Bezman's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Skirmish - Game]

progression, may

++++ Controls work fairly well. I like the double-jump.

--- Sword-play seemed a little too much like random wanton clicking.

? Maybe requiring a bit more minimum power to do any real damage would make it a bit more strategic?

--- Not enough stats given in-game. I'd like to know at least the total kills. Also, maybe our progress. Also, time played?
I'd really like to know how much ammo I have for things without having to switch. And know if the cannon has any ammo.

?? Maybe a bit red screen-filling flash for when we're hit?

--- Music got repetitive. No 'off' button I could find.

+++ Graphics fairly cute. I like the different designs.

==
I played and got a rank of 'general', I think. Got 'fragile bodies/super SMG' bonuses. Started again, but after 30s decided I shouldn't bother.

It got boring the first time.

More variation, maybe faster progression, may help.

Sceptz responds:

Your total kills and in-game time are displayed when you die.
I did add a notice when you get hit but I guess it was too small, and use 'N' to disable in-game music.

[Zodiac Tower]

it was wasted

+++ Very polished graphics.

!!!-- Music starting before any user-input.

--------- Never any feeling of pressure or challenge.

----- No explanation of the scores we get after each level. A breakdown would let us know what to aim for.

!!!!!--- When trying to submit a score for the 3rd/subsequent times, an error message came up on the site - 'invalid data'.

--- Annoying stop-start play.

-- Having the possible positions highlighted made it feel a bit condescending.

--- It annoyed me never knowing exactly how much the bombs/TNT/magnets would take out. Having highlights for that might help put the focus on strategising the positioning rather than trying to work out and memorise the fields.

------ Little variation/development as we continue.

++ Some variation with the 3 game aims and the various special items.

==
Reached level 2*****

Thing is, the game wasn't particularly enjoyable. I was just hoping for surprises or more interesting combos or challenges that never came.

After playing, I just feel like it was wasted time.

[Puppy Fetch - TSF]

after level 3

Completed with a score of 41405.

+++ Great 'tutorial'.

!!!!-- Music starting before input from us. Irritating.

----- Poor level design, with such 'features' as leaps of faith (requiring fair accuracy); slip-ups forcing us to repeat bland, tiresome sections (after falling down); jumps requiring us to take advantage of the dodgy collision detection...

---- annoying movement - we sometimes pass through parts of the scenery (in fact in the icy cavern this seemed the only way to progress at points), inertia that seems slightly inconsistent...

++ Some encouragement of exploration.

++ Clean art.

-- Visuals bit bland at times. Some texture or shading may have helped.

==
No pleasant surprises, no 'joy of discovery', no 'thrill of survival' or of a job well done... I found it got a bit dull after level 3. Carried on though.

Fairly asinine.

[Impossible Puzzle]

bit of fun

Completed when timer reached 22s. But in wrong place - didn't see rectangle until 2nd play-through. One 2nd play-through, I got the congrats screen before all pieces were down. I'd been moving and replacing if that helps you locate th bug. On 3rd, it took all pieces to complete the game. Played a 4th time and it never went to the win screen, even after all pieces were fitted.

++ Pleasing wood texture.

+ Mildly interesting pic

--- timer over timer looks messy.

- Kinda unoriginal picture. Maybe draw or paint a pic yourself?

--- sound got annoying.

??? Have pieces snap in place?

!!!- 'completion' bug (see top)

==
Not the worst jigsaw on NG, but could be improved severerly.

A tiny bit of fun (replayed mainly to try and work out the bug, that I couldn't).

ToLet responds:

Sorry i lost the fla.

[F2Jam The Music Game v1.0]

made generally

Completed most on easy and all on medium. ParagonX's tune failed me a few times on hard. 'Epic Battle' seemed the hardest, failing me maybe 3 times on medium. Beat all others.

++++ All works well.

+++ Presses well-matched to rhythm.

++++ Intuitive.

--- buttons could correspond more to the positions of notes on the scale.

-- When we die, it's not always obvious. There should be a big mark saying 'game over' or something, so we know we failed.

-- stats aren't easy to percieve. Progress/failure bar should have empty bars to properly show how far up they can go.

-- It seems more natural to look up than down. I dunno if you reversed the positions just to distance it from DDR, but stats and notes going to top works better, I feel.

-- Somehow, the 'perfect', etc. seem hard to see. Maybe if they were bigger, with large expanses of colour flashing up...

?? Maybe warn us - flash bg or change colour as we approach failure. Maybe darken it as we approach death?

==
Doubt I'll come back to this. Well made generally, but I'd rather have the active play and more polished look of DDR than the extra buttons of this.

That I'm comparing it to professional games though, speaks volumes.

[A66 Game]

first screen

+++ Amusing character designs.

+++ Clean, nicely coloured graphics.

----- repetitive

--- Power up/power down system made little sense.

?? Some more enemy characters?

!!-- The replay/retry buttons don't work - I had to close and re-open the window to replay.

==
Played, got to boss and lost. Played again, and again died at the boss.

After the first screen of characters, then checking out the various weapons, it all seemed samey.

[Fantasy Female 8]

particularly

+++ Splitting up the colour/shape editors is a great idea!

+++ Not many dress-ups for folk in armour.

--- without shading, the clothes look very flat.

--- kinda rough lines.

-- When wearing full body armour, weapons go behind leg armour.

-- I found the click to go to #1 annoying.

?? Make numbers wraparound. (If we're on the max version of something and press forward, goto #1 and vice versa)

??? Allow us to change companion colour.

!! hair #8 is the same as hair #13.

!!! Edit the start. change it to say your NG name and permit use on Newgrounds. Looks dodgy atm.

==
Not a bad dress-up. Codes and all the options do give it a lot of potential. Still looking rough around the edges though and nothing I generated looked particularly appealing.

The art's ok, but when that's all we have, it should be slicker yet.

Syrsly responds:

I'm working on a new dress-up with better drawings. The next one will have more interaction with your created character, so you create the character and he or she talks to you.

[Bounce Teh Balls!]

just doesn't

27, 29, 25, 32. Quit.

++++ Intuitive.

--- fairly soon, left and right will fall simultaneously, which is impossible to catch. Though we can try and prevent this, by timing the hitting of the balls (as we get a window of time to do so), this just isn't realistic.

-- flashing hurt my eyes.

==
The game just doesn't work as I think you meant it to. Preventing disaster seems random.

Shame to see it never remade.

[Bounce Invaders]

trimming games

++ Clean graphics.

++ well-layered beats

----- Unoriginal (just Pang with the 2 meters and no power-ups).

---- Increasing health-meter means we can just wait before each level to start each with full health.

????? Zap our stats back to max after each level?

??? Give us less health?

?? Maybe give shots more girth or something when power is higher? Would help differentiate it.

==
Got to level 11, then quit.

I like trimming games to their basic elements, but the meters are ill-judged.

A few changes would help differentiate it.

Just now, it seems a broken, unfinished game.

[Bounce Out]

more honing

++++ Asking us to think about the 'health' of the paddle and dodge falling bricks - interesting.

++ Sounds are recognisably what they represent.

----- I hate the way the ball responds. Simply altering direction based on position on paddle just seems unnatural to me. I'd rather it was based on a combination of previous speed and the motion of the paddle. If position affects it, maybe curve the paddle, to try and illustrate that fact?

--- Often a row of grey bricks fell down together. Seems unfair.

---- Uninspiring level design.

---- Replaying previously completed levels.

!!!!!--- Both times I lost, it was because upon destruction of my paddle, I wasn't given new one.

==
Played twice, losing on level 3, then level 1, when the paddle broke and wasn't repaired.

I really like the idea, but feel it needs more honing.

Not fun at all yet and broken.