There were 9 reviews this week, from 8 authors. Given what this site has been like this year, I think this counts as a quiet week. I started by eliminating Pickhut's Fast Food Panic review, because he's just used up the entire site's yearly quota of food puns, and Jason is not going to be happy about that!
Honourable mentions go to Pick's other review this week, an interesting piece on what Power Hover did well, and where it didn't. The video helped - I laughed when you crashed at the end. Rhody Tobin reviews the next chapter in the seemingly endless Walking Dead series. I have to confess I haven't read your previous episode reviews, and I can understand this being a critique on a story that seems to make you choose between two undesirable options, but hey, maybe that's life in the world of the walking dead. EmP writes a review for another adventure game (Is this like a contractual obligation or something?). The review is quite tongue in cheek and has some good lines, particularly the stuff about the sliding block puzzles. I had a lot of trouble deciding between this one and Nightfire for third place.
THIRD PLACE -The Black Cauldron by Nightfire
Like I said, it was a tough call between Nightfire and EmP for third place. I went back and forth a few times. What it ultimately came down to was that you really ripped this game apart, and convinced me that it was a 1 star game (and possibly a 1/10 in the old rating system?) Whereas, with EmP, I wasn't really sold on Viktor). I heard the Disney movie of the same name was also a flop. Never saw it, myself. This game sounds like the most tedious thing ever, with the slowness dragging everything down. I'm old enough to remember VGA and EGA, and although I never had a game that tried to switch resolutions, I can imagine it was really annoying. The whole thirsty/hungry thing in an adventure game like this sounds absolutely stupid.
SECOND PLACE -The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess by overdrive
Overdrive gets right at the heart of what's wrong with Twilight Princess. Personally, I really enjoyed the game, particularly the dungeons. I really like this look at what typically makes a Zelda game, where Twilight Princess works, where it doesn't, and where it doesn't quite live up to the prestige of the Zelda brand. Your descriptions of the dungeons had me nodding along, remembering them quite well (I've only played this game once through, and it was around the time of release. I bought it for the GameCube). I like how you talk about the openings of previous titles, then describe exactly what happens in this one, and then I remembered how tedious the opening couple of hours of this game were. It's one of the few times where I've seen a real retrospective piece also work quite well as a review.
REVIEW OF THE WEEK - NieR: Automata by holdthephone
Holdthephone returns with an amazing review of Nier: Automata. This sounds like a fascinating game - you really sell me on how the different types of gameplay come together, and the thought provoking story make me want to give this game a try. The intro does a great job of setting the scene, and that line about panning up the skirt that is quickly cut off is just the right amount of cheeky. The conclusion is similarly powerful, with the stuff about mankind expressing itself through our creations, meaning machines and androids, but also works of fiction like this game.
This was a tough week to choose, and I like to get these topics out quickly, but it took me a few days to work out the top 4 or 5 reviews this week, and the order I placed them in. Congratulations must go to holdthephone for coming out on top this week.
Honourable mentions go to Pick's other review this week, an interesting piece on what Power Hover did well, and where it didn't. The video helped - I laughed when you crashed at the end. Rhody Tobin reviews the next chapter in the seemingly endless Walking Dead series. I have to confess I haven't read your previous episode reviews, and I can understand this being a critique on a story that seems to make you choose between two undesirable options, but hey, maybe that's life in the world of the walking dead. EmP writes a review for another adventure game (Is this like a contractual obligation or something?). The review is quite tongue in cheek and has some good lines, particularly the stuff about the sliding block puzzles. I had a lot of trouble deciding between this one and Nightfire for third place.
THIRD PLACE -The Black Cauldron by Nightfire
Like I said, it was a tough call between Nightfire and EmP for third place. I went back and forth a few times. What it ultimately came down to was that you really ripped this game apart, and convinced me that it was a 1 star game (and possibly a 1/10 in the old rating system?) Whereas, with EmP, I wasn't really sold on Viktor). I heard the Disney movie of the same name was also a flop. Never saw it, myself. This game sounds like the most tedious thing ever, with the slowness dragging everything down. I'm old enough to remember VGA and EGA, and although I never had a game that tried to switch resolutions, I can imagine it was really annoying. The whole thirsty/hungry thing in an adventure game like this sounds absolutely stupid.
SECOND PLACE -The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess by overdrive
Overdrive gets right at the heart of what's wrong with Twilight Princess. Personally, I really enjoyed the game, particularly the dungeons. I really like this look at what typically makes a Zelda game, where Twilight Princess works, where it doesn't, and where it doesn't quite live up to the prestige of the Zelda brand. Your descriptions of the dungeons had me nodding along, remembering them quite well (I've only played this game once through, and it was around the time of release. I bought it for the GameCube). I like how you talk about the openings of previous titles, then describe exactly what happens in this one, and then I remembered how tedious the opening couple of hours of this game were. It's one of the few times where I've seen a real retrospective piece also work quite well as a review.
REVIEW OF THE WEEK - NieR: Automata by holdthephone
Holdthephone returns with an amazing review of Nier: Automata. This sounds like a fascinating game - you really sell me on how the different types of gameplay come together, and the thought provoking story make me want to give this game a try. The intro does a great job of setting the scene, and that line about panning up the skirt that is quickly cut off is just the right amount of cheeky. The conclusion is similarly powerful, with the stuff about mankind expressing itself through our creations, meaning machines and androids, but also works of fiction like this game.
This was a tough week to choose, and I like to get these topics out quickly, but it took me a few days to work out the top 4 or 5 reviews this week, and the order I placed them in. Congratulations must go to holdthephone for coming out on top this week.
I can avoid death by not having a life.
