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Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: March 15-21, 2021 -- Cranked out between bursts of real-life work

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: March 26, 2021 (11:27 AM)
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So, it's the spring fever time when I have all sorts of things going, making it hard to even find time to read and comment on three reviews. At least it seems Jason is the only one doing anything right now, with him having the previous three reviews that've been written, one of which is guaranteed a place today! Oh well, least that means I'm not the only one either slacking or, in my case, overburdened by work. And I should be back on "productive mode" next week, at least in theory, since I'm wrapping up my big project while also working on this.

Movies in Brief:

Blood and Black Lace -- fairly awesome 1960s Italian giallo. For the uncultured, this was a sort of movie that basically bridged the gap between old-school detective movies and the slashers that got popular in the 1980s. You have cops and they're working to solve a murder mystery in which everyone's a suspect, but the focus is less on them (and, while they're competent, they don't know enough information to really solve anything) and more on people getting stalked and killed by the murderer(s). And when you find out who the guilty one(s) is/are, it gets a bit more psychological with back-stabbings and such. A really fun movie where you can almost watch a genre get born in front of your eyes.

Prison -- A more bog-standard film about a ghost killing inmates and guards at a prison. Mainly notable for being an early role for Viggo Mortensen. Trim about 10 minutes off it and it'd be at least solid. And maybe get an actress with more, I guess, authority to play the woman in charge of overseeing the corrupt "hardcore punishment is the ONLY punishment" warden. Playing off against him, she came off as a whiny teen wondering why dad isn't giving her the keys to his car.

The House on Sorority Road -- Speaking of slashers, here's a really good early-80s one. Did a lot of the little things right and just had a fun vibe through it. A "prank" goes wrong and graduating sorority sisters kill their tyrant of a house mother shortly before their big exit party. And then have to act like nothing's wrong during said party, so as not to arouse suspicions. Which gets difficult when someone starts killing them. Fun stuff!

THIRD PLACE

Brian's Spirits of Xanadu (PC)

I think, of all the reviews by you that I've judged, that I enjoyed this one the most as a pure review. You handle a good comparison to a known commodity to give me an idea of what things are about here and spend a good amount of time talking about game stuff like combat and puzzles, so I could definitely understand what this thing was all about. Since the general lack of that stuff has been my main criticism in the past, I'm gonna praise you for making that stuff a focal point in this one. Not sure I'm on board with the "the lack of an actual ending is GOOD!" thought, but I do appreciate the point you were making about how it's nice to scour the ship to find logs and stuff giving hints and pieces of the game's story, as opposed to Bill the Scientist popping up late in the game to painstakingly explain every last bit of the plot. If I were to single out any reason why, in a week of three strong reviews, this was third, it's how there are a few areas that read awkwardly. To give one example: "and it’s this element that truly does shine Spirits of Xanadu as a mature way to convey its simple narrative." After reading it a time or three, I know exactly what you're saying, but it could be phrased in a more straight-forward manner, like "and it's this element that truly allows Spirits of Xanadu to convey it simple narrative in a mature way".

SECOND PLACE

Jason's Super Mario Bros. 35 (Switch)

This was a neat review for a title that, weirdly, is only available to play for a really brief period of time. I mean, I get that big battle royal games likely tend to have limited shelf lives and you don't want them around when it's tough to fill 10 of the 35 spots, but only allowing it to exist for a really short time just seems strange. But whatever, I dug this review. I especially agreed with your statement on the need for more levels. If this is just SMB levels, well, there were a fair number of those in the original game that were essentially prior levels, just with new enemy placements and added difficulty. So, having those in a game where the main hook is that enemies will be determined by what your opponents have sent you could get old after a while. But you made this seem like an interesting game that, as far as battle royale games go, would be far more up my alley than Fortnite or whatever the kids are playing now.

REVIEW OF THE WEEK (aka: Overdrive Place)

Pickhuts's Infinite: Beyond the Mind (PS4)

First, I was really happy when I started this review because when I saw the title, I was thinking another one of those Beyond Two Minds or whatever its called games I'd have to read a review of, so I was in pure "THANKS, EMP!!!!…why does this always happen in my weeks…" mode. And then I found it was for a retro-themed modern game. Funny, during one of EmP's RotWs, he was critiquing one of my reviews and commented on how it's cool that one of us occasionally throws out a retro review due to how that used to be a foundation of this site. Now, I think we could make the statement that modern takes on those retro games are what makes this site run. And this is a great example of this. You do a great job of breaking down what the inspirations are and how things work. And, when it comes to why you won, that's simple: I LOVED the part where you talked about the sixth stage and how it was just like any other stage, but more difficult. Because the programmers added an extra enemy to fights in tricky locations. Really pounded home the importance of enemy placement in a really great way So, it was really cool reading that in one of those "light bulb flashes on in brain" sorts of ways. Don't know if it's a left/right brain thing, but I guess I've always noticed it in the visceral, in the moment way; but you perfectly tackled it from an analytical perspective.


March Madness is a state of mind and I embrace it. For the other 11 months, too, but especially this one!


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

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Author: honestgamer
Posted: March 26, 2021 (01:18 PM)
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Thanks for the topic despite your current busy state, overdrive! Congratulations also to my secret nemesis, pickhut, who wins these things more often than not and totally doesn't have a target painted on his back now using invisible ink that I bought from a shady vendor in a dark back alley. Oh no, have I said too much?


"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

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Author: dementedhut
Posted: March 26, 2021 (05:11 PM)
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Thanks for the RotW! Honestly wasn't expecting that, so very much appreciate that. Glad you took to that specific paragraph because, this might be surprising, that wasn't in the original "finished" draft of the review. Originally, the fourth paragraph was a list of issues and flaws, but after going over it again, the "complaints" felt so trivial that I completely removed it. I replaced it with what you see now, something more in tune with the flow of the game and the review.

I actually own Blood and Black Lace on Blu-ray, so I completely get what you mean with those descriptions. Now that I think about it, I can't remember how I came across that movie in the first place. I was reading up on something, maybe about a director or a genre, and that's how it came to my attention. Sounded interesting, got it, watched it, and yup, certainly an interesting film.


I head spaceshit noises.

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: March 26, 2021 (10:07 PM)
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Yeah, that was the second Bava giallo that'd I've seen. A few years back, I watched Bay of Blood/Twitch of the Death Nerve and that one was also a trip. Nearly everyone was a murderer at some point and there was this 15-20 minute period that was almost completely divorced from the main plot for a killer to dispatch four college-agers in ways that were totally swiped for use in Friday the 13th 2. Well, two of the three scenes were.


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

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Author: dementedhut
Posted: March 26, 2021 (11:29 PM)
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Ha, yeah. When I watched Bay of Blood for the first time, I was thinking, "Oh. Oh, Friday the 13th definitely took from this film."


I head spaceshit noises.

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: March 27, 2021 (08:55 AM)
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And if Friday the 13th 4 had ended with Corey Feldman leaving Jason's body to abruptly kill his sister and then just walk off, Bay of Blood would have directly influenced TWO movies in the series!


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

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