I really have only one thing to say to all the idiot fanboys arguing over which games are better when comparing things like Halo, Battlefield, Call of Duty, etc.

They're more or less all good games, they just appeal to different audiences.

CD-R:

RepeatAfterMe:

Maraveno:
Luckily each issue you named is clear in the battlefield bad company games

So

Ehm

_{guys I don't know what to do now!
you tell 'm to clap
Like this?
yeah...no but nevermind}

There are Medics in BC2
Squads create a heavy sense of teamwork
People look different based on their class and faction
Players don't go down nearly as fast as they do in CoD

I think he was trying to say that Bad Company 2 didn't have any of those problems mentioned.

I never mentioned BC2 in my post. I don't know where you guys are getting that.

I don't hate the Moden Warfare games because it's cool to hate them. I hate them becuase it was a good game now devoid of originality with right-wing nut-job gun-wank "plots" that replaced the cool story of the first. If the game was fresh and fun, I could look over the vomit inducing "story". But it's not. It's just more boring, chest high wall, grenade insta-kill BS we have all seen a million times before.

You know, this whole arguement is kind of flawed...

He complains about people not liking CoD because "It's stupid" or "It's for kiddies" but the people that say that only really liked CoD in the first place because "It was cool", and since those people probably aren't really into video games to the level they would be on this site, they wouldn't see this video... In their defense, hating a game because "it's stupid" is just as justified as liking it because "it's cool".

I think anything else I could say has already been said in some form or fashion, so I'll leave it at that.

Liked this one. He generally made some good points, but missed some and brought up ones that were kind of unnecessary.

The 'art' point was one. I don't think there is a person who plays fps's for artistic value, but like I said, some good points.

those are hurr durr reasons, yes they seem like alot of cod style shooters, butthats because they're copying cod. And the fanbase....they'res a reason they have a mute function you can use mid match

I come for the theme-song and stay for what Jim has to say

kroldok:

Weasker:
Because you're not funny and especially not funny when you praise yourself.
And fat. Work out.

.... And wears a stupid tie. Buy a collar.
And wears stupid shades. Get a bandana.
And is white. Plastic surgery, here we come.

This is actually what he talks about for most of the video, arbitrary hatred towards groups of people, like people who hate other people for enjoying CoD, or because they are fat, or because they wears shades, or because.... well you get it.

He never actually states that all people who dislike CoD are wrong, he states that he likes it, and an unfortunate amount of people who dislike it do so because it is popular and thus do not base their opinion on the merits of the games themselves (from my experience i would say there is a decent chance this is true).

And with that comes the people who not only hate the game, but extend this hate towards the players themselves, actual people who in no kind of way deserve being treated like garbage because they play CoD, at least not more than you or I deserve to be treated like garbage because we play videogames, wether it's CoD or Braid.

No, he's not just saying he likes it, he IS saying it's actually good and the people who don't like it have no good reasons. I played CoD4 and gave my reasons why I didn't liked it then I went on giving only very few of the reasons why I don't like this guy. Want more reasons I don't like CoD? I'm not an online-multiplayer fan.

Good episode. I don't dislike CoD for the reasons listed here, though. I dislike Cod because of the newer installments oversaturating the player with perks, attachments, guns, and generally making the game a fuckfest of the bling-iest online avatar. On the other hand, I really do enjoy the single player, zombies, and the better online matches.

CoD 4 is excellent. Let's hope that the series can return to that more subtle pacing and simpler gameplay.

OK. That wasn't funny. This guy has stopped even trying. Apparently he's even done playing the "rebel" card. It doesn't exactly take balls of steel to leap to the defense of a wildly popular game like CoD.

Perhaps he thought the juxtaposition of condescending to his detractors about how condescending they are would be funny, but it really just came off as... well... condescending.

I wanted to like you dude. Fat loud guys should stick together, so I've watched all your shows up to now. The best of them was a "meh" and the worst was just embarrassing.

If you can't get the cute blond back try the next name on your list. This show really has nothing to offer. I'm out for good, I'm afraid, and I'm taking my page views with me.

Call of Duty was a good series, but when MW2 was released it did become shit. Plus, World at War's Russian side of the campaign kicked the ass of CoD4's and MW2's combined.

BlacklightVirus:
"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a game which defined what a modern multiplayer shooter could be".

Wrong, that would be Team Fortress 2.

Actually no, you're wrong. Team Fortress 2 really didn't do anything that no other game has done. If I remember correctly, Star Wars; Battlefront did much of the same things that Team Fortress did (and better, I believe).

Jim is doing a great job of embarrassing himself. He didn't acknowledge any od the main reasons people tend to dislike COD.

1)Boring environments.
2)No innovative mechanics.
3)No teamwork

etc...

1) That's entirely your opinion. I thought they were generally amazing. I've really never heard anyone complain about the environments also.

2.) Uhh... What? Did that whole "perk system" fly over your head? Maybe you missed the Killstreaks? Whether you liked it or not, no one did it before them.

3.) Not true in the slightest. A team using teamwork will beat a team not using team work any time.

Jim Sterling:
Defending Call of Duty

Very much how men and women of the military defend this nation's freedom overseas, Jim Sterling defends Call of Duty. In many ways, Sterling's cause is more righteous and noble than anything a soldier has ever, ever done.

Watch Video

Just with that youve lost a viewer. Doesnt help Jim is pretty much a petulant child.

PS. I too like CoD.

Assassin Xaero:
Call of Duty was a good series, but when MW2 was released it did become shit. Plus, World at War's Russian side of the campaign kicked the ass of CoD4's and MW2's combined.

This really bugs me. What did it do good? Anything at all? I'll give Gary Oldman did a good job at shouting at me to do shit, but it was literally the most boring campaign I've played in CoD.

Kind of wish you'd stop bothering with a lot of the obnoxious behaviors, as I genuinely do enjoy most of your points over the last few videos. D:

I don't mind the silly "Thank God for me" comments - it has the same bizarre appeal as Tenacious D making nothing but songs about themselves - but other than that, a lot of the behavior is simply childish. A shame, since you have a lot of good bits in this.

Still watching because when you settle down and get serious again, it's a good listen. I just wish you didn't make me feel inclined to skip 5~15 second sections of the video in order for me to still want to watch it. D:

GundamSentinel:
While not very subtly put, I completely agree with what he's saying. People will always be hating on what's popular, because that's what the 'cool kids' do, but a bit of sense seldom goes amiss.

So that explains his Witcher review. It's popular, so he hates it. And yet he defends CoD? <eyeroll>
Honestly, Jim's opinions are pretty questionable, I no longer think he has anything to say that is relevant to me.

Mantonio:
It's not the fact that it's a huge thing ALONE that makes it shit. It's the fact that (like you said) because it is so big, so many other companies try to emulate it.

How do other companies 'emulating' the COD formula make Infinity Ward and Treyarch responsible for the lack of creativity and risk-taking in the FPS industry? How does it make COD shit, when they are some of the most polished shooters on the market?

Blame other developers for taking what has been shown to work time and time again.

Often alienating their original fans in the process and making a poorer product. Example: Bioware and Dragon Age 2.

How is DA2 anything like the COD franchise? Does it focus on the multiple player experience? Is it FPS with a short and intense six hour campaign?

This is exactly the kind of stick-up-the-ass elitist attitude Jim was describing.

Sylocat:
*sigh* Is his solution to each complaint about his overacting just to overact even more? Is he deliberately trying to try way too hard to be funny? Is his intention to come off as desperate "ironically?"

I think you're just about right here.

What really gets me is how self-rieghteous he is, either intentionally to try and be funny, or *shudder* unintentionally.
Unfortunately, his wanky bullshit, which was supposed to rub off as ironic and taking the piss just rubs off instead as him being an unlikeable prick.
On top of the fact that he shows other arguments in a painfully sarcastic light shows up as him just being as big of a prick as the people who actually use those flawed arguments.

Anyway, on the topic of CoD, I always felt that the reason that it was despised by the general community was that it had a cocky fanbase, half made up (as the stereotype goes) of 14 year old kids who all slept with our mums.
I've honestly never heard of someone dissing CoD on the basis that it introduced an excellent unlock, level and perk system, let alone calling it superior to, or inferior to Quake or Halo, or any games like that with a more arcadey set-up.

Personally I really hope The Escapist pulls Jim Sterling's show, because after weeks of trying to warm up to him, he's just shown himself as a massive dick, which is not what anyone wants.

Sylocat:
*sigh* Is his solution to each complaint about his overacting just to overact even more? Is he deliberately trying to try way too hard to be funny? Is his intention to come off as desperate "ironically?"

Actually, I think he's starting to settle into a style now. If you notice, he didn't make fun of himself in a weirdly apologetic self-deprecating manner this time. I think this show is definitely starting to work.

It could still use more fine-tuning, but it's improving.

I thought COD4 was an ok game *love that nuke scene*
MW2 was...ehhh didn't like it too much

and I actually did like the plot of Black Ops, thought it was an interesting step. Never really cared for online however. Not because I hate it or anything, just don't do online that well *derp*

I hope the people who actually play CoD found this funny or entertaining. I neither play nor criticize the game or its players, and was ultimately bored by Jim's defense of the game and whatever accent he was trying to do.

Sylocat:
*sigh* Is his solution to each complaint about his overacting just to overact even more? Is he deliberately trying to try way too hard to be funny? Is his intention to come off as desperate "ironically?"

I think Jim doesn't try to be funny, if you don't like it don't watch it. I'm sorry but Jim is a critic of all the HARDCORE gamers and a lot of dumb things must of the gamers complain.

I personally don't hate COD games, but don't love them either, for me it is a copy/paste every year, it's a expensive game and it's not the type of game i like, this games are just worth the rent for me.... I'm more a single player lover than multiplayer

First, you gave The Witcher 2 a 6/10 and then defend Call of Duty on this show.

Oh dear... The shit just hit the fan. >.<

Mantonio:
It's not the fact that it's a huge thing ALONE that makes it shit. It's the fact that (like you said) because it is so big, so many other companies try to emulate it. Often alienating their original fans in the process and making a poorer product. Example: Bioware and Dragon Age 2.

It's like a videogame version of the Shoe Event Horizon.

So true. I'd hate to bring up Socom yet again but it is the best example of this. Socom had a hardcore group of fans (maybe too hardcore, they hated the second best game of the series and the BEST game of the series, Combined Assault). So what does the Socom developer do? Try to emulate CoD and then fails horrendously.

If any developers are out there, XP messages, achievements and unlockable guns are NOT what makes CoD fun. STOP trying to copy that portion of the game... stick with what you know!

captaincabbage:

Sylocat:
*sigh* Is his solution to each complaint about his overacting just to overact even more? Is he deliberately trying to try way too hard to be funny? Is his intention to come off as desperate "ironically?"

I think you're just about right here.

What really gets me is how self-rieghteous he is, either intentionally to try and be funny, or *shudder* unintentionally.
Unfortunately, his wanky bullshit, which was supposed to rub off as ironic and taking the piss just rubs off instead as him being an unlikeable prick.
On top of the fact that he shows other arguments in a painfully sarcastic light shows up as him just being as big of a prick as the people who actually use those flawed arguments.

Anyway, on the topic of CoD, I always felt that the reason that it was despised by the general community was that it had a cocky fanbase, half made up (as the stereotype goes) of 14 year old kids who all slept with our mums.
I've honestly never heard of someone dissing CoD on the basis that it introduced an excellent unlock, level and perk system, let alone calling it superior to, or inferior to Quake or Halo, or any games like that with a more arcadey set-up.

Personally I really hope The Escapist pulls Jim Sterling's show, because after weeks of trying to warm up to him, he's just shown himself as a massive dick, which is not what anyone wants.

I got the impression he's acting like a self-righteous prick as a joke =/

You really overplay the strength of the campaign, with the recent games at least.
You don't really address any real arguments against the game. Not saying you ignore them (being unaware or agreeing with such arguments) just that you're shooting fish in a barrel.
People who accuse others of playing cod as an insult are typically not likely to listen anyway. I mean how likely is it they have gone so long without the obvious being pointed out?

I think you're holding COD a bit too high, but I can't quite dislike your video because of how you mention liking more than one type of game. Too often things are painted in black and white, games are amazing or utter shit, fanboy or hater, etc.

While I agree with Mr. Sterling's opinions on how the reasons some people hate Call of Duty are completely stupid, I do not share his high regard for the modern Call of Duty Franchise.

My main complaint about the newer Call of Duty's is how they have come farther away from the original theme in single player. I mean, the whole reason CoD exists is because the designers were fed up with the Medal of Honor style shooter where one or two special soldiers went out and beat the bad guys single handedly. The reason I bought it over Allied Assault was because of this and I quite enjoyed the teamwork in single player. While I didn't like Modern Warfare as much, my favorite moments were the single player moments where you worked with your team and played a regular grunt. When I got Modern Warfare 2, most missions were you as a highly trained Special Operator, acting like a character from a movie. As Mr. Sterling said in a previous video, Video Games are not movies.

But, I have to say, most peoples experience comes from the multiplayer and I prefer single player games (Except Battlefield, TF2, and L4D2) so I should have no say in the matter of what makes a good multiplayer.

Weasker:

kroldok:

Weasker:
Because you're not funny and especially not funny when you praise yourself.
And fat. Work out.

.... And wears a stupid tie. Buy a collar.
And wears stupid shades. Get a bandana.
And is white. Plastic surgery, here we come.

This is actually what he talks about for most of the video, arbitrary hatred towards groups of people, like people who hate other people for enjoying CoD, or because they are fat, or because they wears shades, or because.... well you get it.

He never actually states that all people who dislike CoD are wrong, he states that he likes it, and an unfortunate amount of people who dislike it do so because it is popular and thus do not base their opinion on the merits of the games themselves (from my experience i would say there is a decent chance this is true).

And with that comes the people who not only hate the game, but extend this hate towards the players themselves, actual people who in no kind of way deserve being treated like garbage because they play CoD, at least not more than you or I deserve to be treated like garbage because we play videogames, wether it's CoD or Braid.

No, he's not just saying he likes it, he IS saying it's actually good and the people who don't like it have no good reasons. I played CoD4 and gave my reasons why I didn't liked it then I went on giving only very few of the reasons why I don't like this guy. Want more reasons I don't like CoD? I'm not an online-multiplayer fan.

I am perfectly fine with you hating CoD, but this:
'No, he's not just saying he likes it, he IS saying it's actually good and the people who don't like it have no good reasons.'
Is just outright wrong.

Quote:
"Call of Duty is popular, and that means it's shit. That appears to be the common sentiment among gamers"

This one is tricky, because it is a fairly vague statement, it is practically impossible to seperate true disdain from flaming as someone who wants to flame can simply ignore swearing and form arguments without really making a claim to be scrutinized, he could however be right, it would hardly be the first time making a splash by kicking upwards is on the menu.

Quote:
"I find the sneering disdain for it quite ignorant and ludicrous most of the time"

Note most of the time, meaning not all of the time, and not all of the arguments.

Quote:
"Call of Duty is not perfect, Activision may soon be running the series into the ground if rumours of spinoffs are true, and $15 mappacks can go f*** themselves"

Obviously he does not completely invalidate people who dislike the game, anyone making these arguments for instance would find him quite agreeable.

Quote:
"If you have a legitimate argument against the series or it's players other than simply 'DURRH, It's stupid' I am more than willing to listen.

This also makes for an interesting quote, he does in fact not say that all arguments are of the DURRH variety, most of the arguments in this thread are not(boring maps, boring scenery.. and so forth).
He simply asks that you provide him with more than DURRH (once again, as in this thread), as such he is making a push for constructive critizism.

The core argument he makes is still that people dislike him personally for playing CoD, much like you dislike him personally for being fat (at least your post makes it seem so).
And just like you he states his opinion, his opinion being that he likes the game, but tends to get s*** on when he makes this known to other people, people who then assume he is a brain-dead moron based solely on his choice of entertainment, in this case CoD, and that is just as bad as being assumed a brain-dead moron for prefering videogames to the theatre.

ive been trying to figure out this weird thing since it started here.

ive come to the following conclusion.

I see a fat nerd trying to be king nerd by means of terrible parody and poor attempts of humor,
and nothing more.

As such of this observation, i can not credit this show as it does nothing at all. At least Zero Punctuation mentions a game and talks about it a bit. This guy however is what i would expect to see trying to win "king of nerd-con" at a convention for obsessed nerds.

Perhaps a better title for the series would be Nerdquisition, or Fanboy Rant.

Him defending Call of duty makes me sad i like it.

Oh boy. Well, my personal reason to dislike modern warfare is not because of the game play, story or multiplayer. It has EVERYTHING to do with the weapons and maps. They have not been fixed or balanced in a very long time. So you have easily exploitable weapons used almost every other match. You also have people who have memorized the map so well they know when and where to fire their weapon to get an easy kill.

Speaking of maps, half the maps in COD have been exploited up the whazoo. Players go to locations that give them easy access to kills and lowers their chances to be killed. So yeah, multiplayer killed my interest in COD because it is not fixed after awhile. So I do not expect COD3 to be fixed when it comes out either.

GundamSentinel:
While not very subtly put, I completely agree with what he's saying. People will always be hating on what's popular, because that's what the 'cool kids' do, but a bit of sense seldom goes amiss.

To be fair, part of popularity comes from not taking risks or doing anything niche. Popularity stems from a group of generic qualities in something.

Well MASSIVE popularity does. Admittedly in the beginning many things become popular because they are high quality. They become massively popular because they remove all the things that made them unique.

It's not evil or anything its just the sacrifice that must be made if you feel that the only positive game sale is the 300 millionth one.

Hyper-space:

Sylocat:
*sigh* Is his solution to each complaint about his overacting just to overact even more? Is he deliberately trying to try way too hard to be funny? Is his intention to come off as desperate "ironically?"

You sir, seem quite frustrated, maybe it was the subject of this episode that made you so?

Anyways, I welcome this new show and its counter-opinion to what is essentially the ethos of many gamers (and that includes members of the Escapist), that is, complete generalization of people based on something as unfounded as taste in video-games.

But isn't the what this video is doing to two different groups (complete generalization):
A) The people who dislike CoD, who may very well have valid reasons (I've never played them, so meh, just not something I'm interested in).
B) The 'games are art' crowd. I firmly believe games can be art. But I certainly don't go around complaining about games that I don't consider art.

It's one thing to point out the fallacies of generalization, it's another to play into them while trying to counteract them.

Anyway. The video was fine enough. I guess since I haven't really dealt with the CoD games, I just have never seen this (honestly, I can't think of a single time where I've heard/read someone complain about the games because they aren't art, as a matter of fact, I've heard plenty of people tout the story lines as on par with war movies like Saving Private Ryan, a realistic and sobering view of violence and war).
I didn't like the way he was treating the 'games are art' crowd, though. Maybe I'm just being a bit too sensitive (as I understand he wasn't poking fun at the whole movement, just the people who complained about CoD not being art). But that probably stems from my lack of knowledge too. xD

When someone acts like a pompous, self-important jerk and you know he's just doing it for show, it's funny. When someone acts like a pompous, self-important jerk and you don't know if he's serious or not, I struggle to laugh.

I routinely disagree with Jim's bloated views and think his straw-man logic is getting a bit tired. He seems very contrarian for the sake of being contrary and to troll for page-views and attention while not actually saying anything any of us haven't heart before from other, more sophisticated, funny, and knowledgeable critics and humorists.

COD is not hated for being "popular", and those that don't like it aren't all grouped into the same pretentious camp. Most COD-haters used to BE COD-lovers, but the game was diluted, diminished, and ultimately ruined from iteration to iteration.

"Call of Duty" is currently the most popular shooting game, and possibly franchise, in the world, and I struggle to see why it NEEDS "defending". There are so many games that need awareness, defense, and discussion, ranging from the artistic merits of L.A. Noire, to the untapped potential of the Enslaved franchise, to the jarring changes made to Dragon Age 2, to the bold originality of Mirror's Edge, to the emotional resonance of Okami, Limbo, Silent Hill, ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, Beyond Good & Evil, Psychonauts, and even games as brilliant yet divisive as Brutal Legend, Assassin's Creed, Bayonetta, Deadly Premonition, and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow.

The merits of those games are worthy of discussion, debate, focus, awareness, and consensus.

"Call of Duty" is as worthy of being a talking point as "In defense of the health of McDonald's Happy Meals". Even if you love those Happy Meals, Jim, talking about them without something legitimately worthwhile to say is a waste of my time, no matter how much of a self-parodying and insensitive jerk you act like to make the topic "funny".

Thanks for this video, its a refreshing mouthwash from the shit sandwich that was "gun myth" over at extra credits. COD still sucks though... Battlefield 3 for life!!!! ;) (It's a gameplay/mechanic thing) you understand.