Forums > Contributor Zone > Review of the Week - Apr 17th to 23rd

Some pretty good stuff this week. Your three candidates are, in order of submission:

Crysis 2 by Suskie
This opens like a Suskie Dislike review, but then goes the other way with it. I'd have expected Crysis 2's story to be hard to get into for newcomers to the series, and indeed it is, but from the sound of things that doesn't really matter because the nanosuit is awesome (and in fact now that I think about it Crysis had a pretty thin plot anyway, but I digress). But this line here was a bit of a curveball;

"...how would my former self – the one concerned primarily with a good single-player experience – have liked Crysis 2?"

That would seem to imply that, to your current self, the cookie-cutter multiplayer mode is enough of a disappointment that you didn't like the game overall. But then you turn right around and call it one of your favorites of the year and give it an 8, which doesn't jive. Either multiplayer is a huge let-down and spoiled the game for you, in which case I'd expect a lower score and a bit more justification, or the singleplayer experience is more than enough to compensate and make an enjoyable game, in which case that line is out of place.

Mortal Kombat by True
Of the two MK reviews I liked this one better. You spend a good third of the review talking about the history of the series before you talk about the game itself, and while I normally wouldn't like that I think it works here. The transition into the review proper is smooth, and more to the point, it feels like the little recap of Mortal Kombat's history is necessary to establish the context of this title. Is that a failing of Mortal Combat? Normally one might say yes, but in this case you've pitched it as a strength.

Beyond Good and Evil HD by EmP
Christ, I still need to play this game. I don't even have an excuse now that I've bought it for my sister.

The best word I can think of to describe this piece is "colourful". It paints a picture with words, a picture of an unusually deep and complex game world that sounds like a place I'd want to visit despite the ongoing alien invasion. The only bumpy transition is the bit in the middle about the opening stage.

Oh, and the banner is nice too, I suppose.

Anyway, placements for the week:

Runner up: Mortal Kombat by True

Second place: Crysis 2 by Suskie

Review of the Week: Beyond Good and Evil HD by EmP

Thanks for coming, everybody.

On another note, does anybody know what happened to the last one of these I did? I can't find the thread anywhere on the forum. It was here last night...

"Either, sir, you're an ass or you're masquerading as one."
- Nero Wolfe

Thanks for that, Will. There were some killer reviews out there this week, so squeezing out a win is pretty ego-boosting. I might loose my modest streak if this continues.

Kudos to True and Suskie, and thanks for the very-almost prompt results.

For us. For them. For you.

Thanks for the mention and comments Will. I am glad you liked the review and congrats to Suskie for earning second place and Emp to his wonderful victory.

I really hope his modesty and humility doesn't fade.

If I Die Young, May It Be Noble. If I Die Old, Let It Be Peaceful. And If I Am To Live Forever, Please Bless My Loved Ones With The Same Miracle.

Chances are the topic was lost in the regular purge, Will. I've asked in the past that RotW topics be saved, but there rarely seems to be any consistency with it. I'd do it myself, but I'm not staff. Frankly, I've just given up at this point.

Anyway, congrats to the winners. This definitely was a strong week. Thanks also for getting this in on time.

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

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll see if I can come up with a better way of illustrating my point. Congrats to EmP for his win.

Edit: I think my wording is a bit off, actually. "Primarily" should be "entirely." Because I am still primarily concerned with a good single-player campaign, and I used to not care about multilayer at all. Does the review make any more sense with that minor edit?

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

I might put "entirely" in italics to emphasize, but yeah, that line seems less out of place now.

"Either, sir, you're an ass or you're masquerading as one."
- Nero Wolfe