So now that our capture equipment is humming along nicely, I thought I’d break it in with a video rundown of a game you’ve heard us talk about before: Red Faction:Guerilla. Instead of the normal video review schtick, I went with something a little different this time around. It’s a video review sans text or narration, so by all means, let us know what you think.
Would be cool to see you guys do some proper video reviews. I wouldnt really call it a review, pretty much just a gameplay montage.
I agree with Lucifon, it’s not TRULY a review, as there isn’t any narrative or discussion.
HOWEVER!
I genuinely believe that the music speaks for itself. This montage is the perfect articulation of what this game feels like … so …. GOOD JARB.
Awesome! Especially the first car through the building part.
This video prompted a discussion between me and my wife. She decided there needs to be a Mr. T game.
I told her about the upcoming Zootfly game with Mr. T and Nazis.
She’s been playing a lot of Plants vs. Zombies, and she decided that there needs to be a variation on this called Mr. T vz Nazis, where there’s only one card to place, and it’s Mr. T. No matter where you put him on the board, he will punch out any advancing Nazis while making pithy “T flavored” observations about fools.
Thanks for enabling that conversation.
I agree with the above: Calling this a “review” seems a little disingenuous, as it really is a montage of gameplay footage. Seeing this and trying to qualify it as a “review” I would have to assume you had literally no complaints or criticisms of the game and that this video alone should “speak for itself” which … I don’t think it does.
This game looks boring as fuck from this. YAWN.
This is neither a critical examination, nor a consumer summary nor anything in between.
So … you made a glorified trailer, then?
Well done sirs, that is an exceptional way to SAY you reviewed something without running the risk of having any potential advertisers take offense at anything. Bravo.
Way to suck the fun out the whole experience. Give them a break. They tried to do a review without text or words and I don’t imagine that’s easy to do. I think it was a very interesting way to approach a review and while not as clear as a standard review I think it got the spirit of the message across. Well done guys!
Why are you coming down hard on this guy? He’s posting his opinion just like everybody else. The ESG staff wants this kind of feedback, that’s the entire point of this post. Ease up.
I love anything you guys do, but I think I would have rather an actual review. It really was just a video montage of sorts.
I say next time, do an actual video review. I was looking forward to seeing exactly that. A video review of the game, done by the Rebel FM crew.
i second that
I third that. I usually support “experimental” stuff, but this is just a gameplay trailer. I didn’t get how they felt about any aspect of the game at all. Nothing is explained, there is no description at all. Watching an interactive experience with no mention of how enjoyable that interaction is is kind of a big fat fail.
4th.
5th.
4th.
Short, but the general feeling of the video and music says a lot. If you add about 3 to 5 lines of text or a few voiceovers to sum up your impressions, this might become my favourite new form of review.
If you were looking for a way to offer a different product than what’s available elsewere, mission accomplished.
Hehe, nice bait and switch there. But yeah, Red Faction is really that a-teamwesome.
It’s alright, hope to see it go somewhere different, rather then youtube musicvideo gameplay mashup.
i dug it. every good game needs to have a montage of the a-team in the background. in fact that should be the way you grade them.
a-team theme means good. golden girls theme means okay. While the facts of life theme means don’t bother. just kicking some ideas around.
I loved the music
Nice…thumbs up
This video covers pretty much everything of importance, save that the game itself is an order of magnitude longer.
Hahahahahaha, perfect.
You couldn’t ask for a better review.
I am /so/ going to have to try shooting the wing off a gunship with the nano rifle… that was genius
As a wordless review it actually conveyed the strongest part of the game (environmental destruction) well. And, in all honesty, that’s why I bought the game. In retrospect as I stand on a mountain and lob a barrage of missiles into the EDF Convoy Depot in Oasis, I’m rather liking the story as well.
… I still think the Insurgent Achievement is warranted Mr. Gies
Much like the A-Team this title can be nothing more unadulterated fun and destruction.
Eat-Sleep-Game expanding!? Man!
What amazing podcast could that of been announced on? Crazy!
In a time where people are more concerned with the score websites and reviewers give games this is a clever way to show what a game is like but let it speak for itself.
If you like shooters with lazers instead of simulated real-life weapons, multiple vehicles, and widespread destructability and explosions this game is your bet. On the other hand, even without words I could see the environments aren’t varied and the different vehicle types do similar things. And based on that I bet the missions are all variants on blowing up dudes and scenery or getting from point A to point B.
If you can do more videos keep it up, but do it your way. I don’t want more talking heads in front of video.
I didn’t like it from a video review sand point. It seems more like a trailer or an add, not a review. It would probably be better if you spoke about it a little bit; doesn’t have to be allot, just how you felt about the game, the good and bad. Other than that swell job, to steal a line Anthony “Fat penis”
wow.
lotta naysayers, with little constructive criticism.
personally, i think this form has loads of potential!
IF the creators are honest about the gameplay experience and
show the blemishes as well as the shiny bits.
[i can imagine showing the more frustrating portions of CoC:DCotE (rock hopping) over some captain beefheart skronk]
a lot of footage can be packed in to 2 minutes, and i think the capture and music do a good job conveying the “feel” of the game.
looks fun as hell to me!
might even preorder it.
nice work!
I failed to read your comment before posting mine. I definitely agree: the haters didn’t give much constructive criticism. I also read a comment where someone could glean from the video that they saw the flaws in the game.
But like you said, the video combined with the music does a great job of explaining to me how the game generally feels. A-Team theme custom soundtrack anyone?
I get what you’re trying to say, and it’s awesome, but I can’t quite call this a full “review” either. The A-Team theme sums the game up nicely, but the montage of footage doesn’t show anything you disliked about the game. Is there nothing bad about this game?
Again, though, blowing shit up like I’m a Martian Mr. T looks just plain fun.
Right on, brotha.
This was an accidental comment, my bad.
Lots of you are saying this isn’t a review, but I think Arthur has done something really clever here and it has gone over everyone’s heads. By using the A-Team theme, he is saying he felt the game was a bit corny, probably with some clunky dialogue but really clever in many ways, has lots of explosions and is a barrel of fun… just like the show was. The bottom line is, he is saying the game has flaws but is so much fun, the flaws don’t matter.
That may sound like a stretch but just pretend for a second that that’s exactly what he was saying. Now you think Arthur is brilliant and you’re slapping your forehead for not thinking of it.
I’m with Jabber on this. I think it was an extremely clever way to tell me exactly what to expect if I pick up this game.
Which I now believe I’m going to do.
Right on, brother.
I had my doubts when i read the text and was going to watch the video but as soon as the A-team music started i knew 1 thing; this game is a lot of fun and the story doesn’t matter!
However, had Arthur not told us that it was a review, i don’t think anyone would have got it
So I wouldn’t call this a review… It’s more like a moodsetter.. Something you need to watch before playing it
Pretty cool video I was waiting for some narration to come in however it kept my attention until the end, which is when I actually read the post. Good job on the video.
Also you should make sure to check your e-mail since I sent you a gift/potential prize giveaway and I don’t want you to wait to long.
Fail on use of the A-Team theme and then random shots of people actually *dying*.
Shame on you.
Retarded. Just tell me what to think!!!
I really enjoyed the video. But I do want to know about any flaws in the game as well. If it has problems, I want to know before I buy it.
I do think the music choice was spot on, and it was cool to be able to just watch a short video instead of reading a long review. Definitely a good change of pace.
Sod the nay-sayers, that was awesome! I’m going out to get the game today, no joke. Looks helluva fun.
Best review ever. I’m totally sold. Went to my e-shop of choice and ordered it right away!
Now I wonder, how will a bad review sound like?
I pity the fool who do not digg this video
Awesome, I love it!
As a pc gamer – this games looks so console to me
Interesting use of social knowledge of what the A-Team music represents and it’s ability to speak about a game, which I presume was the point here. All it needed was shots of the guys staggering back to their feet and shaking there heads woosily at the end to show ‘no one actually got killed’
This was hilarious. 2 minutes is about all the time I have to read/watch or care about a review.
This game looks amazing. And a great review to boot.
To the people calling this a “trailer” or “marketing”… guys, generally speaking the only difference between marketing and critical appraisal is authorial voice. That’s it. For a good product, they both say the same thing, the difference is we feel we can trust one, but not the other.
Take the following statement: “The game looks great at a steady 60fps, has a lot a variety of missions, weapons and enemy design, and keeps you engrossed in the story from the beginning to the end.”
Can you honestly tell me you haven’t read things similar to that in BOTH company PR and in reviews? If a marketer says it, it’s because they want you to buy their game. If a reviewer says it, it’s ALSO because they want you to buy the game, or at least they want a lot of people to buy the game. We simply trust the reviewer because they presumably aren’t tainted by self-interest in saying it. And, in some cases, because we’ve come to know them and respect their opinions.
So if the Red Faction devs or their marketing department put out a video of gameplay footage to the A-Team music, my reaction is “Okay, they want me to think this game feels like the A-Team.” To have the RebelFM crew do it, however, says “The RebelFM guys think this game feels like the A-Team!” Those are totally different to me, simply because of the source. If they’re not different to you, start thinking about just how many game “reviews” are basically regurgitated PR, and ask yourself why you feel any differently about those.
If they wanted us to come away thinking it was a buggy P.O.S., I’m sure they could have selected clips to match and put the Benny Hill music behind it or something. They didn’t – they chose this. I think it’s a really creative way to tell us what they felt about the game; I can get my “graphics” and “control” numbers somewhere else. I’m sure we’ll hear elaboration on the podcast.
I agree to a certain extent, Eric. It’s obvious that the eat-sleep-game crew liked the game, or they wouldn’t have spent their time making a rather awesome video for it. That having been said, I think the “review with out words” is a difficult thing to try, because it’s a lot easier to make your own interpretation.
Did they put it to the theme of the A-Team just because they love the explosions, or are they trying to say that the game’s storyline is awful and it’s all about the boom?
Did the video switch to show the gun play because they liked how the guns feel, or were they showing that at times you have to use (boring) guns instead of (awesome) explosives?
This video comes off as a nice review supplement to me. It’s entertaining to watch and gives you a general feel for the game, but you still want to hear the reviewers actually write about/discuss it.
Werd. Dig.
I absolutely agree with you. Very well said.
Interesting concept, but it fails to convey anything about the game other than the graphics are decent, there’s a lot of explosions and occasional frame rate issues.
I just described every modern action game.
What’s next guys? Written reviews with no text? Audio reviews spoken in tongues?
I came.
lolwhut?
Great, now I’ll have to buy the game, then play with the A-team music going. Not to mention, I also have to live with that song in my head for the rest of the damn day.
Great review, the A-team music says it all.
That was not a review. Nice video, but does it really take so much more work to actually say something in the video?
Hope you do more, but would like to se the future ones as reviews, not as a video.
I think I need another more negative no-word video review in order to gauge what you thought of this game.
Sometimes I would much rather watch something like this than read a long drawn out review. Nice job I think you should try more of them, experiment with different ideas.
Who is to say what format a review should take?
I have to agree with the majority of the above poster’s, this doesn’t really qualify as a review if there’s no discussion about the game in question.
I have to say though, due to your talking about the game on the podcast I tried both the demos and loved them. Then I bought the game and it hasn’t left my xbox since. I haven’t finished it yet, so I will stay away from giving any definitive opinion (for now), but so far I have been having a BLAST (pun oh so intended). My favorite part has to be the way the currency is handled in game. Your never at a loss for things to buy due to the small amount of scrap your collecting and the high prices for upgrades and weapons. Makes you pick and choose when you step in the shop and that really determines how you approach the different missions. Also, I’m picking up a slight “Halo-ey” vibe from the combat. I’m not sure if that’s because of the low health and subsequently slow recharge or just that there’s so many options in combat, but every 30 sec I’m going “OH SHIT” like I did in the first Halo game.
I don’t wanna be the bad guy, because I love what you guys do, but in my opinion this is a gameplay trailer/excerpt and not a review.
That don’t make it bad though. I use both videos like this and reviews equally when deciding if I want a game.
Having listening to the Gun gameclub podcasts, You guys should totally do video reviews in the style of 90s tv toy commercials.
Great review. The great thing is that I watched the video and now feel like I know all I need to know about that game. Brilliant!
i think id rather have voice comment over it
In 2009 a crack podcast unit was sent to prison by a video game court for a crime they didn’t commit.
These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the San Francisco underground.
Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as Podcasters of fortune.
If you have a problem – if no one else can help – and if you can find them – maybe you can hire: Rebel FM.
STARRING:
Anthony Gallegos as Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith
Arthur Gies as Lieutenant Templeton “Faceman” Peck
And Dirty Tea as Master Sergeant Bosco Albert “Bad Attitude” Baracus
Holy shit! THAT NEEDS TO BE THE INTRO!
1. Should be Oakland. They are East Bay.
2. Arthur should be Hannibal, as he’s the straight-man.
3. Anthony is Murdock, because he’s crazy.
4. Tyler is Faceman.
5. Only Mr. T can play Baracus.
Awesome!
I get it. You said it, without saying it. It’s a fun game, makes you feel like a badass tv action hero; awesome vehicles, splosions and all that.
Anyone who didn’t recognize the music missed a good portion of the review, so there’s that. It was difficult to spot multi-player portions from single player, with all the cuts and what not. From a lazy person’s perspective (the people who just go to metacritic) this is a terrible review, or not one at all. No grades, no percentage scores, no stars; just a simple pass/fail.
Red Faction Guerrilla obviously get’s a passing grade, so go buy it. I have to wait ’til August for the PC version.
next time have sections devoted to areas of the game(gameplay, art style, story etc.) and just show stuff from the game reflective upon that area.
This was a solid review. Really gave me a good feel for the game without being too in my face.
I play basketball weekly with some guys from Volition and I know they had a bitch time getting this game to run as smooth as it does.
Looks too fun to pass. If you don’t like blowing shit up then you ain’t a man
That was epic. I have the game and I know exactly what you’re getting at. I honestly love this idea of a “review” because I don’t need ANOTHER site to give me a letter grade. This is just fun to watch.
Well, thanks for showing me how awesome the game is, but it’s not a review. Please have some narration next time, I’m sure we wouldn’t mind your dreadfully annoying voice too much Arthur
Even though most readers did not classify this clip as a review, i love the fact that this is just gameplay with some good tunes. I would rather see gameplay shown instead of just someone standing in front of a microphone. It is good to see someone is thinking outside of the box and changing things up. I enjoyed it!
Nice review. Short and to the point. It shows me what I get to do in game. I can’t wait to buy this.
It seems like you guys are being a little hard. I think that they are experimenting, and all thought I learned not a bit of the actual quality of the game, I can see someone who heard good things about it but not knowing crap about it be using this to get a quick, but informative idea of the game. Maybe instead of review, how about you call it a Fill-In.
Wow everyone on the internet is a dick.
No, there are also assholes.
Some are in between.
There is a fine line between a dick and an asshole.
It’s called the taint. Don’t forget about the pussies. Team America rules are in effect.
I believe what you meant to say was that now that we have our video capture setup running here is a video overview to cheezy 80s music. Some pontificating next time would be great. thanks
There is nothing “cheezy” about the A-Team theme you young pup. On the whole, I liked the video. Arthur showed what you do repeatedly throughout the game, and it looks fun. I think it would be just as easy to show a game that isn’t fun in such a manner. Loads of clips of crappy platforming puzzles, quick death after quick death in a shooter, stupid menus in traditional JRPGs.
Felt like a montage…
a video review needs narration so that you can have a perspective as to if what’s on screen is good, or fun to play…
so yeah, arthur. narrate.
Maybe, as a review you put bits of text, like when a building comes down you say “Still Fun After 20 Hours, As You Would Imagine!”
There’s a problem in starting a review format like this with a positive one.
Say it was reviewing something that had negative points, you could clearly show that in a video. The game bugging out, stupid AI, whatever. In this case it’s obviously a positive review, but there’s the issue of, like people above said, looking like a trailer. I really like the idea of a purely visual review, it’s just the details.
I would like to see more reviews done like this before I decide If i like them or not.
It is a great idea but sounds really tough to pull off.
Congrats for trying something new.
“Gameplay Montage” would be more appropriate. It tells us nothing about whether you liked the game or not. Still, a neat idea.
Red faction or Prototype? I never bothered looking at a video of this before but now i’m curious and a little indecisive about which of the two i’ll buy.
Thanks Rebel FM >:( thanks for making a simple impulse buy an actual f#ckin decision!!!heh
Please don’t do more reviews like this.
Felt more like a montage than a review. I don’t think you can express an opinion without some form of words or text. Unless you paste facial expressions throughout the video.
Oh man this cracked me up, granted I dont know if the game sucks or not, but after seeing this video I wanted to drive balls to the wall and rescue cats from trees with C4. Good job!
I think there’s definitely a way to do a review without any sort of narrative or text, but I think whoever does it needs to watch Koyaanisqatsi–a fine example in dialogue without speech–first.
In all seriousness though, I think this was more of a gameplay montage then something resembling a review.
The change of music during the shooting part tells me you weren’t as impressed with it as the rest, and CAN I PLEASE HAVE THOSE SOUND FILES?! that music made me ephemerally fantasize.
I liked the A-team music but I still think I would like to hear your thought on it. And of coarse mention if there is any ephemerally fantasizating in this game.
It’s effective in that by creating a visual piece that perfectly identifies with (your opinions) on the game’s tone and feel, you’ve managed to express everything you would normally spend 600 words to say.
This video review DOES in fact say a lot; in identifying it with another quantifiable entity, we are able to take the subjective opinions associated with that entity and apply them directly to Red Faction. The game is obviously shallow, silly, and a hell of a lot of fun.
Well done guys. Although perhaps next time, a little bit less ambiguity would make things a little easier on an audience that’s generally just expecting a “normal” critique…
Nice montage, but where’s the review?
I like the attempt at something different – and by the way you guys have been discussing game journalism so frequently on the podcast I doubt I’ll see a standard video review on eat-sleep-game anytime soon – but it fell through slightly with me.
In a game review I usually want some form of evaluation and opinion, so if someone more creative than me could think of a way to interweave these into your “review”, you might something discover cool.
I don’t get it. Was this a joke?
[...] Geis of Rebel FM and Eat-Sleep-Game has created a video review for Red Faction: Guerilla… without any voice or text whatsoever. Go ahead and give it a [...]
I was listening to the CAGcast and Wombat mentioned there being a video review of Red Faction on this site. After watching the above review and the CAGcast endorsement I am definitely going to pick up this game.
Great video.
Wow, great job guys! I already kind of wanted the game, but I think it just went up to “must buy” status.
This video directly reflects my opinion of the game. Pure A-Team love. The only thing that could make this game better is the A-Team music playing during missions. I think I will have to download the song and add it to a custom soundtrack. I borrowed this game from a friend, fell in love and bought it for myself. All other games have gone on hold, and I dont usually spend much time with open world games. For me (And I mean for me, so don’t give me too much hate) this game beats Gears of War and GTA4 hands down. I can’t stop sinking more and more hours into this game.
Great video. It seems quite a few people are criticizing the lack of a verbal review, but I think what you did sums up the game just right. It’s blowing shit up….and who blows shit up right? The A-Team! By association, this game blows shit up right. Keep up the free form stuff.