Shut Your Stupid Mouths

God, I just can't stand it.  So I guess some people here in the West are getting early review copies of Final Fantasy XIII, and I guess a lot of these reviewers are complaining about the game being "too linear."  Shut up.  Just shut your stupid [CENSORED] mouths.  What does that even mean?  It does too good of a job of keeping you on track with the story?  Gee, I'm sorry the developers wanted you to play the game the way they designed it, not the way you wish it was designed. 

Now this isn't a defense of Final Fantasy XIII.  I haven't played that game, so I don't know if it's any good or not.  No, this is more of a frustrated rant about that particular phrase: "Too linear."  This is a criticism that is empty to me.  If the developer is making promises of an open world or numerous sidequests, then sure, I can see that comment making sense.  But no, they bring it up all the time when talking about RPGs.  As if all RPGs need to keep following the same path and structure.  (Heck, they even brought it up with Batman: Arkham Asylum last year, and that's not an RPG at all!  And that game let you wander a whole freaking island at will!)  But I think there's something to be said for a game, RPG or not, that wants to focus on its story.  Maybe it doesn't make sense for the characters to go galavanting off on a bunny hunt or something.  Hey guys, you know what game was incredibly linear?  Uncharted 2.  It was also the best game from last year!  Sure, that's my opinion, but apparently a whole lot of people agree with me, based off of all the Best of 2009 awards it keeps getting.

Now you can argue that the Final Fantasy series has set an expectation that you'll be able to wander around, do side quests, etc.  Yet I'd fire back by saying that Final Fantasy has been a series that has thrived on experimentation and trying to do something different with each game.  And if any game seems like it's trying to deviate from the course, it would be XIII.  Honestly, I haven't followed a lot of the news on this game, so I don't know if they promised any sort of non-linear experience.  But again, this isn't meant to be a defense of that game.  It's me throwing up my hands cause I've had enough of that comment.  You want to criticize the gameplay, or the technical performance, or the voice acting or something, then that's valid and I'll listen.  But you throw out something like "too linear", then I know I can instantly disregard your opinion on the game.  Because that kind of opinion is one I just can't respect.