Whatchoo (Not) Talkin’ ‘Bout Willis?
by the hammer of Kevin Alexander!

Over the weekend I was thinking about how there’s a lot of different things that come up here and there that seem to completely take over the conversation relevant to whatever the broader topic is despite whether or not it’s remembered a month later. In the video gaming world this is particularly the case and I wanted to create this (hopefully) recurring feature to remind us all about things that we just might have forgotten about.

For this inaugural post I was inspired by thinking about how everyone has seemed to move on from GTA IV and MGS 4 already. It’s funny though since when each one came out they were both almost universally hailed as the second coming of Christ. Hell, even we devoted two BitCast episodes to each. So I can’t help but wonder, why is no one talking about these games any more? Though I haven’t played MGS 4 my opinion of GTA IV was widely noted and I can’t help but question if this game is so great why is no one talking about it still in the same way that we still bring up something like Portal or Bioshock when measuring a good game?

What say you? Am I crazy or just over-thinking things?

13 Responses to “Whatchoo (Not) Talkin’ ‘Bout Willis?”

1. Xerxes3rd on 11 Aug 2008 at 2:21 pm #

   Well, I didn’t buy GTAIV for the single-player, I bought it for the multiplayer, and although I have a PS3 now, I’m not interested in MGS4. I had someone telling me all about it the other day, and now I’m even less interested.

   Why do we keep going back to games like Bioshock and Portal? Here’s my theory: they were great, complete experiences. However, they didn’t have a ton of replay value, aside from just playing them through again (I have played Portal through twice). It seems that the games which really stick with you are types that you either play through completely once (maybe twice), or games that you play repeatedly to death.

2. Xerxes3rd on 11 Aug 2008 at 2:24 pm #

   Also, Gary Coleman will haunt me even more than ever.

3. Neuromante on 11 Aug 2008 at 2:43 pm #

   MGS4 and GTAIV are great SEQUELS to big franchises, and as long as the just give the same with two or three new things and ith bigger textures, them just came, saw and gone. Bioshock (although it’s System Shock 2 somewheeeere beyond the sea…) and Portal were fresh, elegant, fun and brilliant ideas full of personality.
   Portal and Bioshock were NEW 10-score games: Them had everything the people use to like in a videogame.
   And, ironically, both are singleplayer only.

   …and that’s one of the many reasons for actual gaming tends to suck.

   And sorry for my bad english.

4. Brisk317 on 11 Aug 2008 at 4:09 pm #

   Maybe people don’t talk to you about “GTA IV” because they know you’re not a big fan of the game.

   I’m still playing and still thoroughly enjoying all the sights and sounds of Liberty City.

5. Dan Zuccarelli on 11 Aug 2008 at 4:23 pm #

   Like most of the other GTA’s I lost interest close to the end and just kind of stopped playing it. If history is any indication I’ll go back to it in a few months and in no time finish it.

   For me personally I routinely tackle so many games that I just move quick from game to game. You’ll hear me rave about Braid but since I’ve already beaten it by next week it’ll be something entirely new.

6. swiftwulf on 11 Aug 2008 at 4:27 pm #

   I had some fun in GTA4, especially the multiplayer. I just happened to get stuck at a point where im having trouble beating all of the missions available to me so I just kinda stopped playing the game and havent touched it since. I do however plan to get back to it at some point, just havent been in the mood yet. Also, I need to play through portal again.

7. Brent the Closet Geek on 11 Aug 2008 at 5:07 pm #

   I stopped playing GTA4 after I got sick of not being able to split-screen a game when I had friends over, which is just about every single day. I switched back to Halo 3 and have been playing that and occasionally Rock Band.

   The problem is that GTA is so big and expansive that I know I won’t see everything in it for awhile so there’s little motivation to play it.

8. Xerxes3rd on 11 Aug 2008 at 6:45 pm #

   @Brent: If you’re looking for something new and fun in Halo 3, look up the “Predator” gametype on the official Bungie forums… it’s a gametype designed to emulate the Predator movies, and is quite fun.

9. Faith on 12 Aug 2008 at 12:07 am #

   I think the problem is the hype machine is just over doing it now on ever big title even when it is a great game and we tend to get bored of singing the praises of games when everyone else is constantly doing it over and over again for months before hand.

   I tend to get sick of hearing about how great these games are before they even get on the store shelves. Love them or hate them, we stop talking about them because there’s nothing let to say even when we’re still playing them.

10. Brisk317 on 12 Aug 2008 at 11:13 am #

    I think its just a matter of what you and your friends are playing. I have quite a few friends still playing GTA regularly, we’ve even started a thread on a forum called “GTA Funny Moments” where we post all the random and crazy stuff that happens to you in the game and its pretty much updated daily.

    But when you and your friends are all playing different games you don’t really have anything to comment about.

11. rdaneel72 on 12 Aug 2008 at 1:11 pm #

    I’ve never seen a backlash like the one GTAIV got on NeoGAF. It went from GOTY to whipping-boy for all that is wrong with the industry, marketing, and the “enhtusiast press” within 2 weeks of release.

12. Dan Zuccarelli on 12 Aug 2008 at 1:44 pm #

    NEOgaf seems like quite the cruel mistress.

13. Ryan Hewson on 12 Aug 2008 at 2:00 pm #

    Case in point – Too Human. I feel like that one is all talked out and it hasn’t even shipped yet.

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