It's time for an all new LOTSO! We review Deathspank and Crackdown 2, grab it here: http://bit.ly/lotso12



Enjoy!
-Chris

What the hell is going on with my computer!? I'm now back home, where I've never had any problems before, yet the stream still craps out on me after a couple of minutes.

Nooooooooooooooooo! YouTube doing that too for you? Or just the player on our site? How do direct file downloads work for you? Are they stalling out as well? I ask because the video player streams from the same CDN the file downloads come from... So if one is being jank.. But should be being jank.
-Chris

Before when I was trying to watch Beer is Tasty, I had the same problem on all sites and even with direct downloads. Now that I'm home, it seems to be working on Youtube. I haven't tried the direct download yet. I can try it if you want.

Now for a comment on the episode itself, how come you guys are always hating on the graphics of games like Deathspank for example? Of course games like that aren't as realistic as Modern Warfare 2 or whatever, but that's kind of the point. It takes a lot of artistic skill to build a coherent style like they have done for Deathspank. Being able to create realistic graphics is more about having lots of manpower and a huge budget than artistic skill. Just look at Paper Mario for the Wii or The Journey of Iesir for Windows. Those games don't have a high polycount or anything, but they are still visually impressive because the graphical designers are talented individuals and are able to create great art. Neither of those games have "sacrificed graphics". They are made that way intentionally.

Sorry if I sound harsh. I really don't mean to be. It's just something that's been nagging on me for quite some time now.

EDIT: Tried a direct download (large video version). That also crapped out after a couple of minutes.

I don't think we 'hated on it' at all. We mentioned that they're not cutting edge, but we actually gave favorable mention to how they look. Is it hating on it to point out that they won't WOW you out of your seat? Some people won't play unrealistic looking titles, regardless of the gameplay or stylism -- it's a valid point to bring up in a review.

Don't take my criticism that harshly (is that even a word? ). I think it might be a language thing. I really didn't mean to come across as negative as I may have. All I really meant to say was that I have noticed that the LotSO crew has generally equated good graphics with realistic graphics (which isn't necessarily untrue. Just not always the case), whereas I would like to mention that many times a game artist shoots for a different style - not out of inability to create something "better" (as in more realistic), but just because that's the art style they want to go for. Just like a painter doesn't always paint as realistically as he or she can, but instead goes for an abstract or comic-book-esque style.

I just might be guilty of that, though not because I think that my self - but because I expect the audience does, and thus I feel the need to justify the look of the game, and prepare people up front that it's not a stunner.. .But It's probably a bad habit!

-Chris