Each week, alone in the pitiless expanses of the internet, a truly remarkable journey takes place. Reviews from far and wide abandon the security of their originating hard drives and make the long ~100 millisecond journey to be uploaded to HonestGamers' servers. In single file, they march against the scrutinizing eye of HG's moderators and subsequently endure the gale force winds of the readers' criticism. Nevertheless, they are resolute and indomitable, driven by the overpowering urge for exposure and publication.
This is the March of the Reviews.
Third place: Joe's Risen 3: Titan Lords review (PC)
Pirates and high fantasy? Outrageous! I knew nothing about this series going into this review, but I didn't need to. Joe expertly describes what this game's themes are, how it works, and where its faults and strengths lie. There are enough references to the previous titles to cater to those who are familiar with the series while remaining accessible to those who are brand new to it. Overall, I felt it that it was a very balanced and enjoyable read.
However, I did feel like it lost some steam partway. While the first three or four paragraphs felt focused and had great flow to them, I felt like the review eventually turned into list of gripes and praises. That's not inherently a bad thing; that can be a solid structure to fall back on, and sometimes it's unavoidable (I've written plenty of reviews that fall into this pattern, too) but this review just didn't have the same punch that the winners had. Under different circumstances it could have easily taken first place.
Also, the tiny gripes that I keep throwing around about technical issues must be catching up to everyone. I didn't find any problems on that front here. Great work overall!
Second place: Zachary Walton's NieR: Automata review (PS4)
Deciding between this review and Jason's Breath of the Wild review was a tough choice. Both are expertly written praise pieces that urge us to get off our ass and buy the product while providing us with a myriad of good reasons as to why we should. Some of the stuff that I said to Jason (below) in terms of tone applies to this review as well, but Jason's review simply felt a little more tightly written overall. It was a tight race this week, as it often is nowadays. C'est la vie.
However, this is still an excellent piece. Mr. Walton provides us with a thorough overview of what to expect from this game without spoiling too much. I felt like he told us everything we needed to know and nothing that we didn't. I appreciated that.
Overall, there isn't much to criticize here. There are virtually no technical problems. I could mention that the first paragraph, featuring a brief Story About Me™, was a bit of an awkward start, but it nevertheless provided some useful context about how this title surpassed Mr. Walton's high expectations despite the "life-changing" experience that he had with the previous title. Thus, that's somewhat forgivable. Good job!
First place: Jason's Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild review (Switch)
Adults tend to be very critical of things. Whether it's movies, music, video games... You name it, they're critical of it. Hell, criticism is what we're all engaged with here on the site. Children also know a bad game when they see it, but they are far easier to please, as their brains have far more fluid imaginations. In this sense, it's nice to see that Breath of the Wild has touched Jason in that profound way, the way that brings back all those fuzzy feelings of wonder and imagination that we got when we played video games as a kid. There's something special about that.
If there's any criticism to be had here, it's that his review feels like it may have been cut a little short. However, I also got the sense that he took great care to not spoil too much for us. In fact, he seemed to leave a wide open, tantalizing space in our minds to encourage us to go and discover the game for ourselves, which I deeply appreciated.
Also, if a guy like him - who has likely seen it all, video game-wise - is heaping this level of praise, that gives me pause. It makes me want to get my hands on this game as soon as possible. Alas, I do not own a console, but it is almost enough to make me want to change that fact. He has applied some persuasive tone here with good effect.
Beyond that, this review is basically flawless on a technical level. He hit the nail the most squarely on the head this week, and that makes him the clear winner. If he felt so inclined, he could go and raid his own stash of prizes. Nobody would stop him. Nor should they.
That's it for me. Tune in next week to see another exhausted judge pore through 10+ reviews and make arbitrary decisions about which is best.
Honourable mentions for the week: Emp's excellent Loot Rascals review, Zydrate's exhaustive retrospective on the Mass Effect Trilogy, and Jerec's competent analysis of Doctor Who: Legacy. Great stuff all around.
This is the March of the Reviews.
Third place: Joe's Risen 3: Titan Lords review (PC)
Pirates and high fantasy? Outrageous! I knew nothing about this series going into this review, but I didn't need to. Joe expertly describes what this game's themes are, how it works, and where its faults and strengths lie. There are enough references to the previous titles to cater to those who are familiar with the series while remaining accessible to those who are brand new to it. Overall, I felt it that it was a very balanced and enjoyable read.
However, I did feel like it lost some steam partway. While the first three or four paragraphs felt focused and had great flow to them, I felt like the review eventually turned into list of gripes and praises. That's not inherently a bad thing; that can be a solid structure to fall back on, and sometimes it's unavoidable (I've written plenty of reviews that fall into this pattern, too) but this review just didn't have the same punch that the winners had. Under different circumstances it could have easily taken first place.
Also, the tiny gripes that I keep throwing around about technical issues must be catching up to everyone. I didn't find any problems on that front here. Great work overall!
Second place: Zachary Walton's NieR: Automata review (PS4)
Deciding between this review and Jason's Breath of the Wild review was a tough choice. Both are expertly written praise pieces that urge us to get off our ass and buy the product while providing us with a myriad of good reasons as to why we should. Some of the stuff that I said to Jason (below) in terms of tone applies to this review as well, but Jason's review simply felt a little more tightly written overall. It was a tight race this week, as it often is nowadays. C'est la vie.
However, this is still an excellent piece. Mr. Walton provides us with a thorough overview of what to expect from this game without spoiling too much. I felt like he told us everything we needed to know and nothing that we didn't. I appreciated that.
Overall, there isn't much to criticize here. There are virtually no technical problems. I could mention that the first paragraph, featuring a brief Story About Me™, was a bit of an awkward start, but it nevertheless provided some useful context about how this title surpassed Mr. Walton's high expectations despite the "life-changing" experience that he had with the previous title. Thus, that's somewhat forgivable. Good job!
First place: Jason's Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild review (Switch)
Adults tend to be very critical of things. Whether it's movies, music, video games... You name it, they're critical of it. Hell, criticism is what we're all engaged with here on the site. Children also know a bad game when they see it, but they are far easier to please, as their brains have far more fluid imaginations. In this sense, it's nice to see that Breath of the Wild has touched Jason in that profound way, the way that brings back all those fuzzy feelings of wonder and imagination that we got when we played video games as a kid. There's something special about that.
If there's any criticism to be had here, it's that his review feels like it may have been cut a little short. However, I also got the sense that he took great care to not spoil too much for us. In fact, he seemed to leave a wide open, tantalizing space in our minds to encourage us to go and discover the game for ourselves, which I deeply appreciated.
Also, if a guy like him - who has likely seen it all, video game-wise - is heaping this level of praise, that gives me pause. It makes me want to get my hands on this game as soon as possible. Alas, I do not own a console, but it is almost enough to make me want to change that fact. He has applied some persuasive tone here with good effect.
Beyond that, this review is basically flawless on a technical level. He hit the nail the most squarely on the head this week, and that makes him the clear winner. If he felt so inclined, he could go and raid his own stash of prizes. Nobody would stop him. Nor should they.
That's it for me. Tune in next week to see another exhausted judge pore through 10+ reviews and make arbitrary decisions about which is best.
Honourable mentions for the week: Emp's excellent Loot Rascals review, Zydrate's exhaustive retrospective on the Mass Effect Trilogy, and Jerec's competent analysis of Doctor Who: Legacy. Great stuff all around.
