Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: March 20-26 -- Man, looks like a lot of people wrote a lot last week

So, here I was thinking to myself that today would be a great day to get started on one of the three reviews in my backlog of stuff to write. I'd been really busy at work and with social events the past three or so weeks, but all that has cleared up and it's business as usual, so time to get to work, I thought!

And then I remembered it's my week to do this. And there were 15 reviews submitted this week. And also Nightfire's holdover from last week, for a total of 16. And I suddenly came to the realization that I wouldn't be doing much (if any) of my own writing this fine afternoon. Thanks, guys. I'm going to find all your favorite games and give them 1/5 reviews JUST TO MAKE YOU ALL FEEL REALLY BAD!

Anyway, we had a few people submit multiple efforts this week, so it looks like we have 11 people doing these 16. Kudos to Hastypixels for penning three of them. That's two more than I've done this month. That sort of non-productivity makes me think my plan to bash all your favorite games probably won't come to pass. Oh well…it was a good idea…

A number of people probably deserve some sort of credit for at least grabbing my interest. HP's review of Turtles in Time was a nice nostalgic look at a game he obviously loves. Zydrate gave a super-detailed look at Fallout 4 that maintained my interest with the only real demerit being that it seemed more time was spent talking about specific pieces of DLC than anything else. Venter promoted the Switch by reviewing two games I'd never want to think about playing (and did a fine job of detailing them). While Bejeweled is a fun franchise to play, I personally know it's hell trying to even make it sound remotely fun in writing, so Nightfire deserves kudos for giving that a good effort.

THIRD PLACE

Pickhut's Army of Darkness Defense HD (Android)

Man, there were a variety of games covered this week. Puzzle games, open-world RPGs, a game about coding, metroidvanias and a tower defense game based on a movie! Or loosely based on one particular scene from a movie. It's sort of funny. At first, I was wondering just why you felt the need to harp on how the game is only based on part of the movie AND how it's not accurate to events in the movie because, you know, every single licensed game ever made. But in a way, I think that adds to your review. I don't find games of this type interesting, but the added flavor added to my enjoyment of this, particularly since I've watched the subject matter a couple times. The other reason I enjoyed it was simply because you came in, made some snarky comments, said what you needed to about the basics and got the hell out. Simple and sweet, leading to a conclusion where you're able to simply state that it's good at not being bad, but is pretty easy for a good chunk of things. In a week where I'm reading a ton of reviews, you have no idea how much I appreciate that. Especially considering that I can go on a good lengthy ramble in my reviews from time to time that make things overly verbose.

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SECOND PLACE

Master's Xeodrifter (Playstation 4)

Masters has returned! With two reviews! One for a horrible game with nothing going for it besides tits! Oh, and this one for what seems to be a pretty good game (have no idea with what the commenter was saying with how the body and score feel different --- seemed like a general praise review that fits a 4 quite nicely). This was one of those good "voice of authority" reviews, where you brought out a bunch of metroidvania knowledge and discussed how this game works within that structure. Which made it more noteworthy when you brought out that this game is stronger for breaking the mold with taking away excessive backtracking and being tougher due to an overall lack of save points. And that goes all the way through the review, with the final paragraph noting that its aesthetic failings are noteworthy simply because so many games of this sort have really good graphics and/or soundtracks. Much like Pickhut's review, this was another strong review at packing in its information into a brief span of time.

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REVIEW OF THE WEEK (aka: Overdrive Place)

EmP's Torment: Tides of Numenera (PC)

You had me hooked in the early paragraphs with your description of a being introduced into a strange world…only to get dumped into a meaningless "be of use to me" time-wasting quest. And then finding out that quest wasn't a time-waster, as there were many ways to do it which could have far-reaching influences upon the game's world. As far as painting a vivid picture of a game's world, I think this was head-and-shoulders above the others. Like the next-to-last paragraph where you just casually list off a number of strange beings and objects that left me wanting more, more and perhaps even more. Or earlier, when you mention how this world exists around you and quests will get resolved somehow if you waste too much time getting to them. Super-nice touch because it seems the worlds of virtually every game revolve around your character and NOTHING gets done unless you're doing it. Really good review -- one of your best ones in recent times, in my opinion.

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And now, I'll work on my reviews. Or just take a nap. Too much reading makes brain spin. Me dizzy now.

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

Thanks for the win this week, Rob. Torment is a massive game, so playing it and then reviewing it has taken up a large slice of my life, so I appreciate the nod. And highly recommend the game should you ever move away from that Mac I assume you only own because you lost a bet and pick up a decent gaming PC (or, you know, buy the console edition of the game)

Congrats, too, to Pick for his review on a mobile game I've played the hell out of and quite enjoyed, and to Marc on this year's solid comeback which I expect to see continued. Good work all round; even to Rob who didn't even need a nudge this week, but got one anyway.

For us. For them. For you.

Going at a game like that, in that fashion, for the first two paragraphs is normally not my style, so I'm glad you still enjoyed and got something out of the review. Thanks for the placing, congrats to Masters for placing on his return, and for EmP on receiving RotW!

I head spaceshit noises.

I only assigned EmP that game to Torment him. Looks like my plan backfired, and instead I gave him the ammunition to defeat me in this week's topic. Alas, alas!

Congratulations to the top three, and to the rest of us who didn't even manage to place. What a fantastic week this was for reviews. I hope to see many more like it. :-D

"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 on secret doors to another world2

Gratz to the winners. I ain't even mad. Lots of great stuff showing up, as seems to be the new norm.

By the way, nice comeback, Masters. I was not familiar with your work until now but I look forward to seeing more from you going forward!

placid like acid

Honorable mention hoooo, though I disagree.

The main DLC mention was Nuka World which makes sense, as it was pretty much the largest DLC of the bunch next to Far Harbor. I was at 1500 words when the review got done with the main bulk and the rest of it went to the four (Of several) DLC's of note and with the last paragraph my closing.

So... It wasn't really the bulk.

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Thanks for the mention and the comments, Rob: specifically about the score, as I had some reservations about it. Good on everyone else for contributing good work during a busy week. I plan on reading Emp's and pickhut's reviews today at the very least.

I don't have to prove I'm refined - that's what makes me refined!

Congrats to the winners.

GET BUSY LIVING, OR GET BUSY DYING