Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: May 21-27 - Bunches and bunches of goodness, but only 3 could place

I'm starting to suspect that some of you want to kill me. There were so many amazing reviews to wade through this week. I found something to like in everything I read, but time and winning slots are limited.

So much stuff almost placed on this packed week, but below are my picks for the top three reviews that most demand your attention...



Third Place: Castles by sashanan

It was good to see sashanan back on the site, and with an interesting review for a game I hadn't heard of previously. The review did a good job of opening, with the connection to childhood LEGO building, and that worked nicely to suggest this game should be about building and fun as a result. The review then described a game that sounded pretty fun and interesting to me, before introducing a few wrinkles that might temper expectations. At the end, the score of 3/5 stars felt quite fair and was given plenty of context so I know as a reader and gamer with my particular tastes that the game may still indeed be worth my while. Aside from a few minor grammatical and spelling errors sprinkled throughout, it was an excellent review.

Runner Up: Deadfall Tropics (PC) by Masters

Masters contributed a bunch of awesome reviews this week, each one awesome for a different reason. What they had in common was that they didn't linger unnecessarily long, but made the most of their words as they found a connecting theme and built around it over their brief, effective duration. My favorite of those was this mostly scathing review, because what it accomplished is so difficult to do. Rather than simply saying "This game is too difficult," Masters wrote in a way that made it clear the difficulty wasn't the issue, but rather the nature of that difficulty. His references to other recent (and notoriously difficult) games he has played and enjoyed helped reinforce his point, and the result is a review that calls a game out for being content to be difficult, rather than taking the extra step and being actually good.

Review of the Week: Pong Doubles (Arcade) by Midcore

I enjoyed this review, because while I and many others have read probably more than enough about Pong, there's little discussion of this follow-up. The history was handled beautifully, with appropriate context and commentary, and the ensuing gameplay discussion was thorough and interesting. Mechanically, the writing was also strong, without a trail of grammatical or spelling errors to mar it. This is precisely the sort of retro review the industry and its audience can benefit from, and I am happy both as a reader and webmaster to read it at HonestGamers.



Keep the good stuff coming, everyone! Fierce competition like we saw this week is good for everyone, and most especially for readers who are looking for insightful and informative criticism of an industry that is much broader than mainstream sites suggest. Thanks for continuing to explore awesome games old and new. You're all awesome!

"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

Thanks for the kind words and the VERY fast topic, Jason.

I bet you'd like to see this kind of output continue -- 16 reviews was it? And there are already three up for this week, which bodes well for the surge continuing.

Also, interesting choice among my reviews to give the placement to... I thought the Horizon Chase Turbo one was my best of the batch. Always interesting to see what other people think.

Finally: nice to see Sash back and reviewing.

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

I liked the bumper cars bit, Marc, which I thought did a good job of highlighting the transition from the old 2D games we used to play to the newer polygonal stuff. It was easy to see how the shortcomings you mentioned could sour the experience, so it was an effective review. I just felt the review I chose did something more difficult and that's why it got the nod. Each of your reviews were commendable, though, so it was tough to choose.

"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