Forums > Contributor Zone > Review of the Week (03/18/12 - 03/24/12)

Well, it's my turn for another Review of the Week topic. You'll have to excuse me if I don't wax eloquent. I've just finished revising a manuscript I wrote a few years back and that has left my gray matter feeling a bit overworked. I'd rather not keep you all waiting while I recharge, though, so let's get going!

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Third Place: Journey (PlayStation 3) by threetimes

I've been curious about this game (and almost bought it once), and I've read a fair bit about it, and still your review did a good job of telling me things and painting word pictures that I found highly engaging. You make the game sound wonderful, and I'm tempted all over again to invest in it. Unfortunately, there are patches of roughness throughout. There was a paragraph in particular about flying that felt both extremely repetitive throughout and also unnecessary (since you had mentioned flying earlier in the review). Cleaned up a bit here and there, this review would have placed even better than it did. You did a great job and you seem to be growing as a critic. I hope you keep at it!

Runner Up: Zero Wing (Genesis) by EmP

Despite needing some copyediting and assaulting me with more images than really is attractive, this review for Zero Wing does a good job of explaining what's right and wrong with the game. The decision at the start to get the silly translation stuff out of the way was definitely the right one, but the review didn't suddenly become dull after that. I particularly liked the bit about the challenge mostly coming from avoiding the wrong power-ups, which is the sort of observation that a lot of reviews might overlook. The boss descriptions also did a nice job. I wouldn't have minded more description of individual stages, but the homing missiles sound like they prevent any of that from mattering, anyway. Good stuff!

Review of the Week: Rez HD (Xbox 360) by JANUS2

I enjoyed this review a lot, so let me start by picking at it. There are two errors in this sentence: "They’ve been carefully orchestrated to add layers of colour to the basic wife-frame reality, dovetailing with the lose focus on human civilization to create a distinct theme within each stage (hence the allusions to ancient Egypt in the first stage)." You meant 'wire-frame reality' and 'lose focus' is supposed to be either 'close focus' or 'loose focus' (I can't tell from context). Then there's this sentence: "Not that I'm suggest anything miraculous has happened." I believe you need an 'ing' on 'suggest' for it to work. Otherwise, this is a great review that appealed to me in particular because the game does seem to get a lot of hyperbolic praise. You did a fantastic job of explaining why it truly deserves that praise.

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Thanks to everyone who participated this week! I appreciate your support, even if your contribution(s) didn't get a specific mention in this topic. We've had a lot of fun here over the years, and your support ensures that we'll continue to have fun for a long time to come. Keep it up!

"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

EmP did a Rez HD review too?

I can avoid death by not having a life.

Curse that Janus2(two!) for out-Rezing me again! I'll get you yet -- you'll see!

I retract earlier comments made about your timekeeping, Jason. Fine work for a heavy week. Extra kudos to Threetimes whose review I really enjoyed.

For us. For them. For you.

YAAAAAY FOR TWO REZ'S.

I really liked this ROTW because it gave criticism in addition to praise.

Also I'm drunk. This kind of posting seems to occur much too infrequently with our American contingent. The Brits are outdoing us in terms of disorderly conduct!

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

Thanks.

I read through the review at least three times before submitting but I did not see those mistakes at all. I probably needed to leave it for a day and come back to it, but the alpha deadline was looming!

"fuck yeah oblivion" - Jihad

Congrats to the winners and congrats on revising your manuscript!

My principal said, 'Emo, Emo, Emo.'
I said 'I'm the one in the middle, you lousy drunk!'
-- Emo Phillips

Thanks for those comments. I was hoping for some feedback as I knew there were weak parts to that review but I couldn't work out exactly which bits. Might try and redraft it, at some point.

Don't panic!