Zir0's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Fortside]

Nice Game

Hey.

- Include the ability to mute music and sounds separately, instead of both of them at once.

- It's a bit difficult, as you really have to have lots of towers to fend off those faster moving enemies.

- When the game is paused, the "Pause" button text should change to "Unpause", "resume" or something like that.

- For towers that you cannot yet afford, you should still indicate how much money is needed.

- Regarding the upgrades UI, same deal; display the prices for those you cannot yet afford. Also, allow the players to see the descriptions, regardless if they have the upgrades or not, even if they can't yet afford them.

On the title screen
- The transitions are a bit glitchy. Try clicking on the same option multiple times before the transition ends to see what I mean. (-:

- Graphics look nice. Some of it reminds me of the free artwork given out from Lostgarden.com, but I could be wrong. (-:

- Audio quality is fine. Music is nice and subtle.

- You should include some target that you are trying to defend, rather than simply putting the end of the road. Making the enemies self-destruct at the end of the road while the player gets penalized for it makes no sense.

Typos

In the tutorial:

Page 2
- "Your" is misspelled. You have "You'r".
- Change the s3entence to "Don't let enemies reah the end of the road!"

Page 3
- Change the first part of the sentence to "At the end of each level, ".

Page 4
- Remove the comma from "control buttons, that"

Page 5
- Change the part of the sentence to ""Brings you constant increasing amount of money"

Page 6
- Change "have" to "has", in "The Third tower 'has'".

Page 8
- Change "if you shure" to "if you're sure", or "if you are sure".

- Change "how much enemies" to "how many enemies". You use "much" to denote a measurement, and "many" to denote a quantity, and you're specifying a quantity of enemies here, so you would write "many".

- In the following sentence, change "fail" to "failure".

- "It shows you whenever all the enemies are on the field."

Not much on originality. The fact that it's another defense game is not the issue here, but I don't see much that makes it stand out from all the other defense games of this type out there.

Good skill and congrats on getting it on Arcadebomb! (-:

_________________
- Ziro out.

[Neku Platformer]

Needs Lots of Work

Hey.

It seems more like a test of sorts or a _very_ early work in progress, and appears to be unfinished.

1). The controls were intuitive, as many platform games use the same controls. However, in-game instructions would be nice.

2). Of course, the need for audio goes without saying. (-:

3). You seem to have mixed art. The player's character is pixel art, yet most everything else seems to be vector art. Stick to one type of art so the game has a consistent look.

4). Consider using a custom made character instead of ripped sprites. If you can't draw, there's freeware art out there. Furthermore, you can always use the artwork of others to get ideas (which is what I do).
^_^

5). Needs a background instead of plain white.

6). Include a title screen with a Start and Help/Instructions menu items, and perhaps include an Options item (for muting future audio and/or remapping controls.) This is really how I can tell you're still working on it - your game goes _straight_ to the gameplay. :-)

7). You seem to have sloped ground in the game. Figure out how to make your character traverse it smoothly without having to jump, otherwise, remove it.

8). I was on the spinning platform, and the character does not move with the platform, which should be happening.

9). When the game ends, include some transition; don't just say "Fail". VERY user unfriendly. Also, allow the player to restart play again, instead of having to reload the Flash.

10). Include a HUD once you have your idea fully developed.

11). Don't forget to include some sort of pause ability in your final version. If you plan on a lengthy game, a save feature would be very user friendly as well.

12). I seemed to have found some "invisible" platforms. I fell off of them, then I kept falling until I fell off the screen, lol.

That's all I can think off of the top of my head.

Still lots of work to be done; hope you have a complete, fully functional, and fun game. Platformers are a good genre, in my opinion.

Good skill on your game.

__________________
- Ziro out.

jell0boy responds:

thanks a lot for the review, it helped! I'll owrk on it some more and repost it.

[Clickozoid: Waterfall]

Niec Game

Hey.

The keyboard is much easier for me to use than constantly clicking the mouse. Hope no one gets RSI from overdoing it using the mouse.

Graphics, sound, items, and everything else are fine, though. (-:

________________
- Ziro out.

[Prober]

Not Bad for a First

Hey.

Welcome to AS3. (-:

Nice game for a first.

I encountered two ActionScript runtime error messages while playing.

1). After my game was over, and I clicked Retry, I got this message:

"TypeError: Error #1009: Cannot access a property or method of a null object reference.
at GameOver/beginClass()"

Also, I when I turn the sounds off, and my game restarts, the sounds are back on (they probably should stay off, to what the user set the option to). So, when I click to turn them off again, I get the above error message again. (I only get it once, when I click to turn the sounds back off.)

2). When my game was over, I got this message:

"TypeError: Error #1009: Cannot access a property or method of a null object reference.
at Bullet/eFrame()"

I only got this one after I have advance a few levels.

Using Flash Player 10 Debug.

Everything else in the game is alright.

Hope those help, and good skill with your game.

___________________
- Ziro out.

[Metal Arena 2]

Very nice

Hey.

Thanks for letting me know about this one!

- Interesting level system as well. You put the SMB power-up sound in there, lol.

- I noticed that after you close the level up window, you lose control of the tank. You have to click on the game area to regain control. Quite inconvenient if you're in a pinch, or a large number of enemies decide to engage. (-: It should automatically restore control to the tank.

This really becomes a problem if you are moving at the time you level up. After you close the window, you tank continues to move in the direction it was moving before the window opens up, and it becomes "locked" in that direction.

- The music was much more appropriate, and you can control sound and music separately. I spent time playing with all four possible combinations. :-P (Music with no sounds always seems like a music video to me. :-P )

- What is the vertical bar along the left side of the screen for?

- Tank still moves weird when turning, it it's kinda funny . :-P

- Although I could not make it past the first arena, but it's still pretty good.

Many improvements over your first installment. :-)

_________________
- Ziro out.

matakukos responds:

Hi! , thanks for your feedback :)
The bar is the progress of the level.
:P

[Metal Arena]

Nice Game

Hey.

Good shoot'em up tank game. (-:

- When your tank changes direction, you should probably "spin" the rotation very quickly. It's very awkward looking for a tank to be spinning around like that. :-P

- The music doesn't fit. I would suggest something with more of a military/war theme to it. Furthermore, you should allow the player to mute only the music, and let the sounds continue. Also, the sounds get a bit monotonous after a while, so I just played the game in total silence. :-P

- The array of weapons were nice.

- You should replace the gradients on those object that have them with more detailed artwork. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, but using gradients like this looks tacky.

- A change of scenery would be nice. At first, I though you could use any of those 4 openings to explore around. (-:

- If you kill enemies while they are too deep in the openings, then you can't get the power-ups. Not sure if that's by design or not.

- I like the hit effect of briefly illuminating the enemies when they get hit. I would do the same for the player's tank.

- I also like how you clean up the debris after a short while, so the game screen doesn't get cluttered up.

Good job. (-:

_________________
- Ziro out.

[Whistle Evaluator]

Good Concept

Hey.

This is very interesting, and a good training exercise. (-:

Just need a way to mute the music, and it needs more questions presenting other ways in which the whistle can be blown, and a way to see which questions were scored correctly. I believe others have already mentioned these, however, should you decide to allow the player to see the answers, that should be a choice, should he/she want to make several more attempts first. (-:

The highest I got was a 90%. I tried the test several times, to try ans see in which question(s) the discrepancy lies, but, I keep getting 80% or 90%, so there is mere disagreement somewhere on review ratings. (-:

Other than that, this is pretty good, and it needs more exposure. Maybe a mod can see this? :-P

So, I've posted a reference to this Flash (and you (-: ) in a thread called, "The purpose of Reviews", started by None
DjZeaklous. The URL is here:
http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1 043492

The thread is not exactly regarding whistle status, but it is related, in terms of helping give good reviews, so we all can get more HELPFUL reviews in our Flashes! (-:

I feel like I'm back in grade school. :-P

Good skill, soldier.

____________________
- Ziro out.

coocooletmoi responds:

Thanks a lot! Very helpful. I mentioned it before, I will be including all those in the next version!

[Missile Defence]

Not too Shabby

Hey.

Nice remake of the classic Missile Command. (-:

- Definitely need to add more particle effects this, to make those projectiles and explosions stand. The game looks so bland. Consider the Flint particle system, and if you're already using particles, kudos, but beef them up some more. This is true especially when you blow up ships, or one of your buildings is destroyed.

A game like this, especially with the "vector-like" feel that you've given it (-:, DEFINITELY needs more "eye candy", if ya know what'm talkin' 'bout! ;-D

- Same with the audio. Needs to be more engaging. Furthermore, I would assign several different sounds to the same events (firing, explosions, etc.), so the game doesn't sound so monotonous. Your game is only 1.6MB; a few extra sounds won't hurt. (-:

- Is there a way to pause the game and perhaps also allow the player to adjust audio options during game play, should they choose? Unless I missed something, apparently, the only "rest" is in-between levels, and the game isn't very user-friendly in this aspect.

- When upgrading, the text on the disabled upgrade UI buttons is too difficult to read, because the text color is so close to the button color. Also, consider adding some "depth" to those UI buttons. A simple gradient looks _very_ tacky. Furthermore, I'd consider making the buttons bigger altogether, so you don't have to squeeze text in them, as the case is with the "Missile Power", and "Missile Speed" buttons. There is no vertical margin on those whatsoever.

- When I reached around wave 10 and henceforth, I noticed that the upgrade buttons would slide only to the left of the screen, not the center, as they were doing. Is this by design?

- Is the player awarded any kind of bonus for destroying multiple targets with a single shot?

- There are lots of Missile Command clones out there, and since this is not original gameplay, you _really_ need something to make it stand out from all the others.

Other than those, nice game, and good skill, soldier. (-:

_________________
- Ziro out.

RedSpaceship responds:

Thanks for the detailed comments. I've added some changes in the new version, check it out.

[Crystal of melavia]

Needs a Lot More Work

Hey.

There is still _much_ improvement to be made here. (-:

- It appears that the left and right walking animations for the player are reversed (legs are moving backward, but character advances forward). :-P

- I do like how the player go "behind" bushes and what not.

- When text appears on the screen (names of locations, when you collect items, etc.), please consider making them last a bit longer, as well as standing out more, so they are easier to see.

- I noticed that if I get hit while I am attacking, the "hit" sound rapidly repeats itself several times. Not sure if this is by design or not, but it seems odd.

- You may want to consider the arrow keys in addition to WASD keys for movement, or perhaps, allow the player to set their own key for each action the character can perform.

- There appears to be a glitch in the MochiAds. Seems the ads and the game load simultaneously. Quite peculiar:

a). The game loads, and the title appears for a split second, then it goes straight into the main gameplay.
b). Next, the Mochi-Ads just comes in and takes over. :-P
c). When I click "Skip this Ad", the ad disappears, but then the game quits and returns to the title screen. :-P

- Nice job adding Mute for music. (-:

- In the La Piza of Kordius Town, when I go into the Storage Room and walk along the little hallway there, my character "jags" around. Hope that makes sense. You may want to take a look and check how you're doing your collision testing, and what not.

- I noticed that, in your clock in the upper-right corner of the screen, when a minute has passed, the seconds indicator only stays on the 0 for a _very_ short time before incrementing to 1. Also, you should pad the seconds indicator with a 0 when it is in single digits, as in "00", "01", "02", etc., to look more like a clock. (I am assuming that the indicator on the right is for seconds. My bad if it's not; maybe it's the minutes indicator [for "game time", etc]).

- Nice how it turns from day to night, although it gets a bit too difficult to see at night. It looks like you merely dimmed everything. I would consider changing it to a dark-blue looking environment, to give a better impression of nighttime.

- When you level up, you should make that apparent. I was on level 3 and didn't even know it, lol. Furthermore, perhaps consider displaying how much EXP is required to reach teh next level.

- I noticed, my time was 20:7. When I took a rest, it was then 26:7. When I went to the next screen, then appeared to correct itself by displaying 0:7.

- Is there a way to assign a button to an item, instead of having to take your have off the keyboard and use the mouse to navigate the menu to use, say, potions?

- In Kylan's house, I got stuck in the pinkish square object in the upper-left room, and had to close the game.

Very rough around the edges, and the quite a user-friendly game, but with a lot more work, this could be a fairly decent RPG game.

Good skill. (-:

_______________________
- Ziro out.

[Madness Hanks Quest]

Gameplay needs some Work

Hey.

------------------------
Gameplay
------------------------
- Needs much more refinement. It's basically a slugfest to the death with very little disciplined gameplay. For instance, maybe it's just me, but there seems to be no way to dodge enemy attacks. There's just too much going on.

------------------------
Controls
------------------------
- Often, I have to keep moving the mouse so that it does not go outside the scope of the Flash window, and that takes away from controlling my character.

(However, I must point out that games that use the mouse as you have always have a challenge here. Perhaps consider auto-pausing when the mouse goes outside the Flash window, or simply don't hide the cursor. Unlike standard applications, there is no way Flash to "lock" the mouse within it's window. Not sure if Adobe could/would do that in the future, but it would be nice. (-: )

- The default key for the pause is out of the way. The key used to pause should be placed much closer to the other keys.

- However, there is support to reconfigure the keys (which is good - I wish more games did this, so kudos (-: ), but since you don't have it noted, you should consider changing the visual aspect of you GUI to indicate clickable content (maybe a different color but UI elements, etc.)

------------------------
Audio
------------------------
- I found a check box for Music, but it didn't seem to do anything.

------------------------
Graphics
------------------------
- The graphics are fine. (-:

------------------------
Notes/Polish/Other
------------------------
- You seem to have lots of options, and modes, but the general gameplay still seems a bit disoriented.

- The text in your tutorial is going too fast. Please consider allowing the player to advance at their own pace.

- Is there a way to return to the current game when you go to the main menu for the game, or does that terminate the game?

You seem to have put lots of work, detail, polish, along with the training and tutorial in this than the average Flash game, but the gameplay itself is STILL quite rough around the edges (in my opinion). Definitely madness. (-:

(P.S. I report no apparent bugs while playing. ^_^ )

Good skill with your game. (-:

__________________
- Ziro out.

BloodBathProductions responds:

this is my first mod if your looking for music while playing goto my other mod xpz madness