Title: Earth Defense Force 2025
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action
Developer: Sandlot
Publisher: D3 Publisher
Release date: 02/18/2014 (NA) 07/04/13 (JP) 02/21/14 (EU)
AKA: Chikyuu Boueigun 4 (JP)

Finished a review, just need to look over it a tiny bit.

Added.

Thanks.

Now those vouchers are useless because it's 33% off on the daily deal.

There is. It's being released in two halves -- the second half is running late, but the first can be picked up on Steam. It suffers from the fact that it's only half a game, but still keeps in step with the earlier (and better) parts of the series.

FANtastic choices.

There's a fifth in the Broken Sword series now, isn't there?

I already have a coupon, probably for buying a bunch of their other games. It looks interesting, but I'll wait until Act 2 is out, then get them both, hopefully in a bundle of some sort.

Thanks for looking out for everyone! Unfortunately, I was one of the very first people to back it on Kickstarter, so I already paid in full and have downloaded it. Now to just find time to play it...

I have a bunch of Steam 25% off coupons for Broken Age if anyone wants any.

Game: 99 Levels to Hell
Platform: PC
Developer: bom667
Publisher: Zaxis Games
Genre: Action
Release date: 2/19/14

Added.

I'll get to it right after I finish my videogame version of The Divine Comedy.
In(tellivision)erno already complete, now on to (PS)Purgatorio and...can't think of a Paradiso pun.

Awesome times! Maybe you'll get lucky and Jason will send you my planned* 15,000-word opus on Atari 2600's Haunted House to proof and trim down to 800 words!

* This was not planned until I found out we have an intern-type staff member. Sorry, man...

Welcome to the staff! Don't work too hard... unless that's a requirement. >_>

Congrats, Germ, and welcome!

Glad to be on board!

Hello all!

This is just a very brief post to let you all know that Germ has joined site staff, for what looks like a period of several months. He will be primarily doing the sort of work I also do in the background--including a bunch of game database listings--but you may also see some staff reviews from him and he will also be handling some of the site's social media efforts.

You should be familiar with Germ (AKA Jeremy Davis) from his previous contributions to the site. I'm excited to have him on board and I look forward to improving the site database listings--and some other aspects--with his assistance.

Jason

Game: Grimind
Platform: PC
Developer and Publisher: Pawel Mogila
Genre: 2D Platformer
Release date: 12/17/12 (online); 2/5/13 (Desura); 2/13/14 (Steam)

Added.

Look at you -- being all productive and stuff.

Thanks for getting this done; it was a monster of a week with a lot of quality reviews, so picking three out would have been a bit of an ordeal. As such, thanks foir picking mine out of them as the winner. Moreso, thanks for reading the entire thing in one sitting. It's certainly beaten a few others.

Congrats to Jason and Suskie, who advanced great reviews I enjoyed back then and enjoyed again this time around. Maybe one day I'll give this mainstream reviewing lark another go around. Seems a shame that last one I did was for this awful, awful title.

I think every year that I've participated in this, my 'W' game has been a WWF title.

WWF Betrayal
WWF Royal Rumble
Now WWF Rage in the Cage

I should switch it up next year and cover a WCW game...

Thanks for taking care of this topic! Congrats to the others who placed!

OK. It's done. Good night people.

I'm just taking care of the final gap in the previous topic. I probably won't do one of these for a long while now since I'm utterly exhausted from just this effort. Despite this, I'm glad I did this, as I may have never read the reviews posted that week otherwise, and to be frank, this was a very solid week for reviews. I had some tough calls to make, but ultimately felt that these three were the strongest.

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THIRD PLACE: Killzone: Shadow Fall by honestgamer

Of your three reviews this week, I liked this one the best. It felt the most descriptive, alluring and engaging of them all. Your attention to detail about the beautiful scenery and various game play that either make or break the experience gives me a clear understanding of what to expect from the game. I’ve never been too interested in Killzone, and based on this review, I’ve no intention of starting. While it may have some redeeming qualities, I feel as though there are plenty of other shooters out there.

Your use of the screenshots here is well-invested, too, especially with your previous emphasis on the graphics. I will be honest and say I am rather impressed with how nice this game looks. I didn’t really know what to expect from the PS4, and this game appears to showcase it pretty well. I think it really does look nicer than just about anything on the PS3 at this time.

SECOND PLACE: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag by Suskie

This is a fantastic review for a series that has often received mixed reception and success. It’s a series I’ve been meaning to get into, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Your review has made me want to consider this even more closely. I’ve heard a fair amount of praise for Black Flag and very little criticism (though, to be fair, I’m mostly relying on some friends at work for this aspect of it…), so it’s nice to see the balance here. You do a great job making the exciting bits sound, well, exciting. And you also do a great job weaving in what seems to be the main aspect that knocks the game down a few pegs: the tailing missions. The seamanship and exploration alone sounds wonderful. I love maritime history, and especially love the Golden Age of Piracy. I’ve found myself becoming increasingly interested in ships and shipwrecks, so I doubt I could’ve resisted the lure of this particular title for long. Still, I’m grateful for your warnings, and it’s nice to see that Ubisoft is actually asking for feedback. Maybe the next one will actually fix everything the way it should be.

FIRST PLACE: Silent Hill: Downpour by EmP

I can really tell you put your heart and soul into this review. You must have really wanted this installment of a dying series to redeem itself somehow, yet held absolutely held no expectation that it would. I feel bad for you in that you’ve finally given up hope on a series you so loved, and it’s rather heartbreaking. But all this aside, or perhaps because of it, your writing is outstanding. You eloquently describe in vivid detail exactly what it is that makes this game so very disappointing. You don’t bat an eye at the listing a long train of faults and then spending the next few paragraphs delving even deeper into just why they’re so… faulty. Every word you use is selected with care and has a purpose. You draw the reader in with vivid imagery then slam the point home with a logical argument that leaves one without a doubt that what you’re saying is true. Even those who haven’t played a Silent Hill game in their life (like me…) can see that this just isn’t up to snuff. Your reminiscence of the earliest installments shows this clear enough. This is excellent work.

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Thanks to everyone else who participated.