gel's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Contra Game Workshop]

Coool

I could go on for days about the great level of customization, but I'll get straight to the negative, because authors love that so very much.

The game portion of this Flash is terrible. You got the running and most of the shooting down, but it's definitely missing a few things. The game is slow. I'd run this game non-fulscreen, but then it would be dificult to see all the text in the editor and below the game. I noticed once the player fires a bullet, the bullets follow the player when he moves. It's the same with the enemies when they are shooting up and you jump pass them, the bullet they shot will suddenly go diagonal because they face diagonal too.

Once again, the customization and interativity is incredible. The ability to save files, open the premade stuff, weapon/pickup property inspectors, all great. But it's like putting up new wallpaper on a ghetto shack. It's different, but what's the point? The game isn't really fun, so customizing it doesn't really make it any more fun. Try working on the execution more, since you did well with the planning stage.

Jhunour responds:

Your advice is very helpful thanks

[Drama In Stickville 2: MT]

I don't mind sticks.

However, I do mind terrible terrible graphics. I think the most advanced thing you did was when the player was waking up and his eyes were blurred, but that's it. The other graphics were just bad, and not just because it wasa stick movie.

Speaking of movie, you're right; it's just an interactive movie. Actually, it's a little less than an interactive movie. It was too linear to be really interactive. It we more like having to push the play button every 3 seconds to see more. I don't want to see more of this stuff, though.

I did think the audio was well done, but that may be its only redeeming feature. The story wasn't really creative as it was a jumble of random things that almost seem coherent. I think the first Stickville game was even slightly better.

MarkOfTheBeast responds:

Thank you for your review. Even though you think this movie has bad graphics... I think it has very good ones. For my standards. I am TERRIBLE at drawing, yet I was amazed at what I made in this game. It might just be me, but i think the story was good. It might be too "jumbled together", but in my head it was perfect. Thank you for your review. It wouldve been cool if you left some constructive criticism, but its ok. Thanks.

[Megaman Next - The Game]

Funtastic

Or is it? Definitely a worthy tribute to the beloved little Megaman.

Graphics: The graphics are okay, considering it would have been pretty simple for you to make the "next" graphic 8-bit, but you didn't. Good job with the rest of the pixels though.

Sound: It's got music, sound effects, all in good quality. Nothing bad here.

Gameplay: This is the worse part of the game. Now that doesn't mean it was bad, by any means, but it wasn't on par with graphics or sound. It's not the difficulty either. The game is hard, but that's fine. It's just that the gameplay didn't really feel like Megaman. Enemies in Megaman never came at you at blazing speed. There was no rapid-fire (though I doubt many would complain about this). Those helmet guys were one hit kills. I could go on. I understand this is made to be similar, but different (i.e. harder), but it just doesn't flow well. Megaman is all hyperactive, he slides for as long as you hold the down arrow, charging the Buster is a different key than shoot... and many other little complaints.

I only found one bug so far and that's when a bullet got stuck on Megaman and no matter where I went, it was attached to me and I soon died. This happened at the begining of Punchma's level.

I might suggest teaming up with Andrew, who did Rockman Neo. With his graphics and your love of Megaman and coding skills, you could realy make a cool Megaman game. Of course, you'd still have to improve the gameplay.

Quick suggestions (email me for more elaboration): make charge/fire same button, like
in real Megaman. Enemies should never be in the same "space" as Megaman (x,y coords). Sliding should go a set amount and that's it. Slow down the game's pace about 15%. Some enemies should be one-hit kills. Configurable keys. Streamline all your graphics to the same style. Get someone else to draw your cut scene drawings because the art is just sad. Don't make it a guess where to go next ("will I fall to my doom, who knows!"). Make a charging sound.

I can see you put tons of work into this, but a game is made for fun and this game isonly kinda fun. I commend you on the programming and this ambitious effort.

maelstormm responds:

Thanks for the comments overall.
Now about the gameplay...
True it doesn't feel exactly like Megaman on Nintendo did, but I consider it a step up. Mega can jump backwards while still facing forward so you can dodge while pelting the baddies. You can slide as short or long as you like to make it easier to dodge or get up and shoot your foes. The later Megaman X games DID use autofire and I think MM8 had the option too. However you couldn't charge when you turned that on. So by making an extra button you can have both. In Megaman games, Mega and the baddies CAN occupy the same space/xy, just you take damage which is the same case here. I did want to do the customizable keys, but the project went on plenty long enough and I decided to finish it off. I didn't like the though of 1 hit enemies. A good portion take 2 hits which is easy to do with the Megabuster charged 1/2 or by using the autofire. Graphics style wise, I ended up feeling like using vector graphics for the baddies shots. The drawlings were whipped together quickly and colored using my friends Crayola while I was at work, but they get the point across. There was only 1 or 2 jumps which were leaps of faith in this, all others gave clues about where to go or you could see the platform if you stood on the end of the one you were on. Charging sounds irritate me so I left them out (Makes me think a fly is after me and makes it so I can't hear the music).
Thanks for the ton of feedback

[GTA 3 beta 1.1]

Beta?

This is no beta. It's a pre-alpha. Betas are usually nearing completion and need testing and may be missing some features, but they aren't simple little two scene things that are about 2% done.

People think I'm too harsh in my reviews but they only disagree. I'm always want the best work and give constructive criticism. With that said, this game needs a lot of work. It's very linear. One reason why GTA3 is so great is that it's totaly non-linear. Your GTA3: super linear. You must click this. You must click that. The uzi only has one bullet and it's suddenly useless.

Don't use the GTA3 brand. Also, don't use other games' textures. That head texture you have was made for wrapping around a 3d model. Don't steal.

If you do use the flat body and rotate it, I think that's fine. It's a nice little style if you remain consistent. Just make the weapons realistic, slightly (more bullets). The big thing to change is to make multiple paths, otherwise, the player is just clicking around until the little arrow appears so they can move on.

mi6di6an6 responds:

oke, thnx i really like criticism cuz it helps me. so thank you for your revieuw

[Scope Assault]

This "game" isn't fun.

You create games for 2 reasons: for entertainment or as a simulation.
There is no other reason. This isn't a sniping simulation (snipers don't constantly pop up all over the place) so it's suppose to be fun. It's not and that's why people don't like it.
Don't be so defensive if the game isn't fun. There's more to a game than just "skill." Minesweeper is a game of skill. There's no blood or violence, but many people enjoy that game. In the end, if a game isn't fun, it's not going to go over well. I see you've got some coding skills, so keep up the dedication to game making. Just make the next one enjoyable.

Tomorrows-Nobody responds:

Scope Assault is featured on like 20 sites.... (Do a google search: "Scope Assault") Some people enjoy it..
My issue is a lot of people don't get the concept of it, also they judge it harshly.. It's more of a mini-game. If It was fuzzy blue balls on a Surreal backdrop I think it'd be more enjoyed..

The problem is that people expect a sniping simulation, where its really more like wack-a-mole, a test of speed and accuracy.