Kwing's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Rebuild 2]

All By Your Lonesome?!

Well, let me first say that this is more of an expansion pack than a sequel to Rebuild. The graphics are largely the same,although the music and sounds are different. What things are new are done very well, however: I'm digging the new characters and music! However, the animation is still as bland as ever, and the plot points were minimalistic to the point of not noticing anything.

In terms of the gameplay, I think the stat system is really cool, and I'm glad that now you can send people with no combat training into battle and they will still reduce the danger level to an extent while simultaneously GAINING combat training. The subway and addition of more missions is nice, as are the 'Yes' and 'No' plot points, too. However, I hear a lot of people complaining about this religion that kills people off... I haven't encountered this in-game, but it seems unbalanced, which is unfortunate, as it looks like you spent time trying to make the sequel MORE balanced this time around. The jobs, like tending crops and preaching, add a little bit of flair, which I like.

Here's where you slipped up: For one, when you came to the forums asking for help, you mentioned something about a shooting minigame during zombie attacks. This was never implemented, and it took away from the game. Having a shooter/strategy hybrid would have gotten you really far, but what more can I say? You failed to deliver. Additionally, the fact that there is now no longer any risk in reclaiming land or scouting makes the game frustratingly easy. Sure, you can still play on Impossible difficulty and get your ass handed to you by huge numbers of zombies, but honestly it's better when you're pressured from all directions, because it makes you THINK MORE.

You did a good job with the sequel, but it's just TOO SIMILAR to the original. Not enough has changed.

[Continuity]

Very Nice

I first played this a long time ago but never got far. This time I went around 15 or 16 levels in, skipping two, and I must say the potential for this game is quite startling. Although the graphics and sound are minimal, I will say I really enjoyed that the harmony always played but that the main theme only came in while you were in play mode.

There are several things that need improvement though... First, graphics! Colors might make it hard to determine whether something is compatible or not, but patterns on the ground and images on the walls would be cool. In fact, I could imagine artwork that could be multiple things depending on what it was next to, such as a face that could be smiling or frowning depending on which piece was below it. You could have gotten really clever here, but you left it very minimalistic.

Second, in terms of the gameplay, it would have been nice of the pieces could be numbered, so you could take a long look at the pieces, fuss around with them, and then write down a sequence of numbers so that you didn't accidentally screw up later by not following your plans. Some blocks were so similar to others I had to run through several unnecessary pieces to get back to where I was before. And it would have also been nice if there were a green bridge between two connected compatible pieces or something, just to help let you know and save time squinting at the screen to see if that platform really is just a -teensy- bit off.

This game has started very simple, but has immense potential. In fact, just imagine what would happen if you changed this puzzle game into an action or combat game as well, implementing a bit of peril? Or what if you had a gigantic world map where you had to unlock or buy certain pieces that would fit into more slots and add different paths? Or what if the pieces were sometimes contained in a non-rectangular area, like a Tetris-shaped object? The possibilites are endless, and you've only just scratched the surface.

[Red Riding Hood TrueStory]

Good As They Come

I tried and tried but gave up after getting to 77. It's a good game, and I love the difficulty curve as well as the helpful cursor thing to help you find the differences. I only wish the normal cursor had been replaced by a similar circle to make finding differences easier still.

The artwork is really stunning; while I wasn't a big fan of the characters, the backgrounds really brought out the atmosphere and looked wonderful. The sound effects were also quite nice, and the music was pleasant as well. Unfortunately, they did get very repetitive after a while, and looking at the same 12 screens over and over really did a number on my eyes and my head.

Another criticism I have is that you have to re-find everything when you replay a level... And on a time limit, no less. Someone could just as easily write down the differences to find them again later, but you just had to reset it... When I just want to scrape up a few more points for the bonus levels, setting a high score is not my top priority. And even then, that wouldn't stop you from putting in a free-play mode AND a time run mode.

As these types of games go, it's really good, but kind of frustrating and boring after a while.

[Dead Frontier: Outbreak]

Good

The graphics look alright, the soundtrack is decent, and the voice is a nice addition, as well as all of the options you can use, but I didn't like the constant typos you made or the guy's artificially gruff voice. Plus the entire thing seemed kind of tedious, even for a text game.

[Russian Affairs]

Incredible Graphics

I played this all the way back in fourth grade and scared the shit out of my religious teacher. Good times.

Graphics are as amazing as I remember them being... Obviously traced now I look back at it, detailed down to every finger. Animation was also subsequently perfect, and the voice acting was really good, if minimalistic. Sound effects were top-notch as well as the music, and it was all very high quality.

The biggest problem is the gameplay itself. All you do is run and shoot. Crouch if you feel like being a little dangerous, otherwise stand. Run, shoot, run, shoot. It all seems rather redundant to me.

[Math Pinball]

Had Great Potential

The physics are amazing. The ball rolls how it should, although it bounces just a little bit too much and is strangely lightweight. The rest of the game holds the problem, though. The shots are repetitive and the playing fields leave a lot to be desired. It's just hitting sections of the board over and over. The physics also disallow long, diagonal shots, making it very hard to hit faraway targets. The graphics are oversimplified and the sounds are repetitive.

Damned123 responds:

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Sorry but good game eh?

[Santa With A Shotgun]

Difficulty Curve...

This game is really neat. Pretty graphics, it starts out with a very interesting sense of humor and involved gameplay with upgrading mechanics and all... But it gets so repetitive! All of the enemies and bosses follow the exact same pattern, even if they fire different projectiles or look different. It's also extremely hard when you start off and extremely easy once you get some upgrades. The ending also lacked the humor I would have liked. The music, like the rest of the game, was repetitive and didn't offer much variety.

Still, the gameplay was extremely fun, even if it was unbalanced and quirky.

[Symphonic Tower Defense]

Poor Execution

For a game that's abbreviated as STD, I wanted to like this game. I also love tower defense games and DDR, which were both heavy influences for this game (the swirl selector and pentagraph are obviously taken from it), so I was really frustrated when I found that this just didn't appeal to me. Although the graphics are very nicely done and look natural, and the YouTube video streamed from this is high quality and transitions nice within the Flash canvas, AND you made a pretty decent music selection, I can't honestly say I enjoyed it. Why? Because the game isn't involved enough!

For one, it seems that which notes in a song you decided to turn into actual notes on the staff were chosen at random. Plenty notes were in the songs and much fewer were shown as enemies. Perhaps you could have made the game a little more accurate by giving the levels more notes with fewer health. Also, it doesn't even seem as if the notes go with the music! Perhaps a tile-based system would have made the layout appear more segmented, but as it is I don't even see how it's that different from most tower defenses. Last, I hate how you unlock things at such a slow pace! It gives the player less options, makes it more frustrating, and in general detracts from the gameplay.

Also the fact that you TELL players which towers to use makes it much less appealing as well. The special attacks and other doodads didn't seem to impact the gameplay much and were trivial, tacked on features.

It was definitely a good idea, but right now it still looks pretty sketchy and not fun at all.

[NSG014: ASFree]

Damn Impressive

I was referenced here by someone who reviewed my fully ActionScripted movie, Jamrock's Lucky Day (ToR). I was told that this was a game made with absolutely no ActionScript, and I must say it's pretty impressive. The thing about it that frustrated me was that there was no in-depth explanation of how it worked, and since you were allowed to use shapes instead of ActionScript, you could have put in a (timed) screen giving a more in-depth explanation of how it worked, or even an animation demonstrating how it was done. From what I can tell it seems like a mouse maze, but you don't have to follow the path...? I got the You Win screen once but still didn't understand it much better afterward.

I shall 5 this to bump the score up, but this could have and should have had much better graphics and a streamed song. You, unlike me, were allowed to draw whatever you wanted and create as many library items as you wished. Take advantage of it!!

[Stealing the Diamond]

Very Good

I wasn't sure what to think when I saw this on the number one spot for game/interactive in the Top 50. The previous two had been good, but not this kind of quality. After playing it I can see why it's reached this spot, though. The graphics are much better this time around, with the sticks being the only thing that's really bland looking. The animation is extremely smooth, and there's also a ton of things to do in this game! The ideas and humor are decent, although none of them got me to laugh out loud. The music is well chosen. All in all it's pretty darn good. It does, however, still feel as if it's missing something. I also wish the menus were a little more comprehensive, as they look rather rough and artistic to a fault.

PuffballsUnited responds:

I will keep the menu thing in mind for the next one. I dunno what it could be missing, but I'll keep trying to add new things.