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Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: Jan. 28 - Feb. 3 -- Jason is fashionably late again edition

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Author: honestgamer
Posted: February 07, 2019 (07:49 PM)
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Sorry for the delay in getting to this topic! I have an unusually large number of stressful personal things going on, so my motivation to do much of anything has been pretty dang low. Hopefully, that's only a temporary thing, because it kind of totally and completely sucks.

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There were six eligible submission this time around. Here are the three that didn't place in the top three:

Cryptozookeeper (PC) by Brian

This review feels like it meanders a bit. I appreciate some of the details and insight, such as the quote from Sherwin, but the writing is sometimes difficult to follow due to passive voice, or sentences that are missing punctuation and read like run-ons. Little details like that add up over time, and they're the reason the review didn't place higher in this week's rankings.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (Xbox 360) by overdrive

You've made Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning sound decent but not fantastic, and I appreciate the attention you devote to the various details. Your text matches the score at the end and the points you make are solid, but it probably works against you this week that I've already read your Avadon 3: The Warborn review (which someone else will rank next month) and enjoyed that write-up more.

The Last Tinker: City of Colors (PS4) by JoeTheDestroyer

This is a perfectly serviceable review of a perfectly serviceable game. It takes the game on its own terms and does a good job of evaluating the game's effectiveness with a lot of details that parents should find useful, if they are reading up on games to potentiall purchsase for their children. I have no complaints, really.

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And here are my picks for the top three reviews of the week:

Third Place: Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX) by hastypixels

This was one of your strongest reviews in some time, for the most part very cleanly written. Your voice was authoritative throughout, and you made some good points about the game and the grind players must endure to enjoy it. I think the text might have benefitted from a bit of judicious trimming, though. Maybe some of your asides could have been left out and you could have reduced the overall word count, because there were times when the pacing dragged a bit and that prevented you from placing better. Even so, this was a very good effort and that earns you a place in the top three on a week that had no shortage of quality contributions.

Runner Up: Statik (PS4) by pickhut

There were a few minor grammatical errors in this review, and some awkward passages, but mostly your discussion flowed very naturally and managed to keep me entertained in a puzzle game by keeping things mysterious. Your conversational tone was very effective, because you didn't let your text wander places that didn't build on the points you were making. This was a very strong review, fun to read and informative. If I ever get a PSVR headset, I might have to give this one a go!

Review of the Week: The Hex (PC) by EmP

I had a lot of fun with this review, but you kind of baked in a defense for any criticisms I might levvy at you by starting with a description of how hard it is to write about the game without spoiling things. So I don't have a lot of negative remarks to make, aside from a gripe that I did find a few minor grammatical errors throughout. And that's hardly the end of the world, as you've produced a very readable and informative review that makes me want to try this game for myself. I won't, but at least now I'll feel bad about it. That's thanks to a great write-up, infused with personality and smart criticism.

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Thanks to all who contributed this week, and thanks for your patience while I got my rear in gear and finally tended to this topic. Have a good one!


"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: EmP (Mod)
Posted: February 08, 2019 (10:14 AM)
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Thanks for the win, and congrats to Pick and Hasty. I'm still nowhere near 100%, so when and where the next review will come from, I do not know. I guess I'll get back to trying to get my shit together.

I hope you find yourself in a better place soon, Jason.


For us. For them. For you.

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Author: honestgamer
Posted: February 08, 2019 (10:44 AM)
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Everyone I talk to is having a pretty rough year of it so far. As we all try to get to a better place in 2019, let's take a page from Bill and Ted and be excellent to each other. Oh, and play and review games. Of course!


"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: February 08, 2019 (11:10 AM)
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Dang, that'll learn me to be rapid-firing out these reviews!

Thanks for the comments and congrats to the placers. I can see what you mean. Both Amalur and Avadon are vaguely similar (both western RPGs, but Amalur is more action-oriented, while Avadon is more turn-based RPG style), so if a person reviews both in the same general time span, it's likely that one of the two will resonate with the reader more. And, as you could probably tell, I was more enthused about Avadon 3, while Amalur was more in the "good game that I was fatigued with by the end" category and that fatigue could have come out a bit in the writing.


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

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Author: dementedhut
Posted: February 08, 2019 (04:28 PM)
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Thanks for the Runner-Up, Venter. Glad you liked the review to the point where it persuaded you to buy the game! Describing the puzzles was definitely a difficult task, especially since one small example could potentially give away a solution. Hard for a game with so few puzzles. I liked the challenge, though.

Congrats to EmP for nabbing the RotW podium! The moment I read the opening two paragraphs, I was like, "Dammit." "This might get it." Good on everyone for putting in effort this week, as well; hastypixels' third placement and everyone else's participation!

Hope things get better for you, Venter. I also have some personal stuff going on at the moment to the point I haven't started another review yet. Statik is currently my freshest review on the site, so who knows when another will pop up this month.

EmP, I noticed that post edit. :)


I head spaceshit noises.

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Author: hastypixels
Posted: February 08, 2019 (04:45 PM)
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Sorry to hear you out of sorts, Jason. My prayers are with you. "Struggle" is where we're all at, in one way or another. Right off what is probably walking pneumonia I got myself a bastard of a flu. The parting shot had me worried that I'd gotten some kind of heart condition or something. I'm going tomorrow to a clinic to get some antibiotics. Bleh!!!

Congratz to everyone for placing and thank you for contributing! I'm actually bedridden so I've been doing a lot of reading, listening to game music ... I haven't even had much energy for writing. Anyway, enough complaining. I suppose I need to set my standards higher, huh? I'm grateful to place, but you're helping me to see those hard to reach places I need to tend to.

I even broke my "promise" and started a new file which is better balanced, but this time I'm only playing in small amounts to keep my tension level down so I don't cough. Yeah, go figure, this flu is helping me to be patient. So, uh, yeah...


Look, the only time I'm not wrong is when I'm right, so...

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Author: Masters (Mod)
Posted: February 09, 2019 (12:01 PM)
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Ha, I noticed that Emp edit too! Not so slick.


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

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Author: JoeTheDestroyer (Mod)
Posted: February 12, 2019 (10:40 AM)
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Even if I didn't place, I'm glad my review went the way it did. Thank you!


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

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