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GAME: Corpse Party: Book of Shadows


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VPedge



Joined: 11 Oct 2012
Posts: 69
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 1:35 am Reply with quote
I find some of the post about this game pretty funny more then the review its self(are we really calling people who like this game sick?Lol) if you all are that sad people are dieing in a figgin game about people dieing just wait for corpse party 2U since thats just a comedy where none of the characters die at all hand hold hands together while singing and partying with the power of friendship.
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nottimkai



Joined: 05 Jan 2009
Posts: 77
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 2:32 am Reply with quote
It is possible that this entire franchise could fail the miller test and be considered obscene.

I don't condone this assessment, but I acknowledge it. I have read several of the manga adaptations, I have read up on the games, and the corpse party franchise is so unredeemably disturbing that I can't justify it.

I am a huge first amendment nutter. I don't SAY these things! But the corpse party series really bothers me. It treats its characters like shit, it treats its metaphysics like shit ... If it seemed like there was a point, if it seemed like there was a purpose, I wouldn't say this.

But I haven't seen one. Even Higurashi has more of a purpose than this! Their characters are treated with a modicum of respect, and the plot actually requires the suffering doled out.

I don't call for the censorship of corpse party, but I regret putting any of my energy into it.

Feels bad, man. Forever.
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Eustace



Joined: 15 Jun 2012
Posts: 7
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 3:10 am Reply with quote
VPedge wrote:
I find some of the post about this game pretty funny more then the review its self(are we really calling people who like this game sick?Lol) if you all are that sad people are dieing in a figgin game about people dieing just wait for corpse party 2U since thats just a comedy where none of the characters die at all hand hold hands together while singing and partying with the power of friendship.


It's less "sad" and more "disgusted". Not everyone is HARDCORE and EDGY enough (Like you clearly are) to think that children meaninglessly getting their heads smashed in with hammers is TOTALLY AWESOME. There are some people in the world who aren't completely desensitized to violence, sex, and any combinations of the two.

Chipp12 wrote:
Actually, here's the point for most of commentators here: it's a spin-off game. If you haven't played the original game yet there's no point for you to talk about this one.


Although I think it'd be kinda unfair to exclude those opinions, I see where you're coming from. As someone who played through that first game (And didn't really enjoy much of that experience), I could totally see why this game is the gross, awful, and not fun at all experience that the article describes, regardless of any other music/sound, gameplay, or visual elements it has to offer.
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Cecilthedarkknight_234



Joined: 02 Apr 2011
Posts: 3819
Location: Louisville, KY
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 10:49 am Reply with quote
I wish to apologize for acting like a douche in this thread. My initial thought was that book of shadows as remake with extra scene's added in. I loved the first game they brought over here corpse party repeated fear since it seem to actually have a purpose or escaping nightmare nexus void/haunted school where horrible murders happened 30 yrs prior.

It seems that book of shadows was set up to show "insert butcher Pete song from fallout 3 here", to it's characters. I love the characters way to much in this franchise to watch them suffer over again and after spending 3hrs in bos I see why it is getting so much hate. However I do think the first game corpse party repeated fear can hold up to a miller test, despite the 21 bad endings it still strives you to get that one true/good ending. This however is just a personal opinion, I'll just leave this to finally rest where most of the characters should be.


Last edited by Cecilthedarkknight_234 on Wed Jan 30, 2013 11:32 am; edited 1 time in total
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casualfan



Joined: 24 Jul 2012
Posts: 333
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 11:19 am Reply with quote
I'm not into torture porn hence no interest with this game. But still I don't see how this game is any different than the Saw franchise.
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white heart



Joined: 30 Jan 2013
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 11:41 am Reply with quote
call me old fashioned, and i say this as someone who has only watched 20 minutes of the first game on yt and hated it, if you haven't actually played either game?

i don't think you should be in this thread passing judgement on it. even if it "disgusts you" based on the premise, you don't actually know what is in the game. you know what this guy has said about it.

that's like taking the word of a guy who says the avengers was a muder mystery movie. that's stupid.

if you have played the first game, i think you can pass decent judgement. but if you've just looked it up and read about it or said "oh, i don't like this premise so i won't even take 10 minutes to look it up"?

don't bother commenting on it unless you're saying "don't like the idea". it makes you look like you don't know what you are talking about, because you don't.

and again: i hate these kinds of games. but i'm not passing judgement and saying it's shit without even trying it out.
spoiler[yes i just made an account so i can rant about people talking about a game i have never played or don't think i will like because they are talking about a game they have never played or don't think they will like. sue me][/spoiler]
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TsubomiKoneko



Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 247
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 2:15 pm Reply with quote
Silly, this is ANN's forums (and the internet for that matter), it's not cool to actually try something out before passing judgment. It's so much easier to instead just take everything one person says and run with it to further demonize anyone that likes said thing!
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PrecisionCrab



Joined: 02 Nov 2012
Posts: 215
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 2:43 pm Reply with quote
casualfan wrote:
I'm not into torture porn hence no interest with this game. But still I don't see how this game is any different than the Saw franchise.

Saw doesn't take itself seriously, for the most part.
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VPedge



Joined: 11 Oct 2012
Posts: 69
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 3:52 pm Reply with quote
Eustace wrote:
It's less "sad" and more "disgusted". Not everyone is HARDCORE and EDGY enough (Like you clearly are) to think that children meaninglessly getting their heads smashed in with hammers is TOTALLY AWESOME. There are some people in the world who aren't completely desensitized to violence, sex, and any combinations of the two.


Yep because you CLEARLY have to be HARDCORE and EDGY to enjoy the game for what it is a [expletive] horror game that brings out the true despair. They aren't putting on kid gloves Its fine to dislike the game but going around blindly agree with saying anyone who enjoys this game are bad(like i have seen in some post) is a joke. The game is doing what it does best about murder and Japanese curses. Hate to see you take on the witch house. Rolling Eyes
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Eustace



Joined: 15 Jun 2012
Posts: 7
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 5:07 pm Reply with quote
I think you meant witch hunt, buddy. Also, it's possible to make things scary without making them horrifically violent. Look at something like Silent Hill 2. One of the scariest parts of that game, to me at least, is walking down a goddamn flight of stairs. Of course, they're two very different kinds of horror games, but it just goes to show that it can be done. Meaningless cruelty isn't scary, it's just depressing and gross. I mean, unless, like people have started pointing out, Book of Shadows is your first experience with the franchise. I guess it's fine, then, maybe?

Last edited by Eustace on Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:22 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Mad_Scientist
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Joined: 08 Apr 2008
Posts: 3011
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 5:43 pm Reply with quote
But who says that anyone who is defending Book of Shadows is "taking pleasure" in the deaths and violence? I know Dave Riley basically said there was no point to the game beyond that, but he's one man, his word is not God's, and others have disagreed with him.

As I understand it, Book of Shadows mainly consists of two things, the first being a series of "what if?" stories that are basically retelling of some of the bad ends of the first game, with some alternate scenarios as well, the second being a set up for a sequel. According to some defenders of this game, the purpose of it is to flesh out the characters from the first game more, and give alternate perspectives on the characters and events. And to set up the sequel of course.

The fact that the ends are all horrible isn't as important as it would be otherwise because of the "what if?" nature of the game. We already know that some of the characters DO survive in the first game, which is the main storyline I believe, and so what we learn about those characters is still interesting and relevant even if they die in the alternate scenarios. And for the characters that die either way, well, I don't know about you, but I still find it interesting to learn about fictional characters even if I know they're going to come to a bad end. To give a manga example, in Berserk, spoiler[the way the Golden Age arc was set up in the manga made it obvious that most of the Band of the Hawk was going to suffer a horrible end. Plus, I had heard a little bit about the end of that arc before I read it. And of course the characters did come to a horrible end, in one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever seen in a manga. I still appreciated getting to know them beforehand, though, it made the impact bigger, and really helped me understand how Guts became the way he was. I wasn't "taking pleasure" in watching the characters die, though.]

Now, I'm not saying the writing in Book of Shadows is anywhere close to the level of Berserk, but it doesn't have to be as great as Berserk for it to still be effective.

Now, I haven't played either Corpse Party game, I'm just bascially restating what some defenders have claimed. Perhaps they are wrong. But I do know that in concept, a series of alternate "what if?" stories for a horror game I'd liked would appeal to me, even if I knew they were all bad ends. So in concept, Book of Shadows doesn't sound horrible. Maybe the execution of Book of Shadows is so bad and disgusting that it ruins it, but I don't know. Some in the forums don't think so, at least.

So I have no problem with someone saying that the game just seems pointless, that they don't feel the extra development of the characters is worth it, that the abrupt sequel set up is frustrating, etc. But what I do have an issue with is when someone says, "actually, when taken alongside the first game, there is some point to Book of Shadows" and someone responds with something that's basically "you're just a closet sadist who doesn't want to admit he likes watching acid put on dicks. I bet the people who watch snuff films aren't bad people either, right?"
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
Posts: 11265
Location: Frisco, TX
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 7:15 pm Reply with quote
Cleaned up the thread a little based on some reports. If your posts seem a little out of continuity, tough tits. I did my job.
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ikillchicken



Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 7272
Location: Vancouver
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 7:27 pm Reply with quote
casualfan wrote:
I'm not into torture porn hence no interest with this game. But still I don't see how this game is any different than the Saw franchise.


Well, I'm no fan of Saw, but I think the review put it best:

Quote:
Its writing is suffused with that unbearable combination "prurient with the thin veneer of chastity" that is so familiar to anime fans. When they are not being killed, characters spend long minutes chastely complimenting each others skin and breasts, seemingly the only ones unaware of the inherent sexuality of the scene. The audience can't help but be aware of it. Surely the intended audience craves it. Do they also crave the juxtaposition of senseless, horrific violence with absurdly-virginal-yet-ridiculously-lewd eroticism?


It is this really bizarre juxtaposition that I find so creepy. Torture porn is gross on its own (which is where once again I'm no fan of the Saw franchise) but this game seems to take way, way further. It takes the most deliberately innocent characters it can create, these almost comically chaste and virginal children...then it adds in this weird, voyeuristic eroticism, clearly designed to titillate, where the superficial innocence becomes a veneer for an underlying lewdness...and then it says "Okay! Let's all watch as these deliberately innocent and yet highly sexualized girls are brutally humiliated, tortured and brutalized both mentally and physically in the most horrific and gruesome way imaginable. I mean...holy crap that is messed up. And it seems plainly obvious that the intended audience (not every fan of it but the core audience it was written for) gets off on this. They find it sexually titillating to see this kind of violence, humiliation and general violation of innocent, virginal girls. And that's really really really gross and sick and horrifying and miles and miles worse than anything I've seen in regular old torture porn like Saw.

TsubomiKoneko wrote:
Silly, this is ANN's forums (and the internet for that matter), it's not cool to actually try something out before passing judgment. It's so much easier to instead just take everything one person says and run with it to further demonize anyone that likes said thing!


Sorry but I really can't view this as anything more than one big smokescreen. If you feel that this review misrepresents or misses some aspect of the game then by all means share it. Make a case as to why this isn't just "an exceptionally cruel sort of voyeurism, to create these people for the strict purpose of graphically humiliating and then murdering and re-murdering them." What purpose does it serve that the review failed to highlight? Tell me why I should give this game a chance. What will I discover in doing so that contradicts my impression of the game based on the review? If you can't do that then you're not really making a genuine suggestion that one's view might be different if they actually played the game. Rather, it's just a transparent way to try to force those who disagree with you to stop talking.


Last edited by ikillchicken on Wed Jan 30, 2013 7:31 pm; edited 1 time in total
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white heart



Joined: 30 Jan 2013
Posts: 2
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:02 pm Reply with quote
i may not have liked the first game but apparently a few other reviewers found something in this game. even the negative reviews note positive things about it. clearly there is something more to this than what people are saying here.

Lep.Co.Uk 2.5/5 (the only other review with a very low rating i could find)
GameSpot 7/10
GameInformer 7.25/10
Destructoid 7/10
Metro 6/10
Games.com 7/10
VividGamer 8/10
PSNStores 4/5
Capsule Computers 8.5/10
Operation Rainfall 4.5/5
MetaCritic 65/100 and 7.5/10
8 Bit Fix 8/10
IGN 5.8 and 8.4 (but who trusts IGN now a days anyway?)
Digitally Downloaded 4/5
Masonic Gamer 6/10
Blistered Thumbs 7/10
The Otaku's Study B
GeekRevolt No rating given, but it recommends for VN fans and fans of the first game.
HardcoreGamer 3.5/5
New Gamer Nation 7/10
Game Podunk 8/10
SnackBar Games 4/5

it took me 30 seconds, two pages in google, and a 20 second search of n4g to find these, by the way. so maybe, just maybe, this game isn't just utter shit and maybe it just isn't for everyone.

or maybe all of these could be wrong. maybe ann's is the only review that is right. who knows unless you play the game yourself.
spoiler[i tried watching an lp. not a fan myself. but i can see why people might enjoy it if it does over character development and story explanation like they said. guy's got a right to his opinion, but his and mind clearly don't match others]
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Levitz9



Joined: 06 Feb 2007
Posts: 1022
Location: Puerto Rico
PostPosted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:22 am Reply with quote
This review brings Elfen Lied to mind: one half of the group calls it out on its overbearing violence with rather prickly and awkward details (like the ten-year-old girl with the weak bladder), while the other half praises it for being "dark" and "psychological". At the end of the day, it's all opinion.

Dave put forth his opinions. He picked the game apart, examined the parts as individuals, then examined how they worked as a group. He found them lacking, and rated them accordingly. If you disagree with him, well, hey, more power to you: nobody's going to criticize you for liking or playing this game. It's just an opinion. Nobody's wrong here.

We're in a weird Farenheit 451 situation: fans of this game don't want Dave to be honest in his opinions because it'll hurt their feelings. Dude, it's just a review: it's not Gospel, and it's not going to stop anyone from trying this game out. (Besides, not everyone has the stomach for this kind of thing--how is it their fault for having different tastes?)
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