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When there's thousands of reviews published online daily, it's tough to tell what's worth reading. Review junkie Dave Rudden picks three at random and dissects 'em for you.

Besides a few random webpages (I pretty much need constant access to Facebook and YTMND), my browser is a bright orange wave of RSS feeds of reviews from a myriad gaming sites. From the big guys to the tiniest of blogs, if someone's spouting about games intelligently, I'm listening.

But outside of updating Games.Net product pages and creating Aggro Aggregation posts, my constant consumption of reviews isn't bearing much fruit. That's where this weekly feature comes into play. Each week, I'll pluck three reviews at random from my RSS feeds--and once a month, I'll thumb through the various weeklies and game mags on my desk for a print edition. I'll then judge the reviews on each one's ability to inform and entertain. Let's get started then, shall we?

GameSpot: Marathon Durandal (Xbox 360)

GameSpot's review of Xbox Live Arcade FPS Marathon: Durandal certainly does educate the reader about the game, placing the game in proper historical perspective amongst the Bungie canon and first-person shooters in general. It also tackles a few of the gripes that I've had to trudge through a handful of blogs to find out about (like the nausea-inducing movement, the dated graphics, and the lack of opponents online) in one fell swoop. It's not particularly entertaining--GameSpot's reviews usually are low on wit, saving the hahas for the video reviews. The review is succinct enough to read without losing interest. I'll make sure to check out one of GameSpot's more detailed reviews in a future column to see if it can hold up when the word count increases.

GamePro: PaRappa the Rapper (PSP)

This one caught my eye in the RSS feed and begged to be chosen. Since I work in the same office as the GamePro staff, I contribute a review, preview, or feature every so often to the magazine or website. I had planned on reviewing this particular game, as I had experience with the original, and had sporadically played this PSP update during E3 week. Unfortunately, I lent my PSP out recently, and was unable to play the game enough to provide a significant opinion on it. This review is good, but there's a part of me that thinks it could've used my expertise (what can I say, I'm good). I can't particularly tell if the reviewer has played the original, so it doesn't quite shine with knowledge of the game that I'd expect in a review. I also wish more perspective of the title amongst the super-popular rhythm genre could have been explored. The price issue is very cleverly addressed, however--most reviews I've read have likened the game to a PSN download without taking into account the fact that not ever PSP owner has a freaking PS3! GamePro's reviews are written more casually than most, so it certainly does have personality, but I can't say I feel like the review educated me. But then again, I'm a bit of an expert when it comes to this game :)

Games for Lunch: Defcon

Games for Lunch, for those who haven't heard of it, is an ingenious review blog based on the fact that you can determine a game's worth in the first hour. Writer Kyle Orland takes an hour everyday with a game he's never played before and gives a liveblog-esque recap of his thoughts while playing it before determining whether he'd want to extend his experience. Orland gives the lunch treatment to a game I've been curious about: an apocalyptic RTS called Defcon. Being a bit of an apocalypse aficionado, I've been considering picking up the title. His off-the-cuff impressions give me more of a sense of what the game is about than just about every review I've read. The foreboding music and clinical treatment of large-scale war are all apparent to me simply through his reactions to them. He also manages to underscore a problem I wasn't all that aware of: the game's steep learning curve and slow pace. While his final appraisal may be a bit weak--a "maybe" is ambiguous as they come--I find that this review is uniquely entertaining and informative. If a weekly paper or gaming magazine doesn't pick up Games for Lunch sometime soon, I'd be pretty damned surprised.

Thoughts? Comments? Sites, mags, or publications to suggest for future columns? Drop a comment or email me at drudden@games.net.

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Comments [ 2 ] Post your comment subscribe to this rss feed

DGeneral

Posted at: 08/04/07 at 11:11 AM PST

Hey i just read an "article" from Games for Lunch and you hit the nail on the head. It's really a good read, and picks up on the small things. I like it already.

LMG

Posted at: 08/07/07 at 10:29 AM PST

Yeah i have a PSP and have yet to get a PS3 yet, but the time is soon approaching.

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