Bezman's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Losing Touch with the World]

Awesome funky vibe, but repetitive.

Loved it instantly when it came onto the NGAP Radio and after playing it a 2nd time, wanted to review it. But your own comment kinda sums up my big criticism - the repetition.

I love the basic loop going on, but it's kinda overpowering and whilst I can hear some funky stuff in the bg, it's not enough.

Around 2:19, some funky guitars are overlaid. If you had a layer like that running through the entire piece, it could totally rock.

Thing is that I love what you've got here - just feels unfinished to me - lacking one final layer. It reminds me of some of the Donkey Kong Country tunes for some reason and if some flowing guitars were laid over it all and it were made into a 1-1:30ish loop, it'd be totally awesome for some game.

Maybe a Game in which you're in an abandoned area full of delights - like Shadow Factory but with a funkier vibe.

Have you/will you ever continue this?

CJB100 responds:

Thnx! Liked this review better than your others; If possible, keep giving advice like you did here. I would love to continue making a lot of music, but my computer is messed up, and my DVD drive and Windows don't work right, meaning I have to use an older version of my Music Making software. Plz check my newest song (The Murderer's Planet). I'll make these better when I get my computer working.

[Picked Moments]

3:02 but great for a casual non-time-based puzzler

Again, another great song. Has a tiny bit of a Spanish flavour and loops perfectly with nothing marking the fact that it's a loop.

It could maybe have a bit more variation in the melody, but I love the flowing nature of the finger-picking style and the varieties of drum loops.

Could use a bit more work - basically just more variety and stuff added - the stuff nearly every song could benefit from. You've got a great talent for a laid back style though and I'm looking forward to hearing how you evolve your talents.

If a bit shorter (maybe in the 1-minute area) it'd be a great loop for a relaxed puzzle game, but few if any flash games deserve a 3 minute loop. Maybe rework it to be shorter and resubmit?

El-Romano responds:

I'm gonna think about that man. Soon, I'm promise. :)

[Retro Pico - Loop]

Everything is awesome bar the end fade/ loop.

The one thing I don't like about this is the end/loop. A single note with a quick fade-out? Why drop the beat there, when it's pretty much constant throughout?

As it is, it's a cool tune. It could've been a cool tune AND a great loop.

Still, a great vibe and great variations.

The end/loop just really disappoints me as it makes such a massive difference to it, making it nigh on unusable for games.

Winterwind-NS responds:

well i think i mentioned this already but i thought the deadline for this months mac was the end of march so i submitted wut i had so far. im guessing that i cant resubmit so w/e

the end of the loop is fixed so im having ppl email me for it if they wanna use it. so far 7 animations have used it, 4 at newgrounds.

[Crossroad MAC]

Cool for 'light' schmup but build/drop annoys.

I don't like loops with build-up/drop down generally.

This has a cool 'flying' vibe. Some of the melodies are kick-ass and it could work for a short movie.

I'd love to use something with this vibe in a scrolling flying shooter, but as mentioned, I kinda feel the build/drop ruins a loop, making it more a 'loop' of a short piece of music than a constant stream of background music, as a good loop should be imo.

Something about melody and the instruments you used makes me enjoy listening to it despite that problem though.

Envy responds:

Well this was just for a loop contest type thing. I took a part from a whole song I have that i uploaded under a different name. The song is a bit longer with a longer intro.
Thanks for the review

[Echoz- Dementia]

A+++ for a penultimate level of a pro-active game.

Wow!

Great variety, this tune really keeps us on our toes!

I'm not too keen on the start - the way it's lacking in that electronic melody there kinda makes the loop more obvious and annoying.

However, there's so much going on!

And the vibe! This song says, "Watch out! You could be killed! But it's OK! We're on a roll now!"

I think it's be perfect for a penultimate level of a game maybe.

EchozAurora responds:

yay. good review =]
Yeah, in retrospect, I think it may have been better to have the beat in at the beginning, although in a game, the way it is now would work as a great intro to a loop, looping from the third phrase onward. I liked allowing the eerie background noise to seep through there, gave it a kinda creepy feel.
But anyways, thanks for the review!

[SR - Pico's March (MAC07)]

Cool sound, but way too repetitive.

Not enough variations imo.

The growling-type instrument sounds cool, but a 3s loop repeated over and over gets boring.

I appreciated the drum variations, but there's just not enough layers really to get away with one being so repetitive/monotonous.

==
Cool sound, but way too repetitive.

SineRider responds:

You do know this is supposed to be a loop, and well loops are alot of times repetitive. But thanks for the criticisms antways :)

[==(Transparent Machine)==]

Not Pico. A+ for a cave of wonder.

You know I love some of your tunes. Your skills are great.

Imo, this piece is not.

Imo, the 'Pico feeling' should maybe indicate that danger is about to break out. Pico's still just a little kid. He could easily get killed. But when the violence bursts out, he's prepared to be a sick fucker and kill rather than be killed.

Overall though, if it has the 'Pico feeling' you should be able to see it being used in a game/animation with Pico.

The best fit I can see for this tune is if Pico were walking along a scene that's a prelude to danger, similar to the corridors in Pico's School.

But this seems more like a tune about a cave of wonder than a prelude to danger.

Yknow, for a game or a movie where you're exploring a cave of wonder, this could work brilliantly.

Buoy responds:

it's supposed to be a slow tune you know, I didn't want to make a lot of action in it.

What about the school basement? That's what I thought when I made this.

thanks for the cool review!

[GENERIC PICO ROCK LOOP]

Generic, like title.

Yes, the guitars do sound very fake.

I don't understand why so many of you guys faded out the end instead of making it loop.

The drums are nicely varied, specially at the start.

The whole thing just feels kinda generic like the title says, though. Doesn't really conjure up any atmosphere for me.

Father-of-Death responds:

hehehehehe yup

[Para-Noid Penalty (MAC7 L]

RPG mini fight? Anim of muscle-guy skipping?

Doesn't sound Pico-esque to me really.

The major-key melody doesn't really fit in his attitude. I mean Pico's a little kid. It there's a heavy beat going on, he should be worried about being killed, not smiling!

This makes me think of a mini-boss fight in some other game, where people are actually big beefy warriors, maybe some turn-based game. Or maybe just a big guy skipping around. Hehe.

==
Good tune but not for Pico imo.

Btw, did you just copy/paste the first 5s to double the length? Why?

Para-Noid responds:

Because then it would sounds stupid on the portal. Just 5 seconds then like a split second wait so I make it alitle longer.

Para-Noid

[Para-Noid Asphault]

A+ for bouncing microgame/slow car comic game

When I hear this, visions of cars drifting by fill my mind. Could be great for a comic game about racing in segways or a microgame about a bouncing character...

It's a bit too repetitive to be played long (understandable due to its length).

MAC7 though - shouldn't it have a bit more aggression, a bit more 'bite' to be Pico-esque?

Para-Noid responds:

Well my first time ever doing these stupid contest things.