Forums > Contributor Zone > Zipp's potentially illegal ROTW: June 20th-26th

Not a lot of reviews this week! In fact, I don't think I count a single user review. Hopefully this isn't a trend. I'd like to see the site grow as much as the next dedicated user. The blogs being posted to the forums is a nice start and shows just how much conversation really does happen around here.

To get further, I still think we'll have to lock onto something that we do that no one else does and then advertise the hell out of it. Maybe the answer lies with retro reviews.

Maybe the answer lies with ROTW. Probably not, but it is a nice feature, which is why it's damn frustrating when it's skipped because of a lack of reviews! Fortunately, there were three really good staff reviews, three of which closely competed for top slot. I'm not sure if this week counts, because there were only three reviews (four, but two were done by the same person), but I'm going to order them anyway and the technicalities can be worked out later.

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Toy Story 3 by Honest Gamer

I don't applaud Jason's ability to be fair to children's games. I applaud his ability to make them sound fun to an adult. At least, I'm sucked in by his review of Toy Story 3. I pretty much know what to expect from the Story Mode, but it sounds fun along the same lines that Lion King for the SNES was amusing years ago.

I'm baffled by Sandbox mode. A Sandbox mode in TOY STORY 3?! This is where I really start to get interested in what Jason has to say about things. He uses some great descriptors, such as allusions to toy boxes and making messes we don't have to clean up. I'm a little lost as to exactly what goes on in Sandbox mode or how it works mechanically. Are you woody riding around a giant town? A child riding around a toy world? I'm having trouble piecing together afros and malicious muffins as well, but it sounds awesome.

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Dead Space by EmP

I'm a little biased towards this one because I've been a champion of Dead Space since before it came out. Long before. I happened to catch an interview with the makers of the game several years before it happened and was excited while most others were complacent. It's the only game on this site I've written two completely different reviews for as well, so I got history here.

What can I say? EmP does the game amazing justice. He really captures the unique horror experience that Dead Space delivers with high production value and a whole kind of creepiness that has only a little to do with monsters jumping out of dark places and much more to do with a constant feeling of unease. This review reminds me of that early interview I read, which convinced me to love the game years before it came out. This convinces me that I still love it years after its release and reminds me I need to play it again.

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This Week's Winner: Alpha Protocol by Suskie

I tend to be subconsciously tough on a Suskie review. I don't know if this is because we have had some personality conflicts throughout the last couple of years or if it's because I view his writing as being very good and thus beholden to a higher set of standards. Maybe a bit of both.

This Alpha Protocol review was pretty incredible. My instant reaction to it was that I had to buy the game Suskie was describing. I've heard Alpha Protocol described before. I have not had this reaction before.

Suskie does a great thing here in shooting down any hopes the reader may have pretty early on in the review that AP will be absolutely grand and revolutionary. Then he goes on to tell you why you should still get the game.

This is not an easy tactic to pull off, but it works amazingly well here. By the end of the review I feel like I really know what kind of game I'll be getting myself into by purchasing Alpha Protocol. Suskie doesn't hide its faults and he really does make the benefits attractive.

All in all, it's a great sale. Suskie, this was a tough week with some really strong reviews, but I feel that you undoubtedly earned this one.

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Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic."

Hm... I guess OD's stuck doing 13-19 then. Maybe people will be nice enough to give him feedback on the review he posted that week.

Congrats to the winners. I would've had something, but I've got massive writer's block.

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What espiga does in his free time
[Eating EmP's brain] probably isn't a good idea. I mean... He's British, which means his brain's wired for PAL and your eyes are NTSC. - Will

Ah well, I tried (to pawn mine off). I'll get to it tomorrow or Wed at the latest to just make it a pitifully late RotW.

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

Thanks a lot for saying that about my review, Zipp. I think I've mentioned that it was a difficult one to write, so seeing that pay off by inspiring the sorts of reactions I was hoping to see (i.e. people aware of its flaws but eager to check the game out nonetheless) has been pretty rewarding. I'm really glad I got the chance to play and review it.

Congrats to the Jason and EmP for their mentions. I agree; even though the turnout was disappointing last week, it was still a close competition.

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You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.

I featured Suskie's review, and I'll fight anyone who disagrees with my stance to the death. It's the kind of review I want to represent the site.

It's weeks like this when I like to sit back in the infinate glow of my smugness because I was so right about the staff in RotW issue. So very right indeed. I read all of the reviews released this week (not hard as I wrote half ot them) and they all made me want to run out and drop cash on the games I didn't already own, beat and review myself.

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For us. For them. For you.