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Forums > Contributor Zone > Review of the Week, August 28 - September 3 - One Last Hurrah

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Author: Nightfire
Posted: September 08, 2017 (04:13 PM)
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There were eight reviews from six authors this week (not including one of mine. Hint, hint, Rob). Not a bad turnout, but thankfully not too heavy either. A nice, "Goldilocks" level of reviews for a tired old dragon like me.

The honourable mention this week goes to Fiddlesticks. His Super Mario Bros. 3 review was an enjoyable and nostalgic read. He's a great writer, though this particular submission felt a bit too much like a blog post than an actual review. Still, if you feel like taking a trip down memory lane, here's your piece.

EDIT: As predicted, it seems I pulled a Rob and forgot about EmP's piece for the hold-over. Dangit. I'm not re-writing this, so perhaps his hold-over - along with mine - can be put into a cage and duel to the death next week in Rob's article? Unless Rob forgets. That would be funny. Ironic funny, though. Not "ha-ha" funny.

Anyway, here are the rankings, such as they are:


Third place: Mr. Robbington's Mass Effect 3 review (Xbox 360)

Rob has a particular style with his articles, particularly his retrospective pieces, that tend to be somewhat laden with spoilers. "Remember THIS thing? Remember THAT thing? How cool was THAT thing!" I mean, I get it. The Mass Effect trilogy is pretty old now, and all of the people who were going to play it have probably already played it. Except me, of course. Yup. I'm that weirdo. So, some of the spoilers in here were a bit of a downer to me, especially since I'm currently playing through Mass Effect: Andromeda and have a renewed interest in the series. I had big plans to go back and play through the original trilogy from start to finish and do it right this time - last time, I got sidetracked halfway through Mass Effect 1. However, after reading this, I know most of what's coming at me in all three games. Boo!

Still, Rob didn't give away enough to stop me, so I will probably still end up playing through them anyway. In fact, his article may have actually made me a bit more determined, as I kept hearing that the ending to Mass Effect 3 was "bad", and having him tell me the exact opposite with such conviction gives me some renewed hope that it's worth playing through to the end.

His retrospective articles seem to be targeting people who have already played the game instead of new players, and that's fine. I just wasn't his audience in this particular case. I still thought that it was a technically sound and enjoyable piece anyway. It was also very easy to read. The stock screenshots were also good, though they were still stock.


Second place: Jason's Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle review (Switch)

Jason's Mario obsession continues. This time with Ubisoft invaders, oh my! It's weird to read about a game where Mario doesn't jump. That's almost like having a game about Sonic the Hedgehog where he mostly walks or takes the bus. Hmm. And Mario shooting guns? In a cover shooter? Outrageous! What has our mad world come to?

Anyway, this is a good piece. Jason clearly enjoyed his time with this thing, and his infectious passion for the Switch still comes through here. It was a little heavy on details and explanations of mechanics, but it was still very solid and enjoyable to read. It was fairly long, but I didn't feel that it dragged on, which is always a plus. Great screenshots were the icing on the cake.


First place: Joe's Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening review (PS3)

This slam piece was artfully written. Joe gives us the reasons, step-by-step, why this DLC failed to live up to the base game. It is disappointing that Bioware made a piece of shovelware to bookend their game and pad their coffers, but somehow this doesn't surprise me. Origins felt, to me, like a rote piece of Bioware to begin with, though I do concede that it had some admirable qualities (particularly the character building). Still, I only lasted a few hours before uninstalling it.

I fully acknowledge that Dragon Age has its fan base, though, even if the games are not my cup of tea. From that perspective, this article was very effective. People who have played Origins but not its DLCs will be well served by reading this. I also liked how it didn't get bogged down in details. I liked how I didn't need to know the base game back to front to understand what Joe was saying here; in fact, I probably didn't need to play the base game at all. It was just really clearly written piece. "Heavy on promise, skinny on substance and ends with a dull whimper" was a good turn of phrase. This piece is full of that kind of stuff. Great job, man.



As the tagline might've given away, this will be my last Review of the Week going forward. Real life is simply taking up a lot of my time these days. All of it, in fact. Who would've thought? Not in a bad way, though; quite the opposite. So, don't worry about me. I just hope you've all enjoyed reading my ROTW articles as much as I've enjoyed writing them.

Some parting words: I hope you all keep writing, playing, and having fun. Don't ever grow up. Just don't do it. Trust me. It ain't worth it.

Peace out, friends.

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Author: honestgamer
Posted: September 08, 2017 (07:22 PM)
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Thanks for helping out with RotW, and I hope we'll still see you around the site in other capacities--such as the occasional review--now that you're stepping away from the post to live your busy life.

Congrats to everyone who participated this week, but most especially to Joe for securing the win!


"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

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: September 08, 2017 (08:26 PM)
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Thanks for the placement! Yeah, I do get the "does include spoilers" bit. I think that's the negative aspect of always playing big games when they aren't new -- it's just inevitable that they're spoiled to some degree when I get to them simply because I'm ALWAYS reading something game-related, whether it be reviews or other articles. Therefore, when I get to playing them, those sorts of things just come out and I don't even think about how they might be spoilers. And when you add the fact that ME is a story-driven trilogy where all the games are connected, it becomes a near-impossibility for at least me to avoid them.

So, now I have your review for this week and EmP's from the previous week to remember for next week. Good luck, myself...good luck... OhGodImGonnaScrewThisUpIKnowIt!!!!!!!!

Thanks for all the RotW-ing you've done over the past however long. You did a lot to help us keep this thing going and added a lot of good insight to reviews, mine and other peoples'.

Also, if anyone wants to be the fourth person in the rotation, let us know! Because every four weeks is more laid-back than every three weeks and I like being a laid-back sort of guy!


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

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Author: jerec
Posted: September 08, 2017 (08:37 PM)
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I was looking at quitting soon, myself. >_>


I can avoid death by not having a life.

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Author: JoeTheDestroyer (Mod)
Posted: September 09, 2017 (03:51 AM)
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Thank you for the win, and thank you very much for taking over ROTW! I wish you the best of luck!


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

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Author: EmP (Mod)
Posted: September 09, 2017 (08:14 AM)
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I like that Helldiver's review - cheated again!

Thanks for running this week, and all the work you've put in since you stepped up to the judge plate. I know it's a real grind, and you've been a real asset aside from that one time you forgot my review which I shall never forgive you for so enjoy your retirement. Consider the door always open should you ever feel the need to return. I hope you'll still hang around and remind us about obscure retro games we then pretend to have known existed all along.

Congrats to Jason, Rob and Joe. Not for their great reviews or worthy placements, but on being lucky that my review had been forgotten and, as a direct consequence, each gained a higher place in this week's rota that they would have otherwise.


For us. For them. For you.

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Author: jerec
Posted: September 09, 2017 (03:03 PM)
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I also enjoyed the fact that if Overdrive had remembered Nightfire on his last RotW, he would've won RotW in my week.

Maybe in another timeline, he did.


I can avoid death by not having a life.

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