Reader Review of the Month

It's that time again! A few days after that time, really. Every month we feature what we felt were the three best reader-written reviews submitted in the last month, and instead of congratulating you all equally for your talent and unpaid efforts, we pick a winner and make the rest of you feel bad. It's the only way you'll learn.

This month we liked Mark1412's The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile review and competition regular Bobfoc's take on Rock Band 3.

Some stylish and entertaining writing in both of those, but this month we'd like to highlight a different aspect of the reviewer's craft, ably demonstrated in:

orpheus' review of IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover

Flight sim fans (and everyone else) should take a look at this scholarly work, but here's an excerpt (best read in a squawky Dambusters radio voice).

"My turn is wide and shallow and I catch a nasty Bofors flak round to the belly of the plane. I hear the impact register, see the plume of steam, then the engine notification: 'radiator perforated'. I drop the propeller pitch to shallow, crank the radiator full open to put less strain on the soon-to overheat engine and head out towards the Channel. While I've got my head down closing the bomb window in the bottom of the plane, a Hurricane boom and zooms me, raking the right wing and fuselage with .303 rounds."

Reviews editor Oli Welsh had this to say: "I enjoyed the personality and flourish of Bobfoc's sociological approach to Rock Band 3, while I was both excited and disturbed by Mark1412's evident relish in describing extreme violence. Props for 'Bayonetta made you feel like a voluptuous wholesaler of suffering' - a lovely turn of phrase.

"But what I liked about orpheus' review was how he approached more dry, technical subject matter with impressive expertise while keeping it readable for a lay person like me. Even some professional reviewers struggle to do that with specialist reviews.

"orpheus' passion for the subject matter comes across, both in the descriptive writing and in his thorough research. I learned a lot I didn't know from this review, something I always like. But it's not a blinkered fan review either - it's a balanced and careful analysis. Solid work."

Well done, orpheus! We'll send you a little something.

If you want to show off your wordsmithing, tell the world about your obsession or just get something off your chest, you can submit your own review. Good luck!