Gone Home: strangely high reviews?

[schneiderguy]

For Gamespot, Gone Home was reviewed by Carolyn, a guy that dresses up like a woman (seriously, look it up). He also reviewed GTA5, and complained that it was misogynist.

On a less positive note, it’s deeply frustrating that, while its central and supporting male characters are flawed and complex characters, with a few extremely minor exceptions (such as the aforementioned optional getaway driver), GTA V has little room for women except to portray them as strippers, prostitutes, long-suffering wives, humorless girlfriends and goofy, new-age feminists we’re meant to laugh at.

Characters constantly spout lines that glorify male sexuality while demeaning women, and the billboards and radio stations of the world reinforce this misogyny, with ads that equate manhood with sleek sports cars while encouraging women to purchase a fragrance that will make them “smell like a bitch.” Yes, these are exaggerations of misogynistic undercurrents in our own society, but not satirical ones. With nothing in the narrative to underscore how insane and wrong this is, all the game does is reinforce and celebrate sexism. The beauty of cruising in the sun-kissed Los Santos hills while listening to “Higher Love” by Steve Winwood turns sour really quick when a voice comes on the radio that talks about using a woman as a urinal.

So in that case, it very likely was the "lesbian angle" that got the game its high score.

 

[Sulaco]

For Gamespot, Gone Home was reviewed by Carolyn, a guy that dresses up like a woman (seriously, look it up). He also reviewed GTA5, and complained that it was misogynist.



So in that case, it very likely was the "lesbian angle" that got the game its high score.

Aaand, that's a completely fair complaint.
Why? Because Rockstar shoves this narrative and these characters down your throat nearly as much as any JRPG.
The story/narrative/characters are CENTRAL to the game. This isn't some mindless sandbox ala Just Cause, the story is central.
And just like with an rpg, if the characters are annoying, the plot silly or otherwise Unenjoyable , it's worth mentioning , and yes, potentially worth lowering the score over

Personally, I don't care for the GTA games much, largely because they force a plot and characters on you I couldn't care less about. Sorry, I don't like playing as shit human beings doing shitty things. Or at least having that story rammed down my throat. But the gameplay as a pure sandbox is/can be a blast. 🙂

And FWIW didn't he almost UNIVERSALLY praise the game and give it 9.5 out of 10?? Clearly that complaint was quite minor and didn't affect his judgment too greatly.

 

[thedosbox]

For Gamespot, Gone Home was reviewed by Carolyn, a guy that dresses up like a woman (seriously, look it up). He also reviewed GTA5, and complained that it was misogynist.

So in that case, it very likely was the "lesbian angle" that got the game its high score.

And your point is?

Let's pretend game scores actually mean something. There are 55 "professional" reviews of gone home on metacritic with a score of 87. There are 58 such reviews for the PS3 version of GTAV - with a score of 97.

Both include Carolyn Petit's gamespot review.

The story/narrative/characters are CENTRAL to the game. This isn't some mindless sandbox ala Just Cause, the story is central.
And just like with an rpg, if the characters are annoying, the plot silly or otherwise Unenjoyable , it's worth mentioning , and yes, potentially worth lowering the score over

Personally, I don't care for the GTA games much, largely because they force a plot and characters on you I couldn't care less about. Sorry, I don't like playing as shit human beings doing shitty things. Or at least having that story rammed down my throat. But the gameplay as a pure sandbox is/can be a blast. 🙂

Precisely. I am continually astonished that anyone thinks a game reviewer can be purely objective, and then complains when they aren't.

Hint - Every reviewer brings their own biases. Some people prefer games with lots of explosions, others like 8-bit RPG's, others like historical strategy. All of them are biased.

Anyone who doesn't believe that should look at http://www.objectivegamereviews.com and think about what truly "objective" game reviews would look like.

 

[Lil Frier]

For Gamespot, Gone Home was reviewed by Carolyn, a guy that dresses up like a woman (seriously, look it up). He also reviewed GTA5, and complained that it was misogynist.



So in that case, it very likely was the "lesbian angle" that got the game its high score.

I find that block of "review" rather funny and hypocritical. For starters, he (?) complains that some women in the game are "goofy, new-age feminists we’re meant to laugh at." Does he (again, ?) realize he (???) realizes that he (?!?!?!) is being just that?

Also, I find it hypocritical that the complaint is made that the feminists are goofy and over-the-top/satirical, but then the complaint comes right after that the overly-macho and silly things about men aren't viewed in the same light.

I'm basically the first person in line to complain about the problems with GTA, but this idea that it's ONLY satirical in a way tat demeans women is just dumb. The game thrives on its being over-the-top in its portrayal of everything. But Captain Crazy has to act like everything that makes a joke of women is offensive and sexist, while the things that make the men look stupid is either a blow-off joke or something that makes men great (but not offensive).

These are the kinds of people who need to keep their opinions out of the spotlight, because they just poison the well of society with idiocy.

 

[DigDog]

ya'know, on metacritic, you can click the right hand side, and read the customer reviews. if you go to that website and read only the paid-for reviews, you're a bit thick.
(incidentally, the vast majority of user reviews for Gh are "wtf")

 

[schneiderguy]

Aaand, that's a completely fair complaint.
Why? Because Rockstar shoves this narrative and these characters down your throat nearly as much as any JRPG.
The story/narrative/characters are CENTRAL to the game. This isn't some mindless sandbox ala Just Cause, the story is central.
And just like with an rpg, if the characters are annoying, the plot silly or otherwise Unenjoyable , it's worth mentioning , and yes, potentially worth lowering the score over

Personally, I don't care for the GTA games much, largely because they force a plot and characters on you I couldn't care less about. Sorry, I don't like playing as shit human beings doing shitty things. Or at least having that story rammed down my throat. But the gameplay as a pure sandbox is/can be a blast. 🙂

And FWIW didn't he almost UNIVERSALLY praise the game and give it 9.5 out of 10?? Clearly that complaint was quite minor and didn't affect his judgment too greatly.

It's a Grand Theft Auto game. By this point it should be obvious, even to anyone who has never played a GTA game, that Rockstar likes to push people's buttons and that it might *gasp* offend you. Complaining about GTA not being politically correct is like complaining about having to kill people in an FPS game.

 

[schneiderguy]

And your point is?

That his mental illness affects his professional judgment.

 

[Doppel]

I think some of you are being quite silly. A great many people thought the lesbian angle was used to garner sympathetic support. To say this doesn't mean we have any ulterior motives; want lesbians to die or anything of the sort. Please don't read into it. The lesbian angle was clearly chosen for a reason. It was not an arbitrary decision. In fact, it's discussed most because the rest of the story was so damned banal.

 

[artemicion]

I think some of you are being quite silly. A great many people thought the lesbian angle was used to garner sympathetic support. To say this doesn't mean we have any ulterior motives; want lesbians to die or anything of the sort. Please don't read into it. The lesbian angle was clearly chosen for a reason. It was not an arbitrary decision. In fact, it's discussed most because the rest of the story was so damned banal.

Ok I won't read anything into your belief that there exists some strange unspoken coalition of professional video game reviewers that +1's anything lesbian. And that video game developers put lesbians in video games to pander toward this strange unspoken coalition of professional video game reviewers that +1's anything lesbian. Totally normal. That explains why gays are overrepresented in video games.

 

[SMOGZINN]

That his mental illness affects his professional judgment.

Being transgendered is not a mental illness, nor is transvestitism. Transgender is also not gay or lesbian.

I find that block of "review" rather funny and hypocritical. For starters, he (?) complains that some women in the game are "goofy, new-age feminists we’re meant to laugh at." Does he (again, ?) realize he (???) realizes that he (?!?!?!) is being just that?

Okay, the proper pronoun is she. She identifies as female, so you use the feminine pronoun.

So, now that we are past that. Why is it 'goofy new-age feminist' to point out that the game is misogynistic?

Also, I find it hypocritical that the complaint is made that the feminists are goofy and over-the-top/satirical, but then the complaint comes right after that the overly-macho and silly things about men aren't viewed in the same light.

I don't believe that Carolyn stated that the male stereotypes are just fine. The fact that she didn't point out every bad stereotype does not reduce from the fact that the game is incredibly misogynistic.

But Captain Crazy has to act like everything that makes a joke of women is offensive and sexist,

Not everything, but this game takes it to a level that is more then simply offensive and sexist, it is flat out misogynistic.

These are the kinds of people who need to keep their opinions out of the spotlight, because they just poison the well of society with idiocy.

Or, maybe you just don't like hearing the uncomfortable truth that the videogames you love are often filled with hate.

 

[Lil Frier]

So did you just cut up my post to try to call me out for things I didn't say? I made a CLEAR mention in that post that I don't like GTA as a whole, so to act like this is something where "my" game is being attacked, so I'm being insulting and defensive, is to ignore what I'm saying.

I don't know if "Carolyn" identifies as a "she," all I got from the guy who posted the article was that it was a guy who wore women's close. Now that I know it's a guy identifying as a female, I'll blatantly put HE, because it's a guy. You don't get to say "I'm a girl," while still being a guy, and expect me to ignore simple facts like gender because you don't like it.

 

[SMOGZINN]

So did you just cut up my post to try to call me out for things I didn't say? I made a CLEAR mention in that post that I don't like GTA as a whole, so to act like this is something where "my" game is being attacked, so I'm being insulting and defensive, is to ignore what I'm saying.

You did say those thing’s that is why they are quoted.
I didn't mean that you love that specific game, but video games in general.
For the record I love video games too (but not that specific one), I just accept that they are often terrible sexist and speak out against that when I can. Your post is actually the opposite of that, you are apologizing for that games misogyny.

I don't know if "Carolyn" identifies as a "she," all I got from the guy who posted the article was that it was a guy who wore women's close. Now that I know it's a guy identifying as a female, I'll blatantly put HE, because it's a guy. You don't get to say "I'm a girl," while still being a guy, and expect me to ignore simple facts like gender because you don't like it.

Ah, so you are ignorant as well.
Her SEX is male. Her GENDER is female. The fact is gender is based on social roles, which for her is female, while sex is based on genital composition.

 

[Lil Frier]

You did say those thing’s that is why they are quoted. I didn't mean that you love that specific game, but video games in general. For the record I love video games too (but not that specific one), I just accept that they are often terrible sexist and speak out against that when I can. Your post is actually the opposite of that, you are apologizing for that games misogyny.

I'm not apologizing for, or defending, any game right now. I'm saying that GTA is obviously a game coated in satire and ridiculousness, so those who are offended are usually just missing the joke. The game is basically the South Park or Family Guy of the gaming world (for the record, I like neither of those shows).

They aim for over-the-top because it sells. They overdue the stereotypes because it's "funny" and it sells. I'm not saying I support it in any way, I'm saying that its tendencies are extremely stupid, but I'm not offended by it in the least.

Of course, as a straight, white male, I'm pretty sure that society prohibits me from being offended. But this thread's not about GTA or our personal beliefs, so I'll be dropping the matter now.

 

[schneiderguy]

Her SEX is male. Her GENDER is female. The fact is gender is based on social roles, which for her is female, while sex is based on genital composition.

He was born with a penis, he's a dude.

Like I said, mental illness, which you seem to share.

 

[SMOGZINN]

He was born with a penis, he's a dude.

Like I said, mental illness, which you seem to share.

Go check the DSM, transgenderism is not a mental illness, but homophobia is. You are the one with the mental illness.

 

[Geosurface]

He was born with a penis, he's a dude.

Like I said, mental illness, which you seem to share.

Hear hear.

I used to think exactly like he does, must be tolerant of everything no matter how strange, etc.

And believe me, I still have the utmost sympathy for people who feel like they're in the wrong body, because I do think that 99% of the time they didn't choose to end up in that position. I don't know exactly what amount of it is biological vs. other factors, but either way... I don't think "Carolyn" CHOSE to be in the position he's in. I sympathize. I really do.

But we all have our crosses to bear. I wish I wasn't bald. But if I go buy a bad toupee I'm just embarrassing myself. There is much more dignity in accepting your situation and your limitations, and moving forward with your life.

If someone's a gay male, then be a gay male! But to do a poor impersonation of a woman just strikes me as embarrassing. But hey, it's a free country and people can do what they want. I'm just saying what I think about it.

Go check the DSM, transgenderism is not a mental illness, but homophobia is. You are the one with the mental illness.

The entire field of psychology stands on shaky ground. I'm not Tom Cruise or something, I think it has a lot of merit, but it also has a lot of flaws. Go back some years and you'd find homosexuality in there as a disorder. Not even that many years ago, I believe. The DSM, like anything else, is mostly just a snapshot of where a culture is at at the moment it's written. It says nothing definitive about what our values should be as a society.

They can put in or take out anything they want from the DSM. I believe we live in an era of over-diagnosis and turning everything into a disorder or a pathology. Many of which are just normal parts of human variance.

I believe that people with unconventional gender identities are probably born that way, or that at the very least, the largest factors in them ending up that way are out of their control, and in some way biologically influenced. I hold no ill will toward such people, and sympathize greatly for them. I believe it is "natural" in the sense that such misfires are inevitable in any species.

But I also believe that revulsion and the urge to ostracize such people is just as natural, and while it being natural doesn't mean it is right or that we shouldn't fight it, I can't help but wonder if there are evolutionary advantages to those behaviors. I think most social animals have instincts to weed out unusual group members, and this must have been adaptive in some way.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Of course, as a straight, white male, I'm pretty sure that society prohibits me from being offended.

It does not mean you can't be offended, it means that you have to be carful that you don't get trapped into thinking that because you are not offended no one should be.

But this thread's not about GTA or our personal beliefs, so I'll be dropping the matter now.

Fair enough. Sorry if I misrepresented you.

 

[SMOGZINN]

If someone's a gay male, then be a gay male! But to do a poor impersonation of a woman just strikes me as embarrassing.

As I said before, most transgender people are not gay. Most transgender men are still attracted to women.

 

[Geosurface]

As I said before, most transgender people are not gay. Most transgender men are still attracted to women.

Biology is messy and I appreciate the fact that people can end up with just about any combination of sexual orientation, gender identity, whatever.

No fault of their own, and theoretically it shouldn't even be something we think of in terms of "fault" because it harms nobody *in theory*

But recently I've started to wonder if there might not be some reasons, related to societal health, that it is better for such deviations from the norm to be kept "in the closet." Sad as that may be.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Biology is messy and I appreciate the fact that people can end up with just about any combination of sexual orientation, gender identity, whatever.

No fault of their own, and theoretically it shouldn't even be something we think of in terms of "fault" because it harms nobody *in theory*

But recently I've started to wonder if there might not be some reasons, related to societal health, that it is better for such deviations from the norm to be kept "in the closet." Sad as that may be.

I think that it is a interesting topic to discuss, and if you wish to start a discussion in the Discussion Club subforum I think it would be a good debate.

 

[Super56K]

Gone Home is about as far as you can get from my favorite game of 2013 (The Last of Us), but I really liked it. There's a surprising amount of backlash for it though, but it can't be simply because there's homosexuality in the narrative. There's no more of an agenda or reviewer bias going on here than there traditionally is - which is to say a lot. Game reviews have always been an underwhelming part of the gaming industry. I think the backlash has more to do with this being yet another release challenging what we collectively consider a game.

 

[Doppel]

Gone Home is about as far as you can get from my favorite game of 2013 (The Last of Us), but I really liked it. There's a surprising amount of backlash for it though, but it can't be simply because there's homosexuality in the narrative. There's no more of an agenda or reviewer bias going on here than there traditionally is - which is to say a lot. Game reviews have always been an underwhelming part of the gaming industry. I think the backlash has more to do with this being yet another release challenging what we collectively consider a game.

I don't think the backlash is because of the lesbian vibe. I think it's because the game just wasn't fantastic.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Aaand, that's a completely fair complaint.
Why? Because Rockstar shoves this narrative and these characters down your throat nearly as much as any JRPG.
The story/narrative/characters are CENTRAL to the game. This isn't some mindless sandbox ala Just Cause, the story is central.
And just like with an rpg, if the characters are annoying, the plot silly or otherwise Unenjoyable , it's worth mentioning , and yes, potentially worth lowering the score over

Personally, I don't care for the GTA games much, largely because they force a plot and characters on you I couldn't care less about. Sorry, I don't like playing as shit human beings doing shitty things. Or at least having that story rammed down my throat. But the gameplay as a pure sandbox is/can be a blast. 🙂

And FWIW didn't he almost UNIVERSALLY praise the game and give it 9.5 out of 10?? Clearly that complaint was quite minor and didn't affect his judgment too greatly.

The whole idea behind GTA is you are a shitty human being and your job is to be a shitty person because that's what gets you ahead. It's also a look at society from a satirical point of view complete with all the over the top stereotypes you can think of.

 

[artemicion]

He was born with a penis, he's a dude.

Like I said, mental illness, which you seem to share.

You believe this person has a mental illness and yet you obsessively follow this person and 1) know details about this person's personal life, and 2) possess detailed knowledge of this person's work to the point where you are fixated over a short critique made in passing in an otherwise glowing review of GTA 5.

Interesting.

 

[Yreka]

New DLC - Gun-Home for those who were just itching to shoot someone the whole time 😉

http://www.dorkly.com/video/58404/gun-home