Bezman's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Ed's treasure]

working on

++ Pleasant music. Set mood really well.

- Gets mildly irritating though.

++ I kinda liked the simplicity of the levels. Kept it from getting irritating.

!!!! It's possible to get the fish stuck in the walls around the perimeter. If this happense, we just have to wait for a timeout.

!!!! In level 9, on the way to the coin, we seem to be teleported through the wall when we move round the bend just before the coin.

---- Controls for the light were annoying. Way it moves once, stops, then continues as the repeating-majigie kicks in.

---- Lacks any real challenge. Doesn't ever feel like a skillful game - more just a grind. The light doesn't really add any extra skill to the game, just the grind of having to scan the level.

==
Not bad for a first game, but keep working on the game mechanics.

How about you have the level made up of electric eels and when we touch them, we die? At the start of the level, we'd be allowed to see the level for a few seconds. Thereafter, we get to see a single eel whenever we get within a certain distance?

Still not much fun and the bugs seem game-breaking.

Abs55 responds:

Thanks for the review. I'll think about your ideas when I make future games of Ed and I'll try and fix the bugs as best as I can.

[Mouse game]

ompl

+++ Variation. You used some simple movement and the tiny twist on level 5 to elevate this above what it actually is.

----- Levels seemed far more about trial and improvement than any skill. Memorising where things would appear seemed to be the name of the game, specially in level 9. Replaying levels was just dull.

----- Level 10 seemed unfairly almost-impossible.

--- The font was hard to read.

++ I liked your friendly 'notes'.

++ Presence of level select.

++ ratings

==
After failing 4 times, I right-click-played to get to the cheat screen. Played level 9 2 more times to complete it, played level 10 3 more times, gave up.

It was fun in flashes but ultimately a bit uninspiring.

Ohls responds:

Very very good review. Remember that this was made two years ago hehe. When I had juts picked up flash MX.

I replayed the game just now and everything you say is correct. When I made this I thought it was a lot better than it actually is. I got a better perspective now though =).

[Reservoir Dogs - The Game]

my 3rd go

++++ The ending was great! Made me chuckle.

+++ Intuitive gameplay. Understood all apart from 'punch' immediately.

??? Maybe we should pick up the briefcase automatically? There seems little reason not to - just means that on first play, we wonder what to press.

--- Characters behind us appear in front.

--- The punching seems a bit random as to whether it works or not.

- When we die, it seems a bit feeble. I mean, I'd have liked to see the cop running up to us or something.

-- Using Axel seemed incongruous.

==
I beat it on maybe my 3rd go.

Enjoyed it in the end, though the game was marginally annoying.

Dork457 responds:

Really great notes!

I was still very inexperienced so I'm sorry for things like characters appearing in the wrong order. That's the kind of thing I really wanted to get right.

Glad you played it and shared your thoughts!

[DS Christmas Quiz]

game of the month

+++++ As always, the questions are intelligently posed and the responses are well written, both informative and mildly amusing.
You start off with a couple of easy questions to get us in the mood, then soon go into realms where we'll be more unsure.

+++ Some great reference photos, etc. throughout.

+++ Level indicators show well that we've passed a checkpoint. All too often, checkpoints in these games aren't apparent.

+++ You prevented cheating!

++ 'level' text is fairly well drawn. Specially as it seems to be brush-drawn. I suggest you learn the sub-select tool and use that to clean up such things to make them cleaner though. Also, the numbers should have been drawn by yourself too, to match better.

+ I like being mentioned. Not as much as being caricatured, but still makes me smile. Thanks!

+ I do like the cheerful animations.

- I think the graphics are slightly messy Just the way the pictures of the buttons overlap, the text overlaps with the pics... and the final frame is way too messy - looks appealing and maybe good for a sketchbook page, but not for a menu. The constant animation means we notice the rollOver changes less, so it's ever-so-slightly tricky finding the buttons.
I just felt it could have been laid out better, generally.

-- I don't like the text for question 2 - specially the 'explanation' afterwards. Got it right, but you use a couple of terms that it'd be nice to explain.

--- The text working as the hitbox annoys me because the text doesn't change colour. I think it should, as that's where our focus is and you need to show more clearly what exactly we're interacting with.

----- tab still works.
hint: paste this onto your init frame (first frame, which should initialise stuff)
//right-click menu doesn't show.
Stage.showMenu = false;
//yellow rectangle doesn't show
_root._focusrect = false;

?????? Seriously, dude. It's about time you learnt how to use variables. Even if you want to keep it so that we go back after an incorrect answer (which would be maybe a fair enough design decision. With obvious, well-spaced checkpoints, interesting animations and responses, it's not annoying here) you could maybe show a score at the end.

==
Played, getting 4 questions wrong. A couple of lucky guesses. Played a 2nd time, getting all right.

Really enjoyed it. Learnt some stuff (Silent Night<=Hungary; Fat Santa<=US cartoonist) and enjoyed it all. It just has a kinda messy, unpolished vibe to it, that lets it down slightly.

Oh, and the headless chicken story was amazing! I notice they don't have any festivities for 2007 listed. I'd like to go to the US for a year maybe. Maybe I could go to Colorado for that festival...

Probably my second favourite game of the month, after James the Christmas Zebra.

IceDragon64 responds:

"Jesus Christ!" I exclaimed, appropriately, when I saw the length of this one!
I created this quiz partly with you in mind, so I am very pleased to have hit the spot with it.
- level text is NOT hand drawn its "Trendy" and its supposed to look like that- including the non matching numerals- I might change it cos I agree with you anyway!
-I spend hours trying to get all the pic and text in size and place, but as I keep inserting new ideas it gets hard! I will review these issues.
-i realise that the final Congrats page is not going to be to everyone's taste, but it fits with the image in my mind of the culmination of the 12 days of christmas theme- the manic horde of birds etc. on the final day. I confess I don't always plan where the menu should be and this time I deicded to go crazy and put it all together as part of the easter egg challenge- the result is designed to make the assembled Dragons & Spirits go bananas at the Official Viewing!
-I'm open to suggestions on Q 2. I take your point; I couldn't think of a better way to phrase the question without giving away the answer. The source facts are mostly from Wiki "Christmas".
-Text is never supposed to be my hitbox. I hate that- you click the area and miss the text so it doesnt work! Where is it? My text usually changes colour - only when the text is an overlay and not part of the button is it supposed to not change. I will hunt down any that don't change. I will try and work on the details of hit area and button interaction.
-I don't understand the reference to tab- I assume this is another method of cheating. I figured out the anti- cheat for DS Halloween for myself but thanks for the coding. I will ask Codester to explain it to me.
-I really have no experience of coding/programming and know no more codes than I use here, so 'variables' means little to me. Obviously this is how you keep scores and I think your idea of scoring whilst dying is good!
-Thanks for letting me know your score. It is useful for us.
-you're too young to forget in 5 minutes: Silent Night is Austria and baby Jesus giftbringer is Hungary!
Never mind!
It IS a bit unpolished. I am still working at the edge of my ability and everything that I change changes something else so it takes hours and hours to get it right!
SO glad you liked Mike- The D&S discuss it over and over again!
I am honoured to be mentioned in the same sentance as James the Christmas Zebra. Why do we like JCZ so much? its a really fairly simple game. Its because its called James the Christmas Zebra, really, with that perfect intro!
Best Wishes,
Ice

[Cursors Of The Present 2]

oo

It seemed like more of a showcase of tiny animations/graphics than cursors.

I mean, it really is a far cry from those other mc-spawning cursors that we see in other galleries. The interactivity here is almost incidental.

Some were vaguely amusing, such as the licking one.

Overall though, it got horribly dull and I found myself wishing it would end sooner.

Robotcow responds:

yes it was kind of a showcase, but i could nt just put them out there with nothing to do, it would have gotten blamed for sure, the cursor part is just kick so i can put my aniamations on newgrounds

[NG Gallery V1.0]

work

+ Cool music.

++ I rather liked that bg.

+ I rather liked seeing the few front-page characters.

+ Some nice colouring in the circular dudes.

--- Most of the NG stuff is easy to see. Apart from the animation for being the one to blam a submission and the bug, we can see all of this either in the FAQs or through normal use.

--- A lot of the art (the smily and movie come to mind) seemed just like quick scribbles and rather detracted from the fuller artwork.

??? As ~x~ inferred, it'd be nice to organise these things. Keep NG stuff seperate from original art. Work out a better navigation system, allowing us to jump to sections, or just work through it all.

==
A few vaguely interesting pages and some appealing art brought down by poorer artwork and terrible navigation.

Bertn responds:

L0l... Thanks for the review BTW, but I don't understand why you gave me a 3. But Thanks for the Review!

[--Keep Up--]

feeling guilt

+++ simple to pick up.

++ Funky music

-- The 'win' comes suddenly and seems somewhat arbitrary. You could have at least stated the goal before the game.

- fading text is just annoying.

------ The motion of the ball just seems kinda annoying and unnatural. I found that once the ball was in the air, it was too easy to keep it in a straight line and when the ball falling, the way the motion depends on the timing over such a short period of time makes it all feel slightly random and frustrating.
Hard to put my finger on why - above are just hypotheses - but I basically don't like the motion at all, whereas the classic keepy-uppy game works quite well.

??? If the shadow changed size, relative to the button's height, that'd make for good feedback.

==
Beat it on maybe 6th attempt. Replayed, beat on maybe 4th attempt.

In a way, my favourite thing about this game is that the end meant I could stop playing without feeling guilty.

UnknownFear responds:

Thanks for the review. Sorry you felt guilty while playing it.

-UnknownFear

[- up -]

replaying this game

+++ Wonderful music.

++ Fairly refreshing gameplay. Took me a wee while to realise I was just playing a platformer wih hitTest on the hands! Shows what a difference a 'skin' makes!

----- The falling rocks don't really give us enough warning, so getting hit by them or not seems random and unfair.

--- I think we start losing energy too early in the jump. Or your levels are designed badly with this in mind. Probably both. You force us to jump to areas the same height as the place we came from. Make it so we only take damage when going lower than the starting point.

--- We lose no energy if we slip off an edge and fall far - only if we jump off. This seems silly and incongruous.

-- Link opens up in current window. Have target="_blank".

??? Make it so you tell us our scores for each level individually. After completing a level have the old/new final scores. That'd help us understand how to improve.

?? Maybe also show us some 'world record' for each mountain? Just a number that you consider the best possible score.

??? Show us the score needed to unlock the next level.#

?? Have some facts about the mountain we'll climb, shown just before we do. Maybe a stat-sheet (height/location) with a brief paragraph.

==
Played level one, played level 2. Completed it a few times but failed to open level 3. Decided to quit.

Really, I'm probably not gonna play again. Too much about this game irritated me.

When I clicked for help though, I did really like your 'flavour text'. That encouraged me to try one last time before giving up.

It was mildly enjoyable, but not enough to do all the replaying this game requires.

I wanted to suggest you change the mechanics in some way, but couldn't think of any suggestions that don't involve ragdoll physics.

PARAGON-pvp responds:

Wow, I really appreciate the length to your review and how in-depth it goes. I would like to answer all of the problems you had but I really am limited to how much time I have for writing this review as I have to leave soon. I'll write a PM follow up if I feel needed.

To start off I am thinking about re-submitting a 1.2 version with the following things fixed:
How you lose so much health when you jump, I find you'll think Mt. Kilimanjaro was much better in that sence because you're climbing down into a mountain, if you need help getting to it go to the cheat bar and type in "killa" all small with no "".
I was going to change it so the rocks are slower and let people know that where they fall is a fixed position so if you see a rock falling in a certain area you best avoid it for it's going to come down again within the next 10 seconds or less.
More detail on how to play each level before you actualy start the level in each game,,, Mt. Everest had some detail but it was hardly any at the same time (lvl cheat for that lvl is "everwin")
I would like to add more detail as far as graphics are concerned on the mountains, I feel they could have been done better.

In responce to your comment on slipping off and losing no health, this is actualy not true it is just because you start gaining fall speed faster when you jump, you still will lose health but it will take more time.

I will do my best to send you a PM going further into your review later on in the day. Thank you again for your review, much appreciated!

PARAGON-pvp

[-=STEALTH=- [X-MAS]]

less leeway

+++ Cool music

+++ Some level took a modicum of planning to complete.

--- Most levels practically require you to lose /some/ energy. I think it'd be a stronger game if you made it very possible to complete with no energy loss and gave us far less to begin with, or made the bar deplete far faster. Maybe even ask us to repeat the level as soon as we're spotted. That way, you could maybe start making levels that require actual skill and planning rather than letting us just rush past their fases.

--- Why can guards see through walls? Seems illogical and incongruous.

??? After failing a stage, perhaps allow us to just restart that stage.

??? Back button, or maybe 180-degree turn button?

?? Make field-of-vision thing slightly more visible.

==
After failing the second stage (1-2), I restarted and got through all the levels, with a little bit of planning. It was mildly enjoyable, but I never had to really put as much thought in as I'd have liked.

Maybe develop it further. giving us less leeway and making better-designed 'puzzles', but keep the guard movements simple, like now. Don't require us to watch the screen for ages to learn the patterns.

Stay funky!

Axlenz-FlashElite responds:

THanks mate!!!

Those are some very detailed suggestions, and i will make sure to fix them soon, whether in the form of a sequel or an update.

-Axlenz

[Jingle Ballistical]

due to luck

+++ Variety of moves...

+++ Santa/Toy have great winning poses. Great lighting/colour for thos poses!

--- Why no winning poses for Frosty/elf-kid?

--- When we try and attack in mid-air, it 'feels' wrong - attacking, then dropping, rather than bringing out a leg or fist as we drop, as I'd expect.

!!!! A couple of times, an enemy got stuck on a different vertical plane, walking about as if the ground was above me!

==
Played as santa, was beated by frosty, changed gore to max, rounds to 1, played as Elf-kid, first beaten by frosty, then winning game. Played as toy, then gave up.

Congrats on making a vaguely playable beat-em-up. I've long thought this kinda game is the hardest to implement well in Flash.

Unfortunately, it still seems kinda stilted and unnatural, with not really enough 'broadcasting' to counter or evade properly. Winning felt hollow and more due to luck and 'the game letting me' than any skill.

evolart responds:

Thank you but the engine isnt mine. And if there is a bug its my fault