djknightime's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Metroid; Beginings]

I'm not sure how to be honest without being harsh, so here we go:

Samus had no reaction to the Metroid blowing up the tunnel in the "cutscene," yet was still able to scan it without turning around, which makes no sense. Her running animation has no torso movement and, as a result, looks really bad. Double-jumping doesn't require two "X" presses as is stated in the tutorial, but instead requires "X" being held (or at least, that's the only way I could get it to work). The screen randomly fading to black (which sometimes lasts for a few seconds) is... well, I'm not sure what that is. I'm guessing it's the transition effect from the actual Metroid series, but since the player maintains control it doesn't work as well. Then there's the "boss fight" against Bio...droinder? Biodroidner? Either way, having an encounter that requires some luck on the player's part wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that the "Continue" button that appears on the Game Over screen simply takes you back to the main menu. I'll admit it, I never got past the encounter myself, but after watching a few playthroughs online, I don't think I ever will.

[Condition]

Too short, too easy, but still very fun

Overall the game was very well done; however, I feel as though it was far too short. I managed to beat the game in under a half-hour, and, in combination with the brevity of the game, I also felt it was a bit too easy. I didn't die at all, and enemies are easily avoided. The mini-boss was too easy, and the final boss was also fairly easy, especially with the Machine Gun. [-2 Stars: -1 for Length; -1 for Difficulty]

Also, I am unaware if I am the only one experiencing this problem, but I ended up having to mute the sound. The music was only playing in the right channel, and the sound effects in the left. I tried reloading the page several times, but to no avail. To further comment on the audio, I feel the music could have looped more cleanly; there is a pause at the end of each loop that could be eliminated to produce a better sound. [-1 Star]

But despite the above I, as I said before, found the experience very enjoyable. The look and feel is excellent and, as many have said, is similar to Cave Story - a game which I thoroughly enjoyed. One thing gameplay-wise I especially liked was the ability to stomp on enemies to stun and deal damage. The weapons were also well balanced, although I ended up using the Machine Gun exclusively after I found it. Regenerating ammo and its secondary use as a jetpack made it too good to pass up.

I hope to see a full-version or a sequel sometime in the future. You definitely know what you're doing, and I'm sure whatever you come up with next will be great!

abielins responds:

Sorry about the music. Poor quality assurance on my part. I only found out about it after the deadline for the flixel contest, so I can't re-upload the fixed version :(

[BoMSearch]

I found a substitute for NyQuil!

I've been having such a hard time feeling sleepy tonight, but the music is seriously so dang relaxing that I'm about ready to hit the sack. The puzzles are fun and I've been playing for awhile now.

Good work!

BoMToons responds:

GET YOUR FREE INSOMNIA CURE HERE!

[Nightmare House]

It was... alright

Overall the game wasn't too bad.

Graphics (7/10): The graphics weren't too great, especially in the towel minigame. They were definately better than the original, though, so I gave you credit for that.

Style (7/10): The game was well done I thought. It didn't scare me too much, but it was certainly suspenseful enough. The puzzles were also a little easy to figure out, so a bit more difficulty would be nice. The final battle was also fairly easy. Making Freddy's pattern more random and adding some "stages" to his defeat would make it a little better, imho.

Sound (3/10): Here's where the score got hurt a little. I thought it was neat how you used voice clips from the movie, but I could barely hear Freddy and the quality wasn't rather poor. As for the music, it fit well, but was way too repetitive.

Violence (5/10): Okay, so there was blood everywhere. That's gore, not violence. So that's why this score is low. The only violence I saw was being whipped by a towel (lol), Freddy slashing during the last battle, and Freddy 'splodin' at the end. I didn't understand the end, either; if you threw holy water on him, why did his head explode?

Interactivity (10/10): It's a game. Automatic 10.

Humour (3/10): "The map says we're fucked!" was the only funny moment.

Overall (6/10): Decent game, decent graphics, moderate difficulty. You definately improved upon the original, but there were still some minor problems.

Good work!

.:Shaun

[Zombie Survival: SM]

Zombie Killing is Always Fun

I don't care if I've seen other games similar to this one. Killing zombies is always fun in my book ;)

As for the difference between "Damage" and "Power," it seems to me is that "Damage" is, of course, how much harm is done to the zombies.

"Power," on the otherhand, seems to be the amount the zombies are pushed back when hit. I think you could've used a different word, but I'm not sure which.

Anyways, other than a little confusion there, I'd say it's a decent game.

.:Shaun

[HAMU]

An pretty good breakout game

First of all, I'd like to thank rasputinvanclitt for assuring me that idiocy is alive and well.

Second of all, I'd like to comment on your game. Overall the game was well done and kept my interest for a good while. I had to stop on the "Enchanted Gardens" level because 1) the game said that there was one block remaining even though the steel blocks were the only ones left and 2) my ball got stuck bouncing off the left steel block.

Graphically, the game is pretty solid. The blocks have a shimmering effect and the background is interesting with the moving shapes. My only complaint is that a lot of images are pixelated or chunky. Specifically the ball, paddle and text. Try making the graphics a little smoother next time (8/10).

I liked how the blocks could be hit again once they were falling towards the bottom; it certainly made it more interesting. I also liked how you could bounce the smaller fading squares off your paddle. Although breakball isn't a unique concept, the approach was neat. One thing you might want to add is some powerups. Most people who have played breakout games are used to them and they can certainly make the game more interesting. Style gets a 9/10.

As for sound, most of the sounds were fairly good and fit. The music was pretty good and was almost relaxing in a sense. To some, the music choice may not seem to complement the breakout genre, but I personally think it fit well. My only minor complaint is that some of the music didn't loop well, which isn't always fixable (9/10).

No violence, so a 0/10 there.
It's a game, so interactivity gets a 10/10.
No humor, so a 0/10 there.

Overall: 9 - This game is a good example of a more relaxed breakout game. Most people think this type of game should be fast paced, but I think it works quite well. Good job, looking forward to seeing another release =)

.:DJ[Knight]time

[Zelda - Seeds of Darkness]

Interesting Concept

Overall it was a okay game. Like the person before me said, the game lacks any sort of plot, which takes away some of the enjoyment, at least for me. There's a little introduction that gives a foundation for a potential story, but then the game starts and leaves you hanging. The overall difficulty is moderate, with the forest maze being fairly straightforward and the boss being fairly easy. One thing that did annoy me is that it seemed a little too easy to set the bomb off. I would smack a bush to find a heart, get hit by a bug, and the bomb would nearly get set off!

Graphically, I liked that you used sprites from the newer Zelda GBA games. Some of the sprites still had little white dots around them, so maybe cleaning up the sprites a little would help as well. Sound quality was good overall, music included. So I guess that's all you need to work, but only a little: Plot, boss difficulty, overall entertainment value, and maze building. I give it an 8.25/10, but since Newgrounds doesn't give decimal scores, it gets an 8. The game has good potential, you just need to unlock it.