Looking for Replacement News: PC Gamer

[Luridis]

I'm out... I'm really just fed up with that place. I'm looking for a much smaller site, with far less groupthink morons talking trash, and reviews that don't look like they were written by the publisher.

 

Does anyone know of an outlet like that?

 

And yes, I tried google, it's not helpful in dozens of pages, maybe even a hundred.

 

The real internet is word of mouth these days, can't trust anything in a search anymore. (I miss webcrawler.)

[Orogun01]

I'm out... I'm really just fed up with that place. I'm looking for a much smaller site, with far less groupthink morons talking trash, and reviews that don't look like they were written by the publisher.

 

Does anyone know of an outlet like that?

 

And yes, I tried google, it's not helpful in dozens of pages, maybe even a hundred.

 

The real internet is word of mouth these days, can't trust anything in a search anymore. (I miss webcrawler.)

Pretty much, word of mouth and insight is how I get my news since a while back.

 

Maybe there are some other forums that discuss games more avidly than this one, on general (and if you have a strong stomach) I would recommend one of the chans (infinity preferred not that half one) since they act as a good filter for a lot of stuff and can even come up with some good content. They don't follow games as avidly and sometimes they just do it out of spite (most times) Other than that, I would say just watching for upcoming games. Ever since AAA has dried out the market there aren't that many games to get hyped for.

[Malcador]

I normally skim the 'games' subreddit for game news, then read on from there. Other than that just things you pick up over forums like this one.

[Blarghagh]

Generally I use word of mouth and some YouTubers, though I do peruse The Escapist and GameFront.

[Luckmann]

 

I'm out... I'm really just fed up with that place. I'm looking for a much smaller site, with far less groupthink morons talking trash, and reviews that don't look like they were written by the publisher.

 

Does anyone know of an outlet like that?

 

And yes, I tried google, it's not helpful in dozens of pages, maybe even a hundred.

 

The real internet is word of mouth these days, can't trust anything in a search anymore. (I miss webcrawler.)

Pretty much, word of mouth and insight is how I get my news since a while back.

 

Maybe there are some other forums that discuss games more avidly than this one, on general (and if you have a strong stomach) I would recommend one of the chans (infinity preferred not that half one) since they act as a good filter for a lot of stuff and can even come up with some good content. They don't follow games as avidly and sometimes they just do it out of spite (most times) Other than that, I would say just watching for upcoming games. Ever since AAA has dried out the market there aren't that many games to get hyped for.

 

 

While I don't really frequent any chans, Infinitychan is infinitely better than Halfchan.

 

https://8chan.co/v/ is actually survivable compared to Halfchan.

[Fighter]

Gameplay videos and word of mouth are all I've been paying attention to for a while now.

[LadyCrimson]

Gameplay videos and word of mouth are all I've been paying attention to for a while now.

Same....mostly forums, where if I read something intriguing I might then go to YouTube to check out videos or do a general websearch. In the old days I subscribed to paper magazines etc. but since the internet took over I really don't pursue any such websites with regularity.

[Hurlshort]

I just read over my issues of Computer Gaming World from the 80's and early 90's.  

 

 

But really, if it's good, people will talk about it here and I'll buy it.

[Cultist]

There's a magical place in the Internet.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

8chan's /v/ is easily the best. Just don't go there if easily offended.

[HoonDing]

Steam forums are good for early reviews.

[ktchong]

Steam user ratings seem trustworthy.

 

I used to use Metacritic as a gauge.  However, Metacritic seems to have lost its popularity in the past year or so.

 

Nowadays my main sources of game reviews are YouTubers: Angry Joe, (whose taste in gaming closely mirrors mine,) Jeremy Jahns (who may review old games as well as movies,) and Total Biscuit.   A big reason why I like to watch YouTubers like Angry Joe and Jeremy Jahns is their reviews and videos are entertaining to watch.  They are quite the personalities.

 

I know GameSpot, IGN and the major review sites are also on YouTube.  However, when people look for reviews on YouTube, we usually put less weights on the majors.  Frankly, those old-style reviews  are freaking boring to watch.   If I watch a "major" review, I usually skip to the end to look at the final score instead of watching the entire review, which is professionally boring.

 

Here are some YouTube reviewers, so you can understand why they have (IMO) replace dMetacritic and the traditional review outlets (because they are FUN to watch):

 

 

Edited January 10, 2015 by ktchong

[ktchong]

[Tigranes]

Personally I can't stand looking at or listening to them for more than three seconds. But even if you didn't find them offensive to multiple senses, it's not like they know games particularly well compared to anybody else, but you have to give them much more of your time, as well, being in video format. 

 

I get RPG news from the Codex (whatever you think about the forum, they do a good job putting the information together), but I've never really seen the need for 'news'. Here or elsewhere, if it's a game I'm going to like, I'll find out sooner or later, and then I'll make up my mind, I don't need 'reviews'.

[ManifestedISO]

I check about seven pages, each have their strengths and weaknesses, the key is choosing not to brew a steaming hot cup of bias beforehand. Some places scoop others, still more have wacky opinions, there's no reason to give yourself a wedgie over it. Good writing is a joy to read, whether or not they're morons, that's your problem. 

[Keyrock]

Youtubers are whom I mostly go to for game related stuff these days.  A certain Cynical Brit is my go to source for game impressions since his WTF Is videos are extremely informative and thorough, he wears his biases on his sleeve, and he takes the time to try to see things from other people's perspectives.  Angry Joe and Yahtzee I watch for entertainment value because I enjoy their shtick, but not for information purposes, since their videos are piss poor in that department, IMHO.  I'm pretty indifferent toward Jeremy Jahns and PewDiePie straight up makes me want to claw my own ears off, so I avoid his stuff like the plague.

[LadyCrimson]

Yeah, the WTF series can be entertaining. One of the few where I may watch the whole video, vs. just click-skimming.  Although if it's long, I still probably won't watch it all.

 

I do miss magazines. I can read a ton faster than people can time/speak through their videos. Some YT reviewers need to learn how to be a bit more succinct. If you want to babble a whole industry thesis around something you like/don't like in one game, don't call it a review.

[Bendu]

I get my news from GameBanshee, Codex and VG247. If I'm slightly interested in a game, I'm looking for some Let's Plays on YouTube and Steam reviews. Don't care for reviews from the big gaming sites anymore.

[Luridis]

I'm currently grumbling... grumbling because the Tomb Raider reboot started out so nice and then devolved before my very eyes into Lara Croft meets Call of Duty. I really wish I could have seen a decent review of it somewhere.

 

Attention: Gen Y game designers...

 

E,E,E,F & Square, X, Circle from on screen prompts, oh and lets not forget one-pass-impossible-iterative-level-design = Not innovative, in fact... it's pretty effing stupid. Is this really the best you can do? Is this the best you can innovate? It's really terrible, guys & gals made better mechanics with only 8 bit CPUs. But, I guess without the graphics, they had to.

 

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for trying new things and it was looking good at the start, with the pistol and bow. At the outside it might have included a shotgun. But AK-47, RPG and all that jazz... yuck. We already had a scientist protagonist turn super soldier, his name is Gordon Freeman, and he does this kind of thing better.

 

I am so tired at the moment of mechanics fatigue in modern games, when they become so monotonous you wish the hell they would just get out of the way so you can progress the story. I feel like they went all copypasta on the mechanics code from The Last of Us to TR. I could say something about this sort of thing happening when mechanics don't contribute to the story, they become a burden in the eyes of the player and all that.

 

Anywho... TR: Reboot - The game feels like it needs zombies, cause that's how it plays. I mean, can you imagine Indiana Jones carrying a pistol, bow, whip, climbing axe, rpg, ak47, pump action shotgun, etc. I think someone missed the whole point of the original game. Like I said, the addition of the bow was nice, even better the use of rope-on-arrow as grappling hook was a nice touch. But the whole thing just devolved rapidly into an FPS after that.

Edited January 11, 2015 by Luridis

[Luridis]

I'm putting this here to illustrate my previous point. The original game focused on puzzles, atmosphere and some action. In the new version, the action portion of the game has 100x the priority of the other two elements. To be frank, TR2013 feels like more of a "The Last of Us" clone than a member of the Tomb Raider franchise.

 

[Luridis]

Personally I can't stand looking at or listening to them for more than three seconds. But even if you didn't find them offensive to multiple senses, it's not like they know games particularly well compared to anybody else, but you have to give them much more of your time, as well, being in video format. 

 

I get RPG news from the Codex (whatever you think about the forum, they do a good job putting the information together), but I've never really seen the need for 'news'. Here or elsewhere, if it's a game I'm going to like, I'll find out sooner or later, and then I'll make up my mind, I don't need 'reviews'.

 

I have been using some of these and Cynical Brit off and on for years. AngryJoe, however, is simply intolerable. I tried to watch his review of something about 3 weeks ago and all he did was throw a tantrum because he couldn't figure out how the mechanics worked. The fact that he's in love with the new Tomb Raider just reinforced my opinion of him as a d-canoe.

[Keyrock]

My contempt for Torture Porn Raider is well known around these parts, so I agree with Luridis in that regard, but that's going quite off topic, isn't it?  To bring this back on topic, TotalBiscuit very much liked Torture Porn Raider, but also very clearly told people that it is a Tomb Raider game in name only.  Some other reviewers alluded to it too, but only in passing, skimming over the fact that this is a VERY different game than its predecessors, which is failing their readers IMHO.

Edited January 11, 2015 by Keyrock

[Luridis]

My contempt for Torture Porn Raider is well known around these parts, so I agree with Luridis in that regard, but that's going quite off topic, isn't it?  To bring this back on topic, TotalBiscuit very much liked Torture Porn Raider, but also very clearly told people that it is a Tomb Raider game in name only.  Some other reviewers alluded to it too, but only in passing, skimming over the fact that this is a VERY different game than its predecessors, which is failing their readers IMHO.

 

I created the thread, I thought that made me allowed. :D But seriously, if we didn't have any topic deviation, we'd have a lot more threads on this forum. There are places where I think it's a great idea to stay on topic, like the beta forums and whatnot. But, I don't think I've ever complained about someone going off topic in a thread I made, well unless you're talking about someone who's made 20 pages of just trolling or whatever.

 

Are there any modern action games I like? Or an I just being curmudgeonly? I know that the styling, genre and narrative of this particular title don't appeal to everyone, but I thought Alan Wake was well done. So no, I'm not just a guy who's a downer in general on modern games.

[Leferd]

I pretty much just follow several industry people on Twitter who will link interesting articles and industry news. This can be anything from editorials to YouTube videos and it works far better for me than cycling through different urls and occasional hitting refresh for updates.

[Humanoid]

I'm pretty blase about spoilers these days, so I'll outright watch long sequences of long-form gameplay, whether with commentary or not, on games I'm unsure about. I might even read up on the entire plot to avoid another ME3-esque disaster. I've never been fond of surprises anyway.