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Forums > Contributor Zone > Review of the Week - March 20th to March 26th - My Punctuality Knows No Bounds!

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Author: jerec
Posted: March 27, 2011 (08:33 PM)
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Ah, now Review of the Week is fun. There were a good number of reviews for me to read this week, even after not including Masters, and picking one review each from Joe and Brittany. So that left eight reviews to fight over three spots. And do you know what? Each of those 8 reviews is a good read. As I read the reviews, I just ranked them, based on the quality of the writing, the ideas raised, how interesting they were, and even the review that ended up last was still pretty damn good. If you submitted a review this week, you should all be proud. It was stiff competition this week, and I definitely enjoyed reading them all.

Second Runner-up Lewis Denby - Myst

This review did some strange things to me. It brought back all of my memories of Myst, a game that my dad bought, because he got suckered into the hype. I was a gamer in the mid 90's, and Myst was my first exposure to this genre. I did not get anywhere with this game. Neither did my dad, until one day he brought home a printed walkthrough from the Internet, and even then it was a struggle to the finish. The game looked nice, had lovely atmosphere, and this review brought back all of those memories. Making me glad it wasn't just me... that my failure to complete the game was not my fault, but Myst's fault. And yet, it made me want to give the game another go. Lewis might not understand the puzzles of Myst, but he certainly understands the game itself.

Runner-up JoeTheDestroyer - Epic Dungeon

I enjoyed following Joe's quest to become a Berserker. Joe's writing style is really casual and easy to read, which is likely why he does so well in RotW. This review took me on a journey into the Epic Dungeon, and showed me the enemies, and I felt some sympathy for the death at level 17 and having to start over. The review has a happy ending, though. JoeTheBerserker's quest was compelling from start to finish.

Review of the Week Suskie - Dragon Age 2

One of the best things about Suskie is that he always comes through with a quality in-depth review for recent releases in a timely manner. Suskie's analysis is usually spot on with my own views of games, and even when our opinions differ, I can still find enough in a Suskie review to help me decide whether or not to buy the game. I am really glad I waited to read this review of Dragon Age 2 before buying the game, as it talked me out of it. It doesn't seem like a terrible game, but it does seem disappointing. The lack of scope, taking place in small, repetitive environments is a major turn-off for me, as it was for Suskie. I'm convinced that the battle mode is better, and that Hawke is a well developed character. Suskie does have a knack for summing up games in a very simple and easy to visualise manner - he described Dragon Age 2 as being a fleshed out Origin Story for Hawke that has no real payoff, that the game ends when it should just be getting started. It's for clever, astute observations like this that Suskie is one of the best writers on this site, and why it's often worth waiting on those new releases to see what he has to say about them.



Those are the top 3 in what has been one of the strongest weeks I've ever been assigned to judge Review of the Week. Happy to elaborate on the reviews that missed the cut, if you request them.


I can avoid death by not having a life.

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Author: Mega5010
Posted: March 27, 2011 (09:03 PM)
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Mine plz


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Author: True
Posted: March 27, 2011 (09:06 PM)
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I can handle that one if you want, Jerec.


If I Offended You, You Needed It.

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Author: Suskie
Posted: March 27, 2011 (09:11 PM)
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Thanks a lot for what you said, Jerec. It means a lot.


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

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Author: wolfqueen001
Posted: March 27, 2011 (09:59 PM)
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Thanks, Jerec, for doing this and being on time. Congrats to the winners.


[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

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Author: jerec
Posted: March 27, 2011 (10:13 PM)
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We can both handle it, True. I'm sure Mega would like double the attention!

I'll write up something for you soon.


I can avoid death by not having a life.

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Author: jerec
Posted: March 27, 2011 (10:39 PM)
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Mega, I did like your Assassin's Creed review. The main point that the game is at war with itself and doesn't quite know what it wants to be was very well illustrated throughout the review, which gave it a good, cohesive flow. Gameplay description was excellent, and your clever observations were thoughtful and amusing.

What kept this out of the top 3 was that it does need a proof read. It's the stuff that doesn't get picked out by MS Word. Just instances where you used the wrong word, like "do" instead of "due" towards the end. It's in the paragraph that has a strange line-break. Minor complaints, really. It was a great read.


I can avoid death by not having a life.

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Author: True
Posted: March 28, 2011 (01:41 AM)
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I was going to address some of the technical hang ups (saw you transposing it and it's a couple times, but don't worry I used to do it all the time) but Jerec has covered that for the most part.

I did want to ask if you've done this before. You have a style, unique voice and the kind of humor one doesn't usually develop in only two reviews. Nor do you seem to suffer from the newbie plague known as rambling. The review is concise and you address a lot of the things I look for when reading a review.

Aside from the grammar, the one suggestion I would make is in regards to focus. It wasn't a really big issue later on in the piece, but the beginning kind of hiccups when you switch from talking about Desmond then immediately to Altair but a tighter transition sentence would solve that.

As a side note, italicizing the game title can help the overall flow of the review by making it stand out a little more. Not a huge issue, just something we all kind of do around here. The easiest way is using HTML and typing < i > with no spaces before the title and < /i > after.

That being said, I ultimately was impressed with your review. You made a lot of observations I had myself and found it incredibly easy to go along with you. Had I not played the game, I would have felt like I did and would have precise reasoning on why or why not I would want to play it.

Well done.


If I Offended You, You Needed It.

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Author: Mega5010
Posted: March 28, 2011 (07:50 AM)
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Okay, thanks a bunch. I did this at GameFAQs for awhile and I'm trying to get back on the horse. Any criticism is helpful as I'm going to continue writing a couple every month to help build writing samples for a portfolio.


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Author: JoeTheDestroyer (Mod)
Posted: March 28, 2011 (03:18 PM)
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Thank you, thank you! We had some killer reviews this week. Congrats on another great review, Suskie; and to you, Lewis, on the great Myst review.


The only thing my milkshake brings to the yard is a subpoena.

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