[RPG]: Into the Black, reviewed by Alex deMorris (3/4)

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10243.phtml

Alex deMorris's Summary:

<i>Into the Black</i> presents a guide to the realms below, where adventurers may scurry for treasure and conquest. Filled with dense text, this book offers a wealth of detail to the referee, some of which may not be wanted.

Go to the full review for more information.

Post originally by HaloGod at 2004-04-16 09:52:44
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Ah the perils of using a thesaurus without understanding the words one finds therein

I know I'm Alex's biggest critic, but even I was taken aback by his misuse of the word "some".

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Into the Black eschews the typical “Underdark” lamentations that other d20 system sourcebooks maintain. The underground world found here is rife with details on monster and animal adaptations, new creatures and new items. This book dishes up some many details on the world below, that it comes across as dense. Not dense as in “solid-rock intelligence” dense, but as in “cramming at midnight for the Biology 103 exam” dense. While some gamers may be fine with select diction from the halls of academia, some may be put off of the overuse of the word “commensurate” with several descriptions in the work.

Post originally by Onathrin at 2004-04-16 10:39:20
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Or here's a silly thought...

Judge a review on what it says not it's grammatical problems. I didn't even notice that MINOR grammatical problem until you pointed it out. Now if this were in a published magazine and Alex were getting paid for these reviews, yeah I'd be annoyed too. But the last time I checked, RPG.net reviews were 'for the fans, by the fans'

Now as for Alex's review in and of itself, I did feel he gave too many broad strokes on the topic of this book.

"Into the Black breaks its “guide to below” into several chapters, including a chapter on equipment and items gleaned from the under realms as well as a chapter on new spells. "

This implied to me that he only touched up on certain chapters. What other chapters are there? Was there a chapter on the races of the "Underdark", which seems to be staple for books of this sort?

And if this book is only half as dense as Alex implies it is, I know I'm going to skip it. (*Gasp* A review that actually influences buying decisions!)

Post originally by HaloGod at 2004-04-16 11:58:28
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With Alex, there's not much else to judge his reviews on due to there being very little content. I see he spend some time making up a spiffy new look for his reviews. He should be using that time to learn how to actually write a review.

And I wouldn't worry too much about Alex saying something is dense .... I can picture him furrowing his brow when he reads banner headlines

Post originally by Mort at 2004-04-16 15:09:01
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If you don’t like the way someone writes reviews, why do you bother to read them? It seems like a colossal waste of time and energy.

Also, it’s a waste of my time. From your post I thought there were factual errors in the review or in the product. Who cares if the review has, as stated already, some minor grammatical errors?

Post originally by Alex deMorris at 2004-04-16 17:10:01
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HaloGod wrote:
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And I wouldn't worry too much about Alex saying something is dense .... I can picture him furrowing his brow when he reads banner headlines
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Only at the ones written in a foreign language, thanks. =]

-Alex...

Post originally by Onathrin at 2004-04-17 19:02:02
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"I see he spend some time making up a spiffy new look for his reviews. He should be using that time to learn how to actually write a review."

If I were a petty man, I probably would complain about your use of the word 'spend'. But I'm not a petty man. I am, in fact, an intelligent man and see that you simply mistyped on your keyboard. I certainly didn't feel the need to make a fool of myself by jumping up and down screaming "HaloGod can't write good posts because he can't use the word 'spend' correctly!"

But then again, I am a person who appreciates irony.

"And I wouldn't worry too much about Alex saying something is dense .... I can picture him furrowing his brow when he reads banner headlines "

And to emphasize a point, you fall to the age-old school yard tradition of namecalling. What's next? Are you going to pull Alex's hair? Or are you going to take his ball away?

Get over yourself. If you truly think Alex is doing such a horrible job of reviewing, put your money where your mouth is. Review something yourself.

Post originally by tetsujin28 at 2004-04-20 22:29:16
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That might require something approaching work ;-)