Venetica - Review @ GameSpot

Dear Capt'n, it wasn't me complaining about the ratio of all male to all female protagonists, the availability of romance, sexual relations of whatever coloration or I don't know what. Nor was I defending any game. It was you who was loudmouthing about a female only protagonist being the worst, and complaining about a trend that will Apparently bereft you of manhood and gaming joy, when in fact this is an odd exception from the rule. You roar all you want now, we are very impressed.

I for one enjoy a game equally when playing as a female or a male character. And yes I do feel I am role playing and being immersed even when playing as a woman. But in my opinion that role is not me, I am 'playing a role'

I didn't loudmouth about anything, I said that for me the worst was how I had to play not only as a female, but a female with a forced romance, motivations etc from the getgo. Just like so many women and homosexuals spam messageboards with threads about how games don't cater to their preferences. The fun started afterwards.

And like I've said, claiming that Venetica is an odd exception to the rule is near-sighted. Are there going to be a lot more female-only rpg like venetica? No.
Are studios actively changing the kind of games they design to better accommodate audiences who don't like rpgs as they are? Yes. Just look at bioware, its biomances are getting bigger and bigger while the roleplaying content is getting smaller, in ME4 you'll do nothing but shoot through a corridor then romance a little, rinse and repeat. Look at leisure suit geralt, no more casual sex, just romance, not even nudity when it makes sense just so it doesn't offend women.

I don't have a problem with romance in games, I do however hate those dime a dozen pink romance books and that kind of crap seems to be what they're going for when they think of catering to women, just look at ME2's romance collecting aspect, all trite disposable romances that have nothing to do with the story or gameplay.

KapitanUnterhosen said:

I AM MAN, HEAR ME ROAR!

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I'm deaf on one ear

KapitanUnterhosen said:

... I do however hate those dime a dozen pink romance books...

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You mad, eh?

"Discussion" about female protagonists aside, the general intensity of your hate would make any student of Freud rather happy about finding such an exquisite specimen to study...

Are you so insecure that even a seemingly forgettable game like Venetica can send you in rage mode - because it happens to have a girl as a main character?

Of all things to be really mad about....oh boy.

tolknaz said:

That would depend on weather it would be a good crpg . I doubt a good crpg could be made with such a protagonist but you never know. Maybe a malevolent wizard has cast a spell in the beginning of the game, transforming my character into a toyball. The gameplay would consist of either trying desperately to roll away from playful dogs and evil toddlers, using stealth to hide or using bounce attacks if you are more of an akshun loving player. Fuck, sounds more like a platformer than an rpg. Guess it's my limited imagination.

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Nah, sounds like you have a nice imagination

The point, though, was that it's not about having to actually be the person in question - but about how we approach games differently.

Now, I would never argue against female-only protagonists - because I think there should be room for all kinds of games. It's probably not a wise financial thing to do in most cases, but I've never been one to care about how much money something makes.

But, personally, I always try to immerse myself into the role - and I always prefer playing a character as close to myself as possible. That's because I enjoy taking my own persona into the game, and doing what I would do given those circumstances.

I find it really hard to immerse myself in the female psyche - and I tend to not play games that have female-only protagonists - because I don't like not being able to immerse myself.

It depends on the game, naturally, and there are games like Tomb Raider - where I don't really play a role and I don't really get to make a difference by behaving a certain way. So I don't mind, though I'd still prefer a male character.

But, in a CRPG, I consider it vital to be able to play a character that I can relate to. That's also why I almost exclusively play human characters or the closest thing to it - because I can't really relate to anything else.

But I understand that other players approach games differently. Some people like to play different roles and they don't so much immerse themselves in the role, as they do in the game itself.

zadokAllen said:

the general intensity of your hate would make any student of Freud rather happy about finding such an exquisite specimen to study…

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Borrowing a quote from the doctor:

Freud said:

Yo momma

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My "momma", eh? Now you`ve shown your true colours, son. Which is good.

I`m sure you`re familiar with this, since your rhetoric is not much different. But to remind others the joys of sexizm, here`s lil` Tom Cruise in Magnolia.

Respect is a beautiful thing

I like playing as a female character, because I'm prettier to look at that way. If I have a choice of whose backside I'd rather look at for 40 hours, it's going to be a woman's every day.

I'm not sure if that's sexist or inclusive. Probably sexist. Oh well.

Anderson said:

I like playing as a female character, because I'm prettier to look at that way. If I have a choice of whose backside I'd rather look at for 40 hours, it's going to be a woman's every day.

I'm not sure if that's sexist or inclusive. Probably sexist. Oh well.

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I hear this argument all the time, and all I have to wonder is why people are spending 40 hours staring at someone's ass

Hey, we all have our priorities.

I'm kidding, of course. I'm just saying I prefer to look at a female vs. male avatar.

DArtagnan said:

I hear this argument all the time, and all I have to wonder is why people are spending 40 hours staring at someone's ass

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all depends on what youre into, lol

To come back about the OP, and the review quoted, this guy reviewed the three versions of the game, 360, PS3 and PC…. He really wants make us believe that?

To come back to some points of the review. Yes there's a map bug, it took me time to quote it because it appears only once per game session and I played only few long game sessions. The point is when you open the map it could not be centered on the area where you are, this area being in bottom right corner.

But there's a simple way to solve it, just click the cross box with a message that explain you to use the action key to setup a goal, this close the map. Then reopen the map and the problem is solved. Quote that close and reopen the map with the shortkey only seems not always work to solve the bug, but close the map with the cross box seems always work to solve it. Also I always seen it only once per game launch.

For the fights that are only feast clicking this is totally wrong unlike in Gothic 3, The Witcher and quite more big RPG. A reviewer writing that for this game seems be such an idiot or a liar, because the game manage many points to discourage you do that. If you do that stupidly most if not all opponents will stop your attacks by block and counter attack severly. The game requires use counter attack or dodge and attack or attack and dodge, plus dodge enemy attacks. It's in fact quite close to Gothic 2+NOTR except the commands are a bit harder and the game seems not offer the same enemy diversity for the the same game length. I played 15hours the game, and in G2+NOTR during the first 15hours of play you'll met more different enemies if I remeber well.

I won't pick all other points of the review that seems quite wrong, or exaggerated, or unfair, just wanted answer about the fights and the map bug.