Vanguard - Anti-Review @ Gamers with Jobs

Dhruin

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Describing at as an "Anti-Review", Gamers with Jobs has a blistering critique of Vanguard that really lets fly. Here's the summary and hit the link to read why they are so unimpressed:
So, what to say in capping off my thoughts on Vanguard. First, to you Vanguard faithful who, even now, are anxious to point out all the little things that make Vanguard great on which I completely missed the boat possibly because I'm just some World of Warcraft lamer who can't handle a man's MMO, go suck a sock. I don't care about the stuff I missed because the larger picture, the game itself that's supposed to facilitate my giving a crap about the exploration was barely functional, obtuse and uninspiring. To the guys who made Vanguard and for whatever reason maybe put themselves through reading this, I'm sorry to kick your baby down the stairs, but too many game writers these days are so busy tap dancing around offending someone in the industry that they've lost sight of telling consumers not to buy mediocre games. And, finally, to the reader who is wondering if Vanguard is worth playing, had I to do it all over again I sure wouldn't, and my copy was free.
More information.
 
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The reviewer is an idiot. Not because he says Vanguard is crap (it is actually not very good), but because he's someone who wants another WoW although it was clear right from the beginning that Vanguard is adressing a different audience. Also the fact that he is so incredibly upset doesn't add to his credibility. Everyone new what Vanguard would be like, there were enough possiblities to have a look at the game during beta. But I guess that reviewer is one of these jerks that play the beta in hope that everything will be much much better once the game goes live. And whenever another player says something like "omg this game is buggy" in general chat, they instantly shout "dude, it's beta!!!"
I gave up Vanguard after the first 15 minutes of the Beta, because I knew that this would not work out like planned...
 
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Olnigg on the other hand writes two things :

- First, he mentiones that many WOW players say that Vanguard has actually "stolen" things from WOW, but he explains that it is rather the other way round : That Brad McQuaid formerly made EverQuest, from which the makers of WOW actually stole of or from.

- Second, and that'Äs more important, Olnigg actually "commands" the reader to buy Vanguard ! :eek: That's extremely rare !

Given the fact that Olnigg seemingly knows very well how to criticise MMORPGs, that is something worth noting. And no, he doesn't say that this is a bug-free game and one that is perfect and doesn't need polishing anymore.

So different can tastes be.

And I rather follow Olnigg than anybody else. He hasd played nearly all MMORPGs I know of.

I just fear that nowadays someone might call himself a "pro", because he or she just knows WOW and one or two MMORPGs more.
 
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I just fear that nowadays someone might call himself a "pro", because he or she just knows WOW and one or two MMORPGs more.

Well, it's not like Olnigg says the game is perfect. He too criticises quite a few things, especially the fact that the game just isn't a "finished" product yet. You also have to take into account that there seems to be a lot of nostalgia involved in Olnigg's review. He was an Everquest fan, a game that is generally seen as outdated nowadays in terms of gameplay (an opinion hat I don't share). For people who have never played Everquest it can be difficult to understand why Vanguard was created the way it was created.
Olnigg always has been very provocative and I have great difficulties to follow his advice to buy a game. I like to read his blog on occasion, but it's far from being a trustworthy review. After all, it seems to be a very dubious thing to first list the countless flaws of a game and then come to the conclusion that everyone should buy it - based on the sole argument that in Vanguard you have to work for levels, equipment, etc.
It's also fair to assume that Olnigg is quite isolated with his opinions - so far most other reviewers rated Vanguard as being an average MMORPG, a rating that seems to be justified considering the state in which the game was released.
 
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It's also fair to assume that Olnigg is quite isolated with his opinions

He is quite isolated anyway !

That is quite the point why I actually like his reviews !

Now, since everybody follows the hype into WOW, he is isolated, too - since he doesn't like the game at all.
And then he writes that everyone should buy Vanguard!

I'm not sursprised. And everybody reading his blog should well be aware of his cynism, criticism and sarcastic tone in his writings, apart from all the irony !

Being good at reading between the lines is always a good thing. ;)
 
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I just pick up this thread and report that Olnigg admits that he is a so-called "Vanboi".

His newest "article" is written as a kind of complaint about - from his perspective - unfair and sometimes even lying review articles by German gaming magazines (PC Games, Gamestar, 4Players).

At one point I thought it might be interesting to translate all of his articles into the English language for a broader audience, but on the other hand his use of irony, cynism, sarcasm, satire and and idioms is so strong I don't quite believe I would be able to translate all that stuff.

In his sharp complaint, however, he merely points out to a common truth : That German gaming magazines are well known for their ... suboptimally ... investigated articles.
 
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Yeah, I'd say Olnigg's stuff is of Terry Pratchett's caliber, hard to translate. I guess it would help if you were bilingual and a writer.
 
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I am, but only on a quite low degree. ;)
I don't think I would dare translating this stuff, because of all of the subtleties ...
 
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