ClydeArk's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Lusfod]

This game should have an epilepsy warning. lol

As for the game itself, it's sort of learn as you go. There isn't a whole lot to understand though. Avoid enemies, collect upgrades(which are in the form of animals) as well as a suspicious flower that puts you into hyper drive. Game play wasn't completely innovative or amazing, but it is smooth and functional. There's no story but the game doesn't really require any.

The upgrades are solely ship upgrades that you must buy progressively which sort of made me sad because I saved up for the second to last before I bought anything and found out I couldn't skip ships.

It is slow at the beginning(collecting money) but you'll find that it gets easier with every ship as the magnet gets progressively stronger. However, if you can manage to get the "flowers"*cough*mushrooms*cough* it isn't too difficult.

3/5 for fluid gameplay.

[Auto Smash 3D!]

The game is fun and silly and the concept(plus the medals, I'm a medal addict) made me stay, but there are a few things you might consider adding/correcting.

One useful function would be a target indicator. The girl more or less targets whatever you're facing, but there are times when she'll throw the shoe in a random direction as if she hadn't locked onto anything. If there was a target indicator, I'd be able to tell if I had someone locked on and I could avoid wasting a car part by missing horribly when I believed I wouldn't.

Something else you may consider adding is the option to switch between items or to decide not to use an item. You're forced to immediately use whatever you pick up when you can keep something(a rocket for example) to use it on a stronger car(like a police car).

There's also the issue with the jumping. Not being able to go backwards is sort of weird. as I instinctively find myself wanting to back out at times. Maybe if you could program that in somehow? I don't know.

Aside from that, the graphics are pretty fluid and the quality isn't TOO bad, but it's not top-notch stuff. Great game though. It's definitely fun. More medals would have been awesome too.

[Elf Story]

Great game overall. I was most impressed by the smooth animation and graphics and the story itself wasn't a total bummer but the gameplay could have used a little work. The clicking itself was fine(as in it being a point and click game) but the best aspect of this game is all of the different ways to die and kill because the game itself is terribly short. Now, it being short isn't entirely the issue. I enjoyed the briefness of the game, but I found it difficult to explore all of it because I could never go back after a kill.

For example, if I missed something and I noticed after I killed the opponent on that stage, the only thing I could do then was restart the ENTIRE game and go through everything once more to reach the position I was previously in. This wouldn't be an issue if I didn't have to witness the same animation over and over just to simply return to a single point in time. This becomes an arduous and lengthy process. This also applies to the many kills present within the game. There are several weapons, but only one chance to really use them on each enemy per play through and for people who want to get all the medals(or simply see all the epic death sequences), you must repeat everything to reach the particular enemy again.

A simple solution to this would be to simply allow a "restart area/scene" option which allows you to reset a particular area to the point which you arrived it in(like how the area resets after you've been killed) after you've killed an enemy. A "select scene" option isn't entirely viable simply because the game promotes choices that affect future scenarios differently.

The bg music got annoying after a while as well but the sfx sounds weren't too painful to hear.

I'm giving you a four because animation of this quality isn't a walk in the park. I hope you can improve where you were lacking in your next game!

[400 Years]

Everything was perfect. From gameplay to music to visuals, to my favorite thing in a game: a good story. There wasn't much dialog, but that was beauty in itself. This being, silent as it always was, awoke from its deep sleep and left its peaceful cliff edge on the most selfless journey imaginable. It even takes a small detour to help the mortals on its way, never expecting anything from the people it saved. The ending was the strawberry on the icing on the cake! I don't know if I was the only one who felt moved, even with the cutesy imagination it was heartwarming in a powerful way.

My only "complaint" or "criticism" is that 400 years is way too much free time, so to speak. I suppose, however, that it's not even really a problem.

[Adam]

I wanted to give you the full five stars but I was put off by the "boot strapping". To be perfectly honest, I haven't the clue what it is and how to work it out because the doctor's explanation are incredibly vague. I was frustrated and after jumping on the clock, tossing it, jumping on it-picking it up-jumping-tossing it, and pressing all of the keys on my keyboard like mad I still couldn't find out how "boot strapping" worked.

If you're planning a sequel(and for future games) try making essential things like this a tid bit more obvious.

[Mad Princess]

Great game. I love the twist you put to the damsel in distress. That in itself made me want to play and beat the game regardless of the game play.

Story: 3.00/5.00
The concept is great, as I mentioned before, but the story telling itself could use a little work. I understand that you were just testing this sort of game out though, so it's forgivable, but if you have time, make the next one better!

Graphics: 4.00/5.00
I'm not a huge fan of pixel art so that's why I'm not giving you a perfect 5, but as far as pixels go, it's great and everything is well made.

Gameplay: 3.50/5.00

Down to the core issue then. The game is too fast paced. Even the tutorial, which is generally slow, is too fast. Your tossed into the fray almost immediately, and while there is no penalty for losing a round, allowing you to restart as many times as you want, it's a little inconvenient. Now I'm not saying the sense of urgency is bad. It kept me on my toes, in fact, but you're tossed too suddenly into the wave. Perhaps if there's a countdown of five to ten seconds that allows you to place your traps before the enemies hurry in it would improve the game. It would allow better planning and leave you to your devices while the horde of unsuspecting heroes comes after you.

The diversity of enemies and traps was limited, but that again is forgivable as you've mentioned it's your first time stepping out of your comfort zone.

Level design was fairly limited as well. The only things that really varied were the slope lengths. The limited trap selection did up the difficulty level though so that was a nice touch.

Overall Score: 3.50/5.00

AdventureIslands responds:

The story was originally supposed to be much deeper and about how she even got her blood powers and lost her mind in the first place, but I had to cut lots of originally planned stuff to get the game done for LD in time. But I might explore the original story in some kind of prequel game.

You are right about the quick pace, next time I might add a time counter for the waves and a button to summon enemies early if you have finished setting up defenses.

This is what Ludum Dare games often are, good bases to start building more refined and polished games on.

[Salem]

Awesome, awesome game. I remember playing the demo and couldn't wait for the full game to come out. I wasn't disappointed! Although I'd like to point out that there were a few bugs. Sometimes the first boss, Betel, would freeze up and I could neither fire or touch him and had to restart the game to continue. Not that much of a problem since it was the first boss and the game isn't so long, but it's something to take note of.

Also, for everyone else reading this comment, make sure that after you beat the game you watch the credits to the end! There's a bit of a surprise. =p

@Anris, use the lantern and you'll find that you have to shoot at the eyes.

[bit Dungeon]

No matter how you slice it, this game is great. I'm not a huge fan of pixel games myself but I didn't really mind them because the game was very appealing. Gameplay is smooth albeit the explanations are close to non-existent.

I'm at level 11 at the moment and I'm just wondering, is there an end..?

[Goin' Mental]

I'll give you a 4.0 because the game is well made in terms of art and programming. The gameplay, however, is a little lacking. Considering the game only consists of avoiding incoming projectiles/enemies while using them to kill each other, the speed(of the character) is justifiable, the problem is with the enemies themselves. They're too *smart* and too quick. It's too easy to get pushed into a corner because the enemies charge straight at you. This, of course, is understandable because there's no reason for them to wander around aimlessly, but it makes dodging *everything* too difficult.

I like the challenge and I was able to beat all three but I as a bit disappointing because getting the last medal is too difficult. It's hard to stay alive, much less kill them. For the time trial I think there should be a 10-second respawn or something similar, but either way, it's good. Keep up the good work.

[take care of the trees]

I'm not sure what happened, but thanks for the medals. 8D