Always more downvotes than upvotes

I've noticed something rather curious; namely I always appear to get more downvotes than upvotes.  This is the case whether we're talking about my comments in the mail newspaper, my Amazon reviews (although we're unable to downvote now on Amazon), and I've just discovered today even on my youtube videos of me playing space invaders and Far Cry 3!

OK, with the mail, with my controversial views, I might expect more downvotes than upvotes as a total across all my comments, although I was unable to find anyone else where their downvotes exceed their upvotes. 

Amazon reviews are more puzzling.  But, I think on average, people tend to be more gushing in their reviews than I am, and they write shorter ones on average too.  People might tend to prefer positive reviews of products if they are looking to purchase something.

But computer games??  Here's me playing the original space invaders, and space invaders pt 2.  A total of 2 upvotes and 4 downvotes for both videos.  I had a look at a few other space invader videos played by other people, perhaps 15 or so.  There were a couple that attracted 0 votes, but none where the total of downvotes exceeded that of the upvotes.

Quite curious at this point I looked at one other video I've uploaded, a short video of me playing Farcry 3.  0 upvotes and 2 downvotes . .er . .  colour me baffled.  Why would someone click on a video of me playing space invaders or Far Cry 3 and downvote it?   

I feel this kinship with Novak Djokovic​. Neither of us are destined to be popular with the masses!

Review of Resident Evil 3 Remake

I've played very few computer games in the past 15 years. I played some of Far Cry 3. Played both Left4Dead games (but they were just multiplayer games). And I also played some of the Resident Evil 2 remake. And that's about it, I think. I also over 20 years ago played the original Resident Evil and the remake of it, and the original Resident Evil 2 in its entirety. But I never played the original Resident Evil 3.

First thing to note is that this Resident Evil 3 Remake is extremely short. I think the median playthrough time on first attempt is slightly less than 6 hours. It took me over 12 hours though. Why did it take me over twice as long? Well, I didn't attempt to do it quickly at all and just had my characters walking unless running away from enemies. Also, as I said, I scarcely play any computer games. I remember when I played the first resident evil game (not the longer remake), that it took me 12 hours 45 mins. But that was in 1998 and was the first computer game I'd played since the early 1980's when I used to play space invaders and the like. But I digress...

So, it's very short, and it has no additional missions either. Infuriatingly, control is sometimes wrestled away from you where it simply plays a pre-recorded sequence where you have no control over your character (I think people refer to them as "cut scenes"). Indeed, for the first 20 mins, it was more like watching a film than playing a computer game! Are most computer games like that now? If I wanted to watch a film I'd do precisely that! Moreover, sometimes, in the midst of these pre-recorded sequences it tells you to hold the stick in a certain direction, or press button A on the controller. I have no idea of the purpose of making people do this, it's just a pain and also means you can't go off to make yourself a coffee when the pre-recorded sequence starts.

Also, sometimes the character pulls out her (and his) radio, and then you can't run or interact with anything. This happens constantly and is a complete pain.

And the boss battles (I think that's what they're referred to). There's 4 of them! I think when I used to play computer games there was only the one boss battle right at the end of the game. Is it a problem that there's 4 boss battles? Yes, for one thing the boss -- Nemesis in this case -- is vastly disproportionately more difficult to defeat than any of the other enemies. So I was doing fine on the normal difficulty, until the 2nd Boss battle. I kept having to play that same damn boss battle over and over and over again. It was tedious! Although now I feel I've finally got the hang of it. 

I'd much prefer a game where there are no pre-recorded sequences and no boss battles. Then I might get into playing computer games again. 

And the controller. I'm using an xbox controller. It uses 2 sticks, which I think is now standard in game consoles? But I'm not used to it and I find it extraordinarily difficult to aim at zombies heads since they constantly sway side to side as they approach you. Also, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to look behind me when my character is walking or running without changing the direction in which my character is moving. I presume other people just know how to do it as this won't be the first time they've used this type of controller. I've spent some considerable time trying to work this out and also by Googling and asking beneath youtube videos, but all to no avail. But I know it's possible since I've seen other people do it on youtube playing this game. So I'm at a considerable disadvantage when being chased by Nemesis. I need to be able to see behind me when running away so I know when he is about to unleash an attack!

OK, now for some more positive comments. It has a staggering 5 levels of difficulty, and more importantly, each of these levels is significantly different from each other. The first difficulty, the so-called "assisted" level, is extremely easy. Then there's the normal level, then hard, then nightmare, then inferno. The latter 2 levels of difficulty are different in that the zombies have a much greater reach, and the items are placed in different areas compared to the other 3 levels. I've played some of the nightmare level and it's absurdly difficult. You can, though, apply what are effectively cheats i.e you accumulate points for killing a certain number of enemies and can buy guns with infinite ammo etc. I've never previously used a cheat before in a computer game but I see no alternative if I want to get through the nightmare level (the video shows me playing a small part of the nightmare level, and also testing out my microphone).

Oh yes, and the graphics are gorgeous. And despite the fact I bought my computer 8 years ago back in 2012 (for £1400 minus monitor, so very expensive) the game runs fine. In conclusion, despite all the detractions I've listed, I quite like this game. I just wish it were longer and had some mini-games at the end!

Edited to add:  I tried to submit this review to Amazon UK under the xbox1 version.  It was rejected.  I asked why.  The response states:

Hello, 

We encourage reviews, video and images on Amazon, both positive and negative. However, the video on your review titled "Many detractions, but worth playing" for "Resident Evil 3 (Xbox One)" doesn’t comply with our guidelines. 

Your video includes Guns and Firearms. We restrict videos with inappropriate content because audiences within our Community may be sensitive to that content.

Hmm . .this is surreal.   I fired 1 shot at a electricity box to momentarily electrocute the zombies.  I never shot at the zombies, and they didn't bite me. But, even if it had contained any violence, it's a resident evil game for heavens sake! 

Far Cry 5

I don't really like modern computer games but bought Far Cry 5 for £12.50 yesterday. Played the first Far Cry game, which is excellent. Played maybe round a third of Far Cry 3 before my hard drive was formatted. No other Far Cry game. Far Cry 3 was OK ish.. but scarcely compares to Far Cry 1.  The problem with Far Cry 3 was all the crafting and timed stuff you were obliged to do, and having to go into shops to buy weapons, which all very much detracted from the experience. So not sure if I should play Far Cry 3 all the way through. So thought I might as well play Far Cry 5 to see if it's any better. Perhaps it will be as good as the first Far Cry!


My PC is 7.5 years old and never been upgraded, but it seems it can still run it. So that's the good news. Bad news is that the game starts very dark and people shooting at me. It would have been vastly better to start off in bright daylight in a picturesque idyllic tropical paradise as in Far Cry 1 with no enemies in sight. Just to soak in the scenery and get used to the controls etc. Why must we start off in the dark not being able to see anything! Do they want to put off people playing the game after the first 5 minutes?

Also, I have no idea what I'm doing, it all seems horrendously complex. To be fair I felt the same way about Far Cry 3 at first, but as I persevered it all became much clearer.

The map doesn't appear though when I press "M". It just gives me the journal. The "J" and "I" buttons also both give me the journal, and yes they are mapped correctly in the options. Perhaps I pick up the map a little way into the game? At the moment I haven't a clue where to go.

Why the heck can't they make a Far Cry game where the main character travels back in time to the age of the dinosaurs? Of course, he (or she) would have plenty of weapons. As well as dinosaurs like the T rex etc, perhaps there might be super intelligent dinosaurs of around our size with ray guns. Anyway, that would be an absolute blast. I'm pretty sure it'd be vastly more popular than than this Far Cry 5 game.

Anyway, for the time being, I'll persevere with Far Cry 5. Will update when appropriate.

Update:  A few hours later.

Been playing a litle bit more.  Now at last I'm seeing the environment in daylight.  However, it's nowhere near as beautiful as Far Cry or Far Cry 3.  The colours look washed out, insipid.  Even though only £12.50 I think this is probably a waste of money.  Why the heck aren't demos available for most computer games??


Update 13/06/20 I soon gave up on it. I just couldn't be bothered playing. Now I've bought the remake of Resident Evil 3 and see what that's like.

The Remakes of the original Resident Evil and Tomb Raider Games

I talk about my experience with the original Resident Evil and Tomb Raider games here.

Currently, I'm playing the remake of the original Resident Evil.  And a few months ago I tried playing the remake of the original Tomb Raider game called Tomb Raider Anniversary, although I only completed the first 3 levels of the latter before I got sick of playing it; a stark contrast to my experience of the original game!

Resident Evil Remake

I have to confess I'm bitterly disappointed with the Resident Evil Remake.  It's just completely lost its atmosphere compared to the original.  Before commenting further I'd just like to quote someone else who is comparing the remake to the original.  Go here.

The original is an ugly game at this stage, looking more like a prototype than anything else. The overall gameplay mechanics are sound, but the effect of some really good scares tends to get lost due to almost laughable graphics, cheesy dialogue and predictable enemies. 

The remake improves on every, repeat, every aspect of the original. It handles better, looks better and is a game that genuinely instills a sense of dread.
...
As much as the original game is loved, there are only two real reasons that players should opt to play it over the remake: 

If playing the entire series start to finish, you may want to watch the progression and improvements made between games. 

The hilariously cheesy one-liners, which are unfortunately omitted from the remake in favor of regular cheesy one-liners. The best of these one liners can be found here:Resident Evil One-liners.

This praise for the remake seems pretty much universal.  Virtually no-one prefers the original to the remake.  But I'm one of those few people.

I loved the original to bits.  The atmosphere, the haunting music, just everything.  I played it again and again and again.  With one playthrough as Jill, I only used the knife and successfully completed it.  The remake I just can't be bothered to play.  Why?

First of all the original music has disappeared.  The music was what gave the original game its atmosphere.  It was everything. It's just not the same without that music.  But, apart from the music, the original had you in the mansion, exploring room by room, it created a kind of tension and atmosphere.  The remake has you having to enter a graveyard right at the beginning that is accessed halfway up the stairs to the first floor!   It kinda breaks the atmosphere.

And the remake keeps having you come back to the mansion time and time and time again.  It feels like there's a lack of progression.  I want to continually move into new areas as I progress through the game.

The cheesy one-liners are often mentioned in the context of the original.  To be honest, when I played the original on the PlayStation one, I never noticed anything particularly cheesy about the dialogue (I was around 35 at the time).  It's often the way people speak!  I neither liked nor disliked these "cheesy" one-liners.  And I also don't like the defence items, nor the fact the zombies turn into crimson heads.  The remake is inferior to the original in every way apart from the graphics.

Tomb Raider Anniversary

The remake of the original Tomb Raider is even more of a travesty.  I've only played the first 3 levels of this "remake", but I've had enough.  First of all, it doesn't seem like a remake at all, it seems almost an entirely different game.

The first game had the occasional haunting beautiful music.  It had vast open areas to explore.  It had puzzles.  It made me feel a certain way.  Most importantly I wanted to play it.  It never felt tedious and was something to be savoured.

Compare that to the remake.  Tedious beyond belief!  Most of the time Lara seems to be climbing cliffs and jumping on different ledges etc.  In the original, most of the exploration was on foot.  And the T Rex in level 3 was absolutely awful.  I spent an eternity trying to figure out how to kill it.  By that time I'd had enough.  I would rather play the original game again any day.  And you can buy the original on steam and have it on a high resolution.  I paid a mere 99p! Looks very nice.  The only trouble is it doesn't have the blue diamonds and you can save anywhere.  So that's the main detraction.

Concluding Remark

If only these "remakes" had been real remakes but with enhanced graphics.  But others are not in agreement with me, at least for the resident evil remake.  There does seem more dissatisfaction with the Tomb Raider remake though. 

Computer Games

Back in 1998, before I'd even got my very first computer, I borrowed a PlayStation off someone together with a couple of games, "Resident Evil" and "Tomb Raider".  I hadn't played any computer games since the early 80's when I used to play space invaders, asteroids, pacman etc, both in the arcades and in a simpler form on my Atari 2600 console.

Anyway, I used to love playing those games, although they did get tedious after a while.  I got ridiculously good at all of them e.g watch me play the first Space Invaders here, or Space Invaders 2 here. And then I started playing Resident Evil . .wow . . just wow!  Really it bore absolutely no relationship to the computer games I had hitherto played.  I was in a 3D environment controlling a person called Jill being attacked by zombies and solving puzzles.  I was entranced!  7/03/22 Edited to add.  I've managed to get hold of this original 1996 version!  Played it live as Jill using no saves and just using a knife.  Go here. 

Then I played Tomb Raider, and I was even more blown away!  The haunting music, the satisfaction of figuring out the puzzles, completely exploring a level, only to then start a brand new level with more puzzles and exploring to do.  I loved it!

Those two games, the first two 3D games I ever played, have remained unsurpassed. Tomb Raider 2, Half Life (the 1st one) and Far Cry (the 1st one) were all excellent too, but not as good as those first 2 games.

Now I'm trying to play games such as Far Cry 3 etc (see me play Far Cry 3 here), but these more modern games just don't hold the same magic, and I get sick of playing them.  I don't know why, maybe because I'm older, but I suspect not so much thought has been put into these games to make them so entrancing.