This made my jaw drop...

[fett527]

........

 

[Crothian]

Happens all the time in Meta when Crothian is around

It's an art

 

[I'm A Banana]

Dude, maybe it's just me, but I can't really take offense from someone who writes for a videogame magazine.

Right. You're cool.

I think he's just in Dork Denial...

 

[Zappo]

So, let me get this straight, a videogame reviewer, a person who (since we're talking stereotypes) spends his spare time alone in his room playing Quake 3 Arena, Starcraft and Diablo 2 with other people who display slightly less personality than most low-end AIs, and who likely hasn't seen any other human being face-to-face since he got always-on broadband, is calling roleplayers losers?

Weird.

 

[Bagpuss]

This always confuses me so CRPG players are Dorks, but just computer game players are Geeks.

So is a being a Dork better or worse than being a Geek?

I'm not sure if I'm a Geek or a Dork. Is the pocket protector a requirement to be a Geek, or just an unfashionable Geek?

 

[WizarDru]

Okay. Sorry that I confused so many people. The thing that made my jaw drop wasn't the game itself. It was the article itself. Or rather, the way it was written. I'm suprised that the sheer hatred of roleplayers displayed by the writer made it past the editors. As I don't actually have the magazine, I can't quote it exactly. But it was filled with sentances like: "You and up to 3 of your loser friends can share in the dork-tastic action." WizarDru, you have it. Could you post an actual quote or two so I don't look like a total idiot?

(I'll probably still look like an idiot, but not a total one.)

Ah, I see what you're driving at. I'll post a quote for you, but I should point out that this is more in keeping with their general sarcastic nature of the magazine in general. It's quite clear from their review of Neverwinter Nights, IceWind Dale II and Pool of Radiance that the magazine staff is familiar with 3E, and they most likely have some staff members that play it. Further, the hyperbole is pretty hard to swallow...'ultimate video game experience?' I think not.

The quote is as follows:

Dice Rollers, list long and hard. Your beloved pen and paper RPG is transforming into the ultimate video game experience. No longer will you be forced to sit around your mom's dining room table with a bunch of your nerdy nerd friends. With Dungeons & Dragons Heroes, imagination is a thing of the past {emphasis mine...is this supposed to be a good thing?} All of the Third Edition rules are included, among them character building from the Player's Handbook and creatures drawn direclty from the Monster Manual. The gameplay is stylized in the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance vein, but with four player support.

Your dorky pals can jump in at any time during play, and you can even transfer your character statistics between households. You'll see more magic than you did in Baldur's Gate, as well as fighter, wizard, cleric and rogue classes. All of the loserific lay will be available next year for the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube.

In short, you don't go to Game Informer for balanced reporting. The writeup smacks of a mixture of press-release reiteration and someone trying to prove they're cool. Given the general tone and writing level of the staff of GI, this is generally in keeping with their tone and ability. I wouldn't take it as the opinion of the magazine, so much as one writer's attempts to distance himself from a product, while admitting he's played various versions of similar games.

 

[Dragongirl]

As for page 33, that's just a joke, I'm assuming...although that is the second page of the 'Devil May Cry 2' preview article, which looks outstanding....but that's neither here nor there.

Yes the page 33 thing was a joke.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I remember something from years back in Marvel Comics that tops anything like this. Anyone else remember this? There was a picture, black and white line drawing, of a rather pathetic-looking fat guy in t-shirt and sandals, sitting on the edge of a bed in his parents' basement, surrounded by comics, action figures, games (including D&D!), and other assorted stuff a genre fan would have. The caption was something along the lines of: "The You Universe" (which played on the name of Marvel's eventually-failed "New Universe" line). It was probably the most savage commentary I've ever seen Marvel (or just about any comic company) make on their fans. It was also funny and memorable, and probably not that far from accurate.

 

[Lizard]

I hear rouges got the shaft in that game.

Yeah, there was a problem with the rendering algorithm. They all came out sort of rust-colored instead.

 

[kengar]

Yeah, there was a problem with the rendering algorithm. They all came out sort of rust-colored instead.

Great! That's the second time this week you guys have made me spray coffee all over my keyboard & screen!