GBEast is still killing it. How come West doesn't have a single interesting show like this, or sunshine? Ranking of fighters was cool, but that was abandoned right away, unfortunately. I'd love to see shenanigans like these with Jeff and Brad!
I personally am not thinking of ending my membership; I've been following most of the guys from the beginning of the gamespot days, and I am not about to stop. Considering that, I still have to agree with most of the criticisms. I was really happy to see the new upf video up, and was immediately let down when I realized it was one of these.
Splitting the office was a terrible decision in the end, but I'm guessing they didn't have a choice. As others have suggested, maybe it was the only way to keep some of the members on board.
I'm also worried about the new hire. I was a bit skeptical when Dan was brought on board, but he turned out to be such a great addition to the cast, and I was proven wrong. I'm a bit more iffy on this hire because of the backlash the team received when they hired Dan. If they are pressured into hiring someone for "diversity," this could end up sapping all of the energy out of the room (as has happened with multiple guests).
I have to reluctantly agree that giantbomb's best years are behind us (to be honest, the death of Ryan was the end of an era), but I still manage to get much more than my $50 worth every single year. Hopefully the new hire will be just as kick-ass as Dan was, and although the dream team can't get back together, I'm hopeful Jeff will steer the ship in a direction that will hold my attention for years to come.
The way Alex kept referring to his being a drummer is doing this game a disservice, I think. I am not a musician, and I've S ranked every level so far (level 5), and I'm not saying that to brag as I seriously don't think it's that hard to achieve (although I imagine it gets harder). I would say this game has 2 minds, the visual and the musical. You can play it listening to the rhythm, or you can play it visually, kinda like an endless runner of some sort (obviously it's a mix of both, and not so black and white).
I haven't spent a lot of time repeating levels to get the S ranks, I mostly get them on the first try as there is a HUGE delta between getting an S, and actually playing for score (which I am not pursuing at this time). As someone who hasn't played the game a lot, I got the impression that Alex isn't very good at it (judging from his score on previous levels, and not just from this gameplay), and that's not a dig—who cares how good he is, and I suck at other games.
He doesn't seem to be aware of the combo mechanics, and how deep they get (I haven't had time to watch the last 15 minutes of the video, so maybe he mentions them). This game isn't simply about doing what it asks of you, you get a lot of freedom to experiment. For example, you can combo 2 notes by flying up on the first, and slamming down on the second. This gets expanded upon once you realize that you cannot turn while flying, except if you make a "perfect turn" waiting until the last second to start your drift.
My point is that I think this will click for some people, in a way that other rhythm games don't. If you think you're bad at rhythm games, give this one a shot, you might find yourself surprised at how easily you can wrap your head around it, and if you're a drummer, be aware you may still find this game difficult.
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