Sometimes I really hate my job. I hate being forced to play games and then write about them all day. I hate being forced to find new examples of bad advertising to satisfy the masses. I hate being sent video games and expected to play them. That's right, I hate my job. Oh wait ... no I don't. I actually like all that stuff. But there is one thing that I do hate; I hate it when major retailers lie about a game just to get you to buy it. Yeah, that's what I hate.

This is exactly what Target did when they ran this advertisement for The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. They took an already good game and tried to make it something it's not. This entire advertisement is about playing games with friends, partaking in a little of the old multiplayer. They show you statistics when fighting against various animals, they give you hints about playing against other people and they suggest you get in some father/son time. The only problem is that The Legacy o f Kain: Soul Reaver is not a two-player game.

The real problem I have with this advertisement is that this could have been a perfectly good commercial. Had this advert promoted GoldenEye 007 or some Street Fighter II collection then it would have made sense, but all we're left with is another example of the left hand not talking to the right. A cynic might use this to illustrate the point that large retailers like Target know very little about our industry. That person would be right.

FROM: Rockstar: Bad Advertising