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Reviews Spotlight: Sabotage, Spellcasting Dogs, and Late Bird Specials

Aaah
Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Bitmob Reviews Spotlight is a weekly feature which endeavors to bring attention to the website's most capable writers. While most of your are still enmeshed in the stockpile of recently released titles, these community members have been glued to their keyboards, writing until their extremities grew numb.

A curt shout out was the least we could do for these devoted community members. Here is the fruit of their labor:

Torchlight

Jack Morphy gives his index finger a break and decides to share his opinions on Torchlight, a Diablo-esque role-playing game. Anticipate spellcasting pets and furious mouse clicking.

Sage Knox follows suit with his impressions of The Saboteur. If you're a fan of trippy color transitions and snarky Irish men, be sure to check it out. But if you're not into that sort of thing, Ariel Feist has you covered with an article about Demon's Souls -- a game which has achieved more accolades than I care to count.

For those of you who've missed out on the Blur beta, Garret Staus provides his thoughts on this newcomer to the "battle-racing" genre. Apparently, you haven't missed too much.

Dana Laratta returns with another inspiring Haiku. This time, he directs his poetic prowess toward Double Fine's latest production, Brütal Legend. Remember: Never be ashamed of crying over poetry.  Stay on your toes, because once you've wiped away your tears, Ryan Conway will inundate you with yet another Mega Man review.

Lastly, Chris Whitehead makes the case for Assassin's Creed 2, a game whose intrusive DRM and unnecessarily high price point have concerned many PC gamers.


Torchlight Review
By Jack Morphy
The appeal of Diablo 2's elegantly conceived dungeons and deluge of mana potions overwhelmed any pain which the constant mouse clicking may have procured. Jack Morphy explains how Torchlight capitalizes on that masochistic pleasure. Prepare to sacrifice entire days to this game.

 

The Saboteur - Crush! Frag! Review
By Sage Knox
Armed with a sharp sense of wit and an intriguing score system, Sage tackles the last game Pandemic Studios was able to complete before permanently closing its doors. Does this action-adventure title provide an appropriate resolution to the developer's fabled history or is it an uninspired denouement?


Late Bird Review: Demon's Souls
By Ariel Feist
What are Bitmob community reviews for, if not to convince you to buy or avoid a game? Well, if Demon's Souls has left you on the fence, Ariel has some words of wisdom to impart.


Impressions: Blur Beta
By Garret Staus
Not too long ago, the Bitmob staff gave away 100 beta keys for Blur, a racing game from Bizarre Creations. As expected, the community has provided some feedback, and Garret's is particularly expositional. If you're interested by wildly irresponsible driving, Blur may prove worthwhile.


Haiku Review - Brütal Legend
By Dana Laratta
It's difficult to summarize a three-line review, so I won't ruin it. Let me just say, bravö!


Dr. Wily's RevengeFor What it's Worth: Dr. Wily's Revenge
By Ryan Conway
Bitmob's very own trailblazer has returned, and he intends to continue his Mega Man retrospective! This time, Ryan chose to investigate the quality of a slightly older iteration in the series: Dr. Wily's Revenge, a Game Boy game released in '91. Does this cherub-faced superhero have what it takes to justify the $10 purchase?


Assassin's Creed 2 Review: Bravissimo
By Chris Whitehead
Let's make one thing clear: Assassin's Creed 2 is nothing like its predecessor. Chris makes that fact painfully clear in his review of the anticipated sequel. Like a lawyer convincing a jury, Chris will (probably) persuade you to reevaluate your opinions of Ezio Auditore.

 
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Comments (10)
Untitled
March 21, 2010

@ Omar. Trailblazer eh. You flatter me sir. So thanks for that. :)

Shoe_headshot_-_square
March 21, 2010

I can't seem to escape Demon's Souls. Everyone keeps telling me to play it!

Franksmall
March 21, 2010

I don't know Shoe. Your compulsions for completion concerning gaming may make that game the death of you. It is great and I highly recommend it, but it is hard as hell and could take over your life if you let it. I always find it such a shame I am not going back to it more often, but it really kicks my ass.

Default_picture
March 22, 2010

F that.  Play it!  We need to pad those numbers so they'll keep the North American servers up and keep sending us world events...

Default_picture
March 22, 2010

Thanks for spotlighting my Blur preview even though it fell like a rock (for whatever reason).  

Franksmall
March 22, 2010

@Garret: Don't be too despondant when a piece you write doesn't get traction. The internet is a fickle bitch and I have had things I am very proud of go unnoticed and things I wrote in just a few minutes get traction. All you can do is do your best work no matter how many views you get.


In the case of Blur, I have to say negative initial press and a few other bad preview events have left me less likely to click on an article about that game.


Also, keep in mind that not getting clicks might not be a reflection of your writing. It could be a reflection of interest in the thing you are covering, some other unknown factor or even something like a bad title. I know I have an awful habit of calling my reviews "Game X Review"... Not the sexiest title ever.


I am not a guru or anything, at best I am an OK writer. I just keep plugging away because I enjoy writing. I'm in no way trying to act like I am better or more knowledgable... Just trying to give some encouraging words.

Keep it up!

Default_picture
March 22, 2010

No worries, I don't find it discouraging - I'm well aware of the chaos that is the Internet.  I just found it particularly puzzling because I literally got 10% of the hits as usual, but I just chalked it up to some of the factors you've listed.  

At any rate I write mostly for my own references, so I can look back in several years and see what I was playing.  As such hits aren't that important to me but more of a fun meter to watch.  Thanks for the words of encouragement though. :)

Default_picture
March 22, 2010

Thanks once again for highlighting my haiku review.  Any readers who check it out should check my profile, as I have a few more (I'm fond of my New Super Mario Bros Wii one).  They are getting to be interesting exercises in self-editing, something that, as a writer, I haven't always enjoyed.

Default_picture
March 22, 2010

Oh and Garret did you notice a difference in hits after things moved to the new Mobfeed format?

Default_picture
March 25, 2010

Thanks for catching my Torchlight review! Spotlight ftw! Love Bitmob...

Side note: Please collaborate with Jinx and make a sweet shirt so I can buy it. Kthxbai!

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