Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: Jan. 20-26, 2013

Time to rock through another RotW. A bit later than normal, but I'm a busy man. At least that's what I tell myself and others as often and loudly as possible.


THIRD PLACE: Mass Effect Trilogy by zippdementia

This was a tough one for me to figure out how to place and other such concerns. In a lot of ways, it's not a REVIEW review, but in a lot of ways, that doesn't really matter. I can't imagine that the average guy or gal would walk into ME Trilogy with no knowledge of fundamentals and such for the series. I mean, I haven't played any of the games yet and think I know a good bit about them just from reading the stuff you and Suskie, among others, have said. Which makes this an interesting read, as it's purely from the perspective of the emotional impact playing all three back-to-back-to-back can have upon a player and how that impact can easily negate each game's flaws. You do a good job of tying it all together to create something which, while not a review in the "purist's" sense, is a damn strong endorsement.

SECOND PLACE: Double Dragon (NES) by pickhut

I really liked your "nostalgia-vs-reality" slant here. It's been done a lot (including quite often by me…it's turned into one of my "go-to" moves), but you had a fun way of bringing it up, describing the music and character graphics and how neat they were…before going into all the failings. As a fan of beat-em-ups, I definitely felt your pain when detailing just how horribly flawed the idea of occasionally switching to a single plane is for a game like this. This was my favorite review of the week and there was some really good competition at the top, so that illustrates just how much your slant worked for me with this one.


And, of course, there were quality reviews from two other people (one of which I did a bit of work with to add line breaks and the like in order to make a bit more aesthetically pleasing to me, at least). Good week, so keep up the work and stuff. And also read my Mana review, as it was ineligible for this because of it being mine.

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

This certainly was a hard-hitting week of reviews, so color me surprised when I saw my placement! xD

Thanks for your comments about the review, I was really taken aback by how frustrating the NES port of DD got in the later half. I almost didn't write the review because of how frustrated I was!

Congrats to Zipp and Joe on their placements, and to Strott, maboroshi... and overdrive!, for rounding out this solid week.

I head spaceshit noises.

Hey, thanks for the positive feedback and placement! Yeah, I sat down to do a "review" review of the Mass Effect series and realized that I was bored to tears covering it as a traditional gaming experience. Maybe it was because I came to it so soon after my (emotionally exhausting) two month straight run of it, but I also was very aware that I was covering a re-release of one of the decade's most popular and well known series. Trying to act like I was the first to play the game and inform everyone of the basics of its gameplay and design felt misguided. What I really wanted to review was my unique experience, because I think that's what Mass Effect highlights: the unique experience you can have. I hope you play it soon and pen your own review of the series! I'd be curious to know what you think. And if you kept a blog journal of your playthrough, like I did, I'd read it ^_^ It really is a game where you want to know what everyone else did.

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

Bahahahar! Thank you for the placement, and congrats to Pick 'n Zipp! [Am I the only one who thinks that sounds like an arcade-style platformer?]

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

Together, we rival Mr. Game and Watch.

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