Forums > Contributor Zone > Review of the Week Feb 5 - 11: "Not Ill, But On Medical Leave Anyway" Edition

The last two weeks of my life have been quite the adventure.

Januray 31, I went in for surgery to remove a cyst. The procedure was a success, and I went home stitched up and carrying a Jackson-Pratt drain. I couldn't shower for as long as the drain was in, so I basically had to rely on baby wipes or sponge baths (the former of which was too difficult to pull off without wetting the surgical site) for cleanliness.

A week went by and my wound was doing well. I ditched the JP drain and was well on the way to recovery, with Monday 12 as my return date for work. Then, on Saturday night I slipped while going down my stairs and ruptured some of my sutures. I called my mom and mother-in-law first to take care of the kids, then assessed the bleeding and decided 911 was a wise choice. They helped to stem the bleeding before my mom drove me to the closest ER. There they called my surgeon and were told to patch me up a until he could look at me.

Unfortunately, I'm now out an additional two weeks on wound care protocol, with the possibility of having a wound vac installed if the injury worsens. I really don't want to go through that...

At least I'll have plenty of time to read reviews and scratch a few things off my backlog. There were a ton of reviews this week, all of them terrific! I also submitted a review of 10000000 this week, which will be a holdover for the future ROTW.


Dandara #### Naetoid
I'm only going to make one minor nitpick: the intro sentence runs a bit long. That's it.

This is an otherwise good review of a Metroidvania game. You bring up some excellent points and tie them in, which is wonderful. Also, I'm a sucker for reviews that provide history on the game itself or the characters or themes involved, so that little tidbit was very appreciated. This review flowed nicely, was easy to read and told me that Dandara is a game I should be checking out (it's on my Steam wishlist right now, so it's only a matter of time).


Super Turrican #### Follow_Freeman
I loved the bits on gaming history. I always find the post-crash period of Europe and the rise of computer games there fascinating. I haven't had the opportunity to check out many of those titles, so reading about them is always a treat.

Your review is passionately written and provides wonderful examples of what makes Super Turrican a special game. Your flow and style are, as usual, terrific and the review itself does a fine job of reminding fogeys like me that we (maybe) missed out on this title. Perhaps I'll go back and play it some day...


Cally's Caves 4 #### Masters
Anyone could write this, or any, game off as "too easy," but you go so much further. You rightly kneecap this title, exposing why its too easy and why that's problematic. It sounds serviceable, if forgettable, tedious and unbalanced. Enemies are bullet sponges, but dispatching them is little trouble. That sounds like a horribly dry experience to me. At the same time, you point out that if someone dug the previous title, they'll probably enjoy this one just the same. In that light, you're understandably lenient and not so shortsighted that you assume the franchise is thoroughly despised.

Additionally, I flew through this review because word choice and flow were magnificent. It's an engaging piece that efficiently informs readers on not only the game, but the series as well.


The Legend of the Dark Witch #### Pickhut
You do a great job describing this game's weirdness. The mental images you draw are hilarious and descriptive, and don't overwhelm the reader. I like that.

Balancing a middling review can be tricky, but you pulled that off by deftly balancing your points and providing clear, specific examples. I enjoyed your description of one boss' hellacious attack pattern because it blew me away. You then went on to say that it was one of the easier bosses, which leaves me wondering what else the game has in store. A good review shouldn't give too much away, and you accomplish that while providing terrific, detailed examples. Kudos!


The Legend of the Dark Witch 2 #### Pickhut
I don't have much to add to this that I didn't already say about your review of the other Dark Witch game. One thing I can point out is that your gripes against the game are effective, and you do a good job of illustrating how unremarkable the game is.


Cyberdillo ####Bouchart
This is a solid write up for a game I've never played. I've heard of it, sure, but haven't dreamed of touching it (mostly because I don't own a 3DO and have no desire to secure one). This review fills us in with all the right details, as it should. When tackling super obscure titles, it's important to dish some of the highlights without going overboard, which this review accomplishes. My only complaint is that it's dry in a few points, though not so much as to render the review ineffective.


THIRD PLACE
Primal Rage #### EmP
I expected a good review, and I was not disappointed. This one featured a little history on Nintendo's censorship during the '90s, and provided very well supported points. You bring up that the game is based on a certain strain of the original arcade iteration, which is something arcade port reviews seldom touch on. That impressed me the most, in addition to your trademark cheeky comments. Nice work!


SECOND PLACE
Dynasty Warriors 2 #### Fiddlesticks
It takes a special touch to make a review of a simple action game fun to read, and you pulled it off marvelously. This is a very passionate piece that doesn't simply devolve into "all about me," but still has that personal "this is one of my favorites" feel that's a better fit for such articles. Do you a great job of informing readers of why Dynasty Warriors 2 is awesome without a workman-like list of attractions, providing examples that are exciting and perfectly worded. Stellar work!


REVIEW OF THE WEEK
Tesla vs Lovecraft ### Masters
As with your Cally's Caves review, this one flowed remarkably well. Better than that, though, you took the game rightly to task. Not only did you slate it for its lacking challenge factor (that teleport function sounded unnecessary and weak), but also brought up this game's disservice to Lovecraftian lore. No Cthulhu? Whaaaaaat!? Even if the developer was tired of Cthulhu, or perhaps perceived that consumers were, excluding Cthulhu seems sin-like and should have been called out.

I like that you balanced your argument, giving credit where credit is due. Your admission that this is at least a decent game reassures me that, should I receive this as a free gift or as part of a multi-title package in the future, I'll at least be able to get some enjoyment out of it. Your examples are terrific and the picture you paint is clear, all done succinctly. Excellent work!

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

Well, it's a good thing that fall wasn't so much worse. Get better soon.

Thanks for the comments on my two reviews! Was a little worried that some of my descriptions might have come off muddled, so I'm glad you still understood and liked what you were reading.

Congrats, Masters, on getting another RotW!

I head spaceshit noises.

Sorry to hear about your recent medical issues. Hopefully you can heal up this time.

Thanks for the placing and commentary on all the reviews. This was quite a nice write up for the week and I enjoyed reading it, as well as the reviews I got to take a look at.

Congrats to Masters and EmP as well.

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We're falling apart, us RotWers. In Rob's case, literally.

Thanks for typing this up and going above and beyond with the across the board feedback. I think i said somewhere else, but I don;t mind playing the historian in the last half dozen 32X reviews, because the history of the games has been the only really interesting thing about it. Glad it wasn't too dull. Use your new, enforced free time to strike a few more off the list so I don't have to!

Congrats to Fiddle and Masters for great reviews, but props to all. Especially fine week.

For us. For them. For you.

Great week for reviews! Also, my best wishes to the unwell:

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A song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RqzFkV2K4g
Film reviews: https://letterboxd.com/Follow_Freeman/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVo7uK3vlYw
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Thanks for doing the RotW, Joe -- I've not been doing so well myself, and doing this thankless work while laid up doesn't sound awesome. I read most of the reviews this week and they were all very good. Except for Gary's, which was rife with errors.

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

My only error was believing you when you said you would be helping me knock some of these 32X reviews out.

For us. For them. For you.