So, as the mad rush rush to be the first with THAT Zelda review dies down so does the hysteria. Let’s face it, Nintendo zealots are a predictable bunch. They already know that the unproven, unreleased Wii is The Second Coming (because Nintendo says so). They already know that the unreleased, unplayed Zelda game is The Greatest Game Ever because it’s the new Zelda game!
You know what? They’re prejudiced children.
This is highlighted by the fact that Gamespot (A site I freely admit to having a fondness to and for paying a yearly subscription to) has finally put out their Zelda review. Looks like they weren’t rushing to get those important web-hits by being the first to praise the game.
The reception to this ‘terrible’ review has been savage. The prejudiced fans have practically put a fatwah on the reviewer’s head and started to throw tantrums using words like “boycott” and calling the reviewer “fat” and a “hater”.
People don’t like to hear news that doesn’t fit in with their ideas. Nintendo zealots are the masters of this behaviour – instantly branding any critic of their dream an idiot/hater or someone who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Even if he’s a professional reviewer, an award-winning game developer or someone who’s been involved in games development longer than Nintendo have been producing consoles.
I knew this would happen.
I have said for years (and in previous koffdrop.com posts) that Zelda is nice but it’s not amazing. The formula is getting old and, more significantly, games of a similar ilk are surpassing Zelda’s block-pushing antics by a considerable margin. Clover’s PS2 swansong Okami immediately springs to mind.
Nintendo fans have enjoyed telling people it’s all about the gameplay – yet now there’s a new Zelda game that equates to little other than the same game as before but with shinier graphics and, crucially, with gameplay that’s been described as ‘aged’ instead of ‘classic’ the knives are drawn.
Some games news sites have this ‘terrible news’ on their front page as a news item. I think that says a lot about where the collective culture’s mindset is at. The fact that a game scoring lower than people’s pre-judged expectations is becoming news? It seems common that when people have expectations of something, when those expectations are not met the immature thing is to blame anything other then those expectations.
I don’t have the need for webhits. That’s because I don’t have adverts on my site and a need to bring people here by posting news they want to hear. That’s why I don’t need to spin any news. This culture shows itself up for the immature sham that it is and incidents like the reception to this Zelda review prove my point perfectly. I will probably buy Twighlight Princess as I bought WindWaker. I will play it as a game first and as a Nintendo Zelda game … never. What’s the point? That’s just being led by the hand by marketing men.
I prefer to think for myself. It would seem like that is a revolution in this culture.