The Video Game Critic

While I mainly post my own stuff I've recruited a few RPG experts (aka the RPG Crew) over the years to help take care of those time-consuming games and fill in some of the gaps in my reviews. These guys usually provide some very extensive reviews which I edit and trim down to fit the style of the site.

I think some people really enjoy this "feature" because it expands the scope of the site, incorporating some interesting titles I would not otherwise cover. On the other hand I have heard from others that say they only come to the site to hear my opinions and don't want the site to be cluttered with other people's reviews.

There has been some talk lately about expanding the RPG crew, or maybe even branching out to have guest reviewers cover other genres, such as download-only digital games.

I'd like to hear your thoughts.

I think it'd still clearly be your site, and I doubt anybody would argue otherwise. There doesn't have to be a ton of them, I'd say the rate which you post RPG reviews would fit here too. And like others have also said, theres a whole world of games that aren't getting covered here, and having some way to include them could only benefite the site as a whole. You appreciate creativity and newness, and there's no better place to find that than today's indie market. A more casual, obviously not paid off by game companies, site like this would be a great source of publicity for them. But since you (understandably) don't like downloading games, that's where we'd come in.

Also, I just really want to review the Phoenix Wright trilogy!

Well, first, I think your personal reviews are much more heavily valued. Over 20 years, you've naturally built a rapport with your readers that a guest reviewer could never replicate. Because of that rapport, people also like to see your personal take on their favorite games .. it means a lot less to them if it's just John Doe's take. And then there's the consistency of it all .. with one guy doing most of the reviews, readers understand your scores more easily and can compare them directly to your takes on other games. And it helps that your scores are usually on point with most people agreeing.

All of that said, I think the RPG guest reviews have been great for the site. It's a popular genre, especially among retro gamers, so it's a big void if it isn't covered. A simple example was Final Fantasy VII. I'd have loved to see a VGC review of that one. But it just wasn't in the cards, and ptdebate stepped up and did an excellent guest review. Having that guest review filled a glaring omission in the PS1 reviews that otherwise would still be there. And like DaHeck pointed out, the guest reviews are pretty infrequent, so I think they're more of a help than a distraction overall. I'm not against expanding their scope a bit, especially if it's covering areas that you wouldn't otherwise cover.

In that regard, I do think covering more download-only games (especially the top tier games) would be good for the site, because many of those games appeal to retro gamers. Like with RPGs, it would be good to get your take on those, but if that isn't in the cards than I'm not against guest review versions.

I like em. Especially since you won’t review certain genres like RPG’s. Don’t let none of that stinking digital only rubbish peaking its ugly head onto this site though. Don’t want that nonsense. Let’s face it you’re a fuddy-duddy, a dinosaur, an antiquated gamer a retro gamer if you will. That’s part of your charm and appeal. That’s what makes you unique. Don’t go on trying to appeal to that demographic. That ain’t you.

Tron wrote:I like em. Especially since you won’t review certain genres like RPG’s. Don’t let none of that stinking digital only rubbish peaking its ugly head onto this site though. Don’t want that nonsense. Let’s face it you’re a fuddy-duddy, a dinosaur, an antiquated gamer a retro gamer if you will. That’s part of your charm and appeal. That’s what makes you unique. Don’t go on trying to appeal to that demographic. That ain’t you.

That's something I don't understand. Making games download only might be inconvenient to the aforementioned fuddy duddies, but they're not like that out of spite. What games are download only? Mostly indie games. Why? Because it costs roughly nine and a half butt loads of money (if you'll excuse my academic jargon) to make and distribute physical media. But indie titles are also where 99% of modern gaming's imagination and creativity go. That's where Undertale, Celeste, and [insert your favorite snooty walking simulator here] got their big break. So no offense, but I think ignoring downloadable games is one of the biggest mistakes any serious game critic could make.

DaHeckIzDat wrote:

Tron wrote:I like em. Especially since you won’t review certain genres like RPG’s. Don’t let none of that stinking digital only rubbish peaking its ugly head onto this site though. Don’t want that nonsense. Let’s face it you’re a fuddy-duddy, a dinosaur, an antiquated gamer a retro gamer if you will. That’s part of your charm and appeal. That’s what makes you unique. Don’t go on trying to appeal to that demographic. That ain’t you.

That's something I don't understand. Making games download only might be inconvenient to the aforementioned fuddy duddies, but they're not like that out of spite. What games are download only? Mostly indie games. Why? Because it costs roughly nine and a half butt loads of money (if you'll excuse my academic jargon) to make and distribute physical media. But indie titles are also where 99% of modern gaming's imagination and creativity go. That's where Undertale, Celeste, and [insert your favorite snooty walking simulator here] got their big break. So no offense, but I think ignoring downloadable games is one of the biggest mistakes any serious game critic could make.

Good point. Maybe some of those indie developers could create a business arrangement to put a collection of their games on disc.

Any "fuddy duddy" that refuses to consider download only games because of their retro gamer roots is not only missing out on some of the best games of the past 15 years, but also, missing out on exactly the type of games that would appeal most to someone with retro gamer roots.

I’ve never played Final Fantasy 7, or I did for 2 minutes and turned it off. I don’t know how good it is although having a million cds isn’t exactly what I have in mind. I don’t know, it just seemed like the A+ might have been from that person loving it personally.

I played FF7 for about an hour and while it ended up not being for me (as a non RPG fan), I can see why it’s perceived as great for the time. So, it’s nice to have those reviews done by people who “get” the genre.

In terms of indie games, those tend to be both cheap and small storage space, so download is often the way to go with those. I think I paid $6 for Celeste and it’s like 200mbs.

Retro STrife wrote:Any "fuddy duddy" that refuses to consider download only games because of their retro gamer roots is not only missing out on some of the best games of the past 15 years, but also, missing out on exactly the type of games that would appeal most to someone with retro gamer roots.

That wasn’t right of me to speak for the Critic and calling him names. My apologies. I’m the “fuddy fuddy” and speaking only for myself it’s about ownership of property. I like to own what I purchase. I know it’s an archaic belief system, but one I struggle with letting go. Heck we don’t even really own property anymore. The govt. forces taxes so that nothing is actually owned. Biden is proposing a “stepped-up basis plan” which will only further force people to lose their property.