Irate Gamer: Skyward Sword Controls are Clunky

The Irate Gamer is a very controversial game reviewer who some view is a direct knock-off the Angry Video Game Nerd. He also happens to be a journalist of sorts and attends various gaming events and conventions. He recently attended E3 2011 and has put together the Top 5 E3 2011 disappointments. Listed at #5 on his list is none other than… Skyward Sword? Jump inside to see what he had to say, as well as my own thoughts.

He starts talking about Skyward Sword at the 1:56 mark in the video above. He basically says that the Skyward Sword controls are very clunky and it hurts the experience. His exact quote was…

He also states that the new inventory system which allows you to seamlessly change your equipped weapon is a pain in the butt. The Irate Gamer also tries to add validity to his argument by giving the vague statement that he spoke with others and they have the same concerns.

Now, exactly who are these other people? I’ve read quite a handful of people that have expressed concerns about the controls, but I definitely haven’t heard them labeled as clunky. People that seem to have concern over the controls are people that prefer Zelda games to stick to more classical 3D style of play, as seen in Ocarina of Time or The Wind Waker. Additionally, I think this is the very first person I’ve heard that has said anything bad at all about the new inventory system. In fact, I’ve heard almost unanimous praise for the new inventory system… so I’m not sure about the validity of this point.

After stating that there were a bunch of things that can be improved upon Skyward Sword, the Irate Gamer talks a bit about the graphics. He said he wants to have Zelda graphics that rival that of God of War. He goes on to say that he understands Nintendo makes their games for kids, but it’s about time they make one for adults. He immediately goes on to mention the Zelda Wii U demo and has much praise for it.

Now, after watching and analyzing this video… I’ve almost come to the conclusion that the graphics are the central focus of his complaint. He doesn’t like the graphics, but he does like the Zelda Wii U graphics, and thus, diminishes what Skyward Sword is. His views about the controls and the inventory are NOT widely agreed upon and in fact, he’s more of a stand-alone outcast when it comes to these estranged views. I think the guy just has an idea of what he wants a Zelda game to be like and Skyward Sword doesn’t hit his exact mold, so he is finding ways to complain about it.

What bothers me about guys like the Irate Gamer… is that they do in fact have quite a large fan base. Thus, the average Joe who watches the Irate Gamer and finds this one video… might actually think that Skyward Sword really is a bad game. Yet, everywhere else you look, Skyward Sword has been getting quite the praise. It is this type of mis-information that has no place in journalism. Sure he’s entitled to his view… but when the views are just so random and games are just picked out like this… it’s just not fair to the games themselves. It’s also not fair to the thousands of hard-working journalists out there that try their best to give accurate information for their viewers.

Then again this is just my interpretation of what he had to say. However, given his shady reputation and having watched many of his game reviews, I think this is the best explanation for his thoughts. What did you guys think? Does he have any validity in his argument? Are you at all concerned about the controls, graphics, or inventory system? Is this guy just completely clueless? Post your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: Irate Gamer
Related: Skyward Sword Walkthrough