PoisonHeart's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Rose is Blooming]

The game boxes players into corners and then expects them to "keep at it". No thanks. Pretty alright graphics, but zombies aren't even scary. Nothing really "scary" about this game actually, for it being a horror-themed survival title. Then again, it is also played ENTIRELY from a menu...so I wouldn't really call it a point-and-click adventure. Somehow I find that misleading...like I'm sitting down for Monkey Island.

Sound effects get repetitive quickly, with little attention paid to their quality. Sounds an awful lot like they are .wav's ripped from Doom...

The overall design of this game is somewhat flawed, in spite of a novel premise and a keen semi-storyline. However, I found that the aspects of "luck" aren't very well implemented...as others have stated, you can find yourself with a million bullets and no food. Speaking of food, I seemed to have used the same amount of "GENERIC CANNED GOODS" in two days as I had previously done in 3 or 4.

Attention to detail WAS NOT PAID here, and I feel...not to hurt feelings...that this was sort of rushed. Elements of realism that often go into survival games were either lackluster here or just not present. Food system, for example, is ridiculous in that a person DEFINITELY SURE CAN survive for more than ZERO DAYS without food.
Working out also sucks, as you seem to only gain HP....and only one points worth at that per click. While I'm there, why is everything so passive? Where's the animation of him actually working out, or a mini-game that rewards the player?

There is more to go into here, but I really don't see the point. I will say that the game has some great elements, like the variety of status text that appears when fighting zombies or the general premise of the game. The ability to submit your high-score is also very cool. However, these are far overshadowed by the games weakest points.

out of 10...
gfx - 7 (decent drawings, little animation)
sfx - 5 (low quality rips & repetitive loops)
design - 5 (feels rushed, overreaching, and cheap)
gameplay - 4 (boils down to mindless clicking)

Overall, I found this game irritating in its lackluster deliverance of its own description. I was very excited, as Children of Brinn was quite good. This one has broken mechanics, bland gameplay, and lost my interest within ten minutes. Perhaps with updates it would be better, but they will have to be heavy ones.

[Super Bike GP]

It's like a suped-up version of Rad Racer for NES, which was just a suped-up version of the old sit-down version of Pole Position if you remember it.

I really like the effort you put in as developer. The upgrades are effective, the game maintains a good pace, and there is a definite retro-feel to the game. So far, my only gripe is that there aren't more crashes. I used to love the Road Rash series for this, which I think this could have borrowed from for more variety. Additionally, at times the pacing seems a little slow just because it usually takes more than one race to get another upgrade and the checkpoints are somewhat far between.

The 3D landscape combined with pixel-art bikes works really well. Sense of speed is convincing, without the controls going sloppy. I like the additional racers, road-signs, UI graphics like the neon bike in the upgrades screen, and other small details.
Definitely like the parallax backgrounds, and the variety of the levels.

Good music, here, and the sound effects aren't annoying. Loops play smoothly and are energetic. I like that each different menu screen has different music attached, as well do the races.

I think that if anything, I would have liked more customization or bolder features like ramps and the ability to grapple/punch-out other racers for more depth. Maybe additional bikes, or just bike colors, as well as specific "parts" upgrades rather than generic "speed/accel/turbo" labels. Also they could probably be cheaper.
Also, your position during a race is not shown...which could be handy!

out of 10...

gfx - 8.0 (elements work well together, crash animation "jumps" back to track tho)
sfx - 8.5 (good compositions and variety)
design - 8.0 (some depth could be added, but it isn't confusing)
gameplay - 8.5 (good arcade-style, solid controls)

overall, this is a great game for fans of old-fashioned arcade racers. I would estimate a play-through would take about 30 minutes, optimally. Seems perfect for a flash game: lite, fun, and a little nostalgic.
Definitely recommend this to ANYONE, not just racing fans, as it doesn't demand a large investment of time and is pretty radical just overall.

chrisError responds:

hey I know this comment is over a year old, but I must have missed it first time around, thanks for the awesome review, really so helpful and encouraging!

[SANDY HOOKS SHOOT EM UP]

Here we have a game that is blatantly offensive. luckily enough, the creator is such a bad artist and hack programmer, that none of that offense comes across as even remotely believable. It is not recommended that YOU even write a review, as you will undoubtedly spend more energy on it than the creator put into this game.
Besides having terrible colors that weren't even ATTEMPTED to be pulled together, there are no instructions. The controls are little more than buttons...and the "programmer" was such a loser they couldn't even figure out this simple script.
Appears that someone pulled some AS code from Google, added an annoying song, and then they couldn't draw well so they called it "Sandy Hook" in the title to get some views.

If the tool who created this game considers themselves an artist or a programmer, or even just a designer...they should stop. No talent is present in this, not even the slightest inkling. There is only the inane rambling movieclips given the most BASIC code...on top of which, the creator was such a slob that they couldn't even figure out how to make hi-score tables.

Once again, in case it was too subtle, this is NOT a review of the game's theme. It is apparant the creator suffers from a number of issues...anyone that would hate not only the last stronghold of art, but also choose to spend X number of hours of their life commemorating the brutal and vicious murders of toddlers who wanted nothing more than to go home and watch Beyblade or whatever...is obviously having trouble in their life. Perhaps they suffer from fatness, or deep-seated anger. Perhaps they are merely mentally retarded, and should be pitied, rather than despised.

out of 10...

gfx - 2.5 (doesn't even qualify as "amateur" artist)
sfx - 0.5 (stolen song, no sfx)
design - 0 (offensive theme is obvious gimmick)
gameplay - 0 (controls fail, pointless game)

overall, if the creator thinks they are an artist....or if they draw often....then they should stop. It's apparant that the creator DID NOT purchase Flash, as the quality is so bad that only a child of 8 years old or the mentally handicapped should be able to put forth something of this quality. As is. this reviewer can only find it...droll.

I wish the creator all the best of luck in whatever they pursue in life...it obviously isn't art or game creation. They will probably never enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done, something I'm sure future romantic partners will tell them when the creator discovers they have been cheating on him with the buff guy from Quizno's.

ZabuJard responds:

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

oh my, oh my. You sir, have made my night. Thanks for that heart warming review champ! Ill keep up the good work, just for you! I owe you at least that much dont I? :)

[Symbiosis]

Beat this one over at another Flash game site, and have been wanting to review it for some time.

Somewhat disappointed to see not only a lack of reviews and overall views for what is honestly a very good game. However, also somewhat disappointed that the developer has shown such a lack of support for his own, very ambitious project.

To start, it is a cross between Tower-Defense and a rapid-fire board game. You plant seeds, which grow into plants whose ultimate goal is the destruction of the EVIL CRYSTALS. I'm unsure how people like "playman5" down below me here are able to think this is a direct rip of Kingdom Rush. Considering that the monsters ARE NOT ON TRACKS, you are NOT BUILDING A VARIETY OF BUILDINGS, and in fact THERE ARE ONLY TWO KINDS OF CHARACTERS.

The gameplay doesn't grow stale and frustrating, in fact once you get the hang of it after beating the main missions...it's somewhat easy to collect the "special medals".

At the same time that this is a casual strategy game, it doesn't overwhelm the player with fourty-million dumb abilities, or redundant unit-leveling-into-other-units. The plants and crystals just grow, and it's about getting the advantage.

Game takes place on a tiled field, and as your plants grow they become more powerful. You can chain them together, pumping all their strength into one unit to push through enemy lines or lay a solid defense.

There are skills and ability upgrades, but they make sense and have a dramatic impact on the overall course of the game. To be honest, throughout the main missions I did not feel that I was going through repetitive levels in the same way I felt with games like "Kingdom Rush" or standard path-based Tower-defense games.

NOW! I have a major bone to pick with the developer. I beat this game, then I went back and got all the golden plants and trophies for every level. My reward? NOTHING! Not a victory screen or a cinematic, just the main map where I select another level....

out of 10....
Gfx - 9 (bright, descriptive, and fun)
sfx - 8 (reasonable variety, somewhat forgettable)
design - 9 (fresh gameplay, lack of closure)
gameplay - 9.5 (exciting, ambitious, refreshing)

Overall, it's always very nice to see a game that covers all it's bases. Upgrades are solid, the gameplay stays fresh, the concept is VERY original. As I said at the start, this is more like a rapid-fire, action-oriented board game than it is a run-of-the-mill Tower Defense. I think that by giving that genre, the developer didn't think it was anything special, even though this one definitely is.
I got all the in-game trophies, the only time I've ever gotten %100 on a game. Disappointed that there was no reward for that, so I don't recommend it.

HINTS & TIPS:
-Stick to the main core upgrades (HP-regen, attack-up, defense-up) at first.
-Don't waste time trying to get all the golden plants and trophies, waste of time.
-It's better to reset a level than try to beat it for an hour, get the jump early!
-All missions can be finished in under a minute.

jarofed responds:

Thank you for such a detailed feedback and great suggestions. I'm happy you've liked the game. And I'm currently thinking about creating level pack to this game with some improvements. I will definitely add the end screen...

And again, thank you for completing this game.

[Game Corp]

Wanted to review this one since I played it, and boy did I regret spending so long playing this game. First off, after you are able to produce "medium" projects, the building space available to the player starts to become very cramped. As the size of projects grows, and you need more tables...more workstations...this becomes more like Tetris than a good Simulation game.

I found that many essential features were not included: firing employees, cancelling training or projects, auto-selecting project "quality"...the list could go on. By the time I gave up, the game had given me a headache with it's cheap interfaces, poorly-planned management system, and the fact that every other day there was an awards show that I constantly lost.
Not that this matters, as there is no real point to the game, and there appears to be no ending outside of bankruptcy.
So the competitive elements are gone, I feel unhappy wishing I had spent my time ACTUALLY making games, and the poor design of this submission overall takes away everything most people love about Micro-Management games.

There are some nice elements, such as being able to check "reviews" or employees having basic needs like food and atmosphere. These are overshadowed by the wide range of frustration they present, however.
Reviews? Worthless.
Employees needing to drink water results in them CONSTANTLY GETTING WATER and only getting MAYBE 2 hours of work done on "large" projects once everyone has had enough water.

"Okay, good, so everyone's had enough water now?"
"Hang on, boss, don't start without me."

There isn't ANY kind of organization to the team-structure, you can't assign leaders or hire people that already have ANY experience...you can't even FIRE employees. Not that that would serve any purpose, as they are all perfect angels.

The "plants" and "statues" appear to serve no purpose. The game awards happen way too often, there is a definite half-baked feeling to the whole game...as though the developer was scared of being beaten to his own punch and tied up where he could, almost immediately abandoning the game as soon as it was complete...I doubt if this review will ever be seen.

Again, this only BARELY quantifies as "strategy" and overall is a very poor simulation.
out of 10...

gfx - 7 (art is bland, but it works)
sfx - 5 (bland, no variety)
design - 5 (lacks many needed features)
gameplay - 6 (fun at first, increasingly pointless)

overall, this is a game that should have been versioned as 0.5, as the concept is here and it executes decently. However, with so much missing content, and overall lack of direction, I found myself feeling cheated and disappointed in myself.

[Just A Cell]

Pretty rad game! i had some difficulties with the controls, the flashing lights may have been too much, and I did have a little trouble with determining sizes, but I think this game is worth a complete playthrough by anyone.
Grafix were really well-done, not that they were excellent drawings (pretty good, tho) or were animated really great, but they FIT TOGETHER excellently. Let's go back to the flashing lights: I think the issue here for me was framerate. A little sluggish, and operating under 512mb RAM that could have partly been my fault. However, being able to emulate N64 games, I don't think this is a conclusive answer. The creatures seem to move pretty fluid, so I would guess that this is anywhere between 24-32 and not something dumb like 16/18 or 64. Maybe I am wrong, but you may consider more careful and efficient coding methods or maybe even a smaller Library...because the flashing lights annoyed me for how SLOWLY they flashed, rather than that they did at all. C'mon, I played Robotron.

I thoroughly enjoyed the variety of creatures, and the manic pacing that's typical of older games that this is styled after, particularly the last level. Also, I like that there is also a "time attack" mode, but to be honest it could have easily been a "themed clock" for how descriptive it was and that the "credits screen" (heheh) was lumped into the same list. I think that the credits should have been listed elsewhere, like in the far corner, or perhaps a more exacting grafik for Time-Attack could have been chosen. However, even though I've never been a fan of time-attacks (makes me anxious), I think it's cool that one is included here.
I also like that when you die in this game it remembers where you were, loading the appropriate level, without making you restart the game (AKA seeing what else is on Newgrounds). This, combined with easy-going short levels, means that (for me, at least) losing is okay and I don't feel like a total loser for having died...as is common in games these days.

My problems with the controls were that they were sort of sticky and locked up sometimes. I found that I couldn't reliably press more than one button at a time without having funny issues like moving in one direction while facing another, inability to move at all, or jerky movements. This error resulted in FREQUENT DEATH....which was 'somewhat' lucrative and amusing as I've been drinking.

out of 10...

gfx - 8 (smooth blends, clear objects)
sfx - N/A (I have no soundcard)
design - 8 (good, varied levels)
gameplay - 8.5 (in spite of weak controls, game is very fun)

overall, this is a fantastic way to kill 5-10 minutes. From the evolutions to the poems, this is one very charming game that has a certain way of hooking the player into beating it. Perhaps disappointed by lack of level-select or weak controls, but nonetheless a very cheery and rewarding experience.

LazyBoyGames responds:

Wow thanks for the review. This is the most helpful one I have had so far. The lag is caused by certain libraries that Stencyl uses. It shouldn't be an issue in future games. The flashing was a bad call on my part. I have heard that it is annoying for many people even when running at the appropriate speed, so I don't think it's your fault =)

The inclusion of a level select seemed unneeded to me. Since the game takes around 10 minutes to beat one would usually be done in one sitting.

Anyway glad you liked the game, and thanks again for the extremely thorough review.

[FLASH FTW]

I'm sure these are going to be things everyone has already said, but...

Your collision detection sucks, try creating a smaller MC within your obstacles that accomodates for the fact that Flash recognizes ALL movieclips as leveled squares/rectangles.

Jumping distance is really low, makes game feel cheap in difficulty.
Your gradiant fills are ugly. Gradiant fills are probably best used with low contrasts.
Enemies and obstacles are at odds with the "gravity" expressed by player character, they need easing between stops.
Sound FX would have been nice, SFXr/BFXr are good tools for this.
Simple, smooth 20-30 second music loop would have added color, FruityLoops Studio is great for that.
Consider how your colors fit together...buy a color wheel. Also, make a palette for your project and stick to it.

There is very little here, and most of your code could have been easily copy-pasted from a tutorial. There is almost no personality, no style, here. So...I have a rough time seeing this as little more than a learning experience that you didn't really enjoy. Seriously, what do you want me to say? "Good job on knowing what a circle is, I admire your ability to think inside the box".

Oh, well...don't get me wrong, it's great you finished this, but it's got no soul.

[Rebel Sky Demo]

Really great game that reminds me of Metal Warriors for SNES if it had the character progression of Metroid. I admit, I think the sfx can be sort of grating at times, because they seem to be low quality. Just not smooth enough, you know? Also, you are wanting feedback on system performance? I'm running a laptop with 0.5gigs of RAM and the game works great, had to zoom out my Firefox window a couple times to get the whole game to fit but it's alright.
Really like the weapons, albeit the controls seem sort of confusing sometimes...cramped really, I guess. Many people don't have number-pads to ease this, either, like me on my laptop.
I also think there could be more flashing lights and dynamic text-effects.
Really enjoyed the little profile of the pilot in the upper-left.

Stopped playing after I dropped down the deactivated lift shaft, got killed by those tanks at the bottom, and had to start the game over.

out of 10...
gfx - 8.5 (nice retro style)
sfx - 6.5 (somewhat fuzzy)
design - 8 (simple levels,good systems)
gameplay - 7 (poor reset, cramped controls)

I think it's really tough to tack down what exactly this demo does well, and what it doesn't. One thing is for sure, and that's that it LOOKS great so far. Perhaps some of the graphics need to be more dynamic, but I like them still. I really hope that you come back to this project, because it performs well and is a lot of fun so far.

Hyptosis responds:

Thanks!

[Earn to Die 2012]

Wow, this is such an incredible improvement over the first! I really like how you didn't try and spin it as a sequel, but rather it's a less nerdy version of an update. Sorta dissapointed by lack of vehicle choices, and I think that EVENTUALLY the game does become somewhat repetitive and the pace starts to get slower as well...however! Whatever he's going to find, I'm really glad it's in Oregon!!
Everything has really good weight to it, and I think it shares similarities to games like the Miami/Sydney/Etc Shark games but requires more skill than the World Shark (or whatever) series...

out of 10...
gfx - 9 (cool post-apocalyptic theme)
sfx - 8.5 (killer theme song)
design - 9 (clear and organized)
gameplay - 9 (fantastic action)

overall, I think that this is a really great game with a lot of time you could spend playing it. It's very high-pace but also somehow chill at the same time. A great choice for Daily Feature, imo.