Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: Dec. 21-27, 2020: I finish my 2020 RotWs in 2021

Got through the holiday season pretty okay-like, so it's time to do my last RotW of 2020. In 2021!

First, my thanks for the placements I received from Marc and Joe, as they got caught up with the remaining ones. Even got one more win, which is great since I've turned into the guy who gets 2nd or 3rd nearly every time, but can't break through to being tops.

As for reviewing, this was a more productive year than any I've had for some time. My only regret was that I missed the 30-review mark by one. Because I couldn't get Bloodborne finished in time because I just had no focus to take the time for writing anything beyond what I had to do for work. But you know, new year, new me…or whatever. At least I'm getting this done!

Three reviews, everyone places, I was saved from having to remember an EmP holdover by one day; read on to find out who gets what!

THIRD PLACE

EmP's X-Out (Amiga)

For only having three reviews, this turned out to be a tough week because all three of them were really good, making me have to read them more than once to even hope to put them in any sort of order. Overall, this is a very good review. You point out the influence R-Type had on the genre and then go into a detailed description of this game, showing how it took its inspiration and then took it in new ways to create a title that wears its influence proudly, but isn't happy to merely be derivative. If I were to give a reasoning why this review fell a bit below the other two, I'd say it was because it was so detailed that, if you haven't played the game, there's no need to, as you've described every stage and the majority of the bosses. In a way, this worked, as it gave you examples for how those changes from the R-Type formula were implemented and how they worked to keep your interest. In another way, I have to admit I did have a bit of "reading fatigue" as I progressed through a couple large paragraphs and found I was only getting to stages five and six. Wait…after all the Rambling Rob comments about my reviews, you decided to give me a piece of my own medicine, didn't you?!?? Clever, just like your review. But this week is one of those all-star weeks where I gotta grasp for flaws to find a way to justify my ordering.

SECOND PLACE

Jason's Super Meat Boy (Xbox 360)

Look at you! In the older days of this site, there was this running joke about your struggles with an early-game Devil May Cry boss (Phantom, if memory serves) and now you're here getting into the "super-tough-platformer" sub-genre. I'll have to check what my ranking is after a year or three of not playing it and compare with you, if I can remember. I'd gotten pretty good, but could have done better if not for my "going gets tough, I say 'tough' and remember that I'm trying to get through my backlog and not let it collect dust" mentality. Anyway…I liked your anecdote intro to the review and then you did a really good job of describing the game. Believe me, I got the "shoot yourself with a BB gun" comparison. Even if it was my right thumb that felt like it'd be shot. Overall, I liked your descriptions, where you mentioned the saws (and other obstacles), I could relate to your 50+ tries for one boss (world 3 from the description…it's amazing how much more difficult a tough sprint can get if you're running along with a differently-colored variation of your character) and got a nice "down memory lane" nostalgia time from reading this.

REVIEW OF THE WEEK (aka: Overdrive Place)

Pickhut's Panzer Dragoon: Remake (PlayStation 4)

Like I said, it was super-tough to pick places this week. You came out on top because you really nailed the whole "voice of authority" thing. It was really obvious that you have a lot of knowledge of the Panzer Dragoon series, which probably isn't super-common since it derived from one of Sega's overall less-purchased systems. And you did a great job of comparing the remake to the original to point out improvements and additions. While also tackling things like its brevity and overall lack of difficulty to create what feels like a truly definitive review for this game. It talks about new and old and puts them together really nicely so that a guy like me, who has spent zero minutes with this series, feels like he knows a lot about at least this game right now.


And, yes, you waited nearly a month for this. Hopefully my next week, which is probably this one for all I know, won't be as late. NO PROMISES!!!!

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

Heh heh. I wouldn't say I'm "getting into" the super tough platformer genre. It's not something I generally enjoy, but I was in the mood to finally try Meat Boy and it wound up getting its hooks in me enough that I persevered. With Phantom (you do remember correctly), every attempt to fight and win against him was a long way from a checkpoint, so it was just a lot of backtracking for each ill-fated attempt and I had better things to do with my time. I did finally beat him, to end the constant ribbing, and made it a few stages deeper into the game before it lost my interest again. Back then--and now too--I didn't (and don't) see the point in grinding too much with a game beyond the point where I realize I'm no longer having fun. Anyway, thanks for the comments and I'm glad my review could take you down memory lane. It's a great place to visit sometimes!

"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

Thanks for the RotW!

I also had a review mark I was attempting to reach, though mine was at 20, and I barely made it with my last review in December. I don't think I'll set a mark for 2021; I'll just go with the flow this time. Had a couple of games I really wanted to review before year's end, and only had time for the one, so I made it be for a remake of a game I had experience with, Panzer Dragoon. Glad you liked the review and understood how it played. Hilariously, the one thing that still bugs me about the review is the Ice Cube gag at the start, because I have this lingering feeling I used it before. But oh well...

Thanks also to Venter and EmP for helping to close out one of the last RotWs with solid reviews!

I head spaceshit noises.

I was talking to Marc about shooters not long ago, and we commented then that we still tend to review shooters in a very different way than any other type of game. We blamed 2004. I'm okay standing by this. It did knock off X, which is a bastard of a letter now I've run out of X-Com games to write about.

It was a long as hell review, so good job getting through it! Props to Jason for his impromptu Meat Boy review, and Hut for breaking my heart because, against all evidence and reality, I genuinely hoped the Panzer remake would be a worldbeater and would trigger the rest of the series getting redone. Alas.

For us. For them. For you.