Thursday, May 12, 2011

Latest evidence...

...as to why Extra Credits is the best gaming show on the web.

15 comments:

Russano Greenstripe said...

While I really did like this week's EC (in fact, them plugging you was what got me to pay attention to your series), should you really be linking their video here, as opposed to letting peeps see it on the Escapists' site?

Miquel 'Fire' Burns said...

I don't like viewing videos here (other than the overthinker ones) because the site has a content column not wide enough for them.

REPTILE 0009 said...

I feel they didn't acknowledge Killzone 3. That game had great graphics and aesthetics.

Kindberg said...

Did you have to repost it? Why? :) (just curious)

Euler d'Moogle said...

I'd guess because Blogger has been up and down like a hyperactive kid fed a box of cookies and given a pogo stick.

Tim said...

Honestly, I love this show but this particular episode didn't say anything that we haven't heard and said a million times before.

imsmart said...

I'd actually discovered them through you, when you initially acknowledged their existence. I remain thoroughly impressed, although I sense a mild deficit of humility in them.

Joobaloob56 said...

I concur. They are the best series on video games out there. This doesn't mean other video game series out there are bad it means that EC is just that awesome.
The Overthinker comes in second on my list.

Stephen Harland said...

Bob. I wanted to say that both you and Yahtze have seriously upped your game in recent months. Sure, I don't always agree with what you're saying, but at least you're saying the right things for the right reasons now. Used to be this time last year a lot of your stuff was a little bit on the pervy side, but recently you've been talking about things that really matter in a mature and intelligent way.
I've had a sneaky feeling this might be a bit down to extra credits, or maybe EC just crystalises the change in times.
Anyway, thanks for giving your fellow escapists a bit of recognition!

Stephen Harland said...

Additionally, as my GF just said she thinks it's finally given you the opportunity to be more who you are, as opposed to who you feel your fans want you to be.

I mean seriously... pointing out Cotillard's leg in public enemies?

There's a market for gamers that keep their brains out the gutter, and I think you're really starting to fulfill that. Keep it up!

ScrewAttackSamus said...

meh

REPTILE 0009 said...

What about Killzone 3? That game has both great graphics and aesthetics.

The Karligarchy said...

EC is definitely important voice in video gaming.

Smashmatt202 said...

So... Yeah, what made this episode anymore special then any other one?

Nik said...

EC gets a lot of props for a show that wouldn't pass the standards necessary for a high school essay. I have absolutely laughed at some of their "theses".

Take the latest episode about the rise of FPSes in America, for example. They go into a "deep" (but actually extremely shallow) analysis of cultural differences, citing Shinto philosophy of "the weapon as the extension of the self" vs the American philosophy of "the weapon is just a tool, and can empower anyone".

Since when were either of those concepts unique to either culture? What about Master Chief? What about superhero comics? The entire X-Men franchise is about people who were Born Special. What about manifest destiny? American exceptionalism? On the flip side, traditional mecha anime are usually about weak teens who discover a weapon (a mecha) that makes them the baddest badass on the block.

All these factors that EC claimed were cultural are hardly unique nor even particularly endemic to one culture or another. Rather, they are simply endemic to certain kinds of stories, period, neither of which are necessarily more popular in one culture or another.

Read the comments to the latest video -- several pages in, where the thesis gets torn apart, is where the real intelligent discussion begins.