Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: June 17-23, 2019 -- Special 'I suck at topic titles' edition

This last week was a terrific one for review submissions, as seven unique people contributed analysis of a nice variety of games. Alas, I was one of those seven people, which means my review gets shuffled off to next week for Joe to read. That leaves only six high-quality reviews for me to consider.

First off, here are the three reviews that didn't rank on this unusually competitive week.

Super Neptunia RPG (PC) by One41

This is a competent review, well organized and with attention to the details that are likely to matter most to readers. The no-frills approach provides the sort of critique I would like to see every game receive, because so many games release these days that some of them never really receive the sort of old-fashioned, effective criticism a consumer might use to decide whether or not to make a purchase. It's not a review that ranks well in topics such as this one, but I'm pleased to have it on the site because I know it will be a good resource for consumers. Thanks!

No Man's Sky (PC) by Brian

This review was longer and and a bit denser than I personally found useful. It focused too much on hype versus reality for my taste, and not enough on an explanation of mechanics and their highlights. I realize the point about the early hype had to be addressed, given that you're reviewing a game notorious for evolving over time, some distance into its evolution. I also (mostly) liked your smartly chosen comparison between early critics and players and the Gibson character. Some of the sentences had rough patches that needed ironed out, but there wer ealso examples of strong writing throughout, as I have come to expect. I came away from the reading with a good sense of what you liked--the exploration and the attention to detail--but not a lot of details that might tell me whether I am likely to feel similarly.

The Princess, the Stray Cat, and Matters of the Heart (PC) by EmP

There were a couple of minor grammatical errors or just misplaced words in this review (you said "climate" when you meant "acclimate" in one instance, and "exists" when you meant "exist"), but mostly the writing was very strong even though the coverage itself was--as your introduction warned--a bit of a mess. It's always a shame when censorship robs a story of a substantial portion of what made that story one worth telling in the first place, as seems to have happened here. That's an unfortunate reality that you do well to explore here, and I definitely came away understanding why the censorship crossed a line in this particular case. I'm frustrated with something I've never even played. I do wish you had gone into a little more detail on what makes the girls unique, or similar information, but since you managed to convince me that the game probably isn't worth playing in any event, I don't suppose that matters as much as it would have if the censorship weren't excessive. My toughest choice this week was deciding who to rank third: you or overdrive. Ultimately, I gave the nod to overdrive because his review covered a broader swath of useful information. It was a tough call.

And that means it is time to look at the ones that clawed their way to the top of the heap...

Third Place: The Witcher (PC) by overdrive

This was an enjoyable review. The discussion about why you play WRPGs and how The Witcher catered to that logic was a good way to open up a review of a game in that franchise, because it lets readers decide whether they agree with that perspective and lends anything you say after that an air of increased credibility (assuming they do think like you). The nitty-gritty game discussion that followed was a bit less interesting and the approach seemed a bit more scattered, but your discussion of combat was important and suitably detailed. I think you've painted an effective picture of how the game plays, and I think you'll be pleased with how the franchise progresses from there.

Runner Up: Beetlejuice (NES) by JoeTheDestroyer

This review makes Beetlejuice sound so awful I can scarcely believe it was even released in that state. But it was, and a Game Boy version happened too. LJN published the title across the platforms, which isn't a huge surprise given that company's affinity for license-based fare, but with so many things that went wrong and considering the pedigree of the developer responsible, I'm surprised the result isn't notorious. The item management in particular sounds unusually bad. You're absolutely sure there's no way to cycle through acquired items to use only the one you want? Piled together with all the other awful stuff, including ways the game traps you so that you basically can't progress, Beetlejuice sounds like a total disaster. Frankly, I'm surprised you gave it the extra half-star over a 1/5 rating. You really made the most of the material the game provided and wrote one of the most damning bash reviews I've read in a good long while.

Review of the Week: New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Switch) by Mariner

It's difficult to find a lot to say about platformers now that might come across as insightful, but sometimes we all can use reminders. This review provides those beautifully. I loved the dissection of the platformer and what makes the good ones tick, near the beginning, which followed a spot-on metaphor. The New Super Mario Bros. games have always appealed to me, but they also have felt like a slightly tarnished imitation of their stellar predecessors. You perfectly (I feel) summed up just why that is, while providing details that should let newcomers know what makes this particular game work so capably to produce a final product that is still very good, even if it isn't as good as one might have wished. That's enough to win you the week.

Well, that's enough from me for another week! Thanks to all who contributed to make this an exceptional week full of great reviews, and congratulations on some spirited competition. There wasn't a weak review in the lot. Keep 'em coming!

"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

Jason, I'm pretty confident the first mention of Beetlejuice has the correct hyperlink, but wrong text. It didn't make sense until I realized I knew which review you were talking about.

As always congrats to the contributors!

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

You were right, hasty, and I've fixed it.

"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

Ooooh! A controversial result! Not because of who the winners are, mind you -- everyone's review was good, I read them all and concur with Jason -- but it's always controversial when a Former Site King finishes off the podium.

Anyway, glad to see a bump in volume this week, and even in quality, which was never lacking in the first place. Good job getting your controversial RotW up so fast, Venter.

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

Thanks for the placement and kind words. A little worried about how it'd turn out, as I had a lot to say and it'd been a while since I'd gotten one up on the site (not counting the Production Room Purgatory one, as it obviously hasn't gotten feedback for me to know if I completely lost my mojo in the last month or whatever). And whenever one goes a long time without getting something written, it can be a bear to get one finished, especially if it's complicated and winds up long so that I have to do some trimming before even putting it on the site.

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

Thank you for the placement! If there's a way to cycle through inventory, I never found it. I almost want to check, but I'm kind of glad to have that game behind me. Congrats to Mariner on the win!

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

Thanks for the kind words! My review of the original SMB is still one of my favorites, so this was a fun review to write and revisit those concepts.

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