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Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: March 7-13, 2022 -- No one's ever gonna be able to criticize me for running late again!

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: March 15, 2022 (12:45 PM)
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I have a ton of work I need to get done and am lacking in time, but to provide a good example for all the site slackers, I'm pushing out this RotW in a timely manner. Yeah, I wouldn't have put money on me being THE RELIABLE ONE, but apparently EmP's wrist issues he was talking about when he did the most recent one that he completed worsened to the point where he gnawed through it and no longer can type due to lacking a hand AND apparently Jason's switch from site owner to fiction writer was such a wild success that he forgot about the common man from his new ivory tower locale.

But never fear! You still have me, your new role model and shining light, as least as far as going through the three reviews we have up for this week's judging.

THIRD PLACE

Tailz's Mother 3. (Game Boy Advance)

Been a while since I've seen a standard sectioned review, but this is a pretty good one as many of the sections do flow together pretty nicely -- in particular, the more robust ones like the introduction, plot, gameplay and fun factor. You were a bit more positive towards this game than I was, but you did a good job making points and backing up your thoughts and this is a pretty comprehensive review that explains or at least brings up a large number of things in this game, including those little story-telling moments such as Lucas' brush with suicidal thoughts. I'd say that overall, I dug this review. It's a bit different that what I usually read, but that doesn't mean it's not well-written.

SECOND PLACE

dementedhut's Hang On & Astro Warrior (Sega Master System)

I loved how this one ended with the fun jab at Sega and its inability to simply do things right with consistency. Yeah, releasing a pair of bare-bones arcade-style games on one cartridge is a pretty good idea that gives consumers more bang for their buck. Following that up by releasing them separately is just so unnecessary, especially considering, as you worked to point out, both of these games are adequate, but nothing special in the grand scheme of things. The bulk of your review points that out in fine fashion, as you describe the basics, as well as how short and non-complicated they are. It also came to me that it's good for reviewing that both games are packed together, as I'd have to think a person would start struggling to find more words after a handful of paragraphs. With this game, you can simply segue from one game to the next and wind up with a normal-length review!


REVIEW OF THE WEEK (aka: Overdrive Place)

Joe's Ring King (NES)

This is the awkward moment where I find good stuff to say about your review in an attempt to fool all the rubes into thinking I gave you first place for reasons other than the picture and commentary on your fighter regaining health via oral sex. Because that shit's just too funny! But I'd like to at least think I'd award you this place simply due to your writing and whatnot. In short, you do a great job of explaining how advanced this game was conceptually with all sorts of RPG elements attached to a sports game. And you do an equally great job of explaining how this game was just before its time, so all those elements wind up falling flat, leaving one with a quite unsatisfying boxing game loaded with all sorts of frustrations, such as luck playing a larger factor than one might expect or needing to input passwords to progress further into this game than one session allows. This was a well-written review that hit all the right boxes. Good writing? Check. Good descriptions of how things fall flat? Check. Out of the blue WTF BJ pic? Check. Everything anyone might need is here!


About time for the NCAA tournament and the ensuing bender that leads me to embark upon. Those brain cells ain't gonna kill themselves!


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 16, 2022 (12:40 AM)
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Glad you enjoyed reading it! I had a slightly different flow in the early drafts, one where I spend a paragraph pointing out flaws for Hang-On, segue into Astro Warrior, and spend another paragraph talking about flaws for that game. It felt awkward, so I just combined the Hang-On and Astro Warrior flaws into one paragraph. The Combo Paragraph.

... I'm sad I didn't think of that joke for the review.


I head spaceshit noises.

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Author: honestgamer
Posted: March 16, 2022 (09:41 PM)
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Thanks for the topic, Overdrive! I'm afraid I can't blame spectacular success as a novelist for my failure to post a topic. Although I continue to work on my fiction as possible, those efforts have been on pause for the last couple of weeks while I wrestle with the glorious monstrosity that is Elden Ring. Maybe I'll get a review out of the ordeal?

With EmP not prodding me to let me know it was my week (which is a service he has offered in the past that I have appreciated), I failed to notice it was my turn at bat because I was too busy slaying fearsome monsters that don't actually exist. That's when I wasn't dealing with less fearsome but still unpleasant monsters at ye olde day job here in the real world, of course.

I'll try to get my own topic done soon, once I have a spare moment and figured out which date range I missed. In the meantime, congrats to those who placed on this excellent week!


"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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