Bezman's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Litle Jumping Thing]

A tad predictable. Not much fun.

Beat the game. Didn't lose any lives.

-- It annoyed me that ifr I jumped in the green lifts, I'd fall to the bottom. I'd have liked to be able to climb up faster. Maybe if the lift just made me rise faster, that'd be cool.

-- The 'super jump' seemed to act strangely, kind making me super jump every 2nd time I jumped from it and sometimes when I hovered over it.

+++ New obstacles added. Variation.

- The instructions page reveals too much. (i.e. everything)

- I didn't like the graphics for the spring at rest. Also, I didn't like all the thin lines and flat colours.

- The fact that we need to wait for an animation to stop before we can enter the exit can annoy.

- None of the obstacles are surprising. The level design isn't particularly inventive. Basically, the whole game is a bit predictable.

overall
=====

Not bad. If you keep developing it, it could be fun. Just needs some better level design and more inventive (use of) obstacles.

[Pimp My Piece v1.0]

Some amusing bits.

I actually kinda think all the reviews are way too harsh.

++ Some parts are kinda funny. Like the cracked windows, dead bodies, barnyard scene...

---- The whole 'dress-up' style of game is inherently limited. This game does nothing to overcome those limitations.

overall
=====
It's got some amusing art, but it's not really worth the download.

Maybe try and do a movie or a less limited style of game?

Stay funky,
- Bez

[Crazy Ball!]

I didn't find it fun.

Pointers
=======

---- I strongly felt that the difficulty gradient was too shallow. As I so often find (with online games), 90% of the time was spent getting to a point where the game became interesting.

-- Interpolating one or 2 steps in the 'defence' mode would have been nice. (i.e. hitTest for 1 or 2 extra points between the previous frames _x/_ymouse and this frame's.) As it is, I often felt I should have picked up some balls.

--- In survival mode, the power-ups meant that sometimes death felt a bit unfair. Not entirely my fault.

++ Lots of modes

+ recognisable/sensible symbols used for power up/downs.

overall
=====
If it was the survival mode and it just got speedier at a faster rate, I would have preferred that a lot.

To be honest, I see no reason to raise the speed in 'steps'. Why not in a gradual shift?

As it is, maybe you could have considered the 'Game & Watch Gallery-style' difficulty curve - the speed raising quickly, then dropping to slightly above its original speed each time the level is increased.

It's basically just a seperation of the 2 elements seen in games such as Gavin Shapiro's 'Squares'. Fair enough, you've presented them in your own way. But I think a little more work was necessary to make this truly fun.

[Dead Eye]

Simple. Some flaws (imo).

Some aspects
==========

-- I think that (for a game presumably intended to be replayed over and over to get a better high score) it's a bit too long.

----- In the hardest mode, in the 2nd stage (i.e. after having clicked 'accept' for the 2nd time) I shot targets until the counter got to 0 and I wasn't progressed. Reloading didn't work. Some sort of bug, though I don't know what caused it.

--- When out time is getting close to 0, we're not warned. I think we should hear some beeps and maybe have the screen flash.

- It seems as if it's a mistake the way the targets bounce off an area slightly above and below the screen.

+ Some nice sfx.

+ The graphics (though simple) are fairly clean, sharp, and well organised for text etc.

overall
=======

I didn't enjoy it. The game lacked variety and it never felt 'tense'.

I actually feel that the simple graphics work perfectly for this game though. Given the precision required for the scores, anything other than a target just wouldn't work.

[Kill The Pacman]

Fun for a short while.

how I played this
==================

Played Adventure mode. Got to the level where you need to kill x Blues. After trying quite a few times and getting annoyed, I cheated and skipped forward to the level which introduced the black pac-men, then played to the end.

Then tried out time trial and played for a couple of minutes. Then tried out 'training' for a few seconds.

some selected aspects
===================

++++ Basic movement feels nice.

++++ I like the fact that you have both a level-based and a score-based mode.

-- In time attack mode, you should really store at least 3 personal bests (1 for each difficulty).

--- I personally think that the adventure mode has a difficulty spike.

- I think the adventure mode should have multiple difficulty settings. Not just with different numbers of Pac-men, but also slightly different objectives.

--- Inherently limited...

overall
========
A fairly fun game while it lasted, but one that I have no real desire to return to in the future. I guess I just feel like I've seen pretty experienced all it offers.

[ThinSquares]

About as fun as the original.

how I played this
==================

Played 1x with mouse, 1x without, then about 4 more times with (getting to level 3 a couple of times).

some selected aspects
===================

+++ Some interesting power-ups. I specially like '6th sense'. Nice programming.

++++ Solid gameplay.

+ morphing squares add visual interest

+ Levels encourage replay and lend a greater sense of progression.

--- No personal high scores recorded.

-- I always feel with games like this that we should be able to start at a higher level to eliminate the boring easy part. In this game, maybe we could have the option of starting at the start of any level we've completed.

- You could do more yet to change the visuals of the game. Maybe introduce a bg, change the tune, give the blocks textures?

- The way the squares are coming isn't 100% clear. In the original, there was always one of each colour coming from each direction. Here, it's not so easy to work out where the next one will come from.

overall
========

You've expanded on the original game well. Some fun additions.

However, I was never entirely sure about the whole addition of random power-ups. It just seemed to dilute the core gameplay.

[QuaRkZ]

I like the basic rules of this game.

how I played this
==================

Played many different gametypes... far from every possible combination though.

Not played in 2p.

some selected aspects
===================

++++ I like the basic rules of play, with the forward-planning necessary when combos come into play. Simple enough to pick up with a good amount of strategic depth.

- A bunch of the options we can select seem kinda broken. (10 pts on a large grid?)

-- I'd have really liked to see a smaller selection of levels suggested by you. Maybe you could have recommended 3-5 different setups, with an option to choose a custom setup if we so desired.

+ Good options

overall
========

It's a game I enjoyed playing, but I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the number of options we are forced to choose when playing a game.

[Final Sustenance]

A fun little wander.

how I played this
==================

Played, got 3 items, lost game, played again, won, played 3rd time checking out 'defend'. Won comfortably. PLayed 4th time. Won with 999HP.

some selected aspects
===================

++++ Great voices.

++++ Amusing dialogue/story.

- When the pop tart is found, Greghory doesn't comment on the other dude not having eaten it.

- Greghory walks a bit too slow for my liking.

- No instructions screen. Was there a button to check my inventory? For this game, a little picture in the bottom left might have been an idea.

- I didn't like having to sit through the credits after I lost - I wanted to just get back in there and try again!

++ Defending is a really interesting system. I like the modicum of strategy it necessiates.

overall
========

It was an amusing diversion. The joke made me smile and the battle system was good enough to merit a few play-throughs.

If the longer game had the same sense of humour present here, it'd be great. I hope you don't make it too dry. Also, I'm worried that the defending and the entire battle system may become tiring... I hope you come up with some way of forcing real strategy into the battles and bringing some diversity in.

As it is here, it's both an amusing game and a tempting preview of what's to come.

I look forward to it.

Stay funky,
- Bez

[Marvin Spectrum]

Another fun game from monkokio.

how I played this
==================

Played this a few times a while ago. Tonight, I played it maybe 10 more times and played the high score mode for the first (and maybe also 7th) time.

Currently have 141 as my best score in the main game and 41 as my 'personal best'.

some selected aspects
===================

+++++ Basic rules of play/controls. I like the combining of 2 seperate controls to get through the gates. It meant we had to wrap our minds around both things simultaneously - a sort of brain bender in a way.

++ Background artwork. Aliens in jars, scientists walking around... very nice. Also, I really like the way the lines on the ceiling move and make it look really 3d.

++ Different 'hats' to encourage progression.

++ Well balance difficulty curve in main game, with both faster speeds and more colours introduced later.

++ High score mode to accomodate infinite skill (I'm presuming it goes infinitely fast...).

--- I don't really like the way that when we make a mistake in the 'normal' game, the whole screen clears and we lose 2 or 3 points, not just one. It seems kinda unfair to me.

- Only the one hat changes colour. I was hoping the Megaman-style one would as well.

- When we die in the high score mode, it doesn't show us our last score.

- When we die in the high score mode, there should maybe be an option to just retry it without going to the menu.

- Inherently limited nature of game.

overall
========

A fun game to play for a short while. I expect to return to this at some point in the future though.

When it gets faster (as in the high score mode), the dynamic totally changes and there's a sense of satisfaction to be had from managing to survive the onslaught.

The simplicity is turned on its head as the speed is cranked up and we realise how difficult this 'simple' little game can be.

[Christmas Castle Defense]

Amazing concept/programming. Gameplay lacking.

how I played this
==================
Played once. Got to L6. realised the whole concept of snow being the enemy...

Played 2 more times, getting to L6, then L7.

Played one last game after reading a review, realised that 'hot hands' needed us to click to destroy snow. With that ability, I was able to get to level 20, after which the enemies suddenly stopped coming. My score was 121244. (I'd decided to try and get exactly 123456 before stopping, but ah well...)

some selected aspects
===================

++++ I reallly like the idea of having a natural enemy.

---- I really think you should have full instructions. Both to explain the concept and also to explain what the abilities do.

-- One time when I clicked all the abilities a bunch of times, I couldn't seem to remove snow anymore. I'm assuming this was an error.

--- Hot hands makes it too easy for anyone who can click fast. Maybe you should make that remove snow at a certain rate as you move the mouse over? And clicking 'hot hands' multiple times should increase that rate.

- It doesn't seem thematically consistent for the enemies to turn into snow when they hit your castle. I suppose you could say they're 'snow sprites' or something, though...

- It's easy to click the ability buttons by accident when clicking on a flying fish.

+++ Really nice motion over snow, specially with the jet-ski (or whatever those things are called).

+++ Build-up of snow works really well.

++ I like the blurring as you move the walkers. How the hell did you do that?

overall
========

A really cool concept with terrain deformation that's a sight to behold. I felt the gameplay was just a case of working out the (unexplained) abilities, after which it became really easy for the whole game if you can click fast.

Still, I enjoyed it because of the deformation aspect.

Stay funky,
- Bez