Behold! It is I, HG's resident dragon! I have descended from yonder hill in order to mercilessly curate Review of the Week. Once a month henceforth, I shall deem a select few worthy whilst dealing fiery judgement upon all those unfortunate souls who -
Oh, wait, there's only three of you.
Well then. I guess you all make the running. Props to all of you!
Third place: silversuriv's The Uncertain: Episode 1 - The Last Quiet Day review (PC)
silversuriv has bombarded the site with strong reviews of late, mostly of the praise variety, and this review is no exception. It is a well-written piece that provides precise descriptions about this game's mechanics and story without giving too much away. He successfully managed to make me intrigued about this game, even though I rarely play point n' click adventure games anymore.
I have only two criticisms to note. The first relates to his mentioning of the Turing Test. While this may seem like a good way to launch a review about a game featuring a society of robots, the Turing Test actually becomes irrelevant in a situation where humanity does not exist, and that is apparently exactly what this game is about. If there is any point within the game where the Turing Test does became relevant, it was not described within the article, so that point just kinda hung there as a loose thread.
Secondly, unlike some people, I actually dislike the inclusion of videos in written reviews. I feel that they break up the pacing of the read, almost as if to state: "Hey, look at this video! It can show you what I'm talking about better than I can!" I will admit that I did skim through it to get a better idea of what this game is about, but I wasn't about to stop my read in order to absorb thirty minutes of footage.
Second place: hastypixels' Audiosurf review (PC)
hastypixels submitted three reviews in one day, which is impressive output, but only one can make it into the running. I felt that his Audiosurf review was the strongest of the bunch. It is a concise, informative piece that accurately describes what this game is about and what its shortcomings are. I appreciated how it got right to the point without dragging on.
It makes a lot of comparisons to Audiosurf 2, but as a retrospective review this is appropriate. Anyone who has never heard of the Audiosurf titles would be well-served by reading this review to decide whether to drop their money on the first or second game.
It's clear that he has a chip on his shoulder about DLC, though. He mentions how Audiosurf is DLC-free three times in his article, and I'm not sure how relevant that is in a review about a game that has none. It might've been sufficient to mention this once and be done with it, as not everybody out there has a problem with DLC when it is done right.
Regardless, I could find little else to pick apart about this review; it is a solid and enjoyable read overall.
First place: EmP's The Technomancer review (PC)
It can be difficult to form a strong opinion about a game that is "just okay". The Technomancer doesn't sound great, but it doesn't sound terrible either, and sometimes with games like these all you can do is describe exactly what it is and then give a decided shrug. EmP does exactly this while managing to entertain us with a recount of his frustrations with the early game and how silly some of the world-building is. He made me chuckle at several points while reading his review and I must give him credit for this; it is far easier to make a humorous review about a game that is really bad than one that is just so-so.
Beyond this, his review flows nicely, it doesn't bog us down in too many details, and it gives us a complete picture of what we can expect if we are to pick up this title. I can't really find anything to pick apart here, and for that reason, he is the clear winner this week. Hats off to you, sir!
Oh, wait, there's only three of you.
Well then. I guess you all make the running. Props to all of you!
Third place: silversuriv's The Uncertain: Episode 1 - The Last Quiet Day review (PC)
silversuriv has bombarded the site with strong reviews of late, mostly of the praise variety, and this review is no exception. It is a well-written piece that provides precise descriptions about this game's mechanics and story without giving too much away. He successfully managed to make me intrigued about this game, even though I rarely play point n' click adventure games anymore.
I have only two criticisms to note. The first relates to his mentioning of the Turing Test. While this may seem like a good way to launch a review about a game featuring a society of robots, the Turing Test actually becomes irrelevant in a situation where humanity does not exist, and that is apparently exactly what this game is about. If there is any point within the game where the Turing Test does became relevant, it was not described within the article, so that point just kinda hung there as a loose thread.
Secondly, unlike some people, I actually dislike the inclusion of videos in written reviews. I feel that they break up the pacing of the read, almost as if to state: "Hey, look at this video! It can show you what I'm talking about better than I can!" I will admit that I did skim through it to get a better idea of what this game is about, but I wasn't about to stop my read in order to absorb thirty minutes of footage.
Second place: hastypixels' Audiosurf review (PC)
hastypixels submitted three reviews in one day, which is impressive output, but only one can make it into the running. I felt that his Audiosurf review was the strongest of the bunch. It is a concise, informative piece that accurately describes what this game is about and what its shortcomings are. I appreciated how it got right to the point without dragging on.
It makes a lot of comparisons to Audiosurf 2, but as a retrospective review this is appropriate. Anyone who has never heard of the Audiosurf titles would be well-served by reading this review to decide whether to drop their money on the first or second game.
It's clear that he has a chip on his shoulder about DLC, though. He mentions how Audiosurf is DLC-free three times in his article, and I'm not sure how relevant that is in a review about a game that has none. It might've been sufficient to mention this once and be done with it, as not everybody out there has a problem with DLC when it is done right.
Regardless, I could find little else to pick apart about this review; it is a solid and enjoyable read overall.
First place: EmP's The Technomancer review (PC)
It can be difficult to form a strong opinion about a game that is "just okay". The Technomancer doesn't sound great, but it doesn't sound terrible either, and sometimes with games like these all you can do is describe exactly what it is and then give a decided shrug. EmP does exactly this while managing to entertain us with a recount of his frustrations with the early game and how silly some of the world-building is. He made me chuckle at several points while reading his review and I must give him credit for this; it is far easier to make a humorous review about a game that is really bad than one that is just so-so.
Beyond this, his review flows nicely, it doesn't bog us down in too many details, and it gives us a complete picture of what we can expect if we are to pick up this title. I can't really find anything to pick apart here, and for that reason, he is the clear winner this week. Hats off to you, sir!
