Forums > Contributor Zone > Review of the Week January 24 - 30: Unfashionably late but finally here

This week's slate of reviews includes three from JoeTheDestroyer, who has a couple of reviews carrying over since they were ineligible the previous week. You know, because he was the one assembling that week's topic. This means there are three unique participants this week, all earning themselves a podium finish.

I'll start with the two reviews from Joe that didn't impress me quite as the one that actually wound up placing:

Florence (Switch) by JoeTheDestroyer

I found this an effective and sometimes insightful review, despite the occasional rough spot and some repeated words. For whatever reason, "title" really stuck out a lot as I read, which makes sense given how useful it is. I think it was really just the concentration that had that effect. I liked the discussion of how the game's design imitates life, while keeping enough mystery in place that someone who reads the review might still want to review the game if they like what they read.

3DRPG (PC) by JoeTheDestroyer

This review made me want to play the game (helped along by the screenshots) even though I accept that it must be thoroughly mediocre as you say. I do like zoning out while playing the occasional RPG, so I might have fun in spite of myself. I do recommend taking a look, however, at your sentence that starts thusly: "Honestly, I earned all of the meals I would every need by shooting..." I'll bet you can see the issue. Anyway, sweet review!

And now, here are the week's top three reviews:

Third Place: NFL Quarterback Club (32X) by EmP

Is the tagline really supposed to be "[Quater]Lacking" or is there a missing second "R" within the brackets? Also, I loved this sentence that reveals we both play football games pretty much exactly the same way: "For example, it has a playbook containing over 400 plays which I might be more excited by if the extent of my tactical prowess in this sport didn’t come down to trying the running plays in a random order and then subscribing hard to the first one to bring me any success." Your point about how little it upgrades versus the 16-bit original is interesting, but you don't really dive into that sufficiently to give it teeth. That's unusual for you, and in this case it led to a review that felt ever so slightly rushed. I can't say that I blame you, given the subject matter, but you almost did a really compelling job here and then it felt like you settled for proficient. Which is more than I would have managed, so I'll shut up now...

Runner Up: Dungeon Explorer (TurboGrafx-16) by overdrive

This sentence needs a change from "allowed my" to "allowed me" to work: "Picking one of the stronger characters, my two spells allowed my to temporarily boost either my attack or defense." The next sentence after that is also a bit much to read, so you might want to look at smoothing it out a bit with some slight revision. As for the review overall, I thought you did a good job of describing a bland game that people won't have much reason to play today (beyond possible interest in the roots of the genre). I've always wanted to play Dungeon Explorer, but I don't think I've ever spent more than a couple of minutes with it because it is so aggressively dull. Your text hasn't provided any reason for me to give it another shot. Thanks for the insightful critique!

Review of the Week: Chasm (Switch) by JoeTheDestroyer

I thought your main point referenced at the beginning and the end of your review made for an effective framework, while the middle did a good job of letting me know why Chasm might be worth a look if I'm not sick to death of procedurally generated content or the Metroidvania genre. I still can tolerate them both, so I might want to check out this game (and indeed, I already own it). One sentence has an extra word, however: "Most of all, though, you can have to know when to strike without leaving yourself open." If you eliminate "can," you'll fix it. I liked this review the most of the three of yours I read this week, if only just barely. Honestly, the tagline is probably what put it over the edge more than anything. RotW is yours!

Sorry for running a bit behind on this topic. This year has really been kicking my butt. I always enjoy reading great reviews, though, and there certainly was no shortage of those. Deciding how to rank everything proved delightfully difficult, but I love the challenge. Thanks for your continued contributions, everyone, and I look forward to seeing you the next time around!

"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

Woohoo! Thank you! I'll fix the 3DRPG error, too. I didn't notice that...

The only thing my milkshake brings to the yard is a subpoena.