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。