Forums > Contributor Zone > BRACKET: QUARTER FINALS

NOTE: It's obvious I'm pushing it as far as interest is going, so the three winner go right into the final. Congrats all six of you: you reached the semis.

Six matches. Three winners. Students clash with mentors, friends collide in pride-filled bloodbaths and other don’t show up and leave themselves at the mercy of a RANPICK. Plus, notice a pleasingly symmetrical view to the last two names in the match ups? Oh, god of fate, how you ply your artistic eye.

Gentleman and others, cast your votes!







Suskie vs. Boo





DE vs. VM





DoI vs. EmP


Voting open until I say so. Gogogo.

For us. For them. For you.

Boo
DE
EmP.

I will have insights later!

(Maybe.)

EDIT: Rejudged.

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Pardon me, EmP, but that's the wrong review. I said in my HGmail that I wanted to use Trauma Center: Under the Knife. I'd have to be pretty stupid to use that cruddy Tetris DS review in any tourney.

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

*groan* Uh-oh... Not again...

*raises e-drama shield* Meep.

[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

everybody vote now before EmP notices.

Oh no, it's a Goomba!

EDIT: Apologies, I'm an idiot.

Suskie's was the very first pick sent in and I read it, but then lumped him with the rest of the lazy slackers that will turn up last second and thought he'd no-showed. Tetris was a RANPICK, but it has now been changed to the game he picked. Kindly rejudge the round, all one of you.

For us. For them. For you.

Thanks. My worries actually weren't centered on the possiblities of losing, but on the knowledge that people would think I'd actualy use that Tetris DS review in a tourney :)

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

Suskie vs Boo:

Ahhh, the good part about giving your own, subjective alas, view on reviews is when you have played both of the said games and understand what the author wanted to say better then if you never even heard of the game. Both of these reviews were pretty good, Boo's Doom review managed to fix on the atmospheric feeling that was the staple in the said game, speaking of twists and turns and the monstrosoties that the crack filled heads of Id software level designers dreamt up, while Suskie spoke of the flaws in a game that tries to be a sim. That's honestly my greatest problem with Suskie's review. He looks inside of the box, dismissing the story part of the game and deeming it unimportant.

I do not agree with the said asessment, because obviously it is a powerful part of the game and should be added into the actual mark as a factor that could decide whether it is a good game or not. You focused only on the flaws from my experience and not on the pros of the game, citing an unbearable nurse that keeps correcting you or that the game is too simple. It depends on the age demographic that the game was intended for, plus the dialogues within the operation often again contribute to the "trivial, unimportant" story. Well, my rant here is over and the conclusion on your part is that your view on the flaws was excellent, but you didn't, in my opinion focus on finding the good parts of the game. Also, fun fact, all the patients in the game are more or less named after Scrubs characters and their respective actors.

Winner: Boo.

DoI vs EmP:

I honestly want EmP to fail. He's been gaining speed up the reviewer's chart for far too long and it is time for the old to be replaced by the young. I liked DoI's review because it was very sturdy and well written and in more ways then one reminded me of my own style of writing. So, the natural thing would be to stroke my own, already over inflated ego and give the nod to him, because he mentioned everything that needed to be mentioned in an rpg, right? The characters, the story, the system and the addictability or lack of it. It's a really good review. And yet EmP+s review gets the nod for the simple factor that it oozes personality and a personal touch. He still needs to be taught that Final Fantasy tactics is a good game, but that aside, this review spoke of a cheerful, if not simple rpg in those same terms. There are no heavy words in it, no speech if the DS has any problems performing certain actions, if there is any slowdown or if the story speaks of an ancient evil that deals with the destruction of the world. No, in this review EmP is very much a giggly schoolgirl playing with his pigtails in a verbal manner. For any other game, this would not be a compliment, but here it transfers well.

Winner:EmP

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I don't want to sound like an ass here DE, but it seems to me that your main problem with my review was the fact that you didn't agree with it.

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

No problem, I always answer to criticism. No, my problem with it, was that you only named the flaws in the game while completely disregarding anything and everything that is a major part of the game. Like I said, I agreed with all those bad parts, but it seems to me like you didn't even try to find anything good with it. Just to look at the game from every angle. If I were to judge a review by personal bias, then Boo would get a verbal rape attack because Doom II is one of the most over rated games in the history of Fps, that and I was a Duke 3d guy anyway.

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Doom II is one of the most over rated games in the history of Fps

woah, woah, woah

woah

hold up there, champ.

Oh no, it's a Goomba!

BAN HIS ASS

Cairo: no, but not many games appear to have been designed under the influence of so much LSD.

boo: jus cause there's a russian woman in a cyborg ninja costume that looks just like a cyborg ninja you fought before that was secretly a man you killed in a minefield in the middle east instead of a person whose baby was kidnapped by a mysterious shadow organizations the patriots that formed as a sort of raw consciousness in the primordial soup underneath the white house and wants a metrosexual tranny to have a swordfight with a dude with another ninja suit on top of federal hall

boo: jesus, pick-y

What can I say, John Romero is a filthy bitch. I hate her.

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Romero on his own brings out games like Daikatana. I find it hard to believe he was anything more than a coffee boy for iD, and nothing will ever change my view.

NOTHING!

For us. For them. For you.

Levels by Romero:

Doom/Ultimate Doom

* E1M1: Hangar
* E1M2: Nuclear Plant
* E1M3: Toxin Refinery
* E1M5: Phobos Lab
* E1M6: Central Processing
* E1M7: Computer Station
* E1M9: Military Base
* E4M2: Perfect Hatred
* E4M6: Against Thee Wickedly

Doom II

* MAP11: Circle of Death
* MAP15: Industrial Zone
* MAP17: Tenements
* MAP20: Gotcha!
* MAP26: The Abandoned Mines
* MAP29: The Living End

try again. he probably just clicked really well with the dudes at iD and isn't very good on his own, but except for Tenements every one of those maps is a fucking powerhouse. Perfect Hatred and The Living End especially.

edit: and The Industrial Zone! and Against Thee Wickedly! and The Abandoned Mines! and Circle of Death! and Hangar! fucking Hangar, man! E1M1!

Oh no, it's a Goomba!

Hence the 'on his own', little buddy.

Now stop bitching and start putting votes down. Slackers.

For us. For them. For you.

"I find it hard to believe he was anything more than a coffee boy for iD"

was what I was getting at.

Oh no, it's a Goomba!

DE, if I spend thirty bucks on a game, I'm going to make an honest attempt to get some entertainment out of it. I obviously didn't enjoy the narrative very much if I didn't let it tilt the final score, or my overall opinion on the game. If this were an RPG or something even like Beyond Good & Evil where the story has a clear influence on why I enjoy the game, then it would be more appropriate. But this is a surgery game, so I'd expect the surgery aspect to be excellent while the ER drama is kept to a minimum. That perhaps we're looking for different things in our medical games is fine, but "you didn't mention the good stuff" still seems like a less blatant way of saying you didn't vote for me because you disagree.

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

Suskie vs. Boo

I’ve not played Trauma Centre. Suskie pulls it apart quite cleverly with a review that has a much stronger start than finish. The first few paragraphs were clever, but, from there, it feels more like a checklist than some of his stronger works. The BZZZT line was used twice in too close proximity, robbing the last line of the review of the impact it could have had, which is a shame, and, while the writing remains strong throughout, the spark the well thought out intro introduces is lessened. Boo, though, writes probably the cleverest review he’ll ever write without me holding his hand (this jab will never get old. If it does, I’ll continue to use it, anyway). I commented back when Suskie threw our CoD4 that it was one of the best FPS reviews on the site. Boo’s Doom II is, then, the very best. It’s the familiarity he has with Doom that allows him to make insights only the super-nerdy can ever grasp but manages to voice it in such a way that those of us who don’t play at least two hours of D2 a day still get it. Mostly, this is achieved through some great examples and delivered in a tone that never takes itself seriously (a lecture would have turned the entire thing into a disaster). You almost lost because you seem to say something nice about Doom 3 at the end, there, but it’s the best review you have. Shame you’ve not topped it in 3+ years of trying.

And there’s the backhand.

WINNER: BOO

DE vs. VM.

VM didn’t show for this round, and the RANPICK was not kind. Exile was her second review and while it’s not bad, it’s certainly not as good as DE’s. And, frankly, I’m happy to leave it at that. VM’s not going to read this and I judged DE’s Shadowrun back in BWHY, as well as proofed it for him, so he’s had enough feedback. He just gets a win, instead.

WINNER: DE

For us. For them. For you.

...I judged DE’s Shadowrun back in BWHY, as well as proofed it for him...

Proofed it after the judging, I hope. You seemed to have qualms about doing that very thing during the Challange last year, so I did it instead, remember? >_>

I'll get to voting in this if I ever get time again...

[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

Oh shit, Boo played his Doom II? If I'd noticed I probably wouldn't have bothered to get the correct review posted in the first place.

DE vs. VM

It's a good thing I don't disagree with your review, DE, or I might just have voted against you out of spite! If I were to vote against you, it would be because of the hilariously pointless opening sentence (so we're talking about Shadowrun, then? yeah, no shit), the occasional over-wordiness, and the familiar and straightforward structure with the obligatory "but not all is good" paragraph towards the end. It's still a very solid review that kept me engaged from beginning to end, which I can't say about VM's. She starts off rather weak (from my experience, a series history briefing is never a compelling way to begin a review) and rambles on for far too long. I say "ramble" because a truly excellent review could get away with a length like this; it's the matter-of-fact tone that makes it drag, and I feel you dwell on details that could have been cut while the picture would still have been made clear. It's not a bad review by any means, but DE's is far more energetic, and shorter anyway. Winner: DE

DoI vs. EmP

I don't feel like elaborating too much because I don't have anything insightful to say. DoI's is good; EmP's is great and scores a laugh (if an easy one) first and foremost. DoI's Brave Story exhibits the kind of quality I've come to expect from the guy, and would have beaten a number of opponents, but to bring down EmP's Luminous Arc simply requires the kind of writing experience few of us have. Winner: EmP

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

well shit, if I knew that I would've said Doom II and used N3.

edit: it would be an empty promise to say I'll add feedback later, but I might. regardless, I vote for EmP and that crazy dick-holder who hates Doom II aka DE

Oh no, it's a Goomba!

I think we should just close the voting right now and spare DoI, VM and myself any further rejection.

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

NO!!!!

I haven't voted yet. Ergo, this WILL NOT be closed.

Note: I will vote either tomorrow or Wednesday. Ergo, you three rapscallions have up to two more days of pummeling before I deliver my verdicts, which shall either be the knockout blow or one brief taste of sweet redemption!

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

Ergo, you like saying "ergo."

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