With the time that I've spent on GiantBomb.com, I'm constantly reminded of how Bradley Handsome Shoemaker III "sucks at video games." Well then, how do you be good? By not dying? Everybody has died at least once in a video game and you know what? Sometimes it's a learning experience, sometimes it's hilarious, and sometimes it can lead to frustrating events. But, because you made a mistake, you actually gained something from it - hopefully. Does it still mean you suck at video games?

It's not really that Brad dies all the time that makes him bad, it's how he dies...

Who said it makes him look bad? It's wicked funny when Brad's are pulled.

I used to think he just had a hard time playing games and talking about them at the same time, which is no big deal, but he never EVER reloads in Deadly Premonition.  I am astonished that he has been able to play games from this and the last generation without having "Reload after you kill a guy" beaten into his head.  Maybe he just has a total lack of interest in that game so he's not paying attention, I don't know, but he's doing a really shitty job of playing that game.

Sucking at video games can apply when there's a failure of common sense.

Not only that but he sucks at reviewing video games too. I can't believe he spent nearly a month playing final fantasy xiii and then gave it three stars making lame ass excuses like "I had to switch from 360 to PS3" ; What kind of professional game reviewer on a time limit pulls that kind of shit? . Most of his reviews are strictly lacking in the technical sense, he keeps cribbing about how he felt while playing the game instead of what the game is all about . This isn't a blog ,man. You're getting paid to do this so you've gotta make it as comprehensive as possible.
He was the worst at Gamespot and as far as I'm concerned he's the worst here too.  Fire him,jeff.
Makes me long for the good old days of Gamespot where good ol' Jeff and Greg would tear through any game no matter how hard or how long and would write a detailed and entrtaining  four page review, highlighting a lot of individual nuances. You really got a good idea of how the game was to be shaping up.

" Not only that but he sucks at reviewing video games too. I can't believe he spent nearly a month playing final fantasy xiii and then gave it three stars making lame ass excuses like "I had to switch from 360 to PS3" ; What kind of professional game reviewer on a time limit pulls that kind of shit? . Most of his reviews are strictly lacking in the technical sense, he keeps cribbing about how he felt while playing the game instead of what the game is all about . This isn't a blog ,man. You're getting paid to do this so you've gotta make it as comprehensive as possible.He was the worst at Gamespot and as far as I'm concerned he's the worst here too.  Fire him,jeff. Makes me long for the good old days of Gamespot where good ol' Jeff and Greg would tear through any game no matter how hard or how long and would write a detailed and entrtaining  four page review, highlighting a lot of individual nuances. You really got a good idea of how the game was to be shaping up. "

" @supersatanic said:

" Not only that but he sucks at reviewing video games too. I can't believe he spent nearly a month playing final fantasy xiii and then gave it three stars making lame ass excuses like "I had to switch from 360 to PS3" ; What kind of professional game reviewer on a time limit pulls that kind of shit? . Most of his reviews are strictly lacking in the technical sense, he keeps cribbing about how he felt while playing the game instead of what the game is all about . This isn't a blog ,man. You're getting paid to do this so you've gotta make it as comprehensive as possible.He was the worst at Gamespot and as far as I'm concerned he's the worst here too.  Fire him,jeff. Makes me long for the good old days of Gamespot where good ol' Jeff and Greg would tear through any game no matter how hard or how long and would write a detailed and entrtaining  four page review, highlighting a lot of individual nuances. You really got a good idea of how the game was to be shaping up. "

I can't decide if this is meant to be sarcastic and funny, so that I should post an "I see what you did there" picture,OR if I should just post a generic "troll" comment.  Can someone help me out here? "

Brad failing at videogames is part of his charm. Besides, being good at videogames is nothing to be proud of... All you do is press buttons.

I really wish I knew why playing this game came up between the two teams.  Judging from Brad's open dislike toward the game, he seems disinterested in it and only gleeing about the game when he finds out he can do something that can make things easier and less tedious (rushing through doors, strafing).  Brad is obviously notorious for lacking the skill to perfectly execute what is necessary to survive in the game, but look at the recent VJ episode (20) Vinny keeps hanging on the "geometry" between two Shadows, respawning Shadows, and wonky controls and mechanics.  The game is poorly designed and the videos prove it.  But that doesn't necessarily mean the story is lacking, in my opinion, brothers.  Besides, seeing someone struggle in a game is an entertaining, yet endearing characteristic of Brad.  He seems to know how to truck through and manage to get past things when there are so many people discouraging and hating on Brad in the comments.

Brad certainly seems to have a lack of common sense, but he also seems a little camera-shy (or mic-shy as the case may be). Those two things do not a good performance in recording make.
 
Brad's still awesome though. Do I detect a hint of Final Fantasy XIII fanboyism in that post up there?

Wh--I thought this was obvious. You're good at a game when you obtain a high score, when you have the least amount of deaths possible, when you get the best ending, when you save the princess (from the other castle) without breaking a sweat, when you win the race you are "good" at video games.
 
Brad's a great dude, but a master of our beloved video gaming he is not (or perhaps he just hasn't found his niche yet). Either way, while it's funny to watch him "pull a Brad" during a Quick Look, the Endurance Run is just agonizing. Worse yet, the fellas will probably be so burnt out by the end of Deadly Premonition that it'll be even longer before we see the next (proper?) ER.

you know i don't want to beat up on brad but  i just keep on thinking of the one episode of the endurance run where he couldn't see the pot lady with the (suspect)sign right above her head, right in front of him. I'm certainly not the best at spotting things, but it really bugged me how he was not able to spot her for the longest time.

@Kowbrainz said:

" @Tennmuerti: nobody trying to be sarcastic and funny would spend so much time on something like that. There's also a level of stupid there that I think's pretty damn hard to achieve with plain old satire. "

It's hard to explain this to somebody who isn't a Final Fantasy Fan. It took an ENTIRE month for him to review the game after its release date and basically all it said was " Linear game, great graphics, good characters,good combat, good story.". That's it. We've known for months now even before the release date that it was a linear game for a lare portion before finally opening up. Does it really take ONE MORE MONTH for somebody to figure it out? Look at other reviews where they've compared each aspect to previous games in the series and other JRPGS in general. A game like final fantasy that really keeps on changing. all this stuff is necessary to point out. Jim sterling from destructoid gave a scathing 4.5/10 review of the game but pinpointed the exact problems precisely word by word ,he had about the game. (He felt some of the bosses were out of whack, he actually named them in the review as well. Felt the combat was more trial and error etc. etc.).
 
All this just points towards the lackasadical approach GB reviewers (except jeff,of course) are taking towards their games now. It seems like they only want to review the games they want to play instead of the games that are out.  Now I know that it is a small crew, but  there are 3-4 noticable releases every month. Is it really necessary to review " Bungler' and 'Road warrior'  instead of  "Resonance of fate", a major JRPG from sega? Which is long and challenging?
 
It almost feels sometimes that the site shies away from the tougher games: No monster Hunter is ever reviewed, No Ninja gaiden is ever reviewed( Ryan said the NG2 Disc crapped out, If you really wanted to review the game,Ryan. You would have gotten the disc somehow. You didn't even review the easier sigma 2). Or maybe it's from japanese games in general. Look at it: SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2 is almost out and is ever rarely mentioned and all the stuff about borderlands DLC is all over the page.
 
Your persona 4 endurance run was just an incredible review/experiment/commentary of the popular modern JRPG. About how it's really lengthy ,and weird and yet it's the goofy innocence of it all, that makes it all worthwhile. .It was inspired if anything else ever was. I was also ecstatic that you took up Deadly premonition. I know that it's you, jeff that comes up with all of these ideas. I love your site, jeff and I hope I'm wrong but it really seems too single minded nowadays. Fix it up please!!!. Destructoid is beating you to the punch!! They've got a more eclectic bunch of gaming staff and are all sly, quick witted,informed and fun to read . I'm gravitating towards it nowadays more than GB and I don't want to.
 
ALSO: @Kowbrainz ,@SPACETURTLE, @Tennmuerti: A Troll is somebody who writes shit like " (Insert name). NOOB.FAGGOT.BITCH...blah blah." What I wrote was what I felt as a user of one of the few sites that are all about  a community. It might have been more than a bit acerbic for its own good , but does that give you reason enough to call me stupid? You are yourself privy of things you accuse me of being.

 But do as you will,sirs. Do as you will.
 
@owl_of_minerva said:

" @rjayb89:  I'm not one to hate on a guy's abilities, but the past couple ERs have provided ample ammunition for why Brad's play is terribad, at least at DP; his sleepy inability to remember events that happened five minutes ago, a lack of foresight leading to him running out of medkits and ammo (grinding the ER to a halt against a pretty easy encounter for 40 mins), not knowing how to throw away items even after playing the game for so long, poor positioning and tactics against standard zombies, failing the easy apple puzzle etc. Need I go on? It's not really a big deal but it's gotten more annoying because it's been constant, and he's started complaining about the game when it's the result of his bad play, and failing things he should move past easily. "

I'll back you up on that one. He dosen't seem like he's much interested. He was also complaining about splinter cell:conviction on a Bombcast for complaining about  the fact that "It controls like splinter cell" and is not "super-smooth" like shown at E3. You can get as "Super smooth" as you want in that game, if you want to play it right. I'm glad he didn't review it or he'd been like "I don't like splinter cell. 3 stars.". That is a fine game btw, check it out.

 @ArbitraryWater said:

" @supersatanic: The staff is certainly capable of playing hard games (at least, Jeff and Ryan are. Vinny can also, but his readily apparent OCD makes him take forever.), but it's more an issue of taste than anything else. None of them are really into the more hardcore stuff, and as a result Giant Bomb lacks a real RPG or Strategy guy. This void is kinda filled by Dave, but he's an engineer and shouldn't have to compensate for a definite hole in the site's editorial spectrum.   As for Brad's abilities... It's definitely frustrating to watch him do terribly in a quick look when you know you could probably do better. Sure, it's funny in some respects, but I think that lack of skill (and a tendency to forget everything), more than anything else cripples his ability to review anything with a shred of difficulty. "

 It's definitely frustrating to watch him do terribly in a quick look when you know you could probably do better. Sure, it's funny in some respects, but I think that lack of skill (and a tendency to forget everything), more than anything else cripples his ability to review anything with a shred of difficulty. "

 
First and foremost, mr. Shoemaker is a reporter.
And a good one at that.
His interviews are thorough and the questions he asks well thought out.
Instead of being an encomiastic gamer, he's a discerning game-critic.
Which inevitable leads to the occasional over-analyzing when he has to review a game.
But to come back at his gaming skills, it's obvious that Brad wants to enjoy games, not necessarily excel in them.    

" All you do is press buttons. "

" Does the site really need brad? "

" Yeah, it's as if he's easily distracted by an imaginary leprechaun. "

" @supersatanic said:

" Does the site really need brad? "

Dude, I'll fuckin' kill you for comments like that. Who's with me? "

" @supersatanic said:

" Does the site really need brad? "

Dude, I'll fuckin' kill you for comments like that. Who's with me? "

" @supersatanic said:

" Does the site really need brad? "

Dude, I'll fuckin' kill you for comments like that. Who's with me? "

" @dudeglove said:

" Yeah, it's as if he's easily distracted by an imaginary leprechaun. "

This.
 
@tdk08 said:

" @supersatanic said:

" Does the site really need brad? "

Dude, I'll fuckin' kill you for comments like that. Who's with me? "

I call the golf club! "

" Brad certainly seems to have a lack of common sense, but he also seems a little camera-shy (or mic-shy as the case may be). Those two things do not a good performance in recording make.  Brad's still awesome though. Do I detect a hint of Final Fantasy XIII fanboyism in that post up there? "

Brad is awesome I dunno whats going on here, and I would like to see you guys play a game while answering questions. 

Also FF13 was a 3 star game, was long tedious and got semi okish after like 30 hours of complete and total boredom.

" @rjayb89 said:

" @tdk08 said:

" @supersatanic said:

" Does the site really need brad? "

Dude, I'll fuckin' kill you for comments like that. Who's with me? "

"

Death to this infidel! "

Like it is normally said, when you fail you're one step closer to success. You probably won't die again the same way. :p

" Guys. It's hard to explain. Brad's ability to "pull a brad" may be considered "charming" or "special" or may be part of GB's appeal but when he pisses over a game that you love, giving absolutely moronic reasons for the same and does that multiple times, maybe then you'll understand . "

" he keeps cribbing about how he felt while playing the game instead of what the game is all about . This isn't a blog ,man. "

 @Trilogy said:

"So because you're a fanboy, Brad should be fired?   I've read everything you've had to say in this thread and you're opinion is about as invalid as a pornstar with erectile dysfunction. "

@dustbunny

" @supersatanic: It's funny that you bring up gamespot reviews, because I'm pretty sure that's exactly what the GB crew are trying to shy away from. Gamespot review are way too forced and technical IMO. I noticed that even some reviews by Jeff and Ryan from those days were kinda stiff and formal. The reviews on Giant Bomb are more personal and since the staff care more about the games they review, more sincere.  Also Brad is the "on field" guy so there's no reason to say that he doesn't bring anything to the table "

" 

 Destructoid is beating you to the punch!! They've got a more eclectic bunch of gaming staff and are all sly, quick witted,informed and fun to read . I'm gravitating towards it nowadays more than GB and I don't want to. 
 
  "