Retro Gamer magazine's terrible Metal Slug feature --reviewed!

[Professor Denim]

now i know...why he didnt mention Nazca.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_Corporation

 

[Mike Bevan]

your comments on Slug 3 shows how poorly you know the game.But AGAIN the problem with your article has nothing to do with your taste for Metal Slug 3,its worse than that.
you should be proud for achieving the worst moment on Retrogamer´s life.

Er... hello? Earth calling Neo-Geo.com?
It's not my article, you donut...

 

[RevStu]

People still read printed magazines? awesome.

They pay real actual money for them and everything. Wonder why that is, and why nobody wants to pay money to hear what 'Professor Denim' has to say?

It's a mystery, to be sure.

 

[Professor Denim]

Er... hello? Earth calling Neo-Geo.com?
It's not my article, you donut...

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLooooooooooLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!

you sound the same

 

[Mike Bevan]

Cheers matey. I'll take that as a compliment.

 

[strider]

Hi everyone, occasional Neo-Geo.com poster and Retro Gamer editor Darran Jones here.

It would appear that the idea of the definitive has been missed somewhat, which is a shame as it's been running since issue 24.

Anyway, the point of the definitive is to cover every different game in the series. It's not a historical piece (that's what our complete history guides are for) it's designed to explain all the different games in a series (even if they share the same name, or are the same game) and how they differ from each other.

It's also an opinion piece. Stuart Campbell is one of the UK's best known videogame journalists and his work is always of a very high standard. He's also (as every games magazine reader in the UK knows) is very opinionated and he likes to put his opinions across to everyone. This is the reason why he is the only person in the magazine (myself included) who is allowed to use the first person when writing features.

Now for the record I love Metal Slug 3. I think it's the best game in the series for numerous reasons I could go into, but won't, and laughed my head off when I read Stuart's opinion because he couldn't have been more wrong about the game (in my opinion).

However.
He states throughout the article what he feels makes for a good Metal Slug game and he states again why he feels that Metal Slug 3 is the worst game. Taking this on board (whether you agree with it or not) by the time you get to Metal Slug and he's mentioning all the stuff in it which he's already described in previous game, you know he's going to love it. Is he right? Of course not (in my opinion of course).

Maybe it's a UK thing (and I don't mean to be patronising here) but Stuart's sarky style and the whole basis of what the definitive is, appears to have been lost in this particular instance. I once toyed with putting the standard (RG doesn't agree with everything STU says) at the end of each article, but assumed that readers would know that this is one individual talking and is not the collective thoughts of the magazine. Maybe we need to address this.

Now if this was a complete history of MS then some of your points could well be justified, but it isn't. Stuart is meticulous in his research and I trust him 110% with whatever he writes. He's been writing these articles now for a very long time, and no one has ever been able to recall a game he's missed or pointed out something that's factually incorrect about what he's missing.

If I didn't think his article was up to scratch then I wouldn't include it in the magazine. It's that simple.

You're getting Stuart's opinions and thoughts about the series confused with him actually stating them as facts, which he isn't.

If you can't point out things that are factually incorrect then great, you've got a solid argument, but at this moment in time in does very much come across like "this article is rubbish because it doesn't agree with what are generally accepted opinions" which is totally different. On the other hand, you're obviously entitled to your opinion and it's good to know that there are gamers out there who still have a hell of a lot of passion for their favourite games.

Peace Out. I'm off to play Metal Gear Ocelot.

 

[kernow]

Peace Out. I'm off to play Metal Gear Ocelot.

 

[abasuto]

. Stuart Campbell is one of the UK's best known videogame journalists and his work is always of a very high standard. He's also (as every games magazine reader in the UK knows) is very opinionated and he likes to put his opinions across to everyone.

Looking at his post, he's also got a real charming attitude.

 

[strider]

I can only apologise for any bad language he has used.

 

[Deuce]

You know, people are allowed to dislike a popular game, and what's more, to write about it.

How many of you hate Final Fantasy 7? Or the Tekken series? Or Street Fighter, for that matter?

It's their magazine. If you don't like it, don't buy it. It's that simple. Welcome to capitalism.

 

[RevStu]

Looking at his post, he's also got a real charming attitude.

It's weird how people shouting about how incompetent and stupid you are doesn't make you feel particularly inclined to be nice to them, especially when everything they're saying is so cretinously wrong.

 

[abasuto]

I can only apologise for any bad language he has used.

You shouldn't need to.

He does seem to fly off the handle easy though. Instead of calmly explaining his defense of his article, he flies off into a full tyrade from post 1. Then continues talking down to anyone who comes in his path. Regardless of his video games knowledge, the guy has an ego driven temper.

Come to think of it, he reminds me of myself.

 

[RevStu]

He does seem to fly off the handle easy though. Instead of calmly explaining his defense of his article, he flies off into a full tyrade from post 1.

Yeah, you're right. I was the one who started being rude and angry here.

You'd think this worldwide economic downturn would cause people to work harder for their bucks...
the article is a mess
purported professionals turning out this crap
someone was probably shitting something out at the last second for a deadline
another sign of poor research
poor journalism
Boo-hoo, now man up
this section epitomizes how unpolished the article is
While its tempting to throw out the words "amateur" or "hack", I'd settle with "someone who was too busy to do a good job, and instead did a rush job and assumed no one would notice"
something so unpolished, so rushed, so incompletely researched

 

[Nesagwa]

Yeah, you're right. I was the one who started being rude and angry here.

Professionals can take negative criticism.

 

[abasuto]

Professionals can take negative criticism.

What about a professional hitman ?

 

[RevStu]

Professionals can take negative criticism.

Indeed. But that wasn't negative criticism. That was plain abuse, empirically factually wrong from start to finish and extremely personally insulting. Anyone who posts reasonable and fair criticism will get a reasonable and fair response. Anyone who says I'm a lazy incompetent shitting out badly-researched crap in a hurry for a deadline will get told to go and fuck themselves with a broken bottle. It's a pretty simple flowchart.

 

[OMFG]

Hello idiots!

Professional..

If English IS your first language, then God knows how you've arrived at such a bizarre conclusion. The feature at NO POINT suggests any such thing.

Again..professional.

Actually I'm 41, I've been writing professionally about videogames for 20 years, and I've very likely been playing videogames since before you were born, son. The Definitive series isn't intended to be about what influenced Game X, it's about the ludography of Game X.

There we go with that term again.

What on Earth are you dribbling about, tiresome child?

Coming from a 41 year old professional journalist...

Because nobody except dull obsessive nerds gives a rat's arse about it. Most people don't even notice, and expect games of that era to slow down at busy points anyway.

Wow! Now you're generalizing the magazine's readers.

Ha ha ha. Do please share with us your authoritative source for these "definitions". Let me help you out with the first definition of "reporter" from Encarta:

"somebody whose job is to find out facts and use the print or broadcast media to tell people about them"

...which is precisely what the feature does. The same source lists "journalist" as:

"a writer or editor for a newspaper or magazine or for television or radio"

..which is of course also entirely accurate.

You mean editorial.

My sang-froid has to take a momentary back seat here, as I have to suggest that you go fuck yourself, you pompous, arrogant, stupid little prick.

I'm happy that you've entitled yourself to state your opinion on our board. While the OP stated his opinion in what he didn't like about your "editorial" you came here to pretty much blast (not explain) your reasons for posting that piece. Instead of coming over here and explaining "like a professional" you decided to come here and tell customers of the magazine that your ego is much more important than anything else. Thank you for clearing that up.


Darren Jones shouldn't have had to come here to apollogize for you.

 

[Nesagwa]

Indeed. But that wasn't negative criticism. That was plain abuse, empirically factually wrong from start to finish and extremely personally insulting. Anyone who posts reasonable and fair criticism will get a reasonable and fair response. Anyone who says I'm a lazy incompetent shitting out badly-researched crap in a hurry for a deadline will get told to go and fuck themselves with a broken bottle. It's a pretty simple flowchart.

Proving my point here, guy.

 

[RevStu]

Professional..

Again..professional.

There we go with that term again.

Coming from a 41 year old professional journalist...

Wow! Now you're generalizing the magazine's readers.

None of the magazine's other readers said anything even remotely close to as ignorant, offensive or wrong as the OP, so they didn't get insulted back. Maybe Americans are just stupid.

I'd love to know where you get the bizarre, absurd idea that professionals aren't allowed to be rude. I can only presume you've never watched, to pluck just one example, the judges on American Idol/Pop Idol/The X-Factor/Strictly Come Dancing or almost any other "talent" show.

I'll say it again, because you seem to be a bit slow on the uptake:

Reasoned, well-argued negative criticism will get a polite and considered response. Pure abuse full of offensive language (do I take it you're fine with the OP's lines about "shitting out crap"?) and idiotically-wrong drivel will get told to fuck off, because that's all it deserves.

 

[RevStu]

Oh, and by the way:

You mean editorial.

Don't tell me what I mean, you rude, ignorant, illiterate, arrogant, fucking cunt.

 

[Nesagwa]

Does the word "snarky" mean the same thing as "complete douche bag" in England now?

 

[Late]

A 41-yo man raging on a forum which probably holds only a fraction of Retro gamers readership to begin with hahaha.

British Chimpio?

 

[OMFG]

None of the magazine's other readers said anything even remotely close to as ignorant, offensive or wrong as the OP, so they didn't get insulted back. Maybe Americans are just stupid.

Keep it up cupcake.

I'd love to know where you get the bizarre, absurd idea that professionals aren't allowed to be rude. I can only presume you've never watched, to pluck just one example, the judges on American Idol/Pop Idol/The X-Factor/Strictly Come Dancing or almost any other "talent" show.

You placed yourself in the category of judges with the power to sway a person's career/lifestyle future. You on the other hand wrote an editorial and a reader responded to it on this board. We're not the ones in the hot seat nor are we bound to read your your articles. I'm assuming that you took this job to make some money and to say what's on your mind. But do you realize what kind of effect you have on people that pay to read something you printed? Be rude all you want. But it seems that we know your stance on this matter.

Reasoned, well-argued negative criticism will get a polite and considered response. Pure abuse full of offensive language (do I take it you're fine with the OP's lines about "shitting out crap"?) and idiotically-wrong drivel will get told to fuck off, because that's all it deserves.

Hey, it's your dime. If you want to tell a reader to "fuck off" is your agenda.

Edit:

Oh, and by the way:



Don't tell me what I mean, you rude, ignorant, illiterate, arrogant, fucking cunt.

You're entitled to your opinion Stuart. Calling me names on this board won't affect me one bit, but I do appreciate the sentiment.

 

[MeTaLCzAr]

Damn, that is some piss-poor researching.

askjeeves.com isn't always the most reputable of researching devices.

 

[RevStu]

But it seems that we know your stance on this matter.

Indeed you do. My stance is, if you're a rude ignorant cunt you can go and fuck yourself. I apologise if that wasn't clear before.

I'm done here, as I can feel my IQ falling just by being near you.


PS:

You on the other hand wrote an editorial

I can't write an "editorial", since I'm not a member of staff. You guys really aren't great with this whole "meaning of words" thing, are you?