Note: This article contains story spoilers for Shadow of the Colossus.

Robert Ramnauth, Nightmare Mode: “Characters that Count

This, ladies and gentlemen, is how you do it right. Shadow of the Colossus came out eight years ago, and Robert has absolutely zero interest in spoiling it for anyone who either hasn’t played it yet or hasn’t finished it. As it should be. Nicely done, Robert.

Compare with how certain other websites handle spoilers.

MCV says they have informants from both Sony and Microsoft stating that both companies are going to reveal their next consoles during E3 2012.

Just stop for a second; think before you write. Even if you do have exclusive information on consoles that are due to be announced, companies can pull back their announcements at any time if they see it isn’t feasible for the corporation, making you–as a source–look illegitimate for now-untrue rumors.

QUOTED FOR TRUTH - WouldYouKindly.com, Drew Bergmark: Rumors: Don’t Believe the Hype [January 10th, 2012]

This man knows what he’s talking about.

NOT SHIT: Jim Sterling there, talking fucking sense.

Skyrim’s main quest can be cleared in around two hours NOT SHIT: In a bizarre twist on the status quo, Destructoid show us exactly how that “Skyrim in two hours” story should be reported.
This sorry episode is indicative of a larger problem with our business: those that write about games are supposed to be part of a marketing program, and any attempt at breaking a story that isn’t handed to an outlet is met with outright hostility. If you get a scoop about a game before an exclusive reveal at another publication, you’re going to be called out for “shoddy journalism.” Having a story before you’re allowed to have it makes you a target.

QUOTED FOR TRUTH - Ars Technica / Opposable Thumbs, Ben Kuchera: Developer calls accurate Borderlands 2 report “shoddy journalism” [August 3rd, 2011]

When Kuchera writes stuff like this it makes me want to be a better man. It really does.

So it’s been several years now where there haven’t been any productive new wells for Activision. Oh, and look what’s happened: a huge well has suddenly run dry.

Guitar Hero.

In the interview, [Bobby] Kotick claims that Guitar Hero died because it was neglected in favor of D.J. Hero—spit take—but it actually died because it was being pumped 24x7x365. It was overproduced. It’s dry.

No problem. Just take some of the other new wells that have been discovered—oh, shit. There are no new wells.

See? Of course he’s going back to the Guitar Hero well, so to speak. Of course he’s going to try to pump more oil out of that location. There are no wells to replace it.

QUOTED FOR TRUTH - Dubious Quality, Bill Harris: The Self-Evaluated Genius Of Bobby Kotick [July 25th, 2011]
Apologists will tell you that Duke Nukem is a satirical creation. They claim his misogynistic attitudes and sociopathic tendencies are meant to mock cheesy action films and typical videogame heroes. It’s easy to sit back and say Duke is a parody, but let me ask — what exactly is he parodying? Duke treats women like shit and his games portray females as ditzy sluts who exist only to satisfy Duke’s urges. To the best of my knowledge, the films of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone have never been about that. To my mind, the majority of first-person-shooter games fail to include a character like Duke. He’s more of an original character than we give him credit for, but that is by no means a positive thing.

NOT SHIT: Destructoid, Jim Sterling: The Duke Delusion: Why Duke Nukem isn’t a parody [June 16th, 2011]

This is a wonderful breakdown of the character of Duke Nukem and why he cannot possibly be described as parody or satire, ignoring the paragraph where Jim attempts to tell use what perfect parody should be and offers his own work as an example.