Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: May 20-26, 2019 -- The tough choices edition

So, this week there were a total of 9 reviews, which is more than I really felt like reading for this topic. Fortunately (?), I wrote three of them and that means they aren't eligible for consideration until next week. So that left me with a more manageable 6 reviews from 5 distinct authors. For this time of year, that doesn't seem like a bad turnout. But... who will place in the top three?!

First off, I'll provide some comments on the 3 reviews that didn't make the top 3. The comments are mostly negative in nature, but that's more to explain why they didn't rank than it is an effort on my part to sling mud at 3 reviews I still enjoyed reading. Here they are:

Kung Fu Master (Atari 2600) by CptRetroBlue

This review feels more barebones than what you typically write, though there are still some great observations sprinkled throughout (such as your remarks on taking damage while standing near knife-wielding foes, but not next to bosses). There also were some oddly written sentences, including the very first one, which left me wondering if you were working from an older draft when you wrote this one. Whether or not that's the case, I enjoyed finding out more about a game from the classic generation that I haven't already read about a ton of times. A lot of those games deserve all the quality coverage they can get, as new audiences are potentially discovering them.

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron (PC) by hastypixels

This review might be smoothed out a bit to its benefit. There are some odd sentences that aren't necessarily wrong, but which feel messy just the same. For example: "The story is presented in chapters, where you’ll play one select character for some - if not all - of the duration of that chapter." It's good information, but awkwardly presented. The problem is that such construction leads to reader fatigue, increasing the likelihood your audience will tune out the sentences that follow, which is why I advise adjusting it a bit. There's also a lot of word repetition in that portion of the review. Stuff like that presents the review from finding the podium placement that was likely desired.

Forgotton Anne (Switch) by hastypixels

Though this review has some good passages that hint at truly meaningful discussion, it feels at times too much like something that was written without a specific audience in mind. If the reader hasn't played the game--as I haven't--then there isn't enough information early on to set the scene. Its genre isn't mentioned until the fourth paragraph, for instance. Also, the story is only hinted at vaguely throughout, and yet the second-to-last paragraph is referencing concepts that don't make sense to me because I haven't played the game myself. Meanwhile, the audience that has played the game can't necessarily appreciate your discussion and those questions you raise, because you don't draw meaningful conclusions due to your (admirable and necessary) desire to avoid spoilers. The result of this lack of firm identity isn't a bad review, but it does prevent it from giving the occasional high praise and metaphors the impact they might otherwise have possessed.

And now we're left with the top 3, which I admit I had an unusually difficult time ranking beyond that because they were all so great:

Third Place: The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Game Boy) by EmP

There were some terrific lines sprinkled throughout this review (the bit about how "literal wristwatches now have more processing power than the original GameBoy did" was especially solid but certainly not the only example of that), balanced out slightly--but certainly not completely--by occasional word repetition and awkward phrasing. I also don't know that the reference to this game stealing Ys' shtick were especially useful, since a lot of folks by this point probably won't know what you're even referencing (the later mention of Adol in particular is likely to go over a fair few heads), and also because people washing up on islands goes back a lot further than Ys as a plot element. Dismissing the older Zelda games because they have too many fetch quests also feels odd to me, since fetch quests are one thing those older installments don't really have in abundance beyond the general need to get the pieces of the Triforce or visit the six palaces and such (though admittedly, Ganon's preoccupation with kidnapping inconvenient maidens played a major role in 2 of the 3 Zelda games that came before this one). But we're probably safe putting those minor gripes aside because this review is clearly aimed mostly at people who have already played this game and probably love it, and who for that reason will welcome the chance to reminisce about a generally underappreciated classic from ye olden days. Newcomers aren't really the target. That fond look back is also timed well, with the surprise remake due to arrive on Switch late this year, I believe. I enjoyed reading it, even the parts with which I disagreed.

Runner Up: Closure (PC) by JoeTheDestroyer

This review is good for a few reasons, including its mastery when it comes to organization. Right away, Joe covers the all-important central mechanic, explaining it in a way that allows me to picture myself playing through the game while dealing with the way everything works. This sort of foundation is one thing it's all too easy to forget to lay down first, and readers appreciate a sense of place as the discussion shifts to more specific concerns. By the time Joe talks about shining orbs and graspers and such, it's easy to envision how that might play out in the game, to feel that same "tingly feeling in my guts" that Joe recounts experiencing. When the reader can be taken along on that sort of experience by a capable writer, more tingly feelings in guts are bound to follow. Great stuff!

Review of the Week: Risk System (PC) by Masters

I really like the opening paragraph to this review, which necessarily establishes just why a game like Risk System is such a big deal. That is: it's a rare approach to a somewhat endangered genre and good to boot. Besides being written in an interesting way, this introduction lets its most perfect audience--the fan who has been longing for another good horizontal shooter--know that "I am one of you." The analysis of the game's "risk system" of play is great stuff. It sounds to me like the horizontal take on something like Ikaruga (where I greedily swooped in to absorb enemy firepower so I could unleash it and survive bosses that otherwise would obliterate me), but with the added complication that sometimes even mere survival may not be possible without mastering that mechanic... whereas my recollection of Ikaruga is that you could do pretty okay even if you didn't always master your resource use. It's not a fancy sentence, compared especially to some of the more memorable lines in this review, but the sentence I liked most is probably "Your concept of too close itself will evolve." That really gets to the heart of this discussion and drives home the analysis up to that point. By the end, I sort of want to do what the text suggests and "Take on the system and get good already."

Thank you as always for your contributions, folks! Volume may have slowed a bit, but quality is still going strong and we continue to cover a pleasing variety of games that I personally find quite exciting. Keep 'em coming, everyone!

"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 this, Jason. And you're right -- numbers are down, but clearly quality is not. I didn't manage to read everything this week, but I liked Hasty's Forgotton Anne, and Emp's review as well.

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

It's a tough haul writing and working as well ... I think if I do more organization at the outset I'll improve the quality of my reviews when certain things need to be addressed.

As always, thanks Jason, and congratulations to everyone who participated!

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

Thank you for the runner up position! I'm glad you enjoyed the piece! I'm exhausted now after this long week. I shall (maybe) retire soon for the night.

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