Forums > Contributor Zone > Review of the Week - June 5 - Now with less revolution inciting!

Welcome to Review of the Week, hosted by the legendary judge and semi-retired reviewer, me! This is only the third time I've done such a topic on HonestGamers, and the first time that there's been enough reviews to make it work properly. There were 11 reviews for me to read, and despite four of them being written by EmP*, there were still plenty of excellent reviews to choose between. As always, only one review from each writer is considered for the rankings.

Even without the staff reviews to bolster numbers, this was a strong week for reader submissions. Four reviews really stood out from the pack, each one excellent in its own way, each one could easily have won a match in a Team Tournament battle, but with three slots, it was a tough choice. And then I had to bloody rank them. So then I had to go back and read them again to see who deserved the win.

If you want a more in depth critique, just say the word, and I'll go make a feedback topic for that review, or if the topic already exists, I'll go post in it. May take some time. I work full time, but I will get to it.

THIRD PLACE
God of War III - Zippdementia

Zipp provides an excellent analysis of a series that has lost what made it great with a commentary on mindless video game violence without any actual substance that could probably apply to many current games of this type. Zipp knows exactly why this game isn't as good as it should be, and it makes for a fascinating read, even if you're not a fan of the series, or even a fan of the genre (which I am not). For a 7/10 review, the tone was fairly negative, though there were some great parts of the game. It seems understandable, since the first game is apparently a lot better.

SECOND PLACE
Alan Wake - Suskie

Alan Wake is a game I'm interested in playing, so I'm glad that Suskie reviewed it. I like how the emphasis is on the story and style of the game, discussing things like the pacing, because for a game which is supposedly about story telling, this is good to know. This game seems like an easy one to review, with all the interesting things to talk about. I like the idea of the game not throwing constant action at you with those quiet parts. Sounds tense. Thanks, Suskie. I'll probably end up playing this when I get some free time. You get runner up for convincing me to buy a game I was already interested in, but making me feel better about it because I have seen a few less favourable reviews. But yours is better.

REVIEW OF THE WEEK
Legend of Dragoon - Wolfqueen

I've played Legend of Dragoon, and I thought it was okay, but not great. I don't know if Wolfqueen has managed to sway my opinion, but this review does make me want to go back and give it a go. I got stuck somewhere early on disc 4 and just gave up, which is a shame since it took so long to get there and I wasn't able to finish it. I don't remember the story and characters being as great and emotional and stuff like Wolfqueen claims, but it is very persuasive writing. If this review's purpose was to make me want to go back and play it, even though I know what the game is like, then it's achieved it. Also, Wolfqueen, try the Shadow Hearts games for RPGs that also make you press buttons to execute attacks properly. This one gets the win for being surprisingly persuasive. Going into this review, I wasn't expecting my opinion to change. LoD has always been a solid 7/10 for me.

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Venter's 3D Dot Game Heroes was also an enjoyable read, and probably only missed out due to some Ocarina of Time bashing. >_> Nah, pretty tight competition, and this order could probably change if I read all the reviews again, because they're all so close. Excellent writing all round, each writer with their own unique voice, and all doing a great job of representing the site to a casual visitor who looks at the reviews on the front page.

* I kid, EmP. But your lack of proof reading hurts you. But your Wings of Prey review came 5th, as I felt that was the strongest of your reviews this week.

___________

Also, I went to a lot of trouble to post this. For some reason on my crappy internet, honestgamers.com only works about half the time. I know it's my ISP and not a problem on HG's end, since I can still get to it on my phone's internet... and I'm currently posting this through a proxy server. It was working fine earlier this evening - but I do know about the problem which is why I saved all the reviews to my hard drive. And then, just now... just AFTER I go to the trouble to find a proxy server that works, my Internet starts loading the site properly again. fmylife.

I can avoid death by not having a life.

Thanks, jerec! To be honest, I wasn't really expecting anything with this review, so I've been quite surprised with the feedback so far. Granted, it's only from two people now, including yourself, but nevertheless, it's encouraging to see that you actually thought it was worth something, let alone giving it the win.

If I ever get around to trying Shadow Hearts, I probably will, though that could be a while.

Anyway, congrats to Suskie and Zipp for their placements. I genuinely thought one of them (or someone else) would take it this week.

[Eating EmP's brain] probably isn't a good idea. I mean... He's British, which means his brain's wired for PAL and your eyes are NTSC. - Will

Thanks a lot for handling this week, Jerec, and for the mention. Congrats to WolfQueen for her well-deserved victory!

You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it.

Venter snubber!

Thanks for doing the week, though, despite the computer issues. :-D

"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

I didn't fully read any of these reviews. :( But I will now!

I need to stop coming in RotWs saying that...

Congrats to Wolfqueen!

I head spaceshit noises.

I'm glad to have placed with my first eligible review in a long time! I'm honored to have placed alongside Suskie, who is ALWAYS placing. And I'm pleased to see WQ win so decisively! That particularly warms my heart, because I know she was having trouble and wasn't feeling like her writing was any good.

Let this be a lesson to you! Believe in yourself!

Note to gamers: when someone shoots you in the face, they aren't "gay." They are "psychopathic."