A pretty dumb MotB review

Vault Dweller · Nov 21, 2007

http://www.yougamers.com/reviews/14053_ ... yer-page2/

77% because the game is hard and the technology is aged. And it's wordy.

Combat: turn-based for better or worse

That's the name of one of the chapters. Sounds both promising and deep.

It's a good idea to keep a close eye on the damage you deal to your opponents, and the damage your character is receiving.

That's a great advice. Not as awesome as "pay attention to your screen while playing games", but still pretty good and incredibly helpful.

Later on I was told that my character build just wasn't up to par

Considering how easy the game was, that must have been some build.

...this means a lot of effort and quite a bit of headache trying to figure out the best items, weapons and spells for your character and companions.

...

While the original campaign told a story written and paced for teenage gamers, Mask of the Betrayer is better suited to more mature gamers: there are many disturbing themes, and the player is faced with tough decisions.

My goodness! How on Earth are the children supposed to play such a game?

The writing is of high quality throughout, although I have to say it's somewhat wordy.

Wordy? Well, if you mean that MotB's sentences tend to be a bit longer than "do you have quests? give me quests!", then yes, the game is ... wordy.

Mask of the Betrayer is a chilling, almost horror-like adventure...

...

Mask of the Betrayer is a great epic level fantasy role playing campaign, based on aging and limited technology...

Kids these days.

Volourn · Nov 22, 2007

Andyman Messiah · Nov 22, 2007

All these "negatives" he's mentioning I consider plusses. Everything could have been better, of course, but Motb is still the best gaming experience I've had so far on the 00's.

And on a related note, after reading so much about how awesome Witcher is I'm going to give it a try now this weekend. Let's see if it's truly the second coming of slightly good rpgs.

Nice new title, VD!

Edit:

Neverwinter Nights newbies will have a hard time with Mask of the Betrayer.

Hmm... I guess he means I should have failed a lot more than I did. I died once when I was on my way to the academy and got OMG SPOILER attacked by bowmen on towers!!! Ain't no way my dualwielding drow ranger could handle that and that loser Safiyas spells were simply not up to par with the MILLIONS OF BOWMEN ATTACKING US! UP ON BIG FUCKOFF TOWERS!!! That made me die once. Then I reloaded and ran past them motherfuckers. Hell yeah.

crakkie · Nov 22, 2007

Forgetting something?

Gameplay - 78
Mask of the Betrayer has solid writing and all the trappings of a great RPG title, but feels boxed in by the level design. Too much of what you see is just a visual prop, and in the post-Oblivion era, that's just not good enough.

MetalCraze · Nov 22, 2007

LOL! VD can't run from himself.

but I've enjoyed this sarcastic review of the review.

The writing is of high quality throughout, although I have to say it's somewhat wordy.

idiot.

Mask of the Betrayer is a chilling, almost horror-like adventure...

everything old-school is chilling to newbs these days

Mask of the Betrayer is a great epic level fantasy role playing campaign, based on aging and limited technology...

yes. it does not have hdr.

in the post-Oblivion era

speechless.

edit> newspost this please.

Andyman Messiah · Nov 22, 2007

Also: Publisher: 3D Realms Entertainment

What the fuck, son?! Was the boxart "too wordy" as well or is this a brainfart of the most terminal kind?

Lurkar · Nov 22, 2007

That's a great advice. Not as awesome as "pay attention to your screen while playing games", but still pretty good and incredibly helpful.

Pro-tip: shoot the Betrayer until it dies.

Cassidy · Nov 22, 2007

I don't want to waste any time with such level of journalism, this is serious: even this is high standard journalism compared to this, which I'm not surprised about, considering that game "journalists" are usually those who didn't get a job even in tabloids.

In fact it a title like "Sub-tabloid writer makes dumb MotB review" would also fit it like a glove.

Combat: turn-based for better or worse

I guess he meant his head was turning because he found it too hard to understand combat mechanics of the game while he pondered why he was such a loser in anything that isn't dumbed down.

...this means a lot of effort and quite a bit of headache trying to figure out the best items, weapons and spells for your character and companions.

He should play Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, Empire Earth 1 or, the best suggestion of all, Commandos: I'm sure they'll be enlightening experiences for him.

crakkie said:
Mask of the Betrayer is a great epic level fantasy role playing campaign, based on aging and limited technology...

Click to expand...

Mask of the Betrayer has solid writing and all the trappings of a great RPG title, but feels boxed in by the level design. Too much of what you see is just a visual prop, and in the post-Oblivion era, that's just not good enough.

I guess things like Radiant AI and level scaling are the cutting edge of gaming technology for this individual.

Publisher: 3D Realms Entertainment

I think he should make a Duke Nukem Forever review, I'm sure he is going to have much more success with it.

MetalCraze · Nov 22, 2007

Locue said:
Also: Publisher: 3D Realms Entertainment

What the fuck, son?! Was the boxart "too wordy" as well or is this a brainfart of the most terminal kind?

I like the user rating over there.

RK47 · Nov 22, 2007

Too much of what you see is just a visual prop, and in the post-Oblivion era, that's just not good enough.

...someone tell me what the fucking plates, bowls, and thousands of cutleries in Oblivion are for then.

Jaime Lannister · Nov 22, 2007

RK47 said:
Too much of what you see is just a visual prop, and in the post-Oblivion era, that's just not good enough.

Click to expand...

...someone tell me what the fucking plates, bowls, and thousands of cutleries in Oblivion are for then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_BRdgY8 ... re=related

RK47 · Nov 22, 2007

......Oh fuck. How stupid of me, they should let me play dominos with all the +1 swords and daggers I picked up in MOTB. Fucking shit, that is a great use of physics engine man.

MetalCraze · Nov 22, 2007

Jaime Lannister said:
RK47 said:

Too much of what you see is just a visual prop, and in the post-Oblivion era, that's just not good enough.

Click to expand...

...someone tell me what the fucking plates, bowls, and thousands of cutleries in Oblivion are for then.

Click to expand...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_BRdgY8 ... re=related

finally there's something interesting to do in Oblivion.

Nael · Nov 22, 2007

RK47 said:
Too much of what you see is just a visual prop, and in the post-Oblivion era, that's just not good enough.

Click to expand...

...someone tell me what the fucking plates, bowls, and thousands of cutleries in Oblivion are for then.

Evil deeds. Of course. A good story of high adventure and intrigue requires fine china.

Jaime Lannister · Nov 22, 2007

youtube retard said:
is this a download? because i now own oblivion and want this...

Bethesda. Could. Make. So. Much. Money.

Longshanks · Nov 22, 2007

Mask of the Betrayer has solid writing and all the trappings of a great RPG title, but feels boxed in by the level design. Too much of what you see is just a visual prop, and in the post-Oblivion era, that's just not good enough.

Someone's been reading Matt Peckham, he made a similar complaint about NWN2.

Matt Peckham said:
and blame this on games like Oblivion -- NWN2's levels feel pint-sized: Peewee zones inhabited by pull-string NPCs with no existence to speak of beyond their little playpens. Wander and you'll wonder why the forests, towns, and dungeons are like movie lots with lay-about monsters waiting patiently for you to trip their arbitrary triggers. As if the pencil and paper "module" approach were a virtue that computers -- by now demonstrably capable of simulating entire worlds with considerably more depth -- should emulate.

bozia2012 · Nov 22, 2007

Jaime Lannister said:
youtube retard said:

is this a download? because i now own oblivion and want this...

Click to expand...

Bethesda. Could. Make. So. Much. Money.

It gets even funnier:

another youtube user said:
lol its soo obvious its fake and if its not you must of spent hours doin that. Im a lvl 74 on oblivion (cheats) and even i cant do that. Fake but gr8 vid man!!!!!!!!!!!

and the reply:

someone from teh codex? said:
Yeah, you got me there, it's all photoshopped.
Erm... seriously, this is just as fake as the rest of the game.

Claw · Nov 22, 2007

My favourite news poster is back and he's posting news in General RPG Discussion!

^_^

Shagnak · Nov 22, 2007

Oh no! Apparently we are rude. Or honest. Or perhaps both.

http://www.yougamers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=67483

MetalCraze · Nov 22, 2007

someone from teh codex?

a mystarious ally!

WhiskeyWolf · Nov 22, 2007

skyway said:
someone from teh codex?

Click to expand...

a mystarious ally!

Skyway all the way! BTW This guy has above 12000 posts and still his trying to explain himself as if he would be a 10 year-old (maybe even younger).

Kingston · Nov 22, 2007

This rates pretty high on my "silliness" scale.

Vault Dweller · Nov 22, 2007

Claw said:
My favourite news poster is back and he's posting news in General RPG Discussion!

^_^

That's how I used to post in the old days before I became a staff member.

anttiYG · Nov 22, 2007

As the author of the YouGamers Mask of the Betrayer review, allow me to respond to your criticism.

Vault Dweller did a fair job of quoting the review out of context and adding his sardonic comments. I find it difficult to be offended by this tactic, and unnecessary to defend each point. You'll certainly understand what I meant if you bother up checking the context (in other words, reading the review).

However, the real issue seems to be the final score of 77%. Game reviewing is a very subjective field, so it's unavoidable that different people have different views on how highly a game should be rated. That's why I try to bring up positive and negative aspects of each game in the review text, as objectively as I can. For the various percentage scores, our <a href="http://www.yougamers.com/aboutus/methodology/">YouGamers scoring methodology</a> will be the final deciding factor.

YG emphasizes the tech aspect of PC games probably more than any other game review site, and NWN2

otB is terribly lacking in that area. A tech score of 65% pulls MotB's final score below the "very good" mark of 80%+. However, the game being wordy (can you say you never skipped any of the conversations?) didn't affect the final score one way or the other, contrary to your assumption. Quite the opposite, in fact - the MotB campaign's consistently good writing helped elevate the score quite a bit.

Thanks for reading our review, and I hope I was able to clear some misconceptions about the final score I gave to Mask of the Betrayer. To those of you who took the time to <a href="http://www.yougamers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=761339">write a response</a> or even register on our forums: I'm sure other YouGamers readers would appreciate your insight into Mask of the Betrayer. Claiming errors or inaccuracies in the review, real or not, isn't nearly as interesting as hearing your opinions of a game you probably have a lot of experience playing.

Kingston · Nov 22, 2007

anttiYG said:
Vault Dweller did a fair job of quoting the review out of context and adding his sardonic comments.

I see you are new to the codex.

anttiYG said:
can you say you never skipped any of the conversations?

... Yes.

A pretty dumb MotB review

Commissar, Red Star Studio

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