Home Gaming FFD: When it comes to games, is skill necessary for enjoyment?

FFD: When it comes to games, is skill necessary for enjoyment?

2 min read
190

gitgud

There’s been much grumbling and humming since Polygon released a video in which it was quite clear that the person playing was struggling with the controls. My assumption is that it’s a PC player struggling with a controller, or a console player struggling with a Mouse and Keyboard; favoured inputs from different camps that take quite a bit of practice to become accustomed to.

It’s brought in to question player skill – and created a whole new bunch of questions over not just whether reviewers should be good at the games they play, but also whether or not regular consumers should as well. It’s even got RPS’s John Walker to editorialise about it – and how the “Git Gud” culture around games is a bit rubbish.

As far as reviews go, Walker says “In this mess people have lost sight of what a review is for. It’s not a world-leading gaming expert explaining how they’re best at it – it’s a regular gamer who is hopefully an expert writer, eloquently describing their experience of the game. The farther a person drifts from this criteria, the less useful the criticism becomes to the largest number of readers. And in turn, the presentation of such high expectations, such high demands to be considered acceptable, puts off those reading, regular players of games, makes them feel unwelcome. It has a huge impact.”

The takeaway message is this:

“Shaming people for being less “good” at a game is gross. Requiring those writing commentary/recording footage of the experience of playing a game to be better than you at it is infantile and irrational. Games are not a competition, unless they’re a competitive game. So go have fun, and enjoy everyone else having fun.”

And I have to agree. I’m not especially good at…well any games. I can hold my own in most 2D fighters, and I’m pretty handy at a platformer. I can play Gears of War’s multiplayer well enough, and have been merely sufficient at twin stick 3rd person shooters. I am, frankly, a bit rubbish at FPs games, but I don’t think that really affects my enjoyment of them, or my ability to critique them.

But what of you? Do you think it’s necessary to be good at games to enjoy them, and is it necessary to be good at them to review them?

Last Updated: May 20, 2016

190 Comments

  1. Ottokie

    May 20, 2016 at 10:34

    Not really…but it does help A LOT.

    Reply

  2. Ottokie

    May 20, 2016 at 10:35

    Who here has ever played a Rocket League match against someone that spammed “git gud” in chat only to lose the game in the last minute against you.?

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief Protector

      May 20, 2016 at 10:36

      OOOH OOOH OOOH is it the Lagz allstars?

      Reply

      • Ottokie

        May 20, 2016 at 10:59

        We did not win in the last minute…we won from the start xD

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Protector

          May 20, 2016 at 11:05

          No man, yousa Tubesa

          Reply

    • Matthew Holliday

      May 20, 2016 at 11:25

      oh ya, rocket league was a thing, i should play that again this weekend befor all my ranking goes to waste

      Reply

    • Matthew Holliday

      May 20, 2016 at 11:28

      although, surprisingly doesnt happen often, people leaving when theyr 2-0 in 1v1 is about as rude as ive experienced. be nice to them first and they dont QQ

      Reply

      • Ottokie

        May 20, 2016 at 11:33

        I am always nice. But if the opponent spams shyt I am going to be a “bad winner” 😛

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          May 20, 2016 at 11:40

          I got someone to rage quit once while playing Loadout. Killed him with splash damage, he starts bitching about “no skill”, so i asked if he’s so skillful why’d he die instead of me?

          Reply

          • Matthew Holliday

            May 20, 2016 at 11:44

            thats like playing Overwatch and the dude playing Bastion asks “but why you dead bro?”
            because Bastion.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:47

            “You didn’t kill me the right way!”

            I’m pragmatic in PVP. Dead is dead, don’t care how as long as you’re dead & not me.

    • HairyEwok

      May 20, 2016 at 12:52

      Had plenty of guys I play against that literally win with a an overtime goal… Then proceed with ez game.. EZ GAME NOOB!

      Reply

  3. Pariah

    May 20, 2016 at 10:36

    It depends on 2 things. 1) the type of game. 2) the type of gamer.

    Borderlands is fun no matter how good you are. Dark souls requires you be an expert on its mechanics before you start to enjoy the game. Platformers can be both as well. Some require split-second precision (Valdis Story) – and others are just a joyful romp no matter your skill.

    Also, if you don’t want to “git gud” then don’t play the games that require it. Play similar games that don’t and have fun, for fucks sake. That’s why we play games. Fun.

    Reply

  4. Admiral Chief Protector

    May 20, 2016 at 10:37

    If you have to CONSTANTLY revive your teammate, then it gets old (unless you are going for the revive achievement)

    Reply

    • Pariah

      May 20, 2016 at 10:37

      Oi, leave poor Ottokie alone. He’s a nice enough guy.

      Reply

      • Ottokie

        May 20, 2016 at 10:38

        I went down ONE time on Tuesday xD

        Reply

        • Pariah

          May 20, 2016 at 10:38

          DOME

          Reply

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 10:38

            WTF is a DOME!!!

          • Pariah

            May 20, 2016 at 10:38

            DOME OTTO DOMEE!!

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 10:39

            xD

            That chat

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 10:39

            (This comment was sponsored by Lagz Discord) T’s and C’s apply

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 10:40

            xD

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 10:42

            DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 10:42

            “shield!” ooooohhh that’s what you mean

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:05

            DOOOOOOOOOOOME

        • Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

          May 20, 2016 at 10:39

          • Pariah

            May 20, 2016 at 10:39

            Is… Is that… A seal of disapproval? O_o

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 10:40

            Where have you been all week!

          • Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

            May 20, 2016 at 10:44

            Sick leave. though 2 of my 4 days off was spent at the office 🙁

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 10:45

            Well that sucks.

  5. Raptor Rants

    May 20, 2016 at 10:40

    Not at all.

    You don’t need to be good to enjoy a game.

    All that matters is that YOU have fun. I don’t care if someone else enjoys it or not. Their joy my joy.

    Reply

    • Pariah

      May 20, 2016 at 10:40

      Keep telling yourself that.

      NOOB.

      Reply

      • Raptor Rants

        May 20, 2016 at 10:41

        Joins your team just to make sure you fail.

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Protector

          May 20, 2016 at 10:41

          I vote for Llew vs Pariah Warframe 1v1

          Reply

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 10:44

            PFSH. Valkyr ability makes me invul. Win.

          • Pariah

            May 20, 2016 at 10:45

            I’m busy building one of my own, don’t worry scrub. Invlun vs invuln.

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 10:45

            looool

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:09

            What is invlun?

          • Pariah

            May 20, 2016 at 11:10

            It’s Russian. You wouldn’t understand.

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:10

            CYKA INVLUN NUB NUB

          • Viking Of Science

            May 20, 2016 at 11:10

            He means Hysteria…. 😛

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:11

            I know, just giving him sh!t about spelling 😛

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:04

            …not for ever.

            So, challenge accepted?

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:05

            yes

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:05

            Tonight, on Lazygamer.tv
            Pariah vs Rants

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:06

            I can keep the invulnerability up for an hour. pffff

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:06

            That’s not what she said!

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:07

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:07

            Nope. It’s what she gasped

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:08

            BOOOM

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:07

            I can beat Valkyr with Limbo. Come at me, bro! tee hee

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:07

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:08

            That’s just unfair

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:09

            How to piss off every Valkyr main in under 1 second. 😀

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:09

            Bwahahahaha

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:09

            I don’t even main, and that pisses me off xD

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:09

            AAAAAAAAAAAAAND FFD is now WFFD

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:10

            Same same

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:10

            Still awesome

          • Viking Of Science

            May 20, 2016 at 11:09

            Oh, You guys can fight it out, While my Loki Sneaks up decapitates you with dread the instant invuln runs out.

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:09

            *LokiP

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:12

            Oh wait, even better… Vauban.

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:13

            *come and hang around 😛

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:13

            Hey
            I just met you
            And it seems crazy
            But hang around
            I’ll kill you maybe

          • Captain JJ bound

            May 20, 2016 at 11:14

            *facepalms

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:15

            Nezha is done building, time to maybe get a new main frame 😛

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:21

            Oh nice!

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:22

            I love her/his 4th ability.

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:23

            I need like, all her parts.

            Time to do some sorties, for those lenses we spoke of

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:24

            I am pretty sure nezha is a “he”

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:24

            I’ll let you know, if I build it one day

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:13

            Dat trailer

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:14

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:21

            lol

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:15

            Yes. Amped!

            And then you see the farming & building requirements… well… crap. O_o

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:15

            “I knew I should have done that Nitain alert”

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:17

            Those alerts are a dime a dozen.

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:17

            4 every day

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:17

            MF Cryotic. Build extractor, complete extraction, run to the ooooooooooother side of the giant map, repeat.

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:18

            On what are you spending all that Cryotic? I have never had the need to farm it

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:21

            Sibear – 30k Cryotic. Inaros alt helm – 3k Cryotic. Trinity P was around 9k? Cryotic. Formorian Disruptors – 300 Cryotic per one. Couple of other things, I forget.

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:24

            Dropped a Scindo Prime BP yesterday

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:24

            Scindo is fun…ish

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:24

            Too slow too big too mainstream 😛

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:25

            That’s what she said?

          • Ottokie

            May 20, 2016 at 11:26

            Was waiting for this xD

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:21

            That new OP hammer

          • Viking Of Science

            May 20, 2016 at 11:23

            Farming’s not that bad… it’s the MFing 20 Nitain & 7000 Oxium… Soo many Baal Runs to do :/

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:24

            ALL DAT OXIUM!

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:27

            I actually have all of that haha. Sitting on 30k Oxium & I don’t even know how I got it, because I tapped that out researching & building the grattler. Cryotic is the painful one for me, extraction can be dull at times.

          • Viking Of Science

            May 20, 2016 at 11:29

            just run Tikal on earth, Extractors are reasonably close, In some spots you can solo defend 2 at once. And run with Ember, That’s how I Farm for Cryotic.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:31

            Pffft. Git gub n00b! Heiracon with Vauban like a boss with skillz.

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:31

            Git gub? Why not GIT GUD with spelling first?

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:32

            I’m hungry. Need my grub to get gud.

          • Viking Of Science

            May 20, 2016 at 11:34

            Bitch, Heiracon’s for R5 FC’s and keys, Cryotic is secondary on those runs. 😛

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:37

            A Tenno craves all these things.

          • Captain JJ bound

            May 20, 2016 at 11:13

            What about Hitler?!
            I have no idea what’s going on.

        • Viking Of Science

          May 20, 2016 at 11:13

          BTW, I have spare Loki Prime: 2xBlueprints and 1xHelm if anyone’s willing to trade

          Reply

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:14

            I must see how much LokiP I have left to get

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:14

            Systems gonna be pricey

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:15

            I actually think I might have a systems

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:21

            DO NOT SELL THAT!

          • Viking Of Science

            May 20, 2016 at 11:16

            Better to trade/buy now before The Plat costs skyrocket…

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:17

            I think it’s already spiked

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:19

            huehuehue. Wonder how much I’ll get for selling a full set in a year from now.

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:22

            1000

    • GooseZA

      May 20, 2016 at 10:42

      Spoken like a true scrub.

      Git Gud!

      Reply

    • Admiral Chief Protector

      May 20, 2016 at 10:42

      GIT REKT NOOB

      Reply

  6. Kromas untamed

    May 20, 2016 at 10:43

    Depends on SP or MP mainly. You can get away with being bad and still greatly enjoying a single player game. The only exception is DS series of games.

    Reply

    • Pariah

      May 20, 2016 at 10:44

      Oh there are many instances of SP games where you need to be good to enjoy it. DS is defs not the only one.

      Reply

      • Kromas untamed

        May 20, 2016 at 10:48

        Can honestly say that the best SP games out there are all happy with noobs playing it.

        Reply

  7. Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

    May 20, 2016 at 10:44

    Bought Binding of Isaac DLC, have died 11 times without completing the game once.
    Finished Doom, gonna play it on Ultra Violence next, expecting to die a lot.
    Can’t get enough of Souls games even though I die a lot.
    FTL…. nuff said
    I’m not the best at the above mentioned but I love playing them. I’m out, these pills are making me see things
    http://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aE7mjXM_460sa.gif

    Reply

    • Strawman Jim

      May 20, 2016 at 10:47

      Damn, that’s me on a monday morning

      Reply

    • Pariah

      May 20, 2016 at 10:48

      • Dutch Matrix

        May 20, 2016 at 10:52

        Reply

        • Strawman Jim

          May 20, 2016 at 11:06

          I have an unbelievable crush on this woman! TATIANA BE MY WAIFU!!!! #ORPHANBLACKNUMBER1FAN

          http://tvandfilmreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Tatiana-Maslany.jpg

          Reply

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:30

            Alison is bestest clone!

          • Strawman Jim

            May 20, 2016 at 11:32

            Hahaha I love this show. I’ve been binge watching since last week. It’s just amazing that she’s so good in the different roles. Each clone feels like the character is played by a different actress.

            The weirdest part is when she plays a clone who’s pretending to be another clone… and you’re sitting there thinking.. “DAAAAMMMMNNNNNNN GIRL BE MY WAIFU!!”

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:44

            If she doesn’t end up with a breakout movie role soon I’m going to be very surprised.

          • Strawman Jim

            May 20, 2016 at 12:34

            She is a thousand times better than Julia Roberts and a million times better than Angelina Jolie. I sincerely hope that she gets an awesome breakout movie role and win an oscar!

      • Ottokie

        May 20, 2016 at 10:57

        Well this section is getting minimized xD

        Reply

      • Hammersteyn_hates_Raid0

        May 20, 2016 at 11:02

        Thanks for the nightmare fuel XD

        Reply

        • Pariah

          May 20, 2016 at 11:06

          You’re welcome 😀

          Reply

    • Admiral Chief Protector

      May 20, 2016 at 11:08

      FTL, hehehe, I’m about 700 hours over being a noob

      Reply

    • Captain JJ bound

      May 20, 2016 at 11:09

      Well that does it
      *calls psychiatrist*

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief Protector

        May 20, 2016 at 11:10

        Speeddial #2 eh?

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief Protector

          May 20, 2016 at 11:10

          CUZ #1 IS YOMAMMA!

          Reply

        • Captain JJ bound

          May 20, 2016 at 11:10

          #3

          Reply

    • miaau

      May 20, 2016 at 11:50

      There are childr-, um, people of sensitive dispositions here!

      Like me.

      Joins Captain JJ at the psychiatrist, hoping for some magic drug to remove memories.

      Reply

    • geel slang

      May 20, 2016 at 12:23

      I tried playing on ultra-violence, its a big jump in difficulty from hurt me plenty, good luck.

      Reply

  8. oVg whippersnapper

    May 20, 2016 at 10:44

    LOTS, I know somebody who died more than 20 times trying to defeat the end boss of Uncharted 4 and he gave up. I did it in one go because I did what the prompts told me to do. The poor dude could not even get past the Crash Bandicoot section. Pacing, ruined.

    I also got a Laymen into GTA. He gave up because he did not know how to work the map and had no idea where to go to activate the next mission.

    Reply

  9. Strawman Jim

    May 20, 2016 at 10:47

    If you’re working for Polylolygon clearly skill is not a prerequisite, shitlord! HAHAHAHAHAHAHHA

    Oh polylolygon!!! Clearly you checked your privilege (aka dick) too much before firing!

    https://youtu.be/JHD0UhSFivs

    Reply

    • Strawman Jim

      May 20, 2016 at 10:52

      Seriously though, for the average consumer skill shouldn’t matter. You’re buying the game for YOUR enjoyment. Whether you’re good or bad is immaterial to whether YOU ENJOY IT. As for Polygon, they’re supposed to be professionals. If they do not possess the skill or expertise in a specific genre, then they’re not fit to review said title. It’s as simple as that.

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief Protector

        May 20, 2016 at 12:29

        Exactly

        Reply

  10. Original Heretic

    May 20, 2016 at 10:48

    If you enjoy the game, it doesn’t matter how good or not good you are. Me, personally, if I jam multi against whoever, and I keep dying, it irks me. So I make an effort to play better, because hey, I’m competitive and I don’t like losing.
    But as per some of the comments I’ve read below, it really depends on the game. I can die 100 times in Dark Souls and still keep going, knowing that it’s only minor adjustments that need to be made in order to progress and see more of that beautifully made game (some of the scenery really just makes me sit back in awe).
    And for someone hopping from PC to console or vice versa that’s struggling? Well, I can tell you from experience that practice really helps. My one mate was TERRIBLE at console games when he started out, he was a guaranteed kill in any game we jammed together. But now, it’s always between him and me for who comes out on top if we all jam together.

    Reply

  11. Alien Emperor Trevor

    May 20, 2016 at 10:50

    If you’re having fun playing the game, no – even if you’re not particularly good at it. It’s your game, you play it however you want, the whole point is to enjoy the experience and if you are then your skill level is irrelevant.

    It’s trickier when it comes to MP games because then your skill affects others, positively or negatively. If you’re dragging your team down people might get upset because some people take it really seriously – particularly the competitive side of MP. Still no reason to be a complete dick to someone, but I can understand the frustration it can cause.

    For reviewers however I think they do need to at least exhibit competency while playing the game. I’m not going to trust an FPS review from someone who’s looking confused by basic game play. It’s like having movie reviews written by someone who thinks Transformers movies are the pinnacle of story telling.

    And then you just get the people whose giant e-peens need attention.

    Reply

    • Pariah

      May 20, 2016 at 10:50

      tl;dr

      Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        May 20, 2016 at 11:15

        For you it is more like tl;cr

        Reply

    • Raptor Rants

      May 20, 2016 at 10:52

      tl;dr

      Reply

    • Strawman Jim

      May 20, 2016 at 10:53

      dr;potato;tl

      Reply

    • Ottokie

      May 20, 2016 at 10:57

      tl;dr

      Reply

    • Dutch Matrix

      May 20, 2016 at 10:57

      Hands off the Transformers MOVIE!

      Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      May 20, 2016 at 10:59

      tl;dr

      Damn you peer pressure!

      Reply

  12. For the Emperor!

    May 20, 2016 at 10:57

    I play games to enjoy them and relax. If a game is difficult but I still enjoy it, it is OK. If I do not enjoy the struggle, I set the game to “noob mode” and play it. Then later when I am better at it, I set it to “pro mode”. Once in a while I do enjoy more of a challenge, but sometimes I just wanna chillax! Depends on the game, the mood, and the amount of time available. But reviews from “noobs” are not a bad thing, as many “noobs” might be interested in the game.

    Reply

  13. Strawman Jim

    May 20, 2016 at 11:05

    GIT GUD ARHUR GIES

    Reply

  14. Captain JJ bound

    May 20, 2016 at 11:07

    No ways. I’m terrible at many games and I don’t enjoy them any less.

    Reply

    • miaau

      May 20, 2016 at 12:09

      SP or MP?

      Reply

      • Captain JJ bound

        May 23, 2016 at 10:26

        MP. I’m terrible at MP.
        You can’t really be bad at SP since you can just change the difficulty.

        Reply

  15. Dutch Matrix

    May 20, 2016 at 11:12

    I suck at sex. Doesn’t stop me from enjoying it! So why should it matter for games then?

    Reply

    • Ottokie

      May 20, 2016 at 11:12

      Because in games YOU get F’ed

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief Protector

        May 20, 2016 at 11:13

        xD

        Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        May 20, 2016 at 11:16

        It’s called Woo-Hoo’ed! HELLLOOOO???!!!!

        Reply

    • Admiral Chief Protector

      May 20, 2016 at 11:13

      ^This leaves so much opportunity for trolling

      Reply

      • Captain JJ bound

        May 20, 2016 at 11:13

        Yea, but it’s obvious, not worth it.

        Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        May 20, 2016 at 11:15

        COME ON ME! I mean COME AT ME!

        Reply

        • Captain JJ bound

          May 20, 2016 at 11:16

          Oh yes, there’s the line, it’s 200m behind you

          Reply

          • Dutch Matrix

            May 20, 2016 at 11:18

            THERE’S A LINE?? Well, Woo-Hoo ME!

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:20

            I’d prefer not to 0_0

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            May 20, 2016 at 11:22

            No one’s going to be able to woo-hoo you from over 200m away. I see your cunning plan.

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:25

            *cumming plan

            ——————————————————–

            200m

            1000m <— Here

          • Pariah

            May 20, 2016 at 11:27

            Ek voel now regtig naar.

          • Admiral Chief Protector

            May 20, 2016 at 11:30

            BANNED

          • Raptor Rants

            May 20, 2016 at 11:31

            Hey, they started it!

        • Raptor Rants

          May 20, 2016 at 11:16

          eeeeeeeeeeeeeew

          Reply

    • Strawman Jim

      May 20, 2016 at 11:14

      Resists the urge to troll.. heheheh!

      Reply

    • miaau

      May 20, 2016 at 11:51

      You make a good point. Not with grace and style, but a damn good point. Thank you.

      Reply

      • Dutch Matrix

        May 20, 2016 at 12:00

        Grace and Style are two things you can never accuse me of…

        Reply

        • miaau

          May 20, 2016 at 12:09

          I would never presume to insult you so.

          Reply

  16. Deceased

    May 20, 2016 at 11:14

    I’m kind of on the fence with this one.

    Sure – you don’t need to be a pro-player to play and or review any game – in fact, I think it would take away the “personality” of a review if, say, a professional Counter-Strike player reviews something like Doom … ( hear me out: )
    Sure in such a case, we would be very certain that the reviewer is more than capable of aiming at whatever hellspawn they need to kill – even more so, if they would be reviewing on their platform of choice – but that would mean that the reviewer needs to up the difficulty of the game or risk making it look “too easy” for someone like myself that expects a hard time playing something like Doom.
    Also – the reviewer should be comfortable with the genre of game that they review – I mean, you can’t expect an FPS person to review a MOBA – it just wouldn’t work.

    Now that we’ve covered some aspects of reviews that doesn’t necessarily pertain to the question at hand – as mentioned above, you can’t give a MOBA player an FPS to review ( sure – the person might enjoy both and then it’s fine ) – because, doing so, would mean that there are elements of the game that the reviewer might not know of or not take into consideration.

    e.g. The Doom review where the guy was shooting at the floor was immediately not a review that I personally would trust – because to me, the reviewer didn’t seem like someone that plays FPS on a regular basis… Oh Mighty Darryn’s reviewS on the other hand – I could get emotion, gameplay and recommendation from one source – A reviewer that I could see is capable of playing FPS – his skill didn’t do the review and had nothing to do with it – it was the “personality” of the review which I mentioned earlier 🙂

    TL;DR

    Short version – it’s a lot of factors, not necessarily skill which determines a good review…

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief Protector

      May 20, 2016 at 11:14

      I like the summary

      Reply

      • Deceased

        May 20, 2016 at 11:15

        lol

        Reply

    • Captain JJ bound

      May 20, 2016 at 11:15

      For reviews, for sure. But for enjoyment, you don’t need no skillz

      Reply

      • Strawman Jim

        May 20, 2016 at 11:19

        Which is good, because YOU HAVE NO SKILLZ!! Muahahahaha MUAHAHAHAHAH MUAHAHAHAHA snort!

        Reply

        • Captain JJ bound

          May 20, 2016 at 11:19

          I forget that as an AI you have access to all my game scores!

          Reply

          • Strawman Jim

            May 20, 2016 at 11:33

            Searching Database….. Skill level calculation in progress…. RESULT: POTATO

    • Strawman Jim

      May 20, 2016 at 11:18

      Your summary made me read everything. Thank you kind sir!

      Reply

    • Matthew Holliday

      May 20, 2016 at 12:11

      your genre appropriate comments were something i take issue with aswell.
      dont give someone who doesnt like mobas, a moba to review.

      Reply

  17. Matthew Holliday

    May 20, 2016 at 11:24

    singleplayer is debatable, feeling like a boss is fun.
    Multiplayer its esential. losing is not fun.

    Reply

  18. Strawman Jim

    May 20, 2016 at 11:29

    I have to admit, John Walker’s editorial didn’t sit well with me; he’s failsplaining like a boss, and my advice to him and other gamer reviewers is that because they’re paid to review games, they should just GIT GUD or else GIT REKT!

    Reply

  19. V@mp

    May 20, 2016 at 11:38

    I suck at games, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying them. It just means that I stick to SP games. No need to show my lack of skill to the world :-p
    Dragging a team down in MP makes me feel worse than any online comment could. For reviews it doesn’t matter. Few people review on difficulty anyway unless it’s due to bad design.

    Reply

    • miaau

      May 20, 2016 at 11:54

      I always feel like that the few times I have tried multiplayer. A guy I know used to play race car with his friends. He stopped when he found out they would, somehow, spend a whole Saturday, practising a circuit, using racing seats and wheels, to shave off .5 seconds. He felt he just could not invest the time and it was not fun to lose like that.

      In reality, he has raced several times in rallies and knows what he is doing, in real life.

      Reply

  20. Matthew Holliday

    May 20, 2016 at 11:43

    As for reviewers needing to be good at games, I play a game called Toribash, i have been playing since 2006 and have a massive appreciation for the game, but every reviewer thats attempted playing and doing a writeup on it has never given it more than an hour and has absolutely no understanding about the game mechanics or community due to its massive learning curve.
    as such, it ALWAYS gets bad reviews.

    I dont think skill is relevant, but i do think interests matter.
    Ive been snarky befor when the lazygamer staff do writeups on dota 2 / other mobas, when its clear as day that the writer does not like the game or community whatsoever and their opinions of the game are skewed and not suited to writing the article.

    Reviewers should review genre appropriate content for them. Dont give moba reviews and news to people who dont like mobas etc.

    That said, skill can be relevant, certain games do require a certain level of skill to enjoy and appreciate fully, but, its situational and should be something reviewers are aware of.

    Reply

  21. miaau

    May 20, 2016 at 11:49

    Certain games, I want skill.

    In my youth, I played Civ III and I sussed out the way the AI worked. I murdered the damn thing. Expand, Expand, weak, weak, have to appease, then suddenly all my cities start coming online at 1200AD and I have money to spare. I had a lot of skill in that game. It gave me JOY to do this thing, that most of my friends could not. Once or twice they even just watched me play.

    Now? No real time to play like that, could not be arsed with the frustration. Set difficulty to normal or easy and play. And if the game, Europa Univerlas (any of them) is too time consuming to learn, let alone how to master tha AI. Cheers.

    The point is to have fun, regardless of any other factor. If you need to have elite skills to do that, that is ok too.

    Reply

  22. HairyEwok

    May 20, 2016 at 12:38

    So basically….. (refresh)

    Reply

  23. Ghost In The Rift

    May 20, 2016 at 14:17

    Fun does not require skill, i can amuse my self all day looking at Darryn’s Batman of the week, not much skill needed, same can be said for games, i suck at most FPS games but i’m still having fun through that tea-bag i got, who cares? Only keyboard warriors.

    Reply

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