It's quite frustrating to see a group of people who, in some cases, have spent a large part of their careers as video game critics... not being able to recognize or understand a very basic trope. I know giant bomb isn't really for critique any more, but when you are sitting down hashing out highs and lows for a game for hours on end in a public setting.... at some point you need to learn these things.
I am incredibly disappointed in the way Vinny handled this in particular. Arguing that the mothers death was impactful for him or that she was a strong character or whatever it was he was trying to say doesn't have anything to do with whether or not the trope was being used... Which it clearly was. Having a woman important to the main character die in order to launch the story is textbook example of the trope.
Abby's perspective as a woman is every bit as valid and Vinny's perspective as a dad. You can like the game and recognize it leans on lazy tropes. Vinny's defensive attitude is incredibly off-putting. I hope that he recognizes that and works on it.
@bacterialbeaver I can confirm what @croy4633 posted. The theatrical version that you can rent on Youtube is actually the unrated version. I rented the HD version ($3.99) of the theatrical version at the following link and it matched with the podcast. It contains the Alcon Entertainment logo at the beginning and has the "Not the bees" scene at the end. I would assume the SD version will work as well.
I can also back this up. Rented the HD version which said it had a runtime of 1:41:52 on the rental page. The actual video was 1:41:51. Lined up perfectly with the podcast.
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