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Forums > Contributor Zone > Review of the Week 8/24/08 - 8/30/08

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Author: Suskie
Posted: August 31, 2008 (08:36 PM)
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Not much this week. Not counting staff reviews (which are, as always, excluded), only three people submitted their work this week, with only five reviews between them. Wait? Three people? That must mean they'll all place on this week's RotW, then, right? Since only one review per person is accepted? That is correct. Thankfully, all three presented work worthy of a mention, so I don't have to say "begrudgingly" or any other needlessly long words. Let us begin.


Review of the Week: Yggdra Union (GBA) by woodhouse

Hey, so check this out. First line and Woodhouse already has my attention. A strategy game made for masochists? I like the sound of this. It could be that I'm awarding Woodhouse the top spot based on his game choice alone, but I can't help but be eager to play Yggdra Union having read this review... more than his 7/10 score implies I should, though I don't think that's his fault. I loved how this review answered every single question one could possibly have about the game without ever topic-hopping or feeling like it's trying to hit all the bases. And how no time is wasted; every sentence is relevant. Excellent conclusion, too, especially this line: That's a lesson this game teaches. The currency of war is blood, and the balance is paid by anyone pulled into the conflict. Great work from a reviewer who's not preoccupied with implementing his ego into his reviews.

First Runner-Up: Castlevania (NES) by Felix_Arabia

I like your introduction a lot because I think you summarize the feelings of many of your fellow reviewers when they decide to tackle an old game and are worried about whether they'll like it, or whether they're supposed to like it. Whereas I felt your other review struggled too much for a hook (the "lost in translation" bit just felt like an attempt to make Kawa no Nushi Tsuri sound better than it really was), this one just flows and hit the age-old question of how good a "classic" game used to be versus how much it holds up today. I have a lot of Castlevania games to catch up on and the NES original has never been high on my list, but who knows -- I might just give it a try now.

Second Runner-Up: Galaga Legions (XLA) (Xbox 360) by pickhut

"In and out" is a strategy that works well for XBLA games that wouldn't really inspire much in-depth conversation, and while I didn't think it would be easy to write a compelling Galaga review, Pickhut sells it rather well by taking us through a typical round and making it sound very intense... more intense than a game as old as Galaga should. I'm guessing that was Pickhut's intention: To take our expectations about this game and turn them upside down. There were a few typos here and there (this seems to be the most common problem with your reviews), so sort them out and this'll be a surprising winner of a review.


And I was on time this week, despite the hassle of moving to school this past weekend. See how committed I am? Let's see how well I do next time, in about a month or so. Until then...


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

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Author: dementedhut
Posted: August 31, 2008 (10:49 PM)
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Congrats to woodhouse on his rotw, and felix on his runner-up win. I read his Castlevania review, and it was pretty good. Didn't read woodhouse's yet, though. I should try to read it now.

Thanks for the comments, suskie. It was pretty hard to describe the action in the game without sounding repetitive with the use of the word "formation". I should have at least tried different words...


I head spaceshit noises.

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Author: Felix_Arabia
Posted: September 01, 2008 (07:26 AM)
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Kawa no Nushi Tsuri wasn't submitted this week, so I hope that whoever does this week's RotW gives it a fair shot, and I think you missed the point of the review. I'm not trying to hook someone like a fish into reading it. I'm simply telling the truth about a simple game with incredible, implicit depth. I think you should read it again. ;-)

Anyways, thanks for liking Castlevania. I'm glad you liked it, too Pick. Congrats to everyone involved.


I don't have to boost my review resume because I have a real resume.

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Author: Suskie
Posted: September 01, 2008 (08:35 AM)
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August 30th, my friend. I think you should read that date again :)


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

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Author: Felix_Arabia
Posted: September 01, 2008 (08:54 AM)
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Well, it was listed under the 31st after I posted it and then went to see under which week it fell. You should still read it again, though.


I don't have to boost my review resume because I have a real resume.

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