Who the heck is Tom Chick?

[John Keefer]

http://vgmwatch.com/?p=1114

There is a good laugh here. If I missed a thread on this someplace, I'm sorry.

[Stroker Ace]

I laughed, I cried.

It’s all fine and dandy to carry news and such, but when outlets like Variety start trying to review games - particularly of the “hardcore” nature - matters sort of hit the fan. This is where they often prove themselves to be inept and less than equipped to handle the endeavor they’re undertaking. A good case study for this is Variety.com’s August 30th review of Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for the Wii. I’m not familiar with the reviewer, Tom Chick, and I probably won’t become familiar with him, either. While he’s done his homework and he possesses some knowledge of the franchise, the reader can’t really tell if this is through true experience or more of a Wikipedia job. While I’ve warned against ingrained game industry journalists taking a haughty stance with the mass media, there’s a difference between fearing their intrusion and rightly noting the deficiencies in their ability, at times, to opine on actual game design.

Edit: I hope my comment to the article makes it through moderation.

[JPR]

Yeah, I hope this guy feels like an idiot when he realizes the mistake he's make.

[Chowhound]

I was tempted to leave the comment:

"Chick? He's Oscar's gay lover."

[Other Brendan]

Quite amusing. And a little depressing.

[Mordrak]

Until last year, I wasn't familiar with Tom's work at all (or that videogame writing went beyond the gamespot/ign variety which I only used for their summaries of new products). The last place I thought I'd find (or even look) for insightful writing about video games was yahoo games. Talk about me being a haughty ingrained video gamer. However, for a supposed watchdog site they probably should and even if they think they shouldn't, they should be at least aware that sometimes people write for non-gamers. Isn't the maxim, "write to your audience," English 101?

[Alan Au]

Who the heck is Billy Kirk?

- Alan

[Ed Solomon]

Who originally posted "From my parents' basement I stab at thee?"

Anyway, it's clear that Billy Kirk is a pseudonym for Larry Groznik.

[RepoMan]

I’m not sure of Chick’s past game journalism experience, but whether it’s impressive or not on paper is besides the point. Variety should revamp their game review department - if they can’t grant a marquee title like Metroid Prime 3 an accomplished and intelligent critique, then they shouldn’t be rating games.

OH SNAP. Looks like he showed YOU, Tom.

Wonder how long he's been writing for VGM?

[Jay Adan]

Classic!

[Raife]

So Awesome.

[Rimbo]

I'm not sure I understand this guy's point; is he saying that Tom Chick's critique of Metroid: Corruption betrays Chick's lack of experience with videogames or something?

Or is this like the Deus Ex thing?

[JPR]

Originally Posted by Rimbo

Is he saying that Tom Chick's critique of Metroid: Corruption betrays Chick's lack of experience with videogames or something?

Yeah, that's exactly what he's saying.

[Rimbo]

But in the end, do any of us really truly know Tom Chick? How many games has he actually played? He might be a poseur, trying to get in with us, the "in" crowd, by pretending to know a lot about games! I know I certainly had never heard of him before I joined QT3. IT COULD BE A SCAM

[Gordon Cameron]

He doesn't actually play games, he just gets the people at Shoot Club to play them and then takes notes.

[Rimbo]

AHA! If I hadn't known it all along, I never would have guessed it. He IS a poser! This Billy Kirk, he is Hercule Poirot with a Gilette sponsorship. To think we might never have unearthed this dark secret had it not been for him!

[Derek French]

Ya know, Google isn't that hard for someone to try about, before they write an article stating "I don't know who XXXXX is."

[Rimbo]

Originally Posted by Derek French

Ya know, Google isn't that hard for someone to try about, before they write an article stating "I don't know who XXXXX is."

And come up with this?

I'm not sure I could blame him if that's the first thing he looked into. :)

[Moggraider]

The criticizer is wrong about Tom not being experienced, but this IS the worst review I've read by him in a while. The comparison to Halo is ridiculous and the dismissal of exploration undeserved.

[Drunkagain]

Lol! At least they acknowledge that you have some familiarity with the franchise.

[Jonathan Crane]

Tom's writing for Variety? That's a win, right? I wonder if that will raise his profile for acting gigs.

[Mordrak]

Originally Posted by Moggraider

The comparison to Halo is ridiculous and the dismissal of exploration undeserved.

It may be, but considering Halo's mind share, that's probably the first comparison a casual gamer will make.

[Thrag]

What I got from that is "Be aware, this isn't a straight up action shooter like Halo" not so much "It sucks because it's not like Halo".

[Matthew Gallant]

Chick's nix of waggle tricks inflicts tics

[Rimbo]

Originally Posted by Thrag

What I got from that is "Be aware, this isn't a straight up action shooter like Halo" not so much "It sucks because it's not like Halo".

That, and that he found the exploration to be "tedious" rather than interesting in any way. It's not the first time Chick has disagreed with the unwashed masses, but he has certainly spiked the fanboy ire.

Oh, and Matthew Gallant wins the thread.

[Derek French]

Originally Posted by Rimbo

And come up with this?

I'm not sure I could blame him if that's the first thing he looked into. :)

Jeebus, he's not that much older than me. And I dunno, that section on writing career should have taken care of most of it.

[Matthew Gallant]

P.S. if peterb happens to be reading the thread: you have been supplanted at the top of the game writer rankings in the "haughty-to-noobishness ratio" category.

[caesarbear]

It's all a scam. Kirk really does know Chick and this is just another attempt to stir up controversy and put Tom in the glorious spot light. Next he'll have his buddy Roger Ebert write a scathing diatribe against Chick's claim that it's silly to argue whether games are art.

[freddyg]

For some strange reason, this review reminded me of "Big Mouse".
If anyone has a copy of that classic rant, can they post it for all to enjoy?

[Alan Au]

Billy basically throws away any shred of gamer-credibility he might have when he fails to to recognize Tom Chick. Of course, the VGMwatch guys aren't exactly in the know. Well, okay, Kyle Orland is marginally connected to the industry via his mainstream press friends, but he's certainly no Kieron Gillen.

- Alan