzee might come off as a jerk in his videos, but in reality, he's actually a very rational and educated (not in an academic sense necessarily) man. This is quite evident in his "extra punctuation" column in which he drops the whole ZP act and analyzes design flaws of video games (like how quest givers are all gathered in the same place in sandbox games) and makes suggestions on how to fix them (spreading quest givers across the map). I think it's very helpful for a game designer to read his extra punctuation column, because he makes some very good and important points in those articles.

As usual, strong opinions here.

I join in the strong opinions except that in my case I very much enjoy his reviews, although I would never ever base a buying decision on one of his reviews. He seems to hate almost everything, even games he enjoys. I watch it for the comedy and insightful comments/bashing about games I enjoy.

I enjoy the comedy aspect as well.

I heart Yahtzee. I can sit and watch his stuff for hours, they aren't all good, but I find him entertaining.

Here, watch some about game you probably hate, see if you feel different.

The elder scrolls online
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/9083-The-Elder-Scrolls-Online-We-Can-MMO-Too

Im sorry for the crappy link style, this surface touch win 8 is trying its best to make me hate it

Yahtzee is a fedora clad nerd with zero charisma and nothing going for him, I really don't get what you peeps see in him. I'd rather sit through pewpewdie's vids than his utterly fecal output.

All is fine and well if you want to be a satirist, but if you're going to be one with a nonchalant and rude attitude, you better be exceptionally witty and well researched to compensate for the abrasiveness. Else it is perceived as egotism and becomes old very quickly.

Dude isn´t funny.

JDR13 said:

I'm not sure if English is your native language

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Troll harder.

killias2 said:

Troll harder.

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I'm sorry you feel that way, but it was only a guess based on how badly you misinterpreted my post.

Or maybe you're just butthurt because some people don't like your ZP guy?

Frozen Fireball said:

As some already mentioned, Zero Punctuation videos are first and foremost satires, not actual reviews and like most works of satiric nature, they work best when they make fun of something that is already big and mainstream.

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I don't know. You and others may appreciate that kind of thing as satire. I just see it as being an asshole. It's easy to take another's work and rip on it. I might be able to tolerate such a thing if a work truly does deserve to be ripped on (such as the expansion to G3... that deserves to be ripped on).

That he has a British accent doesn't distract me from the fact that what he puts out is informational 'fast food' and while it might have an interesting taste, it isn't good for me.

Well, he said he only put 8 hours in it, which is understandable since it gave him flashbacks of Risen 2. I put more than that, and that is just because I remember good games from the past.

PB went a long way from Gothic 1&2. I am now uninterested in anything else they will produce.

Nothing wrong with satire as long as it's funny. Satire and any kind of humor is always at its most funny when something real or something serious is the foundation of it.

Trying to be satirical without a proper understanding of what you're making fun of, only serves to make you look like a fool.

Problem is when the audience itself doesn't understand the nature of the object of fun - because that leads to widespread misunderstanding and misconceptions.

Naturally, if you think such a thing can't generate problems and you don't mind lies and deceit because it's based on "satire" - then that's not necessarily a problem for you.

Personally, I like it best when things are treated according to their nature and if you're going to pass judgment on something - with or without satire - I think it's helpful if you have the knowledge to make it useful or funny.

ZP is a shallow mouthpiece that was fun for a little while until the games themselves became irrelevant.

But that's just because I care about games and I don't particularly enjoy listening to ignorant people putting themselves in the spotlight, screaming for attention and pretending to be edgy and provocative. Such a thing requires insight on a very different level indeed.

But that's just because I care about games and I don't particularly enjoy listening to ignorant people putting themselves in the spotlight, screaming for attention and pretending to be edgy and provocative. Such a thing requires insight on a very different level indeed.

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That sort of thing stops mattering when you realize that the reviews are not based on reality and are more of an Angry Nerd type of thing: acted irrational hatred for comedy value. It's not real, nothing in the review necessarily is. It is not to be taken seriously. And to everyone to whom it applies, stop being offended by what other people say about the things you like.

Naturally, if you think such a thing can't generate problems and you don't mind lies and deceit because it's based on "satire" - then that's not necessarily a problem for you.

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^ ^ This. Except that I realize that it probably can generate problems, just as with all those viral posts on things like Facebook that exaggerate and lie about the worlds problems, often accompanied by photos completely ripped out of context or irrelevant to the subject.

Thaurin said:

That sort of thing stops mattering when you realize that the reviews are not based on reality and are more of an Angry Nerd type of thing: acted irrational hatred for comedy value. It's not real, nothing in the review necessarily is. It is not to be taken seriously. And to everyone to whom it applies, stop being offended by what other people say about the things you like.

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Again, the problem is that it WILL be taken seriously to a degree. People listen to this stuff.

I don't have to tell you how ignorant people can be, do I? Then it spreads and the game gets a bad reputation and it will lose sales to a significant degree if this happens enough.

That's not "nothing" - and yes, it DOES matter.

^ ^ This. Except that I realize that it probably can generate problems, just as with all those viral posts on things like Facebook that exaggerate and lie about the worlds problems, often accompanied by photos completely ripped out of context or irrelevant to the subject.

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You don't seem to realise that. Also, he's speaking to a large audience from a position of supposed insight. That's why people are likely to take it seriously if they enjoy his reviews - and they don't really know anything themselves.

That's the tricky thing about satire. People say it's a joke - but things are said. It goes with anything that's said whether it's humorous or not. The same thing applies if you tell your wife she's a bit of a bitch and you both laugh about it. If you do that enough, eventually it will hurt and it will mean something. That's just how we operate as human beings.

Now, personally, I don't care what people enjoy in terms of fantasy or lies - but when it hurts a developer responsible for quality games - it bothers me. What can I say.

Offended? I don't go around getting offended. That's a different concept altogether.

Even if it hurts them in terms of a single lost sale - that's still something that's of more value than "entertaining stupidity". Well, at least it is to me.

And for other people, a ZP review will mean a sale. You can't really go around and control other people's behavior one way or another without losing your sanity. I tried and chose my sanity.

Thaurin said:

And for other people, a ZP review will mean a sale. You can't really go around and control other people's behavior one way or another without losing your sanity. I tried and chose my sanity.

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One gained sale for a game that doesn't really deserve it isn't particularly great, either.

I'm not trying to control or change anything. I'm saying that I don't think it's a useful thing to talk about the value of something, with or without humor, unless you have insight.

We're talking about a review - and I'm giving you my opinion of that review. If I was trying to change something, I'd probably take it up with ZP.

I'm a great supporter of free speech, and I would never try to forbid having an opinion lacking insight. But I also wouldn't want to live in a world where stupid things couldn't be pointed out by others.

Thaurin said:

And to everyone to whom it applies, stop being offended by what other people say about the things you like.

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OR you could just allow people to have their own opinions, as stupid as you might think they are. Just a thought.

TheMadGamer said:

OR you could just allow people to have their own opinions, as stupid as you might think they are. Just a thought.

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Having an opinion is not the same as taking offence.

Thaurin said:

Having an opinion is not the same as taking offence.

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Well, my opinion was to take offense.