OK, I saw this game advertised on TV, and had to check it out. It's called "Floater," and is hosted on Adult Swim's website
Towards the end of the review, I start calling the floating body a "floater" both as a plug for the name of the game, and as a way to stop writing corpse and dead body in the review :D
Story: N/A
Well, there's not much of a story in this game, nor is there much needed...it opens with a small statement about when the player was a kid, and used to hang out with their buddy's by the river, poking a dead body with a stick and high five-ing each other...that's pretty much it, it's a nostalgia game for those who actually did poke dead bodies in rivers as a kid.
Graphics: 4/5
Seeing as this game moves by pretty quickly, and the only real graphics needed are the stick for poking, the dead body that's being poked, and the various obstacles in the river said body runs in to, there's not much necessary here. Along the banks of the river, if you move slowly, you'll see various wild animals going about their day of drinking water, eating grass, and other natural things...but that's not why this game is played. The lines are clean, crisp, and colorful, which makes it actually a relatively nice looking game.
Music: 4/5
Considering I've only ever seen dead body in the river gags on shows taking place in the South (ie Family Guy), the musical choice for this game fits the bill of what I expected. Basically it's a looping track of a banjo player going to town (although the actual track is only about six seconds long). It's not overly annoying during gameplay, considering the player is concentrating on poking the corpse and hitting obstacles for greater points, the track IS annoying enough to mute while writing a review. Mercifully, there is a mute function if it's just not your style. Overall, limited, but appropriate.
Controls: 3/5
Simple enough, the mouse directs where the stick will poke the corpse, and thus pushes the corpse along the plane you poke. Although there's basically two controls here, namely the direction of the mouse and clicking the left mouse button, this reviewer found actually controlling the motion of the body difficult. Besides needing to become relatively familiar with how far the body is poked, the controls themselves are really quite simple to get.
Gameplay: 3/5
The gameplay is fast, and during gameplay, this reviewer didn't reach the end of any particular level. It may be that there are no levels, per se, as much as there is time limits and the goal of amassing as many points as possible before time runs out. Besides that, the gameplay is pretty good, and there are a number of whimsical ways to gain points (some of them being directing your floater into rocks, angry beavers, water snakes, and logs). The high scores can be posted online for those who register at Adult Swim's website , however it wasn't an issue for this reviewer.
Difficulty: 3/5
Probably the two most difficult aspects of this otherwise straightforward game are controlling the floater and running out of time. There are checkpoints along the route (similar to that old inner tube arcade game) where you can gain 10 seconds on your remaining time. Depending on how quickly you choose to progress through the game, actually passing through these checkpoints can be challenging. Additionally, the floater itself is sensitive to pokes, and sometimes floats into a bank that takes valuable time to escape from. Having said this, the overall difficulty isn't hard, boiling down to amassing points by hitting as many things as possible.
Overall: 3/5
It's a pretty fun, short waste of time game that reflects what style of games adult swim hosts on their website. A number of their games are, as the name suggests, not for the kiddies, but as something an adult working person can quickly play through during their coffee break to ease the stress of that boss hanging over your head all morning. This game is reminiscent of the river inner tube arcade game this reviewer used to see as a kid, so people playing this might expect similar gameplay. A nice, short diversion from more important manners, and one that lends itself well to review :) . ゲームをやった！
Check out this and other entertaining games on Adult Swim
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Review: "The Hanrahan Game: Final Mix", Created by Flying Squire
Today, I am reviewing "The Hanrahan Game: Final Mix" a platformer created by Flying Squire, and hosted on Yoyo Games.
I am currently working through this game, therefore will post a more thorough review when I am finished; these are my overall first impressions playing through the first few levels.
Story:3/5
Revolves around an evil organization that wants the main character, Hanrahan, to open the "box of chaos," and tries to convince him to help by kidnapping and threatening his wife. The overall storyline is to rescue the wife and discover who is behind the plot and what their plan is.
Graphics: 4/5
This game uses the Game Maker engine, which is available for download on the same site which hosts this game, Yoyo Games. The graphics are standard platformer fair, falling somewhere between NES and SNES quality. The lines are crisp, the textures make it easy to tell what is rock and what is ground, and the colors are well done.
Music: 4/5
The music changes with each level, and cut scenes have their own unique tracks. Overall, it is impressive how much thought was put into the sound, as each sword swing and enemy can be heard, without being overbearing. The music is midi-style, but there is an option of turning it off if the player so chooses, by pressing the "m" key anytime during gameplay.
Controls: 3/5
Having had experience in FPS and MMORPG games on the computer, the controls for this game take a little getting used to. The character is moved by the arrow keys, and the three main buttons in use are "z" "x" and "c"
z: standard sword attack
x: ranged/special attack
c: jump
In addition to these basic controls, the player cycles through a variety of special ranged weapons as they are collected via the spacebar. As a result, it is easy for a player coming from an MMO game (where often times the spacebar is reserved for jumping) to inadvertently cycle through the ranged weapon when attempting a jump. Overall, the controls are easy once the general scheme is learned.
Gameplay: 4/5
The gameplay itself is face-paced, and there seems to be a limitless supply of enemies (in this case, ninja) attacking. The character builds up rage with each enemy killed, and is able to enter an "enraged" state once the bar is full. The enemies generally die with one hit, with the exception of bosses, however as the game progresses, enemies become more able to defend against your basic sword and shuriken attacks, necessitating the use of more creative maneuvers. As this reviewer has yet to complete the game, it isn't possible to rate the end-game content.
Difficulty: 4/5
This rating is in part due to this reviewer's limited time with platform-style games in general, however the game itself can be quite challenging. There are no overt puzzles, however the collection of special coins (differentiated by "elements" like earth, water, greenery, etc) is a challenge. (Think those red coins in many Mario games). Additionally, the bosses have unique quirks which the player must figure out quickly, or else risk death. The presence of save points sprinkled throughout the levels make the challenging aspect less harsh, as players rarely lose much ground if they die.
Overall: 4/5
The game is very enjoyable. Players should expect to dedicate some time to playing, as the first few levels (assuming the players is attempting to achieve 100% clear) will likely take an hour or so. As such, this reviewer is still playing through the campaign. The game is slightly longer than other games reviewed on this site, and as such can not be classified as a "casual" title, but players who excel at platformers will certainly enjoy this free game.
Please feel free to check out the game at Yoyo Games and play through along with this review. As always, comments and questions are always welcome. I haven't yet beaten the game, but this post will sign off with a similar statement. ゲームをやっています。
I am currently working through this game, therefore will post a more thorough review when I am finished; these are my overall first impressions playing through the first few levels.
Story:3/5
Revolves around an evil organization that wants the main character, Hanrahan, to open the "box of chaos," and tries to convince him to help by kidnapping and threatening his wife. The overall storyline is to rescue the wife and discover who is behind the plot and what their plan is.
Graphics: 4/5
This game uses the Game Maker engine, which is available for download on the same site which hosts this game, Yoyo Games. The graphics are standard platformer fair, falling somewhere between NES and SNES quality. The lines are crisp, the textures make it easy to tell what is rock and what is ground, and the colors are well done.
Music: 4/5
The music changes with each level, and cut scenes have their own unique tracks. Overall, it is impressive how much thought was put into the sound, as each sword swing and enemy can be heard, without being overbearing. The music is midi-style, but there is an option of turning it off if the player so chooses, by pressing the "m" key anytime during gameplay.
Controls: 3/5
Having had experience in FPS and MMORPG games on the computer, the controls for this game take a little getting used to. The character is moved by the arrow keys, and the three main buttons in use are "z" "x" and "c"
z: standard sword attack
x: ranged/special attack
c: jump
In addition to these basic controls, the player cycles through a variety of special ranged weapons as they are collected via the spacebar. As a result, it is easy for a player coming from an MMO game (where often times the spacebar is reserved for jumping) to inadvertently cycle through the ranged weapon when attempting a jump. Overall, the controls are easy once the general scheme is learned.
Gameplay: 4/5
The gameplay itself is face-paced, and there seems to be a limitless supply of enemies (in this case, ninja) attacking. The character builds up rage with each enemy killed, and is able to enter an "enraged" state once the bar is full. The enemies generally die with one hit, with the exception of bosses, however as the game progresses, enemies become more able to defend against your basic sword and shuriken attacks, necessitating the use of more creative maneuvers. As this reviewer has yet to complete the game, it isn't possible to rate the end-game content.
Difficulty: 4/5
This rating is in part due to this reviewer's limited time with platform-style games in general, however the game itself can be quite challenging. There are no overt puzzles, however the collection of special coins (differentiated by "elements" like earth, water, greenery, etc) is a challenge. (Think those red coins in many Mario games). Additionally, the bosses have unique quirks which the player must figure out quickly, or else risk death. The presence of save points sprinkled throughout the levels make the challenging aspect less harsh, as players rarely lose much ground if they die.
Overall: 4/5
The game is very enjoyable. Players should expect to dedicate some time to playing, as the first few levels (assuming the players is attempting to achieve 100% clear) will likely take an hour or so. As such, this reviewer is still playing through the campaign. The game is slightly longer than other games reviewed on this site, and as such can not be classified as a "casual" title, but players who excel at platformers will certainly enjoy this free game.
Please feel free to check out the game at Yoyo Games and play through along with this review. As always, comments and questions are always welcome. I haven't yet beaten the game, but this post will sign off with a similar statement. ゲームをやっています。
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
"Gray and Green" review, created by GraniteGear
Today's review is "Gray and Green," created by GraniteGear.
Story: 3/5
The story is a straight-forward, save the world plot. Mubly is the protagonist, a small blue clay-like figure who is able to jump and walk. His goal is to gather all the color, and banish" the gray", stolen from the world by the evil wizard Murlan (yes, there is a cute reference here...). Mubly travels over three islands towards the wizard's home, likely to a final confrontation with the wizard. On the journey, Mubly will be challenged by a variety of obstacles, including giant biting skulls, gray Mubly-like enemies, gray Mubly-like enemies in pirate garb, and gray Mubly-like enemies in guard outfits. The story is rather simplistic, but a perfectly capable tale for this platform game, since the goal is not to engross the player in deep plot, but to amuse the player for less than an hour of gameplay. Mission accomplished.
Controls: 5/5
Given that this game is meant to be easily picked up and played in close to, or less than, an hour, the controls are simplistic and perfect for the game. Keyboard arrow keys control Mubly, while the Ctrl key is used to interact with the world. One aspect which would have improved the game would have been including a run function, as most of time cost of the game is in walking.
Music: 3/5
Each of the three worlds has one tune that loops while the player progresses through the level. The tunes themselves are fine, but the experience would have benefited from a few more tracks to accompany an overall "theme tune" for each world (ie pirate jig for "Eyepatch Island," and variations of the pirate jig for each level on "Eyepatch Island"). Overall, the tracks weren't obnoxious, and suited the gameplay well enough.
Graphics; 4/5
The cartoony appearance conveys what the creator likely wanted to show with this game, that it was meant as a small diversion and as light-gaming. The graphics are well done for the small sized platform game, easily equal to or greater than SNES quality. The colors, central to the game's story, are given adequate treatment overall, and are vibrant. The background gives the feeling of depth to the side-scroller, and are generally dynamic, which adds to the experience.
Difficulty: 2-3/5
Given the nature of the game, any puzzles are reasonably challenging, but not overly so. The necessary elements to get past an obstacle are pretty clear, given a logical approach. Placement of useful tools (like cannon to blast through walls or propel you through the air, or magic wands which make walking blocks appear) are rather easy to use. In the end, the difficulty comes from the particular quirks of the game engine which make some precise jumps end in poor Mubly's death.
Overall: 4/5
Comments:
Once the player collects the colors for the particular level, all enemies are eliminated, and the task becomes finding and entering the door to the next level. There are cheats in the game, found as messages in a bottle, which rather than help the player, add certain cosmetic changes to Mubly (halloween costumes, fur hats, and the like). Overall, this platform game was quite enjoyable. Other reviewers mention that the gameplay is rather repetitive, but given the music-style and general feel, it can almost be labeled as a sort-of meditative experience. If you'd like to test this game, it can be accessed via Yoyo Games. ゲームをやった!
Story: 3/5
The story is a straight-forward, save the world plot. Mubly is the protagonist, a small blue clay-like figure who is able to jump and walk. His goal is to gather all the color, and banish" the gray", stolen from the world by the evil wizard Murlan (yes, there is a cute reference here...). Mubly travels over three islands towards the wizard's home, likely to a final confrontation with the wizard. On the journey, Mubly will be challenged by a variety of obstacles, including giant biting skulls, gray Mubly-like enemies, gray Mubly-like enemies in pirate garb, and gray Mubly-like enemies in guard outfits. The story is rather simplistic, but a perfectly capable tale for this platform game, since the goal is not to engross the player in deep plot, but to amuse the player for less than an hour of gameplay. Mission accomplished.
Controls: 5/5
Given that this game is meant to be easily picked up and played in close to, or less than, an hour, the controls are simplistic and perfect for the game. Keyboard arrow keys control Mubly, while the Ctrl key is used to interact with the world. One aspect which would have improved the game would have been including a run function, as most of time cost of the game is in walking.
Music: 3/5
Each of the three worlds has one tune that loops while the player progresses through the level. The tunes themselves are fine, but the experience would have benefited from a few more tracks to accompany an overall "theme tune" for each world (ie pirate jig for "Eyepatch Island," and variations of the pirate jig for each level on "Eyepatch Island"). Overall, the tracks weren't obnoxious, and suited the gameplay well enough.
Graphics; 4/5
The cartoony appearance conveys what the creator likely wanted to show with this game, that it was meant as a small diversion and as light-gaming. The graphics are well done for the small sized platform game, easily equal to or greater than SNES quality. The colors, central to the game's story, are given adequate treatment overall, and are vibrant. The background gives the feeling of depth to the side-scroller, and are generally dynamic, which adds to the experience.
Difficulty: 2-3/5
Given the nature of the game, any puzzles are reasonably challenging, but not overly so. The necessary elements to get past an obstacle are pretty clear, given a logical approach. Placement of useful tools (like cannon to blast through walls or propel you through the air, or magic wands which make walking blocks appear) are rather easy to use. In the end, the difficulty comes from the particular quirks of the game engine which make some precise jumps end in poor Mubly's death.
Overall: 4/5
Comments:
Once the player collects the colors for the particular level, all enemies are eliminated, and the task becomes finding and entering the door to the next level. There are cheats in the game, found as messages in a bottle, which rather than help the player, add certain cosmetic changes to Mubly (halloween costumes, fur hats, and the like). Overall, this platform game was quite enjoyable. Other reviewers mention that the gameplay is rather repetitive, but given the music-style and general feel, it can almost be labeled as a sort-of meditative experience. If you'd like to test this game, it can be accessed via Yoyo Games. ゲームをやった!
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