Score: 2

"Decent-ish, but too big!"

submission: The Stick Battle (v1.1)

date: March 28, 2009

It was an alright stick fight (although the sticks move too fast and the graphics aren't great), but the file size was huge for what it was!
If you want to see it in action, when you "Test Movie" in the Flash authoring environment, there is an option (I believe it is under "View) that allows you to simulate download. Choose a speed and pick that, and you'll see how long it takes to load.
The preloader only appears when the animation is nearly loaded, and that shows the problem. The size of the music used is huge!
There are some tutorials on the site about how to optimise your music (such as setting it to stream and changing the publish settings), and you shouldn't have music on the preloader anyway (if the preloader takes a minute to load, then something is wrong!).
I hope you can fix these problems in future projects. And don't forget about the speed and graphics!

Score: 3

"Needs some music..."

submission: Egg Match

date: March 28, 2009

Your graphics are quite decent (yet, some of the egg colours were hard to distinguish between without looking properly; you need this game to be fast flowing, so people can scan over and clearly see what each colour is), but the final step in showing us that you've put personality into the game is music!
For that, I suggest music from the Audio Portal, since it is free and there are some real gems over there!
Otherwise, your game isn't bad; it just seems a little bland without some nice music =)

Score: 5

"Good, but could do with some work =)"

submission: Backyard Boom Maze

date: March 28, 2009

I think the idea here is nice, and I particularily liked the teleporting and 'ghosts', very novel.
However, it does certainly need a little bit work for a good score.
Firstly, and most importantly, add some music! Make sure it isn't loud and rocking, just something that works well with the game. Also, make sure it loops and that it doesn't play over itself (i.e. make sure you don't have two loops playing at the same time!). You can find some good music in the Audio Portal, and there are some good music tutorials on the site too =)

Also, improve some of the graphics. Some of the backgrounds, and the teleporters mainly =)

I still think your game is quite a nice start. But you can certainly make it even better!

Score: 6

"Not bad, for a tribute"

submission: Simon's School

date: July 19, 2008

The coding and gameplay are quite nice, and your request for reviews even reached out to me.

But... It adds nothing (as far as I have played) new to the mix. You may have seen recently how people have been annoyed at the Egoraptor tributes in the Portal, it's a similar reason to why I only gave you a 6.

If you did make it on your own, then you're a good coder. But don't do the same thing as people before you in the future =)

It's a nice game, but nothing new. 6/10

P.S. I got stuck between two chairs at a point, which proved annoying when the teacher came around. I did escape, but it took me about 5 seconds.

Score: 5

"Good message, implementation could be better..."

submission: The Fur Fighters

date: March 28, 2008

Leaving the message aside for the moment, the game was simple and very easy. Even on the most difficult setting, I ran rings around the security guards, leaving the only challenge to remain motivated. The game was short, so that wasn't too hard. The graphics were good, and the way the paint dripped in the first level I found quite clever. Unfortunately, to sum it up, too easy and too short.

Now, onto the message of the game. I have nothing really against it, but you didn't sell the message as well as you could have. Arguments such as "ugly people wear fur" made me feel like you were just mud-slinging. The game should have made me feel sorry for the animals, and hatred towards the companies that exploit them, but I don't think you pulled that off in terms of cutscenes quite as well as you could of.

In short...

Positives:
+ Good graphics.
+ Some good design ideas.
+ A moral message which will win over some people.
+ NO SIGN OF MARIO ANYWHERE! THANK YOU!
+ NO MARIO! (Please, don't use popular characters again, it annoyed me last time)

Negatives:
- Easy (and potentially dull) gameplay.
- Too short.
- Moral message could be more... touching.

N.B. The rating is based on the game (as it should be), not the moral message.

Score: 10

"Awesome!"

submission: Sprite TV 2

date: February 16, 2008

Truly a wonderful homage to the original, even though tiny imperfections may glare at me, they are only that; TINY!

Good job, all of you!

(I still think Paper-Shadow should have used 'Drop it like it's hot'...)

Score: 10

"You know I love it!"

submission: The Impossible Quiz 2

date: September 1, 2007

Even though it's as tough as diamond, it is absolutely brilliant!
But I don't think I'm going to be getting much better than an "F" any time soon...
You have my 5!

Score: 8

"Good game, but a bit short..."

submission: Nicholas' WeirdAdventure2

date: July 19, 2007

As I said, good game, but a little short and easy. Also, a few glitches...

A small one, but you can use the Yellow Key Kard even when the door that you use it on is gone...

My brother played this before me, and he found that continuous playing of "Activenture" caused Nicholas to be stuck. He could turn, but not walk anywhere... I just tried to get the glitch, and I did, it can fix if Nicholas is near enough to the machine to replay, but he can move for a split second before the glitch occurs, meaning people can get away from the machine and get stuck. Try holding down and space, you'll see what I mean...

Also, I turned the same game to easy mode without knowing how to, and following the wrong button presses anyway. I think I pressed... "left, middle, right, left, right, middle, right, left, right, middle, right". The screen to say the difficulty didn't change, but it was easier when I played... Can't repeat the glitch though...

But I thought parts were very funny, and loved the game references! I've only just realised the Ocarina of Time "Running Man" thing, or, I think that's it... Still trying to fin the secret room though; I tried inserting my Game Boy Color game into my Game Boy Advance to get the door in the shop, but that didn't work (Oracle of Ages/Seasons reference for those that don't know).

To sum up, short but good, and funny. I like these kind of games...

Score: 10

"A normal RPG, yet somewhat... Unique..."

submission: Mardek Rpg: Chapter 1

date: June 9, 2007

I played this game yesterday, but decided to review and give suggestions and such today. First off, a brilliant game, very humourous too, loving the parody stuff.

Sadly, a bit too short, but I read that you intend to make the other chapters much longer, and I'm sure they will go further (on Newgrounds) because of it.

One thing annoyed me a little though. After finishing the game, I noticed I was missing a load of chests, and had not explored the sewers at all, yet I couldnt go there at the end of the game. So I ask you allow players to wander about freely after finishing each chapter.

Also, a bug which I found yesterday, and re-tested today. The game-over screen (Not sure if this is just for the dragon, or the entire game), has a problem. Pressing one of the buttons will cause the main menu or load screen to pop up, but the game-over screen is still on top of it all! So basically, it doesn't disappear when either button is pressed. Fix it!

But generally, an excellent game! Hope the other chapters are as good or better!

Score: 9

"Brilliant!"

submission: Bloons

date: March 27, 2007

Great game! 5 out of 5! And everyone, don't forget to vote, so it can get a good award!

By the way, I did the impossible, and lost level 50 by only popping two bloons! :-D