Bezman's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Attack of the "Wee Nighs"]

make a few

Played once. Took a point of damage to see if collision also damaged. Then died at around 14.

Started again, then decided I couldn't be arsed.

Then played again, got to 38.

++ I really like the shield radar and the voice for 'shield at xx%'

+ Cool buttons

---- Main gameplay seems overly repetitive with little or no depth.

-- No real incentive to shoot them all. If we lost points for missed 'nigh's or if we got a few points for shooting an entire group, you'd introduce more of a risk/reward element.

- I assume you duplicate the mc. The 'seed' is visible in the top. Sloppy.

-- When we get hit, I'd really suggest making the ship invulnerable for just a sec. Getting hit by 3 projectiles stuck together is really annoying.

++ Fairly nice intro

- Though we should be able to skip it. On the 2nd viewing, it niggled.

++ I enjoyedbeing able to play with one hand whilst brushing teeth

==
Works well. Now you need to make a few changes to make it play well. Maybe take away the random numbers (putting in some algorithms or pre-defined interesting patterns in their place), make the creatures smaller, have it ramp up faster (maybe adding multiple creatures)...

Having an easy first 20s before ramping it up helps folk get into it.

[FPS in Real Life 4]

I'm glad

Played through. Mildly curious to know what would have happened had I chosen one of the other options in the mid-level scenario, but I'm not gonna replay to get there.

+++ Unique graphical presentation.

++ Cheesy lines were slightly amusing.

--- The whole thing seemed kinda lacking in interaction to me. I understand why it's on rails and I actually fairly enjoyed House of the Dead, but with so few people to shoot and no tactical options to speak of, I felt like I was just going through the motions and my interaction was practically irellevant.

Maybe if you could seperate the actors into gifs with transparency, then you could have them in seperate MCs and thus have more going on?

==
Was a novelty, but I'm glad it didn't last any longer.

[Classic Balloon Fight]

the trip

Played fight mode. Got 23xx. Played trip mode 2x. First time, I swear there was no path at all through the spikes. Played fight mode again, getting 25xx.

-- The pre-loader screen is horrible and doesn't fit the style/colours elsewhere.

+++ I like the idea of a limited-length fight mode. Good for the web market.

+++ Great bg info

++ instructions screen

-- I found that the fight mode seems to always be identical.

--- The randomised trip mode can sometimes be spaced in a way that doesn't let you pass.

--- 2 control methods. Why?

--- No high score saved.

==
Had fun, but this could still be improved a fair bit.

Already a good game, though the trip mode seems pants.

tank2tank responds:

Thanks for giving all the pros and cons. I'll bear it in mind when making the sequel. I think I'll drop the mouse control method, and I can't fix the major problem with trip mode, so I might drop that aswell.
But don't worry cos I've got an AWESOME idea of a new mode to put in the sequel. You WILL NOT be disappointed.

[Syncing the darn audio]

could use more

++ Cool bgm loop

++ Good intentions

--- Some instructions aren't really clarified. In step 2, I assume we're still working with streamed sound. But it'd be nice if it were stated.

--- Some stuff isn't really explained. I don't understand how tips 3 or 4 help. I don't understand why tip #2 would ever go out of synch when the Flash Player is meant to drop frames to ensure it keeps in synch with the (now silent) audio.

==
Nice idea for a tutorial but could use more explanations and bg info.

allemansing responds:

Thanks for your review.
In step #2, you are supposed to keep a silent loop in the background to create constant audioflow. Im not saying you should delete your other audio, it just helps the flash player keep in sync with the non-muted audio.
#3 simply gets the movie back in sync. I dont know why, but it seems like flash tends to slip out of synch the longer it plays, and actionscript kind of restarts it.
#4: Movie Clips play on time, unlike offsync audio.
Clear? if not, be sure to email me.

[Skate Quiz: 1]

it's not aimed

Got q1 right on attempt 3. Got q2 right on attempt 2. failed q3, then gave up.

As you can tell, I'm not a skater.

+++ Decent quality vids.

++ I like the idea of asking qs about vids.

------ I hate the idea of being sent to the start after getting a q wrong. Keep track of the score.

==
Seems like a cool game, though it's not aimed at me.

What would be even cooler though (and you could probably do this quite easily) is if you maybe made some skating glossary. Or at least after a wrong q, explained it. That way, I'd actually be learning something.

The glossary could be a totally seperate flash mebbe.

Anyway, stay funky.

[Basic Masking Effect]

and more in

++ All the info you gave was correct.

--- The 'explanation' was a little odd. I already know how masks work, but took me a while to realise you were trying to say just what you should.

I think your words could have been clearer. Also, I prefer a 'hole in a piece of paper' analogy.

--- I don't like the way that the whole thing was mainly a step-by-step walkthrough - it seemed like more explanations could have been used.

-- Some details (which I feel are important) were omitted. Can we see the mask effect when editing? Can we animate the mask itself? Can we have partial-opacity masks, like in photoshop?

I think it'd have been good to mention these.

- And some details seemed pointless. Your choice of frame length and layer names is your personal preference. To put them in the body of a tutorial might confuse some folk who come away unsure what's required and what's optional.

++ A decent effect.

==
An OK tutorial. I mean it teaches the basics. But it could be clearer and more in-depth.

Evolution68 responds:

once again an awsome review, ill update it later with the improvment.

[Ultimate Homer Simpson SB]

left a minority

Listened to around 1/2 the sounds.

+ Cool intro tune.

-/2 In the credits, you misspelt 'music'.

- Also they don't scroll fast enough, I feel. I like what the 'Super Smash Flash' creator did. In his game, you can click to speed up or hold space to pause. (I personally thing there should also be a slow reverse button since he had links too but I'm getting diverted...) Having a speed up button may be a good solution to the eternal problem of having credits slower than our reading speed.

I'll definitely be following the example myself in future.

- Also, at the end, a tiny bit stays on-screen. Just gives a bad impression.

- I think you'd be better off with a picture of homer than Dr. Nick Riviera.

++ The quotes seem like amusing ones.

--- I think the sounds should be cut up into shorter forms, with the intention of being used for prank calls or whatever.

As it is, I don't really see the point of this.

? What is the point of these? Do you make them just so people get a chance to 'rehear' those choice moments or is there some other purpose?

Some, whilst amusing, are way too long to be used in a conversation.

===
My basic beef is that I don't understand the value this offers. And if it is intended for prank call/conversation use, then splice up the sounds.

Whilst some clips are amusing, they're even better with the visuals. For that reason, I only listened to a selection of them and left a minority unheard.

Frenzy responds:

Thanks for the review!

.frenZy.

[Super Mini Games]

interactive applications/toys

--- 'Hover' has a bug - sometimes you can be on top of the thing and it doesn't seem to recognise the fact. I'm not sure but I think you may have used 'on roll-over' which may mean that if it appears directly on top of you, it won't register.

--- Also, the game's difficulty doesn't increase.

-- No highscore.

++ Simple concept to understand - ideal for a minigame.

4/10

Rapid Press

-- Boring gfx.

-- No highscore.

3/10

Mouse maze

+++ You throw a few game mechanics into that one level.

-- Though the red switch could be more self explanatory. Maybe have the red switch deactivate a black thing, to keep the meanings of the colours consistent?

6/10

Orb

--- Too few responses. None are inspired or particularly amusing.

--- Asking folk to type in the questions seems needless and merely irritating.

3/10

Paint

++++ I find this technically impressive.

-- Offers nothing that any Windows user won't already have on their PC, making it a bit pointless.

4/10

Random

+ Idea has potential for humour

-- Phrases are barely comprehensible and that gets in the way of the humour.

3/10

overall
======

I was slightly disappointed to find that there's only actually 3 games - the others being interactive applications/toys.

Also, the fact that the bgm plays once then ends is annoying. Have a stop/start button. Have it endlessly repeat unless we stop it.

==

A cool thing in parts.

You should maybe try developing these things to make them good enough to stand up on their own.

I feel that maybe because your attention was spread thin, each constituent part of this flash is slightly lacking.

Stay funky. Keep working.

Looking forward to seeing more from you.

Evolution68 responds:

thanks. ill look back on this when making more, realy hepful.

[BrainBox]

mention that

--- You should mention that it's 2 player only.

-- Loading screen looks like it's messily thrown together.

--- Lack of options.

+++ Mechanics seem to work.

++ Some nice gfx (hand waving...)

[Grid Shift]

its current state

Played survival for a while, then played time attack maybe 7x, getting 61 as my best score (2nd attempt). Also tried endless mode.

+++ It may be unoriginal (kudos for giving credit) but it's new to the web as far as I know.

+++ Great bgm, setting the pace.

+++ Rules are easy to understand.

Game never requires any deep thought - just very shallow thought, which requires time. In the 'time-attack' mode, that seems OK, as the pressure is on to speed up those thought processes and therein lies the challenge.

---- However, the other 2 modes seem totally pointless. The score is no longer a reflection on your ability. As you never lose points for taking as long as you like, there is no reason for anyone to not be able to get infinite points in either of these two modes.

As it is, the 'score' stat is totally pointless.

Maybe better game variations could have been made? Off the top of my head, maybe one where the cards start fading out or the board fades out, essentially imposing a time limit on each level.

Maybe a mode where you have a time limit and must compete to complete more levels (time attack inversed).

Having the two other modes you currently do merely undermines the one good mode you have, lacking as they are either in any sense of urgency or actual decision-making.

-- The blue ball can be confused with the blue warps, thanks to the changing sizes and identical colour. A slight colour change (maybe making one pruple) and maybe more constant sizes (or a constant shift in one direction) would help.

- In time attack mode, the essential info (time) should be increased in size and extraneous info (score) discarded.

==
It's a cool concept and one I vaguely enjoyed in its current state. I doubt I'll return though.