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You got burned out, huh? Yeah... Me too. It is unfortunate that you're taking an extensive "break", though. Your column will be greatly missed. Given that these past month has been pretty much hell in the real world, I can't exactly say that I've been keeping up with your writings, sadly. I've been a bad, bad Escapist lately, neglecting the review board as well as my user groups.
My "break" is over now and I'm working on a review as I write this. It's very difficult to get back into it after you've been out for a long time. But, if you ever feel like it, just give me a shout and we can finish that little "project" we were brainstorming about.
Anyways, good luck to you sir.
Also, I'll give those reviews a read and post my thoughts here once I've been awake for more than ten minutes.
My "break" is over now and I'm working on a review as I write this. It's very difficult to get back into it after you've been out for a long time. But, if you ever feel like it, just give me a shout and we can finish that little "project" we were brainstorming about.
Anyways, good luck to you sir.
Also, I'll give those reviews a read and post my thoughts here once I've been awake for more than ten minutes.
Hey Joe, I'm going to write an elaborate post tomorrow (I have my bros graduation today), but just letting you know that I didn't miss the thread and will post as soon as possible.
Thanks for all you've done, Joe. I hope we'll keep seeing your comments around the Escapist. Quite a way to end your series!
I was very sad to see this series end. Niche Appeals are my favourite reviews on this site. Now that I think of it, they're my favourite reviews.
From anywhere.
Damn, some of your reviews alone have made me want to buy a game (for example Etherlords II and Titan Quest), which has never happened before. Of course I wan't to try them out first, but you made me convinced.
So thank you, Joe. Though it's sad to see you end this series, it's probably better for you.
And by the way, I was always wondering why you called the "boring introductory things" boring. I almost always read them.
But nevertheless, the best of luck to you. I'm glad you'll still stay here. Just remember to notify us if/when you do some projects in the future.
From anywhere.
Damn, some of your reviews alone have made me want to buy a game (for example Etherlords II and Titan Quest), which has never happened before. Of course I wan't to try them out first, but you made me convinced.
So thank you, Joe. Though it's sad to see you end this series, it's probably better for you.
And by the way, I was always wondering why you called the "boring introductory things" boring. I almost always read them.
But nevertheless, the best of luck to you. I'm glad you'll still stay here. Just remember to notify us if/when you do some projects in the future.
Thanks for the great series.
I feel really bad that I forgot to reply at length to your PM. When you told me I had 5 days I told myself I'd do it on the 3rd... anyway, sorry about that, I probably wouldn't have done a very good job anyway.
Oh... what's this? I WON and I'm slightly negative!
EDIT: On the topic of "burning out", I got to a point where I was doing them as an act of compulsion, so I've slowed down a lot now and am only really concentrating on the music thread. I don't really do game reviews anymore, I post things in the review section but it's basically just me talking about a game rather than reviewing it. Anyhow, I enjoy it more so that's something. All I can say is thank god I never had a schedule! Otherwise I would have given up ages ago.
Has anyone else noticed that the review section has slowed down a lot now? Or is that because I'm no longer spamming it.... hmmmm.
I feel really bad that I forgot to reply at length to your PM. When you told me I had 5 days I told myself I'd do it on the 3rd... anyway, sorry about that, I probably wouldn't have done a very good job anyway.
Oh... what's this? I WON and I'm slightly negative!
EDIT: On the topic of "burning out", I got to a point where I was doing them as an act of compulsion, so I've slowed down a lot now and am only really concentrating on the music thread. I don't really do game reviews anymore, I post things in the review section but it's basically just me talking about a game rather than reviewing it. Anyhow, I enjoy it more so that's something. All I can say is thank god I never had a schedule! Otherwise I would have given up ages ago.
Has anyone else noticed that the review section has slowed down a lot now? Or is that because I'm no longer spamming it.... hmmmm.
Down to business. (DTB?). I guess we can start with the actually reviews themselves first. The Prey one was my favorite of all of them. Incidentally, I still have my unfilled pre-order script from F.Y.E for the game. I wonder if its in some back self being stored for me? I plan on going there when Next-Gen comes out to reclaim my Prey Copy. Anyways, in that review in particular, the only part that I didn't like was your explanation of the story. Just felt kind of awkward out loud. Other than that it was a very good description of what the game has to offer, as well as a fair analysis of its material. I had no idea that the game was announced in 1995, I feel like finding 3d Realms and giving them one of these [http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/2/27874/600107-oh_you_super.jpg]
As for the Lord of The Rings, I guess its time to hand in a gamer card, a nerd card, and a man card and admit that I've only seen the first movie and read the first book. It was a good review, but it seemed like you got kind of lazy at the recommendation section, but the captions were great. The Elements review got me interested in a game I've never heard about, and thats always a good sign. The lack of pictures is a bit disappointing, though understandable because I couldn't find any. In that case I would suggest doing a couple standard pictures by simply googling cartoons of things like "fire" or "water", then specifying that there are no actual pictures. Gives you the best of both worlds.
The Trivia bit was a bit unexpected, but I guess I can be proud that I "scored" high. Then I immediately felt bad because other people are getting ignored and such. I wish I could do more for the User Review Forums, Like a PSA or something. Showing off hungry reviewers in mud huts. But now I'm babbling. And you know whats weird, I think you're right on the It came from Netflix! point. Sometimes I feel bad for simply leaving him posts saying how awesome he is, because it sound so shallow. Not to mention I haven't seen a movie in ages, so I can;t even comment on the film to make my post more worth while. I try to advertise not only mine, but every good review that I come across, though I've been lazy at it lately.
So yeah, I have to agree with Meat. Try writing quality reviews first, name brand comes after. I'm sure people who read both mine and Maets reviews still have more admiration for Maet (seriously, my favorite film critic ever) than for me simply because he writes amazingly. Good writing will get you known more and remembered than popularity will. So novice reviewers, if you're reading this: Writing good reviews comes first!
So no, I don't feel like I've earned my popularity (which is why I always feel worse for getting more replies than someone like Maet's kick ass reviews). But hopefully one day I can at least work up to some sort of feeling of feeling like I deserve it.
But I digress, this is why we will soon be switching to Email.
And now, for you Joe.
This is the first time I ever saw Joe, he commented on one of my Reviews. Here's the comment
When I got home, I read the post again. And again. And again. I read the article twice. And I developed a respect for Joe from the first time I met him. That same day I sent him a friend request.
I have tremendous amount of respect for Joe, his reviews, and his opinion in general since that first comment that I've read by him.
Kudos Joe, you're one heck of a guy. Though you'd never admit it.
As for the Lord of The Rings, I guess its time to hand in a gamer card, a nerd card, and a man card and admit that I've only seen the first movie and read the first book. It was a good review, but it seemed like you got kind of lazy at the recommendation section, but the captions were great. The Elements review got me interested in a game I've never heard about, and thats always a good sign. The lack of pictures is a bit disappointing, though understandable because I couldn't find any. In that case I would suggest doing a couple standard pictures by simply googling cartoons of things like "fire" or "water", then specifying that there are no actual pictures. Gives you the best of both worlds.
The Trivia bit was a bit unexpected, but I guess I can be proud that I "scored" high. Then I immediately felt bad because other people are getting ignored and such. I wish I could do more for the User Review Forums, Like a PSA or something. Showing off hungry reviewers in mud huts. But now I'm babbling. And you know whats weird, I think you're right on the It came from Netflix! point. Sometimes I feel bad for simply leaving him posts saying how awesome he is, because it sound so shallow. Not to mention I haven't seen a movie in ages, so I can;t even comment on the film to make my post more worth while. I try to advertise not only mine, but every good review that I come across, though I've been lazy at it lately.
To be honest, I feel partially responsible for this. I started Pimpin Reviews with my first review with that name, though at the time, it was custom to have [Username] Reviews: _____. I felt like Pimppeter2 Reviews: ___ sounded wayy too stupid, so I shorted it. I didn't add the banned until my Fourth(?) review, becuase that when I decided I was going to seriously do this and try and improve. At the time, the only others with custom banners were Dom and Wanderfreak. But hey, it seems like not only banners but now pictures too have become standard, so at least its a good trade off.Maet's interview said:
So yeah, I have to agree with Meat. Try writing quality reviews first, name brand comes after. I'm sure people who read both mine and Maets reviews still have more admiration for Maet (seriously, my favorite film critic ever) than for me simply because he writes amazingly. Good writing will get you known more and remembered than popularity will. So novice reviewers, if you're reading this: Writing good reviews comes first!
So no, I don't feel like I've earned my popularity (which is why I always feel worse for getting more replies than someone like Maet's kick ass reviews). But hopefully one day I can at least work up to some sort of feeling of feeling like I deserve it.
It weird, it seems like every series of User review has suddenly come to a halt this week. I mean the only one of "us" that's posted a review this week is BlueInk. Strange.Stranger of Sorts said:
Yes, the Escapist PM system badly needs and overhaul. If anyone is reading this that has connection to the mods/site devs the option to create your own folders and send inbox messages to them would be extremely useful. Also get rid of the stupid word limit on PMs, and lastly give me the ability to send at least 10 Pms at once.
But I digress, this is why we will soon be switching to Email.
Things like this remind me why Maet is so goddamn kick ass.
And now, for you Joe.
This is the first time I ever saw Joe, he commented on one of my Reviews. Here's the comment
At first, I was a bit insulted by his comment (stupid me). But I was at the mall and on browsing through my cell phone (seriously, however first put internet on a cell phone deserves a Nobel) so I wasn't able to type out a response.joethekoeller said:
When I got home, I read the post again. And again. And again. I read the article twice. And I developed a respect for Joe from the first time I met him. That same day I sent him a friend request.
I have tremendous amount of respect for Joe, his reviews, and his opinion in general since that first comment that I've read by him.
Kudos Joe, you're one heck of a guy. Though you'd never admit it.
It probably has a lot to do with exams. I'm kept pretty busy with them and all my "Escapist time" is spent looking after my User Group.Pimppeter2 said:
I have the highest average comments, yet I'm the worst of us... intriguing. The reasons for the comments are usually down to me talking with someone but also because I entise people in by adding something along the lines of "a super-mecha-awesome review". Works a charm.Pimppeter2 said:
I've never really given this series anything like the attention it deserves. I think I've commented on possibly one instalment? I'd often open the review page, read through the introductory thingy and possibly a few of the comments, but rarely the actual review (yes, for a User Reviews semi-regular I have an appalling habit of skipping the reviews).
I really respected the intent of the series, and the fact that you actually produced them on a regular basis despite the chunk of your time the government appeared to have claimed. Shame it's ending, although admittedly my regret is more at losing a champion of the obscure and unappreciated rather than a compulsive read. As Pimp said in his interview, it was a brave effort which you deserve credit for persisting with. As a fellow reviewer who tends to be stuck in the past, I really marvel at how you got the motivation to stick with what can often be such an unrewarding enterprise.
Anyway, I should probably praise something apart from sheer persistence and a willing irrelevancy. I've always found plenty of niggling (occasionally non) issues in your writing, whether it's typos, rhythmic flow, voice or whatever (there's a compliment coming any second now...) but you always seem to review with the intent of giving the game a fair, comprehensive appraisal, and from what I've read, you've always kept that while constantly improving. And, while I don't usually like bringing it up, as it can be an unfairly condescending excuse to dismiss or explain writing issues, as you've referred to it already, I'd like to say that I think you've done fantastically well to have developed to this extent in a second language without the benefit of being immersed in it to the amount most of us are.
Although through your increased mastery of the English language, you appear to be confirming a childhood fear I had that it was possible to forget an original tongue in the process of learning a new one.
I really liked the novel approach you took with this. I enjoyed reading the trivia and interviews, and of course the reviews. Additionally, more anniversaries should use mild profanities in the title. Good luck with salvaging your ability with German and your future projects, and hopefully I'll see some other stuff by you at some point.
I really respected the intent of the series, and the fact that you actually produced them on a regular basis despite the chunk of your time the government appeared to have claimed. Shame it's ending, although admittedly my regret is more at losing a champion of the obscure and unappreciated rather than a compulsive read. As Pimp said in his interview, it was a brave effort which you deserve credit for persisting with. As a fellow reviewer who tends to be stuck in the past, I really marvel at how you got the motivation to stick with what can often be such an unrewarding enterprise.
Anyway, I should probably praise something apart from sheer persistence and a willing irrelevancy. I've always found plenty of niggling (occasionally non) issues in your writing, whether it's typos, rhythmic flow, voice or whatever (there's a compliment coming any second now...) but you always seem to review with the intent of giving the game a fair, comprehensive appraisal, and from what I've read, you've always kept that while constantly improving. And, while I don't usually like bringing it up, as it can be an unfairly condescending excuse to dismiss or explain writing issues, as you've referred to it already, I'd like to say that I think you've done fantastically well to have developed to this extent in a second language without the benefit of being immersed in it to the amount most of us are.
Although through your increased mastery of the English language, you appear to be confirming a childhood fear I had that it was possible to forget an original tongue in the process of learning a new one.
I really liked the novel approach you took with this. I enjoyed reading the trivia and interviews, and of course the reviews. Additionally, more anniversaries should use mild profanities in the title. Good luck with salvaging your ability with German and your future projects, and hopefully I'll see some other stuff by you at some point.
Sounds to me like you're just a little rusty. I'm sure you'll quickly regain fluency in your own language!joethekoeller said:
And as for whole "good for a non native" phrase, it's really good that you don't use that to lower your personal expectations for your own writing anymore. I was actually a little wary of expressing that sentiment as it is, in effect, a put-down (although it is rarely used or taken as an insult). I actually came to the same conclusion as yourself regarding standards of literacy: the first few times I read your reviews, the rhythm seemed very choppy and there was some suspect phrasing, so when I looked at your profile and saw your nationality, my first thought was "ah, that explains it" which was a response which took me by surprise. Eventually I came to the conclusion that while you may have slightly different compositional and aesthetic outlooks when applied to English (I believe that language has an significant effect in the nature of thought formulation) which I may struggle to appreciate, it'd be unfair of me to treat your writing as inferior and impose lower standards on it. Especially as you'd already demonstrated with the arguments you expressed, the vocabulary you used and the grammatical sense you exhibited that you were level with many native-speaking reviewers.
I just realised that that last sentence be interpreted as "with effort on your part, you can match the disinterested efforts of some bored teenage geeks"...
And I bet you never thought you provoked introspection like that in your readers.
Anyway, while I still have a an argument supporting your attitude standing, I think I'll cut this "pigeon_of_doom deals with his latent racism" story short.
And by the way, if anybody here really wants to encourage joethekoeller, feel free to comment that all this time, after avidly following the Niche Appeal series and buying all the associated merchandise but being too shy to comment, you had no idea he didn't speak English as a first language.
Apologies to any long term Niche Appeal fanatics who may actually say that and will now be assumed to be joking.
P.S Vladimir Nabokov, among the greatest English stylists of all time, was a non-native English speaker. Wow, I went into this thread determined not to be too congratulatory, and I end up comparing joethekoeller with a literary icon.
I really ought to chip in and at least say that I've read this. As much as I'd love to spend hours responding, addressing, and discussing the things brought up in the massive three post topic and the ensuing comments, I have so much on my plate at the current moment that I'm afraid it's simply not a prudent investment of my time and energy. When things ease up for me around the end of June, I'll take the time to make a more meaningful post, but unfortunately not right now.
But congratulations all the same, joethekoeller. Your reviews have been consistently enjoyable for me, and I honestly feel a bit disappointed in myself that I rarely ever took the time to post a few words expressing that every now and then. I don't contribute to the User Reviews section nearly as much I'd like to, be it in reviews of my own or in helping others along, and this is something I hope to improve upon over the summer months.
But congratulations all the same, joethekoeller. Your reviews have been consistently enjoyable for me, and I honestly feel a bit disappointed in myself that I rarely ever took the time to post a few words expressing that every now and then. I don't contribute to the User Reviews section nearly as much I'd like to, be it in reviews of my own or in helping others along, and this is something I hope to improve upon over the summer months.
It's been seven years, so I really don't think anyone'll care about the spoilers here.
LOTR being the only game on your list that I've played (and still own), it's really the only one I can comment on. It, along with Flight Simulator 2002 (not sure if that counts), was my first mainstream game. I was eight. I played it for years after. I still do occasionally. But I completely, absolutely agree with you about the impossible boss near the beginning. I assume you mean the King of the Dead. My goodness I hated that level. I completed the rest of the game fine, but could not get past that at all. Which left the whole Path of the King closed to me. I only eventually got past it when I discovered that Co-op progress carried over into Single Player. So I nabbed a friend and forced him to play with me.
I haven't played that level since actually. I've always copied my savefile onto a USB stick any time I need to do something to my PC. I wonder if I could beat it now...
Anyway, not being much of a regular in the UR section, I have to admit that I've never read any of your reviews before. I think my last time in here was when I wrote a review of Pac-Man almost a year ago. Never mind...
An outsider's point of view: Well damn, you sure can write. And you know how to make a review appeal to anyone. Never having even heard of Prey, I still founf your review incredibly entertaining. Thanks for that. ^_^
Well done on completing something like this. I know I'd lose interest halfway through, or get so behind and frustrated that I'd end up with a migraine. Anyway, congratulations!
LOTR being the only game on your list that I've played (and still own), it's really the only one I can comment on. It, along with Flight Simulator 2002 (not sure if that counts), was my first mainstream game. I was eight. I played it for years after. I still do occasionally. But I completely, absolutely agree with you about the impossible boss near the beginning. I assume you mean the King of the Dead. My goodness I hated that level. I completed the rest of the game fine, but could not get past that at all. Which left the whole Path of the King closed to me. I only eventually got past it when I discovered that Co-op progress carried over into Single Player. So I nabbed a friend and forced him to play with me.
I haven't played that level since actually. I've always copied my savefile onto a USB stick any time I need to do something to my PC. I wonder if I could beat it now...
Anyway, not being much of a regular in the UR section, I have to admit that I've never read any of your reviews before. I think my last time in here was when I wrote a review of Pac-Man almost a year ago. Never mind...
An outsider's point of view: Well damn, you sure can write. And you know how to make a review appeal to anyone. Never having even heard of Prey, I still founf your review incredibly entertaining. Thanks for that. ^_^
Well done on completing something like this. I know I'd lose interest halfway through, or get so behind and frustrated that I'd end up with a migraine. Anyway, congratulations!