Zir0's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Battle System]

Still a W.I.P.

Hey.

While a finished product would be preferred, here are some notions I highly recommend for the finished product.

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Graphics
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- First and foremost, please remove the ripped sprites and use 100% freeware art or original artwork.

- For the limit attack, stick to one type of art for a consistent look. It's obvious that the planet and moon are not sprites.

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Gameplay
=====================
- The attacks and spells are too weak, and the Limit attack is too powerful.

- The Limit attack is waaaay over-dramatic, and something like that should have killed both you and the dragon, regardless of HP.

- The game speed it too slow. I hope it will speed up in te final release.

- I presume you'll have multiple characters to use, as well as multiple monsters to battle, as well as making it non-turn-based. This one-on-one, turn-based, can't-see-your-own-player is so Dragon Warrior 1.

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Audio
=====================
- Same as graphics - drop the ripped sounds and music.

There is much work to be done. You've got big shoes to fill if you're going to make a game of this caliber.

I wish you good skill on the project; you've definitely got your work cut out for you.

_____________________
- Ziro out.

Psyreaper responds:

I'm aware a finished product would have been better I just wanted some opinions on this first.

- since when were ripped sprites an issue? you see megaman and all sorts over the place here.

- too powerful? you are dropping the moon on him you know, thats gonna hurt.

- The limit break isn't to be taken seriously, there are several similar things which would easily kill others nearby in other games.

- of course multiple monsters will be available in a finished thing, real time battles are a bit out of my scripting knowledge though.

- Ripped audio shouldn't be a major issue either, though your want for original content is understandable

I'll do my best to balance it out and make the battles faster, thanks for the review.

[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.

[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

[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.

[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.

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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.)

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

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Graphics
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- The graphics are fine. (-:

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Notes/Polish/Other
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- 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

[A Bee RPG 2]

Some Improvements - Still needs More

Hey.

Not much has changed from my review tof the predecessor, so here's some new content:

- Perhaps show the HP and cash on the Armor screen. In fact, since you have the room on many screens, you should probably show the stats on those screens where the respective stats can be upgraded.

- Are the base damages of the stingers cumulative? They don't appear to be. (Just wondering.) For example, could I buy two stingers, and it adds base damage onto the first one, or does the base damage of one stinger replace the base damage of the currently equipped one? If the latter is true, then you should probably illustrate some way of showing weaker stingers being obsolete, and therefore unavailable, as well as any currently equipped stinger.

- I got a "Brave Bee Award", a "Spy Award", and a "King Award". Acquisition of the King Award was obvious, but I'm not sure what the prerequisites are for the other two, or if there are any more. Furthermore, I noticed a "30" above the Spy Award box. What does that mean? (-:

- My health can get so high, that the bar intrudes into the enemy's health bar. :-P You should cut it before it reaches that point. Since you also have the number value inside the bar, that should be sufficient.

- Killed the King on two hits again. It's still too easy to get powerful.
:-P

You seem somewhat surprised with the progress that I, as well as others have reported. Did you not play test your game that far? :-P

Anyway, good skill on any future development.

__________________
- Ziro out.

hallaby responds:

I'll cut off the health bar, I really didnt think anyone would get tht high! I was wrong! I Did play test It but well I guess I was so sick of it I would quit before I got to a decent place. Brave Bee means you get over 50 strength and the spy means 50 dex

[Doc Ock Rampage]

Nice Game

Hey.

Nice remake of the classic Rampage games.

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Gameplay
---------------------
- Is there a way to regain health? Or prehaps, when you complete a level, the game should probably restore your health.

- Needs more variation in gameplay. This being Doc Ock and all, I would think he would have more "abilities", know what I mean?

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Graphics
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- The graphics provided look fine. (-:

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Control
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- Doc Ock was fairly easy to control.

- Since your game is keyboard based, allow the player to press a key to dismiss the menus (for example when completing a level), instead of having to take their hand off the keyboard and use the mouse.

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Audio
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- The audio quality is fine. (-:

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Notes/Polish/Other
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- Include two or three different sounds for sound events that happen often, for example the mechanical sounds of Doc Ock, the firing, and the smashing of buildings and what not. The single sounds are monotonous and get annoying quickly.

- Include an ability to pause and unpause the game.

- Include support for custom key configuration, or multiple keys for the same actions (for ex., WASD). Some people, might like other keys than arrow keys. (I'm was fine with the arrows, however, others still may find this ability to their liking.)

- When I get killed, the animation of Doc Ock "falling" seems to keep looping. Not sure if this is by design or not.

- It may be more visually appealing to display the health as a bar, rather than a number.

- Nice detail with the different poses of Doc Ock. (-:

Nice game. Good skill in your future games.

________________
- Ziro out.

NG-Programmer responds:

thank's

[A Bee RPG]

Interesting Game

Hey.

Nice concept.

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Audio
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- The music was annoying and did not fit the game at all. You should definitely select something else, or at least allow it to be muted.

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Gameplay
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- Not a bad start, although it definitely needs more to it. Gets repetitive after a while, and I killed the King Wasp on two hits. Probably could have killed it on one hit, had I continued to build up. :-P

- Good to see that stronger enemies are introduced. A single bee can knock off a dog? lol Must be some lethal killer bee that you hear about on the animal/nature channels. :-P

- Regarding stats building: The +2 builds are not practical, in terms of cost, since they cost more than $5 to add 2 points to their respective stats. I used the $5 buffs throughout and I was fine.

- At least you can run away without your escape ever being "blocked" (I think). :-P

- Sleep was an interesting concept. Does the day count affect anything, or is that just for show?

- The items were useless as well. The need to be more enticing. At least you have something there to add some kind of content.

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Controls
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- It was easy (at least for me) to figure out the controls.

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Graphics
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- Could be better, but not bad. Simple rotations make the attacks look funny. :-P

Good skill with your game, should you continue to develop this.

___________________
- Ziro out.

hallaby responds:

Sorry, I meant to add the mute button, that was my mistake.

Killed the king wasp in 2 hits!?!?! Nice!

The bee is deadly haha.

Yeah I added those at the begginning then never changed them after I progressed, I really was not expecting a score this high, so made the game pretty sloppy.

Ya, you can always run away, but you get the same punishment as it you lose so :P

Day count - just to be like all the other RPGs so no one could critisize me :)

Controls - after I submitted it, I thought "maybe I should have added instructions" so this is good to know

Thanks I really think I will ;)

[Astro Chaser]

A Few Things to Clean up

Hey.

Just a few issues:

- Your HUD is way too busy. Find a way to reduce the clutter by not showing so many numbers. Use little icons or graphics where you can.

- You're going retro with your main menu selection (using arrow keys and enter). That's fine, but in the submenus, you switch to mouse. Keep it consistent.

- When adjusting music volume, the bar moves and follows the x axis of my mouse, even without dragging it, not sure if that's by design or not, but you should just use standard controlling here. Of course, this note only applies if you allowed the player to use the mouse to navigate all the menus.

- Also, the music volume changes can't be previewed. Since the music is already playing, why not allow the changes to be previewed? The changes aren't acknowledged until the game actually starts.

- If I completely mute the music, then I get killed, the music starts up again...

- Is there a way to adjust options while in-game?

Graphics, control, and audio quality are fine.

__________________
- Ziro out.

Calipe responds:

Thanks for your very helpful suggestions. I will definitely look into implementing them. It is with reviews like yours that we developers grow our skills.
Cheers!