Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW -- Sept. 18-24: It's not late, you're just early!

Long week for me. We've been moving our office, which took away from Internet free time at work. And also wore me out, which eliminated evenings from the "times when I'm doing productive things" slot. Which is why this week is only being put up now, on a Thursday, when there were only four submitted reviews and one of them was mine, which means for the purpose of this RotW, there were only three reviews.

Enough about that, let's see what happens when you put Suskie, Pickhut and Joe in a steel cage together WHEN THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE SURVIVOR!!!! I mean winner. Yeah, winner, not survivor.

AND NOW...


SUSKIE: Deus Ex: Human Revolution (XBox 360) by suskie

Unlike the other two reviews, this is for a current blockbuster title, which means it can be tougher to pull off than a retro classic review or an homage arcade-like title like Joe and Pickhut did just because of how many elements are there to be considered. I'm not overly familiar with the Deus Ex games, so the main thing I was looking for was simply understanding what's what. No problem-o. Despite referencing the preview DE titles, you explained things so well that I knew what you were saying about good things like how it's not on rails or how you can build characters to handle situations differently. Great use of examples and all that. And the boss part resonated well, as you pointed out that they're the sole disappointment because they gravitate towards PURE FORCE ONLY!!! Very good job which does a lot towards getting me excited for when this game drops in price. QUICK QUESTION: the original Deus Ex was ported to the PS2 or something wasn't it? How was the port compared to the PC original, if you're familiar with it? I have a crappy computer, but a good console, so I might look into the port if it's at least good to the level where it wouldn't be a "you're not REALLY playing it unless you're playing it on the PC" situation.

JOE: Super Mario Brothers (NES) by JoeTheDestroyer

I can really get into this review, as the intro describes me with the exception of my lamented move to the Atari 7800 before the NES, which still annoys me, as I could have had my NES a year or two earlier if not for that system. But NOOOO, I thought Atari was the sure thing and Nintendo was some fad than never would take off. If only the Internet had been around then and I'd known about how Atari had been at the root of the '83 game crash...I'd have never bothered with the 7800 and its horrid rendition of Karateka if that was the case... Anyway, this is a great nostalgic look at this game which sums up the experience perfectly for any of us 30+ old men of the site. How it was more advanced than what we were used to. How we struggled because of how different it was. How it was hard to conceive games becoming more advanced until that day came. This is great stuff.

PICKHUT: Contra Rebirth (WW) (Wii) by pickhut

If there's one thing about Pickhut's writing that most everyone (especially me with my recent reviews mostly being 7-8KB in length) should look to and appreciate, it's his way of making good points and finishing in what always seems to be a short, easy read that tells you all you need to know. This is a great example of that. Six paragraphs: the first two set the stage by describing the game's wacky personality; the third and fourth go into how the game doesn't go far enough in making a complete experience and briefly describe a stage; the fifth describes a similar stage from another Contra game in such a way that the reader knows this older game's stages have far more content and the sixth concludes things. It all runs together smoothly and provides a quick read that tells me all I need to know. Great job!

Three very good reviews makes this one fuck of a tough choice for me. But I can't simply say EVERYONE'S A WINNER and I can't say that I can't decide, so I'm just giving it to my Yoshi's Island review because I haven't won one of these in a long time and I DESERVE IT, DAMN IT ALL!!!!

So, the winner is, by the narrowest of margins, Suskie. He took an complex new title and made a strong review that I'd consider to be very useful for both DE vets and noobs. Way to go, you win the OVERDRIVE SUPER LATE RotW AWARD OF AWESOMEITUDE!

Cool, a game I'd ordered came in the mail. Time to return to the world of turn-based strategy now. So see you later, peeps!

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

So who won? Suskie or Pickhut? =P

Anyway, thanks for getting it up. Had I known you'd be busy, remembered you'd submitted your own review, and knew that I"d have my internet up as early as I did, I would've taken this week from you.

[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

It says in his post that Suskie won, by the narrowest margin. Congrats to Suskie and all who participated this week!

"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy on reality

"What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things." - Shigeru Miyamoto on secret doors to another world2

Big thanks to OD -- glad the review resonated -- and congrats to Pickhut and Joe.

To answer your question, OD: There's a PS2 version of the game called Deus Ex: The Conspiracy, and it'll do if you have no other option, but... eh. The controls, the interface, the load times, the smaller levels... it's just not the same. The PC version is eleven years old, though, so I would imagine most of the PCs incapable of running it have been trashed at this point anyway. (Having said that, the game is notoriously tricky to run on a laptop, as I learned a few years ago. So if you play on a laptop, expect to play around with the settings, installing a new driver or two, etc.)

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

Ha, I never seem to notice how small-ish my reviews are until someone points them out. I just prefer to mention what I feel are the absolute points, whether they be good or bad, in the review, leaving out any type of filler. I just always hope I don't create a train wreak in the process...

Thanks for the kind words, OD! And congrats to Suskie on his RotW, and Joe, too!

I head spaceshit noises.

Three men enter, one man leaves. And that man is Suskie. Good job, dude, and to you too pickhut. And a thanks to you, OD!

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