Gaming News

Sonics2k · 25-05-2018 5:44am

Extremely shocked to see the news of TB passing away. When I saw his update a week or two ago I knew it wasn't going to end well, but I didn't expect it to be so soon.

I'd the good pleasure of working alongside Slanik at Blizzard and he spoke pretty fondly of his time on WoW Radio. I was a big, big fan of his and I can say honestly he was extremely popular in the office too.

He moved away from WoW at the right time for him, going from Blue Plz! to Cynical Brit and his famous WTF is series.

The man was a total advocate for gamers and gamers consumer rights, and will be missed.

Penn · 25-05-2018 6:32am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Meta critic is not a barometer of quality.

Metacritic is literally a barometer of quality.

The quality of a game is completely subjective and based solely on opinion. Metacritic is as much of an aggregate of those opinions as possible. Is it flawless? Absolutely not. But how else can we measure the quality of games in any kind of realistic, non-subjective way?

Jerichoholic · 25-05-2018 6:33am

I liked his WTF videos too. No bull****, straight to the point. I find that any gaming video that begins with "Hi guys" or "Ok Guys" is absolute trash.

ShadowHearth · 25-05-2018 6:55am

Just sow myself about TB. Like him or hate him, but he was extremely important person in gaming community. For me personally, he was one of the first youtubers I actually subscribed to and he started off my subscriptions list on youtube.

RIP.

Kiith · 25-05-2018 8:11am

He was one of the few YouTubers I actually liked. As said above, he was always calm and collected, and covered a wide range of topics.

Terrible for his family, but after the last update it didn't seem like there was much chance. Hopefully they at least had time to prepare for it (as much as can be in a situation like this).

RIP

Nody · 25-05-2018 8:28am

As someone who's followed TB for a very long while it's sad to hear; I remember when he originally announced it and his piss off Cancer attitude to it. I believe he was originally given 12 months to live and went on to live for years afterwards which goes to show his willingness to push it. He went over to Coxcon last year even though not being close to 100% and always set the bar high for himself in what to achieve. For a person who was literally sleeping out of his car for a while in his life he had a no nonsense attitude to getting **** done and fighting for the consumer right at all points. As many others with his note that he stopped treatment I still hoped he'd have more months left before leaving us; so very sad to see him go.

KilOit · 25-05-2018 8:56am

Very saddened by this news. I first got introduced to TB back in his Planetside radio show, knew from back then how talented he was and it was great to see how big he got. This is probably one of the biggest losses to pc gaming, you can probably thank him for the huge amount of indie games you see today. He's a unique individual and we'll probably never see the likes of him again in the gaming scene

Captain Obvious · 25-05-2018 9:28am

He's the reason for most of the indy games in my Steam library. His Steam sale videos were a godsend. Loved his WTF series and his SC2 stuff too. His WTF is Warhammer 40K Space Marines is the one I always remember because he broke his professional demeanor out of pure enjoyment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb50aAFiOpM

_Puma_ · 25-05-2018 11:05am

Very sad to hear, 33 is too young. Thoughts are with his wife and family

His WTF series were some of the very best in the gaming industry. Will be sorely missed. Personally very much aligned with a lot of his opinions and criticisms of the industry in general.

Cordell · 25-05-2018 11:43am

IMHO he was the best, most honest and no bull**** game reviewer out there. RIP.

Retr0gamer · 25-05-2018 12:01pm

Penn wrote: »

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Meta critic is not a barometer of quality.

Metacritic is literally a barometer of quality.

The quality of a game is completely subjective and based solely on opinion. Metacritic is as much of an aggregate of those opinions as possible. Is it flawless? Absolutely not. But how else can we measure the quality of games in any kind of realistic, non-subjective way?

Reviews are subjective and can be corrected in retrospect. Applying an arbitrary value to how good a game is is also inherently wrong. Plenty of bad games review well due to hype (fallout 4, gta 4, heavy rain) while classics often get ignored and overlooked or just can't be classified by a 100 point scale (Earthbound, fallout new Vegas, Nier).

I think the relatively low scoring of psp games is a very good indicator that metacritic aggregates should be taken with a pince of salt.

Billy86 · 25-05-2018 12:11pm

But it is largely subjective just as an example I've not played Nier myself yet depending on who you ask it is either a classic, or a bit of a mess and missed opportunity.

Penn · 25-05-2018 12:40pm

Billy86 wrote: »

But it is largely subjective just as an example I've not played Nier myself yet depending on who you ask it is either a classic, or a bit of a mess and missed opportunity.

Agreed. "Quality" in terms of a participatory form of entertainment will always be wholly subjective and based not just opinion but also individual experiences (eg. someone playing a horror game in the dark will have a different experience than someone playing during the day with friends around, or a bunch of friends playing a party game will have a different experience than a reviewer playing online with randomers). Even the genre can affect the perception of the quality of the game if you're playing a genre you don't particularly like.

It's immensely broad and subjective. But in terms of any kind of ranking or aggregation of how many people enjoyed the game and to what extent, there's little else to actually go on other than a collection and aggregation of a numerical subjective rating system like Metacritic.

Retr0gamer · 25-05-2018 12:53pm

Billy86 wrote: »

But it is largely subjective just as an example I've not played Nier myself yet depending on who you ask it is either a classic, or a bit of a mess and missed opportunity.

Nier is the best 7/10 game you'll ever play.

And that's why I mentioned it. People that say it's amazing and people that say it's cheap and crap are both right.

Jerichoholic · 25-05-2018 1:16pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Reviews are subjective and can be corrected in retrospect. Applying an arbitrary value to how good a game is is also inherently wrong. Plenty of bad games review well due to hype (fallout 4, gta 4, heavy rain) while classics often get ignored and overlooked or just can't be classified by a 100 point scale (Earthbound, fallout new Vegas, Nier).

I think the relatively low scoring of psp games is a very good indicator that metacritic aggregates should be taken with a pince of salt.

Fallout 4 and GTA 4 are both excellent games.

Gbear · 25-05-2018 2:22pm

The mark of a good reviewer is that they can present the product in question in a negative or positive light but can separate their personal opinions from the facts of the game, so you can still get an unbiased idea what the game is like.

I think TB was like that. I can't remember off hand what it was, but I've bought games he poo-pooed off the back of his reviews, and I've been confident in avoiding games he praised because I knew they weren't for me.

Sometimes I wonder about personalities in the gaming sphere and how seriously they take things, when after all's said and done, games, like all passtimes and entertainment, are a bit silly and trivial on a fundamental level. It was something that sometimes turned me off his content, but at the same time, that sort of lack of self awareness and the confidence in what he was doing also made it really good, and would often pull me back in to watch again.

Ultimately, it's churlish to slag someone off for giving a **** about what they did, and even more so if their passion drives them to do their job well. TB certainly did that.

Beyond the obvious sympathy for his family, I feel really sorry for the likes of Jesse Cox, Dodger and the others he's worked closely with. They seemed like a really tightly knit bunch.

wandatowell · 25-05-2018 3:23pm

Ah man I loved TB. I'm very sorry to hear this. May he rest in peace.

EoinHef · 25-05-2018 4:03pm

Not listened to much TB stuff lately but like most others it was his "WTF is" series that got me listening in the first place.

Also "Port Report" was good for those on PC.

Very tragic givin his age,way to young:(

wheresmahbombs · 25-05-2018 4:09pm

Haven't really watched much of TB's stuff at all, but I still have sympathy for his death.

Kylo Ren · 25-05-2018 6:09pm

He first introduced me to 'Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons' with his glowing review. I adore the game and will always be reminded of him when I play it.

R.I.P John.

Skerries · 26-05-2018 10:18am

David Crooks from Bioware thinks it's great he's dead

https://archive.li/UuEJw

Jerichoholic · 26-05-2018 11:02am

Skerries wrote: »

David Crooks from Bioware thinks it's great he's dead

https://archive.li/UuEJw

Well...he's getting fired today.

Sonics2k · 26-05-2018 11:02am

Skerries wrote: »

David Crooks from Bioware thinks it's great he's dead

https://archive.li/UuEJw

Ah yes, wishing death and misery upon someone just because they gave you poor reviews.

Seems like a real nice bloke.

BelovedAunt · 26-05-2018 11:06am

Skerries wrote: »

David Crooks from Bioware thinks it's great he's dead

https://archive.li/UuEJw

Jesus.

Gbear · 26-05-2018 11:17am

In some ways Twitter is a public service, because it coaxes such absolute oxygen thieves into exposing themselves.

Zero-Cool · 26-05-2018 11:17am

Skerries wrote: »

David Crooks from Bioware thinks it's great he's dead

https://archive.li/UuEJw

"**** that guy 9 ways to Sunday and good riddance to bad rubbish"

As Tony Soprano would say "OOOOHHHHHHHH"

Billy86 · 26-05-2018 11:45am

Jerichoholic wrote: »

Well...he's getting fired today.

Hopefully never to be hired anywhere again. I have no idea who this guy who died is as I had no interest in gaming for a long time, but that's absolutely revolting.

Robert ninja · 26-05-2018 12:23pm

Somehow doubt it he'll be fired. Bioware is full of the worst kinds of people and we've seen this kind of crap before from the big companies. Palle Hoffstein still works for Ubisoft despite it being revealed that he participated in a doxing attempt.

panevthe3rd · 26-05-2018 12:58pm

Skerries wrote: »

David Crooks from Bioware thinks it's great he's dead

https://archive.li/UuEJw

Never really knew about total biscuit until the news about him retireing because of his illness.

I would encourage anyone who has the ability to hack David Crooks twitter account to change his handle to @totalarsebiscuit.

26-05-2018 7:22pm

Skerries wrote: »

David Crooks from Bioware thinks it's great he's dead

https://archive.li/UuEJw

What an absolute asshole he is

Venom · 27-05-2018 1:07am

Casey Hudson of Bioware is having none of it.

https://twitter.com/CaseyDHudson/status/1000442738578370561

Crooks is a sack of garbage but seems he's not worked at Bioware for a while.

dreamers75 · 27-05-2018 1:12am

Crooks did have a point albeit poor way to use it when the lad has died but Totalbiscuit was a bit of a dick and Crooks just highlighted that.

Poor form tho.

Sephiroth_dude · 27-05-2018 2:37am

He was sacked then I take it? What an absolute scumbag, he should be ashamed of himself, tb annoyed me at times and I didn't always agree with his opinions but I loved his Wtf videos and the Co op podcast, started watching it way back in 2012, was very sorry to hear he passed and shocked if I'm honest, I know he posted about a month ago about not having much time left but damn I didn't think he would go that fast, rip.

27-05-2018 8:32am

Sephiroth_dude wrote: »

He was sacked then I take it? What an absolute scumbag, he should be ashamed of himself, tb annoyed me at times and I didn't always agree with his opinions but I loved his Wtf videos and the Co op podcast, started watching it way back in 2012, was very sorry to hear he passed and shocked if I'm honest, I know he posted about a month ago about not having much time left but damn I didn't think he would go that fast, rip.

I think the implication was that he's not worked there for awhile. Honestly what he did was dickish not because of what he did but the way he said it, I think that TotalBiscuit was quite hateful and spiteful in what he did at times, there are plenty of examples of him going way overboard in order to shit on something for no real reason. His obsession with tech specs and asking "why does this game not have this when this game does" was just strange and felt like a way for him to bash a game for no reason, also his support of Gamer Gate and the fact that there are numerous examples of him being an utter dick to people, both fans or industry figures alike.

It's always a shame when someone dies and at times I liked some of what he did but it doesn't mean that people can't point out some of the shit he pulled. We live in a world where as soon as someone dies all criticism is stopped and no matter how big a dick you were people will look on you fondly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXHleozgQ18

27-05-2018 8:58am

The man was dead a couple of hours
Unreal what I'm reading

27-05-2018 9:11am

M!Ck^ wrote: »

The man was dead a couple of hours
Unreal what I'm reading

The argument to be made is, does the fact that someone is dead mean that they cannot be criticised? What the guy did is shitty beyond belief and he should lose his job over it.

At the same time, he is entitled to his opinion and someone pointing out some crappy things that another person did is not something that should be an issue as long as they go about it in the right way. I liked some of TB's videos but at the same time disliked quite a bit about him, he wasn't a particularly nice person and he had no issue going after anyone he felt like. His death is no doubt sad for his followers and for it's never nice to see someone so entrenched in gaming pass but at the same time he made a lot of enemies so it's not surprising that they aren't all broken up about his death.

He is after all the man who said: "I'm also not going to claim they [death threats] were credible because well, Anita is still breathing" when Anita Sarkisian (I'm not a fan of her either) received death threats. He was one of those pseudointellectuals who wanted everyone to know how smart he was, I think that he has tweeted his IQ on a couple of occasions and wasn't above having a go at other YouTubers and had an issue with traditional gaming journalists going so far as to call Leigh Alexander an alcoholic.

27-05-2018 9:15am

There is a time and a place
Not two hours after the man dies

27-05-2018 9:25am

M!Ck^ wrote: »

There is a time and a place
Not two hours after the man dies

The right course of action is to say nothing and let sleeping dogs lie but at the same time if someone wants to make a public comment that they are happy someone is dead then they are entitled to do so. Doesn't make it right or something that I would ever consider doing but when you have people stupid enough to identify who they are and where they work on their personal accounts then it is expected.

ERG89 · 27-05-2018 10:04am

https://twitter.com/superbunnyhop/status/1000527023113228288?s=19

Retr0gamer · 27-05-2018 10:55am

Seems he is mostly just annoyed that total biscuit criticised his games. Suck it up horrible man baby and get over it.

Sonics2k · 27-05-2018 10:58am

Deleted User wrote: »

The argument to be made is, does the fact that someone is dead mean that they cannot be criticised? What the guy did is shitty beyond belief and he should lose his job over it.

Dead men can be criticised, but what this guy did was not criticise. He spoke of his relief that TB was dead, and the sole reason for this is because TB said mean things about his game.

27-05-2018 11:06am

Sonics2k wrote: »

Dead men can be criticised, but what this guy did was not criticise. He spoke of his relief that TB was dead, and the sole reason for this is because TB said mean things about his game.

As I said, I don't agree with how he went about it and think that if he still has a job should lose it but at the same time let's not pretend that TB was above going after anyone who dared criticise him as anyone who did, got an essay worth of abuse in return.

As I said, there is a time and place but the problem with the modern world is that the likes of Twitter have made people think that their voice needs to be heard. Far too many people with nothing to say are very vocal in relation to any number of topics saying any old crap and this is just the latest example.

Robert ninja · 27-05-2018 12:12pm

https://twitter.com/ChrisRGun/status/1000443341064949765

Another sex offender who is anti gamergate and unsympathetic about TB's death. I definitely didn't like a lot about TB but he's practically the only reviewer who took performance and features seriously. Most reviews in the mainstream are wall-o-texts about how it was too hard and didn't have enough/the right political messages. I appreciated at least one popular one saying don't buy it because it performs as bad as the console versions.

Dyr · 27-05-2018 1:15pm

Deleted User wrote: »

The argument to be made is, does the fact that someone is dead mean that they cannot be criticised? What the guy did is shitty beyond belief and he should lose his job over it.

At the same time.

There is not "at the same time" the guy was gloating over a mans death hours after he passed away, he's a dirt bird and anyone who would excuse that behaviour isn't far behind him.

27-05-2018 1:21pm

ERG89 wrote: »

https://twitter.com/superbunnyhop/status/1000527023113228288?s=19

Allegedly, just ripping off Dolphin (GameCube/Wii emulator):

https://twitter.com/Screvvy/status/1000615085172281344

27-05-2018 1:32pm

Bambi wrote: »

There is not "at the same time" the guy was gloating over a mans death hours after he passed away, he's a dirt bird and anyone who would excuse that behaviour isn't far behind him.

I never defended him, excused him or said what he did was right, in fact I pointed out what a dick he is but by all means look past that so that you can get a dig in.

Crooks comes across as a very unlikeable human being but just because we think that, doesn't mean that he can't say what he wants. Until Twitter and the like actually enforce their ToS then things like this will continue to happen.

The last thing on my mind when someone dies, even if I hated them would be to go online to get a dig in. But when you live in the modern world it is now a very real possibility that your death will be mocked, especially if you were someone well known for attacking others and going after whole groups of people.

I wasn't a fan of TB but many were and they are no doubt hurting, and even if you are not it's pretty shitty whenever someone so young dies. It's a loss to gaming, no doubt about that but TB was quite well known for his at times toxic personality, part of his appeal was that he was happy to go after anyone and was often very vocal about his hatred for certain titles, individuals and movements. It's part of what put me off him, especially his attacks on certain women involved in mainstream gaming. When you do this and become known in part for it then some of the people your vitriol was aimed at are not exactly going to be upset when you die. Doesn't mean that they should post nasty comments but it is their prerogative.

This whole thing brings up some interesting ethical questions. If for example, Donald Trump passed away tomorrow would comments such as those posted on Twitter be acceptable? What if Kim Jong-un was to pass away, would tweets celebrating this be received with the same level of anger?

K.O.Kiki · 28-05-2018 9:09pm

Deleted User wrote: »

I never defended him, excused him or said what he did was right, in fact I pointed out what a dick he is but by all means look past that so that you can get a dig in.

Crooks comes across as a very unlikeable human being but just because we think that, doesn't mean that he can't say what he wants. Until Twitter and the like actually enforce their ToS then things like this will continue to happen.

The last thing on my mind when someone dies, even if I hated them would be to go online to get a dig in. But when you live in the modern world it is now a very real possibility that your death will be mocked, especially if you were someone well known for attacking others and going after whole groups of people.

I wasn't a fan of TB but many were and they are no doubt hurting, and even if you are not it's pretty shitty whenever someone so young dies. It's a loss to gaming, no doubt about that but TB was quite well known for his at times toxic personality, part of his appeal was that he was happy to go after anyone and was often very vocal about his hatred for certain titles, individuals and movements. It's part of what put me off him, especially his attacks on certain women involved in mainstream gaming. When you do this and become known in part for it then some of the people your vitriol was aimed at are not exactly going to be upset when you die. Doesn't mean that they should post nasty comments but it is their prerogative.

This whole thing brings up some interesting ethical questions. If for example, Donald Trump passed away tomorrow would comments such as those posted on Twitter be acceptable? What if Kim Jong-un was to pass away, would tweets celebrating this be received with the same level of anger?

Dead men can't defend themselves against your words/actions; attacking someone after they've died shows you're a coward.

super_furry · 28-05-2018 9:14pm

No-one comes out of this looking good.

A man is dead, you can always keep what you thought of him to yourself. Not sure why people feel the need to broadcast stuff like that across social media, particularly those with a high profile job.

2Mad2BeMad · 28-05-2018 9:31pm

super_furry wrote: »

No-one comes out of this looking good.

A man is dead, you can always keep what you thought of him to yourself. Not sure why people feel the need to broadcast stuff like that across social media, particularly those with a high profile job.

Some people like to get the last dig.

RIP to him though, never watched his videos I wasn't a fan prefer angry joe. Not nice to see a person who was loved by millions pass away so young, specially from cancer.

What I dont understand is the gofundme page for him, I mean surely his family is well off regarding money. The chap was worth a few million at least, probably worth more now. I don't think his family set up the page for himself, looks like a friend did, seems like taking advantage of the situation to me.

29-05-2018 9:52am

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Dead men can't defend themselves against your words/actions; attacking someone after they've died shows you're a coward.

No one is saying otherwise, just that when you are knonw as a toxic personality there is a chance that people are going to revel in your death.

Also saying they are a coward implies that attacking someone before they die makes you something else, what happened here is shitty but no worse than some of TB's tirades against industry figures. Him attacking Leigh Alexander or Anita Sarkisian when they were alive was cowardly and uncalled for. As I said, I wasn't a fan of TB and distasteful as Crooks attack was I'm not overcome with sympathy for TB given that when he was alive he was quite a toxic and unlikeable figure.

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