# Zero Punctuation



## Evolus (Jun 17, 2009)

Not sure if anyone else has posted this already, but anyone who hasn't heard of Zero Punctuation must check it out. Link below:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation

The guy who does those videos, Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, is one of the most hilarious video game reviewers I've ever heard. For the most part, he reflects a lot of the same feelings about games that I have, and the videos he makes are seriously awesome. Check him out sometime if you need to laugh. ^_^


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## Kaamos (Jun 17, 2009)

I've been watching it since the beginning, I'm surprised it wasn't posted here earlier.


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## Armaetus (Jun 17, 2009)

I like it.


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## Fenra (Jun 17, 2009)

I'd be genuinly surprised if more people "dont" know of zero punctuation compared to those who do, since Mr Croshaw has been taking over the net one wednesday review at a time for a while now.

As for me I've been watching since the begining and while still amusing I dont find myself laughing out loud at his more recent stuff like I used to to his older stuff, more brings a small chuckle at the most. maybe after so long his brand of humor just doesnt have the same impact it used to, like when you watch repeats of sitcoms that just arnt as funny as you remember them *shrugs*


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## LotsOfNothing (Jun 17, 2009)

It was funny up until it wasn't.



I mean, never.


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## Kaamos (Jun 17, 2009)

Oh look, The Escapist says Red Faction Guerrilla is out now. 

YEAH I'M UP AT 2 AM.


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## Lukar (Jun 17, 2009)

Zero Punctuation <3333333333


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## Zanzer (Jun 17, 2009)

Oh I love that dude, he is so funny i love his reviews but in most of the cases I have more fun with games he says that are shit and vica versa.

But I don't care since they are funny :3


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## Myasa (Jun 17, 2009)

I've been watching him since day 1. He always has a habit for pointing out all the worst parts about a game. That way, I weigh them against the propaganda before I actually buy the game. xD


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## Vintage (Jun 17, 2009)

yahtzee is a step in the right direction, which is actually kind of sad to admit


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## ToddTheFox (Jun 17, 2009)

Hilarious reviews. Im a big fan!


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## E-mannor (Jun 17, 2009)

Yea his brutally honest remarks and crude metaphors really give the reviews a good kick ^^ I would definitely suggest looking for his review before buying any game XD


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## Panzermanathod (Jun 17, 2009)

I find him entertaining to watch, although in many cases I wouldn't trust his opinion alone on a game.


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## Kajet (Jun 17, 2009)

You gotta love his "review" of duke nukem forever...


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## Lukar (Jun 17, 2009)

Kajet said:


> You gotta love his "review" of duke nukem forever...



Ooh. Must see. *Goes to watch*


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## CrispSkittlez (Jun 17, 2009)

I just watched the RE5 review, I was laughing through the whole bloody thing, it's great!


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## Ð˜Ð²Ð°Ð½ (Jun 17, 2009)

I like it... Though if he didn't talk really fast in a British accent his videos would be way less funny.


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## Roland (Jun 17, 2009)

It's because he sounds funny.  I've seen people that do the exact same thing who annoy the ever-living hell out of me.


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## CrispSkittlez (Jun 17, 2009)

I got slightly annoyed at his review of The World Ends With You as I love that DS game to death.
  I mean, I understand the fact that he doesn't like JRPG's, but the way he justifies the story being bad makes me wonder if getting his cock sucked is a daily routine for him, how hard to please is this guy?
  and then he complains that the characters are emotionally struggling teenagers like it's a bad thing, but he doesn't appear to realize that that is actually making the story more close to home.
  Apparently this guy has no ability to multi-task, as staring at two different screens that happen to be only an inch away from eachother seems to be too much for him after drinking himself into a stupor.
  Then there's the point where he complains about the fact that wearing popular trends in different areas is bad because you're becoming a slave to fashion, but he completely overlooks the fact that it's an original idea
  [FONT=&quot]Lastly, aside from being somewhat funny, this guy happens to be a total moron.[/FONT]


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## Panzermanathod (Jun 18, 2009)

Well its not like "emotionally struggling teenagers" isn't something Japan has beaten to death many times over many times over. Which is probably part of the reason why he doesn't like JRPG's.

And although I have no opinion on the game, I have to say that just because an idea is original doesn't mean its good by default.

All in all, I don't agree with him on multiple accounts, but I still enjoy his stuff.


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## Excitement! (Jun 18, 2009)

He's okay, but the legions who point to his word as law are retarded. I've seen met people who won't play games that are, by all other accounts, are triple AAA titles because "YAHTZEE DOESN'T LEIK IT."


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## Jashwa (Jun 18, 2009)

I find him funny, and I _usually_ agree with what he says. I wouldn't swear by it, though.


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## AlexX (Jun 18, 2009)

Yahtzee's reviews are generally hit-or-miss, with the miss ones generally being ones he either doesn't want to review or are forced to play (as it shows). The best examples of this are probably the Nintendo ones (yes, we get it, you hate Nintendo, no need to spend half the review ranting on how much they suck rather than the game you're supposed to be reviewing), most JRPG ones (your character in WEWY solves the puzzle he mentions on his own and comments he needs a partner before moving on, making it clear yahtzee had just skimmed through the story), and any fighting game one (I'd like to see Azen lose any match of Smash Bros (Melee or Brawl) to a random button-masher like Yahtzee implied... same with Soul Calibur).

That said, even his bad reviews aren't without their merits. The only legitimately poor review he has is his "Webcomics" review, as despite how much he insists he isn't talking about any webcomic in particular, he is clearly ranting about Ctrl-Alt-Del the entire time.


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## WolfoxOkamichan (Jun 18, 2009)

Meh.


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## HotActionYiffFur (Jun 18, 2009)

Kaamos said:


> I've been watching it since the beginning, I'm surprised it wasn't posted here earlier.



Same.

He's fantastic.


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## CaptainCool (Jun 18, 2009)

i love his show^^ the style and the honesty about those games flaws is just awesome!


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## Runeaddyste (Jun 18, 2009)

started watching back to his RES5 review, but my attention is on another show on the escapist: *UNFORGOTTEN REALMS!*


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## Shino (Jun 18, 2009)

Kaamos said:


> I've been watching it since the beginning, I'm surprised it wasn't posted here earlier.


 
Same.

Although, I find that it's kinda 50:50 on if I agree with his reccommendations. For example, I liked Psychonauts (agree), but I also liked Mirror's Edge (disagree).

Anywho, it's still one of the most awesome things to watch when you want a good laugh. That, and he said almost exactly what I've been saying about MGS for years... I'm glad I'm not the only person in the world that thought so.

I want somebody to pay me to talk about video games... oh, wait. I'm not funny.


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## Excitement! (Jun 18, 2009)

Shino said:


> Anywho, it's still one of the most awesome things to watch when you want a good laugh. That, and he said almost exactly what I've been saying about MGS for years... I'm glad I'm not the only person in the world that thought so.


Since when was "_Metal Gear Solid has too many cutscenes!!!!_" some kind of unique, unheard of perspective?


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## Ashkihyena (Jun 18, 2009)

I watch him, but I don't take him seriously as a reviewer though since he's paid to point out everything negative.  He's funny though.


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## psion (Jun 18, 2009)

I appreciate his humor, but as an actual reviewer... If you can maintain journalistic impartiality while still being as brutally honest as him, then you are pretty much set as a reviewer.  It's obvious, blatheringly so, that he's biased (what else is new?  Part of the "work" of being an educated consumer is seperating the wheat from the chaff) but he does it in a way that manages to be entertaining.  And that's pretty much his main draw...


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## Digitalpotato (Jun 18, 2009)

I don't listen to even professional reviews, he's more or less just like the Angry Video Game nerd or the Nostalgia critic and their various knockoffs like the Irate Gamer. 

Even if he's made some very good points. Like how everything's brown and gritty nowadays and how fans are very very VERY noisy and the sooner you can shut them up the better. Still I facepalm at people who take him as the gospel. I call them "Yahtzee sheep". Escapist is full of 'em.


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## Roland (Jun 18, 2009)

AlexX said:


> That said, even his bad reviews aren't without their merits. The only legitimately poor review he has is his "Webcomics" review, as despite how much he insists he isn't talking about any webcomic in particular, he is clearly ranting about Ctrl-Alt-Del the entire time.



The dude from Ctrl+Alt+Del said himself that he agrees with most, if not all, the points that Yahtzee made.  Just because something has plenty of things to improve on doesn't make it bad, and just because something isn't bad, doesn't mean it doesn't have plenty of things to improve on.


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## AlexX (Jun 18, 2009)

Roland said:


> The dude from Ctrl+Alt+Del said himself that he agrees with most, if not all, the points that Yahtzee made.  Just because something has plenty of things to improve on doesn't make it bad, and just because something isn't bad, doesn't mean it doesn't have plenty of things to improve on.


I never said he was wrong, the comic was flawless, or any of that (heck, I don't even READ C.A.D.).

My point was that it was really just an angry rant about what he hates about "gaming webcomics" rather than a review of any kind. The only other time he comes close to this is during Forced Unleashed, because he spends half the review talking about how terrible the Wii is, a fourth of it talking about how terrible George Lucas is, but at least dedicates the last fourth to how terrible the game is.


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## Digitalpotato (Jun 18, 2009)

^You forgot the Brawl review which was almost entirely Fan Hate, and the Silent Hill reviews which was mostly just "BAAAAAAWWWW!" (And he ADMITTED The latter.)


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## TehSean (Jun 18, 2009)

I never heard of Zero Punctuation I'm glad this thread cleared it up.


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## Runeaddyste (Jun 19, 2009)

Digitalpotato said:


> I don't listen to even professional reviews, he's more or less just like the Angry Video Game nerd or the Nostalgia critic and their various knockoffs like the Irate Gamer.


 
Let us check the dates shall we:

Zero punctuation started july 24 2007
AVGN started sometime in May 2004
NOS Crit started April 6th 2008.

This means that the nerd is the originator on these three BUT:
i couldn't find the original date for the irate gamer. Soz all


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## Shino (Jun 19, 2009)

Excitement! said:


> Since when was "_Metal Gear Solid has too many cutscenes!!!!_" some kind of unique, unheard of perspective?


 
Hmm... I must be surrounded by Kojima worshippers. Everyone _I_ know worships the MGS series like I worship at the Roddenbery altar.


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## Panzermanathod (Jun 19, 2009)

I'm no worshipper, but I do believe, in my eyes, that MGS is one of the better game series out there. To say it is without flaws, though... that would be...

Also, I can't see, how AVGN and ZP are so similar. Sure, they review "bad" games, but they have different styles, different games, and AVGN goes after generally bad old games, while ZP is about going "I hate just about anything".


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## pheonix (Jun 19, 2009)

Been watching ZP for a good while now. He makes me laugh therefore he's awesome. Don't know why he hates so many games though. lol


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## Excitement! (Jun 19, 2009)

Shino said:


> Hmm... I must be surrounded by Kojima worshippers. Everyone _I_ know worships the MGS series like I worship at the Roddenbery altar.


Really? I mean, he has a lot of fans, sure, but people who hate MGS are a pretty darn vocal/numerous contingent.


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## Rigor Sardonicus (Jun 19, 2009)

Yahtzee is amazing. If I had the dedication, I'd probably make my writing style a lot more like his.

Have any of you ever looked on his website, by the way? He does more than just ZP, and criticizes himself quite a bit.



Digitalpotato said:


> I don't listen to even professional reviews, he's more or less just like the Angry Video Game nerd or the Nostalgia critic and their various knockoffs like the Irate Gamer.


Hasn't somebody already corrected you on that, even _before_ this thread?



> Even if he's made some very good points. Like how everything's brown and gritty nowadays and how fans are very very VERY noisy and the sooner you can shut them up the better. Still I facepalm at people who take him as the gospel. I call them "Yahtzee sheep". Escapist is full of 'em.


So, why don't you just stop going to The Escapist? ZP and Unskippable are the only things there that don't suck.



psion said:


> I appreciate his humor, but as an actual reviewer... If you can maintain journalistic impartiality while still being as brutally honest as him, then you are pretty much set as a reviewer. It's obvious, blatheringly so, that he's biased (what else is new? Part of the "work" of being an educated consumer is seperating the wheat from the chaff) but he does it in a way that manages to be entertaining. And that's pretty much his main draw...


Of course he's "biased". "Good" and "not good" are hardly objective terms. Without including "bias", exactly what the hell is he supposed to rate? How shiny the discs were?

No, he's supposed to rate how enjoyable the game was. And that sort of value judgement simply cannot be done _without_ what you've called "bias".

Reviews are no different from any other statement of opinion, and if you're viewing ZP expecting it to be "fair and balanced", then I'm afraid you're doing it wrong.


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## Digitalpotato (Jun 19, 2009)

Satan Q. Jones said:


> Hasn't somebody already corrected you on that, even _before_ this thread?
> 
> So, why don't you just stop going to The Escapist? ZP and Unskippable are the only things there that don't suck.





1) That's how I treat him as someone who just makes fun of games. You know, entertainment. 

2) You do know that I don't go to the escapist anymore, right? Check the Digitalpotato account and then look and see when my last post was. I think it was somehwere around oh maybe late 2008 or so....I haven't even entered Escapist in months, and I should cause I liked Unforgotten Realms unlike everyone else out there.


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## Panzermanathod (Jun 19, 2009)

That's like saying an artist here is ripping off another artist simply because both draw anthro pictures, regarless of the style/content/etc.


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## ShardtheWolf (Jun 20, 2009)

I rather like zp. The flaws he points out always make me laugh (chest high walls!)

Btw! Go watch the zp review of Stalker - Clear Skies and pay attetion to what he says about the difficulty settings. The first one to post about it gets a virtual cookie!


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## CaptainCool (Jun 20, 2009)

yeah, i know that one^^
i dont know who the person in that suit is but its still pretty cool 

edit: oh! did i win the cookie?^^


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## ShardtheWolf (Jun 21, 2009)

Yep here's your cookie! *hands cookie*


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## CaptainCool (Jun 21, 2009)

double cookies for me! i found the person 
its TaniDaReal's suit^^





pretty cool as she is one of my favorite artists^^ and from germany, too! XD


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## Rigor Sardonicus (Jun 21, 2009)

Digitalpotato said:


> 1) That's how I treat him as someone who just makes fun of games. You know, entertainment.


Is this even tangentially related to what I asked?



> 2) You do know that I don't go to the escapist anymore, right? Check the Digitalpotato account


I'd have to care first. Sarcastic rhetorical questions don't mix well with research.


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## ShardtheWolf (Jun 22, 2009)

Lol nice job. So that's who that is. I had no idea


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## Bacu (Jun 22, 2009)

I like him... His stuff's pretty good, it'd be nice if he would point out at least a bit of good in the reviews. Other than that, his verbose way of trashing whatever he's reviewing is quite enjoyable.


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## Digitalpotato (Jun 22, 2009)

Satan Q. Jones said:


> Is this even tangentially related to what I asked?
> 
> I'd have to care first. Sarcastic rhetorical questions don't mix well with research.




Kind of hard to tell when something's rhetorical and sarcastic from TEXT you know.

And yes it is. When did I suddenly say he's a ripoff of the Angry Video game nerd? I said he's like it. Like and ripoff are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.


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## Rigor Sardonicus (Jun 22, 2009)

Digitalpotato said:


> Kind of hard to tell when something's rhetorical and sarcastic from TEXT you know.


Well, for future reference, the likelihood of any question I ask being sarcastic and rhetorical is directly proportional to its obviousness or that of its answer.



> And yes it is. When did I suddenly say he's a ripoff of the Angry Video game nerd? I said he's like it. Like and ripoff are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.


It was some time ago, and my memory isn't the best, so I might have been mistaken. I think it was back when AoStH and Sonic SatAM were being reviewed by the Nostalgia Critic as the LotD.

If you didn't say he was a ripoff in that thread, though, I apologize.


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## Digitalpotato (Jun 22, 2009)

Oh no I certainly did it.

Now if this were about the Irate Gamer....


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## Saxon (Jun 23, 2009)

Shiii-

I love zero punctuation : D I watch it every Wednesday when the show comes out..


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