Forums > Contributor Zone > BRACKET: ROUND TWO, STAGE ONE

Round Two starts now! Below you’ll find the first two of six matches. The voting will remain open until further notice.

Drella vs. Suskie

DE vs. Espiga

For us. For them. For you.

Drella vs. Suskie

It was nice knowing all of you. Winner: Sandvich

DE vs. Espiga

DE's King Kong review is a little more detailed, and I think the one noteworthy problem with Espiga's is that it's not quite long enough. This may be due to the fact that you didn't have experience with the multiplayer mode, but isn't that the draw of the FFCC series? Well, needless to say, both reviewers give their games a 6/10, but Espiga somehow still does a better job justifying his score. His review is more personable, contains fewer typos (I didn't catch any at all), and flows better, whereas DE's felt a little awkward at first. Both are fine, but chalk it up to Espiga's charisma that he came out on top here. Winner: Espiga

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

Leroux v. Suskie

I had a much harder time judging this match than I thought I was going to have, probably because neither review really clicked with me. On Leroux's side, he has an Altered Beast review that tries to convince me that it's trying to be an imitation of a cheesy 1950's sci-fi/pseudohorror flick. On Suskie's side there was a review that started out sounding like a bash review and then ended up giving an 8/10. What? However, over the course of the two reviews Suskie's does a better job of convincing me that his game is 8/10 material than Leroux's does... Even if I don't like most FPS and wouldn't enjoy FarCry nearly as much, it's also not trying to force-feed some overblown drivel about how a cheesy arcade game from the Genesis' early years is some sort of campy take on the nature of video games. I've had enough of that in Lewis' blog, thank you. It was what finalized my decision so, I've gotta give the win to Suskie.

DE vs. Dumbass

One of these reviews is a winner.

Your girlfriend's name ends in .jpg

SUSKIE vs. DRELLA

Mike’s review is a good one. I know, me praising the guy comes from left field, but the guy knows how to write. He gets off to a great start by telling the reader that he’s up against unusually stacked odds without breaking out the crayons and spelling it out. We walks you through it, shows you that it’s hard going and lets you come to the realisation yourself. I like the little details he drops in like being able to listen in to chatting guards. But as the review goes on, it feels like it’s retreating old ground at times, and it’s guilty of an “Oh shits -- I forgot to mention the flaws!” paragraph at the end. This paragraph is simpleminded into well, but it’s then nothing more then a dressed up checklist. We hate monkeys. There’s obligatory indoor levels that stifle me. I would have perhaps liked to have seen the indoors compliant used earlier, put side-by-side with the praise for the wide-open jungle to accent the agoraphobia. The end would have worked much better if the big negative were these monkeys which do sound like arse.

Drella tries to be more ambitious in his review, and, in my eyes, succeeds. Look at the fifth paragraph where he melds in the negatives with his praise, more effectively showing the reader that, while flaws exist, they’re eclipsed by the cons. This is what I would have liked to have seen with Suskie’s indoors example. Drella doesn’t even try to review this as a video-game at points, but instead as an experience. It’s easy to say that something deserved better treatment and present a strong opinion that the media has won out over its numerous critics, but this is what happens here. It reminds me a bit of his earlier Pong review, which, if you’ve not read yet, you should go do so right now.

Suskie’s review could have beaten some of the reviews in Drella’s backlog, but it can’t beat this one. Thanks though, Mike; you made me feel a lot better about plucking FarCry of Ebay recently.

WINNER: DRELLA

ESPIGA vs. DarkEternal.

These reviews make for a good contrast. Espiga’s is light, playful, easy to read but the focus is on the writing other than the game. This isn’t a bad thing -- I probably do this more often then not. DE’s effort is more clunky. The sentences are big and blocky and the information plopped out on your page in digestible chunks. It’s still an entertaining read, but the conclusion especially seemed rushed into.

Both reviews offer the same score, but only DE’s convinces me of the game’s flaws. Espiga convinces me (further) that I was right to chose X-Com over girls. X-Com never made me go shoe shopping.

WINNER: DE

For us. For them. For you.

I'm bumping this GameFAQs-style so it can be seen on the main page. We need more responses!

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

You'd think a match between the two biggest, baddest writers in this tournament would garner some interest wouldn't you?

Plus Suskie and I are the undercard! We try really hard. Vote people!

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Drella vs Suskie.

I honestly liked both of these reviews. The Altered Beast one because it made me wear my fancy nostalgia googles once again, and Farcry because I hear that Uwe boll is on that one next to ruin for all eternity and that amuses me for some odd reason. However, I will give the nod to Drella's review because it captured the campy feeling quite good, something that the game was famous for. On the other hand I don't know what I expected out of Suskie's review, but a high mark such as an 8 certainly wasn't it. Awful story, check, game ruined by tossing in unecessary enemies, check. Maybe it was because I played the game and I know that the AI is a piece of crap, and the only thing that really got to me was the graphics, but even from reading your review I didn't get the feeling why exactly this game deserves an 8.

Winner: Drella

Idemo do dna....tugo ti i ja.

I've been busy starting the semester and I'm going to the wilderness of New Hampshire to wrestle bears today and tomorrow, so leave this open so I can do my civil duty and vote then. Or else!

_

DRELLA vs. SUSKIE
Got a tough one to judge here, as both of these reviews brought the goods. Suskie does a great job emphasizing how Far Cry is non-linear with you getting multiple ways to get through most things. Drella does a really impressive job of providing historical context to add a lot of weight to his positive review of the maligned Altered Beast WHILE doing a great job of describing the over-the-top concepts present in this game. This was a hard-as-hell contest for me to decide as both guys did great with their subject matter, but for me, Drella's vivid descriptions may have won me over just a wee bit more.
WINNER: DRELLA

DE vs. ESPIGA
Espiga's review suffers from one kinda glaring flaw. Everything in the tone of your writing kinda seems contemptful of this game, but you gave it a score that's one touch above average. Your writing was entertaining, but when you're cracking on the voice acting; mentioning that working to combine spells is a waste of time, as fights are easy enough with just Yuri's sword; bringing up that the game has generic characters and plot AND concluding with how you broke up with your "girlfriend" because she convinced you to play this game, I'm thinking 3, not 6. Come to think of it, I felt the same way about DE's review. Controlling Kong is cool. Controlling Jack sucks. The game AI of Jack's buddies sucks. But at least I got a sense that you legitimately got a good deal of enjoyment out of part of the game to at least partially justify giving what seems to be a mediocre title a 6, so you get the nod from me.
WINNER: DE

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

DE vs. Espiga
Winner: Espiga

DE loves to use reviews that are older than a year. It's a good piece, I've read it before. What can I say? I hadn't read Espiga's until now because I thought it would be silly, taking the subject matter into account. It was a silly review, but because it was the fresher piece, I was able to get more out of it since the entire experience was new.

Drella vs. Suskie
Winner: Suskie

Now that Zig's gone, Drella's my pick for the best writer on this site . . . when he adds to his impressive library. This Altered Beast review was great, but come on. You'd rather watch Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, which is a horrible movie, over Citizen Kane? Even if that's true -- is it? -- it doesn't matter since I get the point that Altered Beast is a fun game for its kitschiness. But SCCtM? That's like saying Altered Beast is incredibly hokey and crappy because that's what SCCtM is. I can tell that Altered Beast has more to it than just silliness. It's also a fundamentally quality game. The movie comparison was weird. I really like Citizen Kane, and I really like Suskie's review. The two are pretty close, and I'm going to give my pick to Suskie for two reasons. 1) Far Cry not containing anything about SCCtM is a good thing and 2) I want to see this match tied up. Like I said, both were great reviews, but that intro for Leroux's review had me scratching my head.

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

Suskie vs. Drella

I already told Suskie what I thought about his review, and that still stands. The description is excellent and engaging - it really draws you in. The humor's well-placed, and works. I don't read the "bashy" kind of humor and sarcasm as necessarily detracting from the review. I read it as something a bit silly and/or annoying, but nothing that makes the game any worse to play. The only thing I really didn't like about the review, as I said before, was that Tigen paragraph. It felt tacked on, and maybe didn't quite flow with the rest of the review as well as the other paragraphs did. Regardless, I felt the score was justified, and he does a well enough job everywhere else to keep me entertained. I should check this game out some time...

Drella's is also good, though it doesn't quite pull me in like Suskie's. I liked his argument, though, which is odd because normally I probably wouldn't like something like this. And the fact that I sometimes just "not get" Drella's style (either due to inexperience, simple particular favoritism with styles), not enough study, or what have you I'm not entirely sure) further adds perplexity to this. Still, he argued the point that the game is long-lasting because of its goofiness and dysfunctional controls. I especially liked the weird superpowers and strange beast combinations bits, and how critics, for whatever reason, just take them too seriously. These things, and the way he argued them, make it seem like a game I'd very much enjoy.

I'll admit that I didn't uderstand the Abbot & Camello reference... but commend myself for getting the rest of those. And I also don't thik I missed the point behind it either (dealing with the fact that critics take this game too seriously, as something for its time when really, it's the things they're arguing against that make it durable). It's a good review, and didn't seem to have any structural flaws whatever (unlike Suskie's). This is a tough choice, but I think I'm going with Suskie's. Because even with those flaws, his ultimately grabbed my attention more, made me laugh more, and stuck better with me.

Winner: Suskie

I'll get Espiga/DE later...

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

Drella vs. Suskie

Both of these reviews were well written, well thought out, amd pretty convincing, and that makes the match close. Drella took a very non standard route with his. It reads like a sports movie where the underdog altered beast team beats the big corporate media team in the big game at the end. I dunno why, but it clicked with me. It worked. Suskie's review was safer. Nothing wrong with safe, it made its points strongly and I agreed with almost every one. Those damn Tigrens especially. But in the end it was that safe feeling that gave Drella the edge, if only slightly.

Winner: Drella

DE vs. Espiga

Espiga's review is weird. It seems extremely bitter from beginning to end, and then gives the game a passable score, not a great one, but decent. It really read almost like a bash with a couple glimmers of decent design, which had me scratching my head when it came to the scoring. Maybe that's partially because it's so short, but far be it from me to say anything bad about short reviews. It was still a charismatic review with some solid points.

DE's review is longer and more detailed, and it has a few more grammatical hiccups. I do feel it does a better job of justifying its score, describing some doldrums and some moments of glory overshadowed by more doldrums. I think it makes a stronger case, and that's going to get it the nod.

Winner: DE

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You'd think a match between the two biggest, baddest writers in this tournament would garner some interest wouldn't you?

the last round, in other words?

Oh no, it's a Goomba!

DE vs ESP

Much as I love a good bash of a bad JRPG, that's really all Espiga's is. Don't get me wrong, it's a blast to read, but it doesn't tell me much about the game except that it sucks.

DE's review is also about a game he doesn't like much, but it comes off as more impartial and informative. I'm going to have to give this one to Dark. Tough call, because I like these both.

ADVANTAGE: DE

SUSKIE VS DRELL

As much as I can get behind retrogames, Drella's review seems to argue that the only reason I should get behind Altered Beast is because it's a retrogame. If you've ever tried to explain to someone what a cult hit like Fear and Loathing in Las Vagas is about and why it's so great, you'll be familiar with the reaction you get; a polite nod and half-hearded "Yeah, sounds great." I'm sure Altered Beast is a similarly timeless classic, but it's just one of those things that you can't describe to another.

I'm leaning towards Suskie here because of that; that Suskie-fu just makes his game sound much more appealing.

ADVANTAGE: SUSKIE

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

These aren’t proofread because I wanted to quickly get them out before it’s too late. I’ll do the other topics (hopefully) in the next few days or so.

DRELLA vs SUSKIE
Both writers brought their best. Suskie’s really nailed Far Cry and made it sound like a tremendous game, and really capitalized on what made it initially great. I’m glad he brought up the Trigens as well since that’s a game-crippling flaw that people tend to ignore. Overall interesting points, great flow, great review. Drella on the other hand doesn’t have the interesting subject matter of Suskie but really knows what makes these games great (or not). His approach makes an old game that I’m not interested in sound fresh again and really gives me a vivid description of what’s going on. The Citizen Kane comparison was great as well and not something I spent much time thinking of about games in general. Fantastic matchup, but I’m going to have to give the nod to Leroux, who went over and above with his piece. As good as it was, Suskie’s seemed a bit too standard by the end (intro, premise, strengths, weaknesses, conclusion) where Drella surprised me with every turn.

WINNER: DRELLA

DARKETERNAL vs ESPIGA
This was a much easier match to call. I’ve always thought King Kong was one of DE’s best (if not his very best). Sure, the writing could’ve been smoother but this piece is well organized and has a strong argument supported by tons of convincing facts. And the review didn’t go off on tangents like it so easily could’ve in some places. I didn’t care for Espiga’s review too much primarily because he didn’t have much to work with. He even admitted at the end that it’s just another hack n slash. I liked the informal tone but there really isn’t a lot of information here. It’s too short and basically just says “nothing special here, move on”. DE gave his game the same score and was able to come up with much more interesting insights which is why I’m giving him the nod here.

WINNER: DARKETERNAL

IF YOU WANT MORE BEATS FOR YOUR BUCK THERE'S NO LUCK.

Suskie beats Drella

Feedback at some point. Maybe.

DE beats Espiga

I think I've judged DE's before in some random contest and gave it the highest score of the bunch. Nothing has changed--I still love the review (more than others, it seemed at the time). On the other hand, Espiga's was a little disappointing. It took too long to get to the real meat of the review, considering it was a rather short piece, and by that time, my interest was wavering (it seems a little pointless laying all that hate into the voice-acting when you tell us later that you can turn it off). I played Crystal Chronicles on the 'Cube, and it was incredibly mediocre by myself. But when I played it with three friends, it was great (mindless) fun. Unfortunately, I have no idea how Rings of Fates plays in multiplayer, which is what I'd assume to be the selling point. It's not a bad review by any stretch, but I did have a few problems with it.

...

It appears to be tied 5-5....

My interest in this is waning, and the likelihood of drawing deeper into my backlog is increasing (which is boring). And while I appreciate the feedback, it hasn't been especially helpful. I could get into some specific points and comments, but I don't really care to bicker. It just wouldn't accomplish much, and AB is a review I wrote to strike a chord with a specific audience, and if you're not a part of that I wanted it to rub you the wrong way (I take absolute delight in espiga calling it overblown drivel - it's the most rewarding comment in the topic to me).

So I relent! Hand this one to the rising star and not the hardened vet.

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Uh, I have no objections to that.

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

Because you can't spell "overblown drivel" without OVERDRIVE?

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

If you really want that I can change my vote. The match was already really close so it won't bother me at all.

IF YOU WANT MORE BEATS FOR YOUR BUCK THERE'S NO LUCK.

DRELLA 5 - 5 SUSKIE

SUSKIE progresses.

DarkEternal 6 - 2 Espiga

DarkEternal progresses.

For us. For them. For you.