Forums > Contributor Zone > OD's ROTW for Nov. 1-7, 2009: Pre Brevity or Bust edition

Yes indeed, due to a hellish work schedule over the weekend, I'm just now getting around to my RotW. If comments are a bit brief, it's because if I want to have a Brevity or Bust review, I have to get my game reasonably finished. Besides, it's a nice touch for me to use brevity here to give me more time to get a brevity-based review out. Continuity, right? Damn right!

Like you all know, we have rules designed to stop EmP from using his alt to snare a place, like that rascally Brit tried to do this week. It was a good review, though. But you didn't fool me! We also have a rule stating that only one review per person is allowed, but that isn't such an issue, as our eight contestants all wrote one review apiece.

And now, it's time to spin the wheel and randomly pick my three winners for this week! Uh....I mean, painstakingly read and analyze each review to find the three best. Yeah, that's it!



THIRD PLACE: Wonder Boy In Monster World (Genesis) by spaceworlder

It's hard to put into words just what I liked about this review. The best way to phrase it is that you really did a good job of discussing the sort of kitschy, campy feel the good old games had. Little lines like where you mention the hero isn't morally complex, but just out to save the world.....mentioning how goofy the cover art is....going into how wacky certain scenarios (like the quiz boss fight) are. I haven't played this game, but still felt I was getting a nostalgic trip the entire time I was reading.

SECOND PLACE: Demon's Souls (PS3) by jiggs

Very good work here. Didn't you mention this was like either your first review or first in a long time or something like that? Very impressive effort that let me know just why people seem to be looking at this game as awesome. It was well-written and does a great job of explaining how this game works. If I had a PS3, I'd be looking into this one, as you make it sound really challenging in a fun way.

OVERDRIVE PLACE: Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology (PSP) by randxian

I'm guessing you're using this for BoB. If I was judging, you'd do really well with it. You just did an excellent job of portraying a strong opinion for the game in a short span of words. You made it abundantly clear that what should have been a very good game is marred because in a world populated by Tales... games' characters, you control a generic hero who has to bend over backwards and do a ton of fetch quests to get the support of the cool Tales.... characters for one quest. Guh.... Great job in quickly and effectively putting Namco in their place with this one.



To make up for the Brevity of Bust-style RotW, I'll offer even more brief commentary on everyone else!

Disco: I liked the review, but it seemed like in nearly every paragraph, you mentioned some flaw or another, but gave the game an 8, which led me to wonder if I was simply supposed to know coming in that because it was Tekken, it was great....and anything you mentioned would be more of a minor annoyance.

TheGrue: You have a kickin' username and possibly the most entertaining intro. I would have liked to see a bit more actual substantive input on the game, though, as it seemed like the PEW PEW intro dominated the thing. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it kept you out of the top three.

WoodyBeaver: I think on the forums, Zig pretty much said everything I would in this space and more.

LowerStreetBlues: This was another close call. You packed a ton of info into this review for an old arcade game that had me very interested from beginning to end. To be honest, I'd say the one thing putting Spaceworlder's above yours for third place was simply that his review struck a bit more of a chord with me. Still, this was impressive and I know I'll be reading your stuff more often.

Jerec: You pretty much had all the info I'd want and you made your points well, but this one just seemed like it could have read a bit better. It kinda felt choppy like just about each paragraph was its own separate entity, as opposed to parts of a whole joined together in unison.

Whooo....after all that, I need a drink. But it's only 2 p.m......and I'm at the office. For another four hours. Damn.

I'm not afraid to die because I am invincible
Viva la muerte, that's my goddamn principle

Felt the same way about mine, Overdrive. There wasn't room for smooth transitions, since I just made it under 500 words. And I figure worthwhile information is more important than making it a smooth read. After Brevity or Bust is judged, I'll hopefully expand on the review and make it smoother.

How did I cop you AGAIN for RotW? :P

I can avoid death by not having a life.

thanks for the mention. it is my 1st review for HG but only the 3rd review i've ever done. i wrote a couple of final fantasy reviews for Lassarina but that was almost 10 years ago and probably not worth reading!

!

Thanks for the vote OD. I actually did a double take when I noticed my review was a Featured Review. I felt it was solid, but didn't expect to win anything with it.

Of course I have to give credit to Felix, Zig, and Drella for helping me hone my skills during TT. I think that made all the difference.

I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER?