Forums > Contributor Zone > Review of the Week [April 15 - 21]: Week of the Joe

Nine reviews. Seven writers. One winner. And that winner is JoeTheDestroyer for his-

Oh! Startling new developments! It turns out Joe--whoever that is--has been disqualified due to conflict of interest. Well, whatever. Read his Moonsweeper (Atari 2600) review anyway. (blatant plug ending in 3...2...1...)

This was an interesting week. No, I'm not using 'interesting' as a euphemism to disguise my disgust, because the reviews were great. The games covered this week were, for the most part, not current titles (the only exception being darketernal's fantastic read, Legend of Grimrock, now playing at a Steam near you), and varied in style. A couple of them were even downright weird. But because of the variance and weirdness, this has been a fun first ROTW, so thanks to all of you. I also want to welcome newcomers Sparkflowstudios and Alk31997. It's been great seeing new faces avatars here, and it's been a pleasure reading your reviews! Alk wrote three reviews this week, but the one I linked to was his strongest this week. Give it a read, now. Go. I'll still be here.

Unfortunately, I now have to be cold-blooded and bump three of you off and promote the other three to placement status. And the reviews are...

THIRD PLACE:
pickhut's PuLiRuLa (Saturn) review

A very short, but entertaining review that chronicles a descent into insanity. That's the only way I can describe this game. You don't actually play it, you just lose your marbles and hallucinate the whole thing. Pickhut does a great job describing the game, and pointing out that it lacks substance beyond the zaniness. I also applaud you for your use of screenshots, even though the blue-haired lady now appears in my nightmares.

[Off topic, pickhut, but have you played Ninja Baseball Bat Man? I hear that one's pretty crazy as well.]

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SECOND PLACE:
aschutlz's Journey (Arcade) review

No, this is not the Journey you're thinking of. Schultz gives a great examination of a game based on the 80s band. Bringing his writing chops, he details all of the garish insanity contained within the cabinet. I really enjoyed this review. It has a feeling of fondness and nostalgia, and your voice really helps accentuate that. I also felt your closing paragraph really capped the review. It was a great way to close a nostalgia review. I now wish I had happened upon this cabinet.

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REVIEW OF THE WEEK:
overdrive's Raiders of the Lost Ark (Atari 2600) review

There's a whole lot of win in this review. OD takes this game apart effortless, never descends into petty ranting, utilizes his talent for sarcasm without distracting the reader, and shows us that movie license titles were well and truly screwed from the beginning. I especially enjoyed how you addressed the games flaws without coming right out and saying, "Well, another downside is..." It's a very smooth, enjoyable read; well balanced, and informative.

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Well, that's it. Thank you everyone for submitting this week. I may do another one of these in the future if there's room, but with the baby on the way it's not looking likely. I'm hoping to continue my status as a reviewer, doing retro reviews at the very least. Ah, but enough of that. I've got a long night of penning a Pitfall II review and swearing at Borderlands ahead of me.

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

Great job, Joe! This was timely and awesome, just the way I like my RotW topics. Congrats to the winners!

"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

Nice job, Joe.

I don't have to prove I'm refined - that's what makes me refined!

I LOVE RotWs where I win! Great job, Joe! And congrats to my worthy opponents.

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

Thanks a lot for the comments, Joe. Yeah, really a acky game. Never played Ninja Baseball Bat Man, but I have seen the game in action, and yeah, looks pretty out there!

Congrats to OD for his RotW status and the rest for a varied week of reviews.

I head spaceshit noises.

Wow. I don't think I've seen an RotW topic with this much enthusiasm in a while. You should do this more often.

Thanks for taking over for Jason this week and having ti done so soon, even at the expense f your own placement.

Congrats to the winners.

[Eating EmP's brain] probably isn't a good idea. I mean... He's British, which means his brain's wired for PAL and your eyes are NTSC. - Will

Thanks, everyone! I had fun doing this. I wouldn't mind doing an ROTW or two in the future as well!

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

Thanks, Joe! I let this slip, but I appreciate the placing and the comments, and I enjoyed the review ahead of me, too.

My principal said, 'Emo, Emo, Emo.'
I said 'I'm the one in the middle, you lousy drunk!'
-- Emo Phillips