Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: Dec. 30, 2012 to Jan. 5, 2013

Five eligible reviews this week and one by me that's not eligible and stuff. Here we go; still a bit swamped at work, but things getting more manageable, but this still will be considered a late, no-frills edition. Such is life.

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THIRD PLACE: Double Dragon Neon (360) by EmP

Nice review that really illustrates how nice it is when a company isn't simply happy to remake a nostalgic favorite, but does so in a way that adds a ton of personality and added fun to things. When you got into that part, this review really kicked it up a notch and made this game seem desirable to at least fiddle with for a little while. There wasn't much of anything over-the-top with the old DD games, so reading about how this one combines strong mechanics with, as you put it, "Bill-and-Ted" stuff is really intriguing.

SECOND PLACE: The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series by Suskie

I found this review to be really interesting. Particularly because of the stance it takes of the "I don't like this kind of game…but wait! This one's pretty damn good!", but primarily because I feel that same way about point-and-click adventures, so reading about how this one changed your mind was kind of neat. I doubt I'd ever play this, but reading what you said about choices, characters and how the decisions and actions are capable of inducing genuine emotion does intrigue me enough to at least want to learn more.

FIRST PLACE: Final Fantasy XIII (PS3) by holdthephone

I have to give you credit. You wrote a good review of FF XIII where you came to a different opinion on the game's overall quality than I have, but you posed your argument well enough to at least make me grudgingly admit you have a point. You took a lot of the stuff I didn't like (such as a large part of the game being linear character development) and made it sound more worthwhile than I personally got from it all. But you do so in a very convincing manner, exhibiting how the generic tropes that initially make up each one get deconstructed as the game goes on. I mean, I'm not changing my opinion on how much of the game was really pretty filler, but I can at least respect your feelings and applaud the way you presented them. I mean, after reading this, at least I wouldn't want to be the guy called on for the "counterpoint" section of the argument!

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Some good stuff here, even if the number of reviews overall was small.

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

Definitely a good week of reviews.

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I head spaceshit noises

Man, I wasn't expecting anything out of a positive FFXIII review! I appreciate you looking at it the way you did, looking past the disagreements and all. This made my day!

Awesome week of reviews, everyone.

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Mobius 1, engage...

Congratulations to the winners, and thank you for continuing to make HonestGamers such a valuable resource for people who love quality reviews!

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"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

Thanks, OD, and congrats to both Holdthephone and EmP.

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