Venn your alright.

Who else is kind of in this same boat with this site, don't take this the wrong way I find the site very entertaining I just don't seem to have much in common with their gaming tastes.

I like hearing/reading their thoughts on the game industry and games in general. I rarely agree with their taste in games (they're pretty jaded) but I like hearing about their experiences.

Saints Row: The Third is a good example. I have no interest in playing that game even with all the praise it got from Giant Bomb.

No thanks. I like my alright without venn.

Our tastes used to overlap almost completely but now I don't know. Max Payne 3, Mass Effect 3... their opinions differ from mine more and more. I don't revere old games the same way they do either.

For me the diagram would actually overlap a bit more for the site as a whole. I look at who's reviewing the game, since my taste and some of the other staff's taste diverge wildly on some things.

Yeah I hardly ever agree with them, they seem to complain about games a lot. I just like to play games and have fun, though it is their job to be more critical than me.

@AlisterCat said:

Our tastes used to overlap almost completely but now I don't know. Max Payne 3, Mass Effect 3... their opinions differ from mine more and more. I don't revere old games the same way they do either.

Did you love Max Payne 3? And... I don't even know what the opposite of their opinion on Mass Effect 3 is. They shut up about it real fast, didn't like it as much as Mass Effect 2, etc

I agree with a lot of their stuff. I think that Saints Row is the biggest real departure outside of games I'd just never like because of the kind of game they are. And I don't even think Saints Row is bad exactly, just very hugely flawed and doesn't have nearly enough of the awesome part.

@MordeaniisChaos: I love everything about Max Payne 3,despite Ryan giving it a good review and then backpeddling on it quite hard. The other guys didn't like it so much. Same with Jeff's Mass Effect 3 review.

Yeah I'd agree with that. They seem generally jaded and worship at the altar of the rose tinted spectacles. Can't hate anyone for their opinions but I do find them talking in absolutes about their opinions somewhat irksome.

Infamous being the biggest departure in taste for me, picked it up because they spoke highly of it and within a half hour I regreted the purchase.

I largely agree with their taste.

Yeah, although as I've said before I play generally a completely different genre to them. My favourite games are real in depth strategy games and creative games like Minecraft. I generally just like their covering of the video game industry as a whole, and while (again I've said before) I think they don't focus enough on non-console shooters, they occasionally mention a game I might like.

@Freshbandito said:

Yeah I'd agree with that. They seem generally jaded and worship at the altar of the rose tinted spectacles. Can't hate anyone for their opinions but I do find them talking in absolutes about their opinions somewhat irksome.

Infamous being the biggest departure in taste for me, picked it up because they spoke highly of it and within a half hour I regreted the purchase.

Maybe they aren't talking in absolutes, I think that's just the way they have to feel about a lot of stuff in the industry because of the nature of what they do. And I'd also say they do a good job recognizing middling games, but also getting really excited about stuff they think is cool. I agree they are generally jaded when it comes to news, but actual games they seem, if anything, more willing to get into something despite flaws or misgivings or anything.

@MordeaniisChaos: Could be but it comes off as a very "this is my opinion and it's right" kind of thing. Brad and Ryan being the biggest culprits in my eyes, this is completely subjective I guess and I speak only for myself.

@Freshbandito: That's just how 99% of our society speaks. It'd be silly to end every sentence with "but my views do not represent any party other than myself and those who voluntarily engage in the same views." And their usually pretty open to other people being into other things. I don't think they (except in jesting) express feelings that they are absolutely correct about something terribly often.

If you take Giantbomb as an entity, then I can almost always find one of them that more or less aligns with my opinion of a particular game.

One thing is for sure GOTY debates this year are going to be WEIRD. Somehow I think Borderlands 2 will run away with it since I think thats one of the only games in the fall that everyone collectively in the GB offices has a hard on for.

It depends on the staff member. My tastes line up the most closely with Patrick's, that's one of the reasons I'm glad he works here. I enjoy the wildly different taste in games each staff member brings though and like having their different unique perspectives on things.

@Demoskinos said:

One thing is for sure GOTY debates this year are going to be WEIRD. Somehow I think Borderlands 2 will run away with it since I think thats one of the only games in the fall that everyone collectively in the GB offices has a hard on for.

Diablo 3? As far as I can recall, none of them had much of anything bad to say about Diablo 3.

@Freshbandito: It bothers me when people don't stand behind their opinions, or pepper their speech with "I don't know"'s and "but that's just my opinion." Obviously you do know, and obviously that's your opinion, you know? Whether you agree or disagree with someone, what they say is their opinion, and constantly re-iterating it as such makes it seem very flimsy and takes away any discussional value it has.

I don't know, that's just my opinion.

Edit: Just realized this sounds kind of hostile, but the last line is a joke.

@believer258: Oh, right. Honestly forgot that existed.

I still find it bizarre that some people think Far Cry 2 is a good game.

@Sooty said:

I still find it bizarre that some people think Far Cry 2 is a good game.

As a sandbox it's fucking awesome. As a game meant to be played the way they tell you and following a story, it's nowhere near as good

I seem to like most games that Brad like and talk good about.

I find my tastes fall in line pretty similarly with those of the staff's.

I follow GB for the entertainment value, my tastes in games are pretty different usually.

Mine's probably 1/3 - 1/2 overlap.

I don't really care about most of the games that come out but its fun to hear their opinions and experiences on what they play, especially when they have a different opinion then mine about something. Its cool to be able to listen to the opposite side of what you believe about a game and then re-examine your take on it.

@MordeaniisChaos: @The_Nubster: I'm either failing to word what I mean well enough or my point is too vague to explain adequately, it's not about them saying "in my opinion" as a prefix for every statement and not believing in what they're saying. It's the attitude they have towards dissenting opinion that bothers me, the suggestion that anyone not agreeing is wrong or ill-informed. Either way this is getting off topic and I'm finding it hard to explain my issue with it.

Me and Jeff seem to have a very similar taste in games at least 90% of the time.

About a 75% overlap I'd say.

I know where certain staff members would feel differently about certain things, and I go about my business accordingly.

I don't think I play too many games that the staff really cover; they tend to cover the big budget console games, or small arcade/indie games, but when it's actually a game I like, I probably agree more with Vinny and Dave, less with the others.

I'm pretty cynical most of the time so my dislikes are usually about the same. My likes are similar too I suppose. I can't think of very many games I love that they don't at least like. Call of Duty might be the closest modern game that I like that the staff isn't too hot for.

I think what makes this site as fantastic as it is, is that there is always two sides to it all. There's never a full-force "love" for something - and never a full-forced "hate" for it either. I can always find equilibrium in the titles they talk about.

I think Jeff's cynicism can get annoying at times, but that needs to weigh out Brad's objective looking at games he loves and the biased he carries around. Ryan seems like the shoehorn for me, being the middle of the group. Patrick, I can't really name because I feel he is part of a different "zone" in Giantbomb. If the site stuck him only to news reveals and Indie titles, I think I would respect his opinion more than I do.

Vinny? I just like it when Vinny is a part of anything. Sometimes I think they should just rename the site "Giantvinny.com" or "Vinnybomb.com"

Also, Dave is a great person as well, but really only when with Vinny/Drew on a game that flies above my head.

Who is Venn? And what does he/she/it have to do with this topic?

I'm fairly like-minded and generally games that they praise, I would praise too. Of course there are a few exceptions, but we do agree on many games...

My set would be much smaller, over to the left a bit more and performing the no pants dance with Dave's set.

Generally I think my tastes overlap pretty well with vinny and brad, that said I do have a taste for JRPG's that most of the staff are most disdainful of.

It's rather 60:40 in favour of the crew. More often I tend to agree with what they say and even find myself influenced by them in terms of my behaviour as a customer. And no matter how bad they talk about a game I like, I usually find their critique to be at least backed up with sane arguments. Except when it comes to FFVII, they will miss out on a cookie in heaven for every harsh word they spilled about that gem. :P

I remember getting somewhat riled up over the fact that a third person shooter might be crowned game of the year once again. No matter how funny and different in premise it might be. So I was happy Skyrim took it. I remember games like Dragon Age and Starcraft 2 being completely overlooked. It made me wonder how good an RTS had to be, to take game of the year if sc2 couldn't. Mass Effect 2 was a great game, I'm not arguing that, it's just a matter of taste I guess. The giantbomb crew just really love shootin' stuff while in cover.

I disagree a lot with the staff when it comes to games (apart the odd exception one) but I always see their point of view when it comes to what they like or not. More importantly they've got really good insight into the industry which is what I come here for.

@Zelyre said:

No thanks. I like my alright without venn.

Exactly what I was thinking haha.

Call me cynical, but...

On a side note, who else reads Great Britain when they see "GB" (or AM I THE ONLY ONE)?

I don't think about these things. I just like watching them play and talk about games in general. My own interests have nothing to do with it.

@mandude: Pretty sure you're not the only one. Though we live right next to them so you can't blame us really.

I don't take all of their opinions as fact, or go out and buy every game they recommend. Also I realize that they wont always like games I like. I have said again and again that I don't like FPS's. And I know that about my self. So I probably wont listen to much Jeff has to say on the new latest COD, or Battle Field.

Although I often find myself liking a lot of what Vinny, Dave. and to a lesser extent the Indy games Patrick shows us.

I don't think Jeff wants you to look at every piece they do as one opinion from Giantbomb, but an opinion from a person you might or might not agree with.