Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW // 6th January – 12th January // Judgment Deferred

“We should swap weeks”, said Marc ‘I’ll Do It Later’ Golding. “This isn’t a very busy week; as stands, it’s only my reviews and one other so if I do it, then I’m just awarding a win to whomever isn’t me. You should do it instead so there are at least two places to discuss.” Surprisingly, Marc had a logical point, and I appreciated his correct use of ‘whom’ so I agreed. Then Rob submitted. Then Joe submitted. And now my easy week is in ruins. More so, there’s a lot of first place tier reviews going on, so someone’s going to be jipped. I guess it’s your own fault for writing quality reviews on a week that isn’t mine but now is. Hurumph.

The given reviews have each cycled through various positions, but I think I’m ready to make my mind up. Before changing it later and being annoyed about it all. Stupid Masters...


Underrated: Onrush [PS4] Flobknocker

Why are your line breaks so weird? Argh, it’s so distracting!

There is a really good review in here that is a lot better than its position outside the top three would suggest. The line breaks don;t help, nor does the only image being of an empty vodka bottle, but I don’t really mind the ‘driven to drink’ angle being used throughout (even if Overdrive uses it once every couple of months, so it’s not a new angle for the site…). I think all your arguments and justifications on why this game is mechanically solid and based around a good, original idea come across well, as does your rallying against the lootbox-heavy nonsense that (hopefully) gaming is starting to grow out of by now.

It’s a really strong review by someone who openly wears their love for the genre on their sleeve, and these are often my favourite kinds of reviews. But them lines breaks are all of the bad. Cut that out! Also, write more in 2020.

THIRD: Virgo Versus the Zodiac [PC] Joe

Joe’s Necroreview (written 2012; finally edited 2020) is certainly something I can relate to; the game that starts off a jumbled mess that you really feel you should give up on, but are rewarded with perseverance. It’s a very fine angle to take but it’s also very easy to overtip your hand, which I think this review suffers from. I think you spend more time talking about the things that your struggled through, and not an even amount of time redeeming it. I don’t think, by any means, that this is a massive flaw; it’s still a very strong review that both successfully recommends a quirky game and warns the player that it might be choppy sailing at the start, and I suspect we can all relate to the complaints through our own personal backlog (this game’s a sprawling mess, but will turn out awesome: Sundered. Why have they changed all the bloody names we already understand into random gibberish? Phantasy Star, etc), but the overall review felt a little complaint heavy.

This game will still probably find itself onto my wishlist due solely to this review.

SECOND: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4) Overdrive

Rob has a ramble, because of course he does, but, in this case, with very good reason. There’s a lot to talk about when it comes to Witcher III, and Rob’s going to bloody talk about as much of it as he can!

That said, the weakest part of the review is the intro, which takes a lot of time to really get going. There’s a few points where it feels you’re going to jump right in to why Witcher III is such a great game, but then you back away and drop more hype instead. Once you finally get going, there’s a lot of highlights to try and pick through. The random quest thing was a good talking point to pick on, making each discovery feel like a real threat rather than a bygone conclusion. I also really liked the idea that seemingly throw-away conversations could butterfly effect into world-changing events.

The rest of your heavy praise, ironically, feels skimmed. Almost as if you’ve been told for years to get to the bloody point and were worried about spending too many words on things. But, honestly, I get it. I wrote an Elder Scrolls: Oblivion review that was approximately ninety seven billion words long, and games of this ilk will let you ramble them forever if you let them. I won’;t blame you if you disagree, but I think you could have used less set-up and more depth.

WINNER: AngerForce Reloaded [PC] Masters

You’ve barely won this week because giving Rob back-to-back victories would kill me inside so try not to be too smug about it.

I think AngerForce is your stronger review of the week. Enemy Mind is good, but I like the game a little more than you, so your argument is invalid. Or you repeat a few points already well made while in the process of winding down. One of the two.

If I had any negatives to say about AngerForce, it’s that you spend all your time on the concept and very little on the review. Without the screens (you’re welcome) all we’d know about the game itself is that there’s angry robots and you scroll upwards. That said, the focus on how the game does beginner bullet hell right is the ideal angle to take, but it’s very much a statement you’ll need to back up, which I think you’ve done well.

The level progression is the best bit of the review. It’s a tricky subject, and you do really well to not only discuss it, but do so in a way that allows the reader to determine their interest in the game dependent on their own perceived skill ceiling. Just come off a recent run where you were so bloody close to cracking the 1 credit play on Neko Navy? Perhaps the expected grind of the easy levels might turn you away from AngerForce before it warms up to your speed. Can’t even think about Deathsmiles without bursting into tears?. This is probably the game to toughen you up.

Excellent week, all. Marc has next week whether he likes it or not; let’s give him as difficult a ride as you’ve given me.

For us. For them. For you.

Thanks for the win, Emp, and the critique/praise. It did turn out to be a tough week, didn't it? I wouldn't have known that at the time I uttered that "quote" that you referenced. I thought flob would be competing with no one if I did the topic and my reviews were deferred, is all. Anyway, I'm glad there was quality all around, even if quantity continues to be low.

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

Thanks for the comments and placement EmP and I don't disagree with your critique. Hell, you should have seen this before I submitted it, as I edited out a LOT of stuff so Jason's eyes wouldn't start bleeding from the sheer bulk of it. I think, when I have a game that actually warrants me gushing over it like a teen over his/her new crush, it's really hard for me to tone things down as far as just getting to the point. Because that "set-up" was about 2 paragraphs longer before I trimmed it down and I personally got to the stage where I didn't feel comfortable taking it down any farther, even if it comes off long to virtually everyone else in the world.

But, hey, I WILL be reviewing both expansions, so with those, I might do a better job of getting to the point.

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

Lovely thread on another tough week. Thanks for doing it in such a timely manner, and congrats to Marc on the win (and indeed, to everyone who contributed such solid writing and made EmP's choice difficult).

"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