Score: 10

"Great work!"

submission: Animator vs. Animation II

date: March 15, 2007

I remember seeing this on atomfilms, and it's even better seeing it in the original flash. This is a very clever and impressive sequel. I especially love how all of th desktop icons have their own personalities. Firefox and Photoshop, amused me, as did the AIM guy and My Computer. He he.

As with the first one, this is destined to become a classic.

Score: 7

"Fantastic work"

submission: FPA: World 2 demo

date: March 14, 2007

The levels are a little less smooth than in world 1, but they're more challenging--a bit like what I'd expect. I especially like the caves (or at least, they give me the impression of being caves) right after the floating platform part. They aren't especially dangerous but they require some clever maneuvering to navigate.

Speaking of clever maneuvering, the controls for the wall jump are greatly improved from World 1--I don't find myself sticking to walls now unless I really want to. My only complaint is the ledge hanging thing--I like it, but I wish there were a way ti make him let go and drop straight down rather than jump off (maybe have the character let go if you tap the down arrow or something).

Anyway, nice work--I like how this game is evolving. Keep us updated!

Note: The relatively low ratings are for incompleteness, measured against the quality of what's there. Obviously, once you submit the full thing, you'll get higher ratings from me. :)

Score: 8

"Great job!"

submission: -PURSUIT-

date: February 25, 2007

This is a great little puzzle/adventure game. The graphics are nice, the voice acting is good (with the notable exception of Michael), and the puzzles are, for the most part, not overly difficult. I also found the repeated Armor Games references amusing (I sure hope they gave you a hefty sponsorship!)

Problems (SPOILERS)

Why do you have to make a fishing rod to catch a fish to get a blowtorch to end up in the exact same room you were already in when you got the rope you used to make the fishing rod in the first place? That makes no sense at all. Just saying. It kind of ruins the believability of the gameplay, which otherwise is pretty good.

Also, I had to go to the walkthrough to find out that you could break down walls in the sewers. You'd have to go around clicking randomly to figure that out otherwise--not good.

Anyway, other than minor issues like that, this game was very well made. You get a 4 out of 5 for your trouble. :-)

Score: 5

"A mediocre spin-off"

submission: Pandemic: EoM

date: February 24, 2007

This game is almost exactly like your (very original and quite excellent) game that you submitted here maybe a month ago, but with a substantially uglier in-game GUI, way fewer mutation options, and more frustrating gameplay. Why, I ask you, would every region of the world begin working at breakneck speed to find a cure for some nonlethal, not very contagious new virus the second it pops up anywhere in the world? And even if they did, why would Africa remain only a few turns behind the U.S. and Europe in their research? I mean, just look at what the president of Gambia did recently, telling people he could cure them of AIDS if they would stop taking antiretroviral meds and instead rub herbal banana paste on themselves. Africa isn't exactly a continent brimming over with medical experts.

Anyway, this was disappointing, and in my view, a significant step down from your first game.

Score: 9

"Wow"

submission: I miss you Daddy

date: February 19, 2007

This was both beautiful and extremely sad. I admit, I started tearing up a couple of minutes into this. There must be nothing worse than losing a mommy or daddy at such a young age. The fact that this is supposed to be about 9/11 almost seems beside the point: this would be equally sad if the father had died of lung cancer, or overseas in Iraq. Anyway, my hat is off to you: you did a great job on this.

Score: 10

"Wow"

submission: Kimblis the Blue

date: February 18, 2007

This game is simply brilliant. It took me only 20 minutes to beat, however, which is a shame, because I'm sure this must have taken forever to make!

Pros
--the graphics are very good, especially during the cut scenes.
--the music is excellent, and the voice acting is superb as well.
--combat is challenging, but once you get used to the controls, not too difficult. The puzzles, also, are clever but ultimately not too hard to figure out.
--the in-game engine looks good and runs very smoothly.

Cons
--the controls are quite hard to get used to. I kept expecting to be able to walk and drag the girl along at the same time, but of course whenever I tried that I'd end up walking towards the little girl.
--magic is extremely inconvenient to use in combat compared with simple (or for that matter, enchanted) sword swiping. The first wind spell you get, especially, is really really lousy. What can I say--it kinda takes the fun out of playing a wizard when your spells are cumbersome and largely ineffective.
--this game was nonstop action for the most part, which meant that it was quite entertaining, but I admit, I found myself missing more traditional RPG elements like a persistent world to explore, items, and player-initiated dialog and character interaction.

Anyway, enough rambling: the bottom line is, you've definitely earned your 5 out of 5 for the day. Great job on this, and try not to keep us waiting too long for the sequel!

Score: 9

"Very good!"

submission: Max Mesiria Chp2 RPG

date: February 17, 2007

Good stuff:
--The graphics are just awesome! The most impressive stuff this time around is the scenery, but I still think the characters are very well-drawn and animated. I especially like the animation for when you "pop" a ghost pulse, and when one of those little shadow thingies attacks with its blade arms.
--The music is vastly improved from the last one. The creepy night music in the beginning, in particular, is just beautiful. One sour note: the new battle music is kind of annoying, though at least it sounds like battle music now. :-)
--Puzzles in the train are nice and challenging. Good work on those. (SPOILER: The trap chest was a nice touch!)
--Nice job adding a save function and an in-game menu.
--Character advancement doesn't feel too slow--you become noticeably stronger with each level.

Annoyances:
--The electrocution noise has a popping sound at the end that bothers me.
--You still can't customize your guy when he levels up.
--You can't spend any of your money until you beat the first boss.
--Consequently, you have to "build up" to beat that boss. One of the things that was nice about Mesiria part one was that you could (and did) progress without deliberately walking around in circles in a given area fighting things over and over.
--The opening sequence, while cool, was obviously modeled after Phantasy Star 4. Points lost there in the originality department. :-P

Anyway, bottom line: this is huge improvement over part one. You guys have won yourselves a place on my favorites list. :-)

Score: 8

"Great job!"

submission: Linion RPG

date: February 17, 2007

This is a very well-made RPG--I definitely have enjoyed playing it. It isn't perfect, though. Here is my break down of the pros and cons:

Pros
--the battle engine is flat-out awesome. I love how you have to time your attacks and strategize, and the way party members are implemented is great--they just do what you want them to continuously without you having to tell them to.
--on a related note, I like how enemy difficulty is determined not just by their hit points and how much damage they do, but also by the timing of their attacks. It puts a nice spin on an old formula.
--the animation. I love how there are frame-by-frame animations for just about everything. Clearly, a lot of work went into this.
--customizable layout of battle buttons. This was a nice touch, and it definitely added to the playability.

Cons
--way too many random battles! It gets very annoying when you get thrown into a battle every few steps. Since there usually only 2 enemy types in any given area, it becomes repetitive very quickly.
--too easy. Because there are so many random battles, you advance in level very quickly, and end up facing enemies (and bosses) half your level who do 1 damage per successful attack. It totally takes the challenge out of it. (It took less than 2 minutes for me to kill the goblin twins by the time I reached the end of the sewers, and I think I suffered a total of 3 damage from the experience. Sheez.)
--there is no sound. I can't think of any good reason for this other than perhaps keeping file size down. Still, having no sound effects or music detracts from the game.

Anyway, I see from your site that you're making a sequel. I'm sure it will be good--just make sure you learned from the problems in this one. :-) Good luck!

Score: 4

"Below average"

submission: GreenCastle: DoubleExodus

date: February 11, 2007

I am rating this 4 out of 10 because it is, simply put, below average. The sound and graphics are sub-par, the control scheme is cumbersome, and there is nothing to do except roam around and fight FF-style battles. And even there, this game is sub-par: all you fight are eagles, you get a single uninteresting attack to use, and the healing (er, self-repair) ability is so weak as to be essentially worthless. Even worse, there is very little in the way of character advancement. Not to be mean, but I really don't see how a game like this could end up with a higher score than Kimblis the Blue, Savage, or even The Adventures of Guy.

Score: 8

"Retarded indeed, but well done"

submission: A Retarded Movie 2

date: February 10, 2007

The drawings were decent, and I have no complaints about the animation either. This was consistently amusing, and occassionally very funny. SPOILER: The alien craft that turns people into ravers was the best part by far. I laughed really hard at that one. Good job.