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Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: April 15-21 -- Three come in, but only one wins.

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: April 23, 2019 (01:20 PM)
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It's probably a good thing that Mark and Gary coordinated submissions by themselves to happen on Sunday, as if they hadn't, this would be a really quick week for me, giving Mariner all three places. Which would be good for his status in the whole Site King thing, if not actually legal under RotW rules. Assuming we have other rules than "only one review per person can place" and "the person doing this can't place their own reviews". Speaking of which…Jason, you best not forget my review for Bonds of the Skies. Now that we've all gotten over the ugliness of my one review getting strung out for a month, it'd be a horrid shame if that ugly cycle repeated itself. EVER.

No need for honorable mentions this week, so to get to the actual reviews and such...

THIRD PLACE

Masters' Double Cross (PC)

Only three reviews this week and all are very good. Makes this a bit tougher of a job than I was expecting. Man, for stepping back a bit this year after being super-busy last year, it's gotta suck for one of your rare '19 efforts to be a game that you had high hopes for, but was disappointed by, well, a hell of a lot of its aspects. Overall, it's a solid review. I think the small paragraph about the backdrops felt a bit off. I mean, it ties into the next paragraph well, but it kind of seems to sync with the first paragraph with the "take a closer look" theme. The sort of thing I found noticeable because, overall, this is a short and very focused review. Actually, from reading what I just typed, maybe for me the issue is the second paragraph and how it'd all read more smoothly if that was moved down to the area where you were talking about how the game plays (right before or after the second pic), as the talk there of how you use basic and heavy attacks and get special ones you might not see the need for does fit in nice with how you mention in the paragraph under the second pic about how the platforming is the only thing that gives this game teeth. That aside, you did a good job of portraying why you found this game to be a disappointment. That next-to-last paragraph was perfect to showcase that, as you mention a mechanic, talk about how good it is in theory and then pull out the carpet by mentioning how the controls are unreliable enough to make it annoying and not fun.

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SECOND PLACE

EmP's Residue (PC)

So, in the comments, there is this interesting discussion, with Marc pointing out how your tone is less sarcastic than usual, especially considering this game is a bit lacking in many ways and you responding by saying it's an old review that you apparently were saving for a slow week and then forgot about. And all I can see is your "Resi-don't" play-on-words tagline and how it just makes me want to PUNish. Get beyond your apparently love for low-hanging fruit, though, and this is a very good review. You open with some paragraphs that paint this as a very interesting-sounding game, but then show how its execution is flawed as hell, from how the characters are a mixed breed and going to how the intriguing Aral Sea-centric plot kind of falls by the wayside when the designers abruptly decided to go in a different direction. Overall, a good take-down of a blah title that could possibly have been better, but wasn't executed well enough to be actually enjoyable.

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REVIEW OF THE WEEK (aka: Overdrive Place)

Mariner's Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk (Switch)

Well, you don't get all three places, but you do get the big one! This was simply a well-written and comprehensive review of a game where your writing hit on all cylinders. I have a bit of familiarity with NIS from one aborted attempt at Disgaea (That really complicated "lots and lots of stats and layers upon layers of game mechanics" stuff you mentioned got the better of me, although I might try again one day in the future. Might.), so it was easy for me to get into a lot of what you were saying about how some mechanics seemed annoying, as well as the surprising inclusion of a robust story considering the genre. I think you did a good job of flowing from one point to the next smoothly and, for a complex game, your writing didn't get overly long, which has regularly been a problem I run into when writing about complex games. And the class in college I took that delved into the importance of tightening up one's writing was one of the ones that I actually paid attention while attending! I think a big part of that is how you simply focused on the game and how it plays, while mentioning the story from time to time. Because with a game like this, the story is a bonus, while the key to things is how a person enjoys the dungeon-diving and resource management.
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Quick and easy week. Off to do other stuff. Probably work-related, at least for a bit.


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

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Author: Masters (Mod)
Posted: April 25, 2019 (09:28 AM)
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Thanks for getting the topic up so fast. And congrats to me for the ultimate achievement of finishing third out of three! It's a distinction that's escaped me for a long time, but I've finally done it. ^_^


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

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: April 26, 2019 (11:07 AM)
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So far, I still am in the running to win the prestigious "first out of one" gold medal for next week! If that happens, it'd be the most deserving win I've ever received!


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

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Author: Masters (Mod)
Posted: April 26, 2019 (11:47 AM)
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? I don't see ANY reviews up for this week, though.


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

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Author: EmP (Mod)
Posted: April 26, 2019 (12:00 PM)
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Marc's right. Dead week so far. Easy Jason days.

thanks for the nod; congrats to the others


For us. For them. For you.

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Author: hastypixels
Posted: April 26, 2019 (02:02 PM)
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Congrats to the winners. I've been back to work this week and just submitted my first review in a little bit. I was reluctant to write another one after the mess that was Transformers: War for Cybertron. Back at it now with Super Mario World.

So... yeah!


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

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: April 27, 2019 (11:47 AM)
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Marc, I have a holdover from last week, so that counts. In theory. And now Hasty has submitted something, so we're up to 21!


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: April 27, 2019 (12:17 PM)
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I've been thinking of what to review this week for the last few days, and I've actually been struggling to pick a game. Will likely have a review of something up next week, since I don't like to rush through writing a review. Unless I find a short game I feel comfortable writing within these two days. Maybe.

Regardless, congrats to this week's submitters(as in this topic's week) for churning out these reviews, especially to Mariner on getting RotW.


I head spaceshit noises.

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Author: hastypixels
Posted: April 27, 2019 (01:37 PM)
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@overdrive - Boy I hope things pick up when summer break hits.


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

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Author: honestgamer
Posted: April 27, 2019 (07:55 PM)
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I hope that I will soon be able to personally contribute to things picking back up again, in the form of more reviews. I know I've been fairly quiet most of this year, but I'm trying to get my ducks in a row and deal with some things. I am building up a library of smaller games I look forward to some day reviewing, and hopefully some of that activity comes sooner rather than later. And activity often begets activity, so we shall see how things go soon enough!


"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: Masters (Mod)
Posted: April 29, 2019 (08:47 AM)
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Well the Captain is back, so he's good for a few reviews per week by himself. Rob: why the strikethrough? Does your holdover NOT count? Or are you tempting fate and hinting that you'll be ignored again?


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

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: April 30, 2019 (09:48 AM)
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Marc, I'm going out on a limb and guessing, that since I didn't do the "line through text" deal, that IT WAS EMP! I mean, I have no proof it was him, but it seems like something he'd do just to watch me squirm and gnash my teeth.


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

This message was administratively deleted because it did not adhere to site guidelines, or because a user other than raimucuk requested its removal.

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Author: EmP (Mod)
Posted: July 30, 2019 (06:22 AM)
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This weird bumps reminds me that said strikethrough was indeed me. And I'd do it again!


For us. For them. For you.

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Author: Masters (Mod)
Posted: July 30, 2019 (08:26 AM)
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The bump was timely in another way, Gary: it reminded me that I was right to get revenge in giving Rob third out of three in my recent RotW! Poetic justice.


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

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: July 30, 2019 (05:46 PM)
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It always comes full circle...


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

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