Warning: Extremely Angry Person about to let loose some vitriol. Please stand back... 27 Dec, 2007, 18:42 / 5 comments
Can someone shut John Walker from PC Gamer UK up? Or at least get him to stop reviewing the Sam & Max games? His rampant bitterness is really getting on my nerves.
Yes, I realise anyone who criticises something I love is going to annoy me, but Mr Walker isn't merely saying "sorry, I don't like this" he's taking delight in being the archetypal moody "I hate everything" critic. See Anton Ego in Pixar's Ratatouille if you don't know what I mean. I've read bad reviews of the games before, such as in PCZone, but none of those reviews seem to come from as big a humourless grump as this guy.
In the most recent issue he reviewed Ice Station Santa and Season One. He basically spat on them. He grudgingly admitted that Abe Lincoln Must Die! was the best, but it seemed to cause him actual pain to do so.
Look at my Season One review again. I had a hell of a lot of negatives about it, yet one thing stood out - these games are funny. Fine, sometimes the jokes fall flat, but I still found them utterly hilarious for the most part. Certainly as much as Hit The Road. Reading his reviews John Walker seems certain that no one could possibly find these games funny.
He takes offence at some of the low-brow humour, and mentions (in his oh-so-humourous way) that no one could find topics like cancer or suicide funny. The writers of South Park and Monty Python would probably disagree.
Yes, I also realise it's wrong to criticise someone else's opinion. But for God's sake man, lighten up! Just because you don't find something funny doesn't mean no one else will!
And PC Gamer, get someone else to review the Sam & Max games! Someone who might actually laugh now and again!
And that's my two cents. Sorry about that. He just got me very angry, that's all.
I read a review of Season One in a Swedish magazine a while ago, and I remember that most of the review was about how unfunny it was, and the rest was telling people how stupid they must be if they found anything about it funny.
Then he talked about how he loved HtR, without ever mention why the humor in that one was so much better.
I can respect all this, this is, anyway, just opinions.
The thing that really made me pissed was the score. 8/10.
How could anybody give something such a high score, and at the same time not have, one single positive thing to say about the game... That is beyond me.
Heh, it felt good to get that out of the system.
PS. The same magazine gave Zack & Wiki 6/10, with the only reason that you could die. I'm thinking about quiting that magazine soon.
In general, and rather surprisingly perhaps, British games magazines are the best in the world. Most of the rest of world get thin mags stuffed with adverts. And in the PC world, PC Gamer UK is usually regarded as the best. So it's disheartening that such a miserable old sod could ruin it for so many people. I shudder to think how many customers Telltale have lost to John Walker's reviews.
And Zack & Wiki is supposed to be ace. I'll review it for Mojo if I'm allowed to run it - not being strictly LucasArts related and all.
Cheer up, Tingler. At least you're getting to play the games. Where I am (mac-laptop land) it isn't a luxury I have. :)