Feedback for Tom and Spree

[Guest TheGame2705]

Recently Dr. Tom reviewed the movie "Phone Booth." He thought of something that would make the movie really symbolic and metaphoric I never would have thought of. That was pretty cool insight on it and his positive review made me want to see it more. Now I know what to do on my date! Whoo...Dr. Tom is now the love doctor.

 

*Ahem* Anyway,

 

I also read Jay Spree's review on "Def Jam: Vendetta". Good review but some things bothered me. It's in no way a bad review I just thought I'd bring some constructive criticism/comments because I like it very much so when people analyze and critique me just like Dames did with an article I sent him and I think it only helps the writer.

Two things stuck out and that were tasteless/poor choice of words were

I didn’t care if it was a bunch of fags swatting each other with handbags

Despite a few niggles, this really is the closest thing to No Mercy 2.

First is just in really bad humor and the second was probably the worst choice of a word considering the theme of the game.

Besides that, what annoyed me was how the game was constantly compared to Kinnikuman. I read the review for a review of the game, not a comparison of DJ:V to Kinnikuman. It still did a pretty good review job but it felt more like a comparison. Another thing that was cool was that it was reviewed for those interested in it because it played like an AKI wrestling game. I've noticed the majority abhor hip-hop/rap here but I would have liked someone who wanted to play the game because it was about hip-hop to review it. I read another review in this style and while good it was short.

 

Overall, good work

[Guest DVD Spree]

I guess I should respond here, even though it was purely by chance that I saw the thread, and I usually only hang out in the DVD and Video Games folders.

 

I do appreciate the criticism, so please, take these responses in the spirit in which they are intended.

 

First is just in really bad humor and the second was probably the worst choice of a word considering the theme of the game.

 

I'm afraid I refuse to accept the first as a criticism. Making fun of gays/homosexuals/fags/queers/whatever term perjorative or otherwise you want to use is neither tasteless nor bad humour, because nobody knows my sexual preference. And seeing as the recent "it joke" in smarkdom has been at the expense of Jeff Hardy's alleged homosexuality and potential hanky-related fetishes, I'm afraid this is just one of those things that you have to accept as par for the course on a site such as this.

 

As for the second point, I can see that "niggles" is an unfortunate, albeit utterly unconscious turn of phrase. Though again, seeing as you don't know if I'm black or white, I don't see as it's relative, but point taken.

 

I think the bottom line on both of these points is that you are easily offended, which I don't at all have a problem with. However, my style is heavily Scotsmanised and is generally profanity-laden (I have used the 'C word' on numerous occasions), so I would have to say it's a stylistic difference. At the end of the day, if someone writes with a style that you find unpalatable, it is ultimately your choice not to read it.

 

Besides that, what annoyed me was how the game was constantly compared to Kinnikuman. I read the review for a review of the game, not a comparison of DJ:V to Kinnikuman. It still did a pretty good review job but it felt more like a comparison.

 

I'm afraid that the Kinnikuman comparison is very deliberate, and overwhelmingly relevent. The audience that the review is written for is one that marks for AKI wrestling games. As such, they want to know everthing about every AKI grappler, as indeed you pointed out:

 

Another thing that was cool was that it was reviewed for those interested in it because it played like an AKI wrestling game.

 

From the amount of email I received, people want to know whether it is worth investing in an import copy of Kinnikuman or getting Def Jam. I hyped the holy hell out of Kinnikuman when I reviewed it, and received equal parts praise and disdain for doing so - particularly my claims that it was going to be better than Def Jam.

 

Hence, the audience that the audience was written for was waiting to see the comparison - to see whether I was right or wrong for everything I had said. So yes, it was very much intended to be a comparison, because the two games have a virtually identical audience, while the audience for Def Jam and Legends of Wrestling is very different, so in general nobody cares about that particular comparison.

 

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the comparison, but it was utterly justified and largely the point of writing the review - people want to buy an AKI game, and they want to buy the best one. The review is intended to help them in that.

 

I've noticed the majority abhor hip-hop/rap here but I would have liked someone who wanted to play the game because it was about hip-hop to review it.

 

You've pretty much answered your own point here. If I'd have written a review that didn't even acknowledge that another GameCube AKI wrestling game exists, what would make it any different from the million other Def Jam reviews on the net? WHat makes it a TSM review is that I cater for our readership. Thus, it wouldn't make much sense for me to write a review from a hip-hop perspective, since there's apparently about an 80/20 split here of people who loathe hip-hop and those who love it. I used to be heavily into the hip-hop scene, but the fact is that (aside from the fact I'm not that big a fan any more) this is a VIDEOGAME review on a VIDEOGAME section, not a videogame review on a music site. If I wrote a review of Jedi OUtcast, I wouldn't write it from a Star Wars perspective, because I'm a videogame reviewer. Specialist reviews, such as the one you refer to, cater to their own audience, as we do ours.

 

In truth, aside from more reference to specific rapper's names and possibly listing song titles, I'm not honestly sure how I could make the review 'more hip-hop', because to be honest, the licence is largely tacked-on and the game exploits stereotypical elements of hip-hop culture. Certainly, it is not a genuine reflection of hip-hop or the rappers themselves.

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and certainly you have yours. Although on the "poor taste of words" front, I really think you are reading too much into an English colloquialism and as for the gay thing, I think you're being oversensitive. That said, I thank you for your feedback.

[Guest TheGame2705]

I'm afraid I refuse to accept the first as a criticism. Making fun of gays/homosexuals/fags/queers/whatever term perjorative or otherwise you want to use is neither tasteless nor bad humour, because nobody knows my sexual preference. And seeing as the recent "it joke" in smarkdom has been at the expense of Jeff Hardy's alleged homosexuality and potential hanky-related fetishes, I'm afraid this is just one of those things that you have to accept as par for the course on a site such as this.

 

Fags waving handbags is still nonetheless a bad stereotype. Whether you're gay or not makes no difference. It'd be even stupider if you were gay yourself and called people fags regularly. So in that last statement are you saying TSM supports gay-bashing? I think I could almost positively tell you that if I contacted Dames and asked him the same question he'd say it's not tolerated. Also, being a sheep makes you friends with no one except fellow sheep.

 

I think the bottom line on both of these points is that you are easily offended, which I don't at all have a problem with. However, my style is heavily Scotsmanised and is generally profanity-laden (I have used the 'C word' on numerous occasions), so I would have to say it's a stylistic difference. At the end of the day, if someone writes with a style that you find unpalatable, it is ultimately your choice not to read it.

I've also never read you or The Scotsman and I think if you prefer to go with the offensive and sometimes juvenile approach in your columns, that certainly is your prerogative. I know better next time I guess.

 

I'm afraid that the Kinnikuman comparison is very deliberate, and overwhelmingly relevent. The audience that the review is written for is one that marks for AKI wrestling games. As such, they want to know everthing about every AKI grappler, as indeed you pointed out:

From the amount of email I received, people want to know whether it is worth investing in an import copy of Kinnikuman or getting Def Jam. I hyped the holy hell out of Kinnikuman when I reviewed it, and received equal parts praise and disdain for doing so - particularly my claims that it was going to be better than Def Jam.

Hence, the audience that the audience was written for was waiting to see the comparison - to see whether I was right or wrong for everything I had said. So yes, it was very much intended to be a comparison, because the two games have a virtually identical audience, while the audience for Def Jam and Legends of Wrestling is very different, so in general nobody cares about that particular comparison. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the comparison, but it was utterly justified and largely the point of writing the review - people want to buy an AKI game, and they want to buy the best one. The review is intended to help them in that.

Then I don't believe it should have been titled Video Game Review: Def Jam: Vendetta, it should have been titled...How Does Def Jam Vendetta Compare to Kinnikuman.

 

You've pretty much answered your own point here. If I'd have written a review that didn't even acknowledge that another GameCube AKI wrestling game exists, what would make it any different from the million other Def Jam reviews on the net? WHat makes it a TSM review is that I cater for our readership. Thus, it wouldn't make much sense for me to write a review from a hip-hop perspective, since there's apparently about an 80/20 split here of people who loathe hip-hop and those who love it. I used to be heavily into the hip-hop scene, but the fact is that (aside from the fact I'm not that big a fan any more) this is a VIDEOGAME review on a VIDEOGAME section, not a videogame review on a music site. If I wrote a review of Jedi OUtcast, I wouldn't write it from a Star Wars perspective, because I'm a videogame reviewer. Specialist reviews, such as the one you refer to, cater to their own audience, as we do ours.

This wasn't a criticism to you but more of an opinion.

 

In truth, aside from more reference to specific rapper's names and possibly listing song titles, I'm not honestly sure how I could make the review 'more hip-hop', because to be honest, the licence is largely tacked-on and the game exploits stereotypical elements of hip-hop culture. Certainly, it is not a genuine reflection of hip-hop or the rappers themselves.

This is still part of my opinion and your review was written from the perspective of "This is No Mercy but they instead dressed it up with rappers and matching ensemble." I would have liked to also have read something as in-depth from the perspective of "This is a game where you play as Def Jam artists and beat each other up." There was also about only one or two lines where you said "Some artists were left out". Those are ways someone could have reviewed it from the "Def Jam:Vendetta is about Def Jam" side.

[Guest DVD Spree]

Fags waving handbags is still nonetheless a bad stereotype. Whether you're gay or not makes no difference. It'd be even stupider if you were gay yourself and called people fags regularly.

 

No, it'd be empowerment/disempowerment, thus it would actually be a positive use of the term. Being someone into the hip-hop scene where blacks refer to themselves as "niggers", I would have thought you'd be able to appreciate this.

 

So in that last statement are you saying TSM supports gay-bashing? I think I could almost positively tell you that if I contacted Dames and asked him the same question he'd say it's not tolerated. Also, being a sheep makes you friends with no one except fellow sheep.

 

No, that's not what I'm saying at all. Apparently, not only are you infamiliar with TSM, but with Scott Keith, possibly the most influential smart mark writer on the net and the founding father of this site. The point is, I am certainly not the only one on this site or in these forums who makes gay references, and what I'm saying is it's as ridiculous to come to a site like and not expect such humour as it is to come here and not expect everyone to mark for Benoit.

 

I've also never read you or The Scotsman and I think if you prefer to go with the offensive and sometimes juvenile approach in your columns, that certainly is your prerogative. I know better next time I guess.

 

Indeed you do. You'll find that most of my work is juvenile, and if you don't like it, then you're just smelly. As I said, the review is written for an audience - you are not part of that audience, hence I cannot be held responsible for your lack of enjoyment.

 

Oh, and if you've never read Scotsman, you have no idea what racism or gay jokes are about. Go see - it's fun!

http://www.scotsmanality.com

 

Then I don't believe it should have been titled Video Game Review: Def Jam: Vendetta, it should have been titled...How Does Def Jam Vendetta Compare to Kinnikuman.

 

Should've, could've... if you want to read a generic review that pretends that there aren't any other wrestling games - particularly AKI wrestling games - on the planet, that's fine. I suggest you try http://www.cube.ign.com and http://www.gamespot.com

 

This review is written for AKI WRESTLING FANS. I'm sorry that you aren't one of those, and again, it's not my fault you're reasding an article not intended for you. AKI fans know that the company that makes the best wrestling games in the world has two distinctly different titles on the market right now, and they want to know which one is the best. Since I took an immense amount of flack following my Kinnikuman review, my opinions on the matter are somewhat important to the review. The piece is not a comparison, but comparison forms a large and important part of the review - if I review No Mercy and fail to mention that Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 is also on the market, and I also fail to compare and contrast the two and point out that they each have their own merits, thus failing to draw attention to a potentially superior product, I am doing a disservice to myself as a reviewer and you as a reader. I apologise for trying to broaden your horizons and raise your awareness of the gaming landscape.

 

This is still part of my opinion and your review was written from the perspective of "This is No Mercy but they instead dressed it up with rappers and matching ensemble." I would have liked to also have read something as in-depth from the perspective of "This is a game where you play as Def Jam artists and beat each other up." There was also about only one or two lines where you said "Some artists were left out". Those are ways someone could have reviewed it from the "Def Jam:Vendetta is about Def Jam" side.

 

Here's the thing, that's EXACTLY what it is: "This is No Mercy but they instead dressed it up with rappers and matching ensemble." There honestly isn't anything more hip-hop to it than that. Def Jam Vendetta is about Def Jam only insofar as it is built around a weak and arbitrary Def Jam licence. I'm sure when THE SOURCE run a piece on the game, they'll talk about "bone crunchin' action" and other such statements, not how "Meth brings the Shaolin style to Queensbridge fight clubs". THis is a shallow, SHALLOW cash-in on the Def Jam licence in lieu of an actual wrestling promotion. I'm not sure what this other review detailed, but I am not surprised it was short because there isn't anything to write about from this perspective.

 

 

<just edited to make my tags work properly>

[Guest DrTom]

Recently Dr. Tom reviewed the movie "Phone Booth." He thought of something that would make the movie really symbolic and metaphoric I never would have thought of. That was pretty cool insight on it and his positive review made me want to see it more.

Thanks. Actually, I felt sure they were going to go that route in the movie, which is why I mentioned it. It was so obvious, IMO, and I couldn't believe they passed up the opportunity. I still liked the movie, so I won't complain about it overmuch, but I was definitely surprised.

 

Whoo...Dr. Tom is now the love doctor.

So I've gone from Sexual Executive (a label given to me by El Dandy) to Love Doctor. I guess that constitutes a promotion. At worst, it's probably a lateral move, so it's all good in the hood.