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Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: June 14 to June 20, 2021 -- Of factions and factions and factions.

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Author: honestgamer
Posted: June 21, 2021 (12:03 PM)
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It's already my turn for one of these topics again? I guess the old saying is true: time flies when you're having fun. Or when you're miserable, too. Time just goes faster in general the older I get. But this is not a post about existential angst. This is a post about three great reviews we saw posted to the site this week, and the order in which I would rank them based on my current whims and fancy. On with the fun!

Third Place: Fallout 4: Nuka-World (PC) by Brian

I've not played any of the Fallout games yet, but I can appreciate that this is an in-depth review written by someone who clearly has. There are a lot of references to names and past games and expansions, and comparisons and so forth, and they fly over my head due to my lack of experience with them. I am not the target audience for this review, and so it comes across as a lot of minor complaints mixed with praise, where the most obvious and damning point seems to be that it feels too much like a game designed by the same people who designed the other expansions. For the very specific audience for which this text was penned, I think it will be extremely useful. Clearly, no one would be starting their Fallout experience with this game anyway. They would most likely read this review with the requisite knowledge that makes it more useful to them. So I consider it good work.

Runner Up: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (PlayStation 4) by overdrive

I feel like the length of time this review took to move past its opening point--that you like games with an action-oriented approach and don't especially enjoy sneaking--worked to its detriment. Because while the point is easy to appreciate (I'm mostly the same sort of player), I thought you lingered a little longer before moving to what felt more like the meat of your analysis. Your point about the nemesis system and your efforts to defeat Barfa Giggles quickly restored my interest, while doing an excellent job of showing how this is a game one plays for the gameplay rather than the plot. On a side note, you probably ought to check the sentence that begins: "You might thing that fighting your nemesis..." I think you mean "think" there. In any event, I got to the end of your review kind of wanting to play the game, and definitely with the sense that your 4-star rating was appropriate and suited your critique. Good stuff!

Review of the Week: Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PC) by EmP

This review does well to make the most of its subject matter, which is a Yakuza game. I love those things! I need to go back and play more of them, now that they've been reworked. My first experience with the series came when I played the first installment on PS2, as an import before it was announced for the US. I liked it a lot without understanding anything beyond the obvious, and my experience has only improved from there. This sounds like perhaps the ultimate Yakuza of the old, action/brawler type, and now the series has ventured in--and seems committed to--the turn-based style. Which I also find intriguing, so I need to hurry up and play that one also. Anyway, I don't have a lot more to say about this review except that I liked it enough to make it my favorite of the week. You did a great job of reminding me why the Yakuza games are one of the best things the industry has going for it right now, and making me itch to dive back into that world. Excellent work!

Thanks for your contributions, each of you, and I'm excited to see what submissions this coming week has in store. I've noticed that the volume of game reviews across the Internet continues to plummet, even at outlets where they used to be as common as ants at a picnic, so it's lovely to still be able to come to HonestGamers and find a selection of new ones each week. Keep 'em coming!


"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: EmP (Mod)
Posted: June 22, 2021 (02:09 PM)
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Appreciate the nod. If I ever manage to get back to the backlog, I'm looking forward to Yakuza 3.

Grats to Brian and Rob. I played a few hours of Mordor and I had a lot more fun with it than I did Creed, so it felt like a winner to me.


For us. For them. For you.

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: June 23, 2021 (12:16 PM)
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Thanks for the comments and placement. Correction made. I've noticed that when I type, think/thing is a really common mistake I make for some reason. No idea why, but it does happen more than I'd like!


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: June 23, 2021 (04:28 PM)
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I have a few typing afflictions like that myself, so I definitely get it.


"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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