Plasmarift's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Doomsday in Mecklenburg]

I thought the game was good, but I have two major complaints and a few minor ones (majors come first).
- Having to right click for the rockets led to me bringing up the right click options and going to another page accidentally. Having the player press z or x or another button to activate the rocket would have sufficed or perhaps let the player customize the controls. Then all there would be needed for the mouse at the least would be the aiming function.
- There's no save feature so if you accidentally click off, you'll lose all your progress. I don't want to play the game again, especially knowing that it could happen again.
- There's no skip button for the opening sequence. Not a big deal since it's short, but it sure seems annoying when you accidentally clicked off.
- Like xxBamaboy93xx commented, more of a story would have been nice though, it's not necessary to enjoy the game.

I thought the game was fun, fair in the challenges it presented, and challenging in different ways (basically, I like it because it wasn't a press one button to advance game. Those games are good, but I like a little variety). It definitely wasn't what I was expecting when I clicked on it, but it was still good. However, with the two major problems, I won't be playing it again unless they are fixed. It stinks having all your progress lost like that.

[Search For Light]

I'm sorry no one has yet to comment on your game. It definitely isn't bad, but it does need things. I go through the good and bad.

Good:
- I've found no glitches so far.
- The game has a beginning and end for each level I've played.
- The graphic are pretty good and interesting. They remind me of a third person shooter made back in the 90's (That's good in my back).
- the controls are tight and work well and the character interacts well with the environment (meaning that what should be solid is solid and what I should be able to do in the game, I'm able to do in the game, like jump from one platform to another).
- The sounds were a good touch though I'll have something to say about some of them below.
- When the robot first ran into a dead end, I was confused. I thought it said "Data" instead of "Dang it". It became clear when he growled at another dead end. I'm not sure how you managed to program that, but that's pretty good.

Bad:
- I should point out that part of the reason you probably haven't gotten as much attention is because of the thumbnail. It's not just to indicate what the game is, it also needs to draw the person's attention to it and make them think, "Hey. This looks interesting". There are 1000's of platformers on the web. The thumbnail shows them why they should play yours over the others.
- The game feels kind of empty without music or background sounds (adding in leaking pipes echo, rats running, the echo of you jumping and landing, the bubbling of the ooze, these are all things that make the game seem real and make it more entertaining for the player. Games are just like television: details and authenticness are crucial to drawing someone in.
- I'd suggest reducing the volume on the character's grunt when they jump. Without background sound or music, it does get slightly annoying though I did get used to it.
- The character design, I feel, is the worst in the entire game. It looks more like a rock man then a machine. A few more details could have remedied this. Think about it, the player's going to be looking at that character design for the entire game so you want to make sure it is really good.
- Other than getting from point A to point B, the game really isn't offering much in challenge. None of the jumps are difficult to make though easy to mess up (the black and yellow marks on the platform tell me when a ledge is coming up, which is both smart design, but decreases the difficulty in now the player doesn't have to be as careful), there are no enemies, no time limit, and ultimately, no reward (I know a lot of games don't have "rewards" for beating levels, but the reward I'm speaking of comes from beating the level. If you beat a level then you feel good because you conquered the obstacles. In this game, there are no obstacles: just trial and error and fighting your own carelessness or clumsiness in maneuvering. Games also offer reward through story telling, which I feel this game could have had, revealing a part of the story each time you beat a level or having to find hidden documents through the building, perhaps explaining why the lights are off, what is this place, and what do the owners do?
- Dead ends aren't inherently bad, but in a large building or area, I want to feel like I can find something other than just the door. Not necessary. This one may be me.
- I consider that a game that implements "leaps of fate" should be more forgiving for the player since leaps of faith are practical gambles and having to start from the beginning of the level each time you die just get annoying.
- I didn't finish the game, partly because I'm pressed for time as it is nighttime right now and because I didn't find the game stimulating enough. This game could have very easily been a horror game; it already has the visual effects of one. All it would need is the sounds and music.

Sorry if I sound like I'm being a jerk, but when I find a game creator like yourself that has talent in art and/or story among other areas of game design, I feel compelled to give my opinion. It's possible I'm wrong about all my advice and this game might become pretty popular. It's still early on. Still, I hope you'll be making more games in the future and let me know if you need them tested or need any voice acting done for them. Good luck.

Vajra777 responds:

Thank you very much for taking the time to write such a detailed review.

This is the first game that I've made - And, everything you suggested in the bad was originally meant to be implemented (especially having interesting things in the dead ends), but my programming skills just aren't strong enough yet. This project was all about proving to myself that I could actually FINISH a video game. Having abandoned a few projects over the years...

It's all about learning - Thank you SO much for the feedback.

I think once I've figured out all the programming issues, I'll get started on releasing a sequel for this game. :)

[K.O.L.M. Prototype]

Going into 3D is a risky move at times, but this is amazing! The atmosphere of the first release is enhanced through the beautiful, surreal environment that you've created, especially the background. It's almost like everything has been specifically crafted to be awesome.

My only sadness would be if this game will be the same length as the original (it was kind of short). I hope that if this does make it, you'll have like KOLM 3 and 4 or extend the first game because this environment so awesome. It needs more spreading out, more time to enjoy it through gameplay.

[Ninja Warrior 4: PR]

The game is pretty cool, but there are some problems:
- the control set up is awkward. Can you make it so the player can set up the controls? At least make the arrow keys a possible replace for the AWSD keys.
- No explanation is given to show how you are supposed to go about solving these stages once you reach them. I will admit; most of them are extremely simple, but for the Jump Hang, you don't say what is the best strategy for this. Should I just run up to it? Should I jump onto the pad while running? Do I need to press the jump button when I hit the pad to go farther? Do I need to jump on the pad in a certain place? I've tried that stage nearly 10 times and I've only succeeded in getting across it once. All of these failures force me to restart, which gets annoying and tedious. Why not have a training center where the player can interact with each one independently. That way, they can learn what to do and when they get to the test course, it is all a matter of putting it together and being fast. (in the real ninja warrior, i'm pretty sure the players are shown how to get through the course so why not do so with this game?)
- Having to wait three seconds to restart also gets annoying. Just have something that says "hit spacebar when you're ready".
- For the second obstacle where you are hanging from something that has holes in it, why does it take so long to start moving sometimes?

Still, like I said, I do like the game, but it gets frustrating after a while. It would be different if it was my own fault for not pressing the buttons in time, but a lack of knowledge on how to proceed is what's keeping me back. I will happily beta test and help you with your future games (I love being involved in the game making process). Good luck with your next release.

[Metal Mission]

The game is okay, but there are some major flaws. *Spoilers* for anyone who hasn't beaten it.
- When I beat the game, the "victory" text was overlapped by the "Metal Mission play"
- when I got to the pick/purplish boss, I didn't have to beat him/her to get the key. If you just walk over the boss, you get the key.
- Why is there a guy hiding in the library out of sight? I was unable to hit him.
- Was I suppose to kill those two guys in the north part of the game to get the tank to come out so I could ride it later? Because I killed those guys with the tank.
- Why was the tank moving forward constantly? Couldn't I just move it forward myself. The constantly moving forward just led to me dying a lot and it took me a while to figure out why. (I was also under the impression that if I'm in a tank then doors should be a problem since I can just run them over. Not the case here.
- I didn't consider trying to follow the road back to exit the base, but I thought "there's no way the tank could fit in that narrow corridor near the library". I thought I'd just die and end up back to where I started the tank from.
- Why does the game allow me to save it sometimes and other times it doesn't?
- Also, why could a tank jump across that gap in the bridge?
- There is no guidance as to what to do. Why couldn't I just return to the point where they dropped me off after I got the prisoner to beat the game?
- This one is more about curiosity, but was it possible to go through the door south of the prison cells?

Before you think I hate the game, I wanted to say I did like it. For me, sneaking didn't do well since shooting seemed more effective. I liked the challenge it presented and the sound effects from mgs were pretty fitting (just make sure you give credit where you got them from). My suggestions would be if you do another game like this is to:
- fix a lot of the things I mentioned at the top.
- make the game longer
- add some music
- maybe add some more weapons next time, like a guided missile launcher.
- Also, if you want to make sneaking a big part of the game, you need to make the consequences of getting caught more sever, like instead of all the enemies on screen being alerted to your presence, why not have four or five more guys come onto the screen.
- I'd also suggest letting the player choose between the ASWD and the arrow keys for controls.

I look forward to your next release and good luck!

[Poop Dog]

I really don't know what everyone's complaining about. (it's possible there was an update to this game), but the poop stays long enough to ascend and the gameplay is pretty fun. It is sometimes hard to dodge the bees when falling in the first bonus level, but just because you can't beat the level, doesn't make it the game's fault. That being said, with the first level being so long, I really don't want to play the rest of the game. The second level was kind of the same thing and I can imagine this getting boring after awhile. Each level should present something new, a different challenge. It would also help to know what I'm working toward (and if the bones gave me some kind of bonus feature or something). Also, I agree with the others that the music can get very irritating.

Wiesi responds:

Thanks for the great review!

[Urban Survival Escape 3]

I definitely like these series your putting out. I think your next one should be something involving like escaping a prison instead of just surviving, a five day planning and setting up of it. Or maybe a soldier on the battle field trying to survive. Keep it up and good luck on your future games!

selfdefiant responds:

Thanks! I just did surviving an asylum, of all things!

[Alone: Meditate Existence]

The game's definitely interesting, but it has some major flaws. I don't know if this one counts, but once the seizure inducing segment is done, and I have traversed myself to the second screen, I couldn't get passed the two block high wall (at first). It's like this.

__ /\_____
| |
\_____|

(I'm now stuck in a similar situation with a tall hill and a pointed top)

__ _____
|__ |
|_____|

The wall seemed too high to scale yet after enough trial and error (which gets annoying, seeing as I can only do a few high jumps before collapsing), I somehow managed to make it over (The wall itself, if too close, may be keeping me from reaching high enough). If there's a better way to get over it, that leads into my second point: the game does not explain enough. I know that art games are suppose to leave aspects of the game for the player to determine and I appreciate including the instructions in the description, but things like "what does the shift key do other than make the green boxes disappear" are pretty hard to determine in this game since every movement comes with the price of having to wait for the character to recover which discourages experimenting with the controls (whenever I'm waiting for the character to recover, I scroll down and type this. It's also annoying for the high jump parts that once I try 3 times, I have to fall down three times, each time either failing at high jumps or wasting time with normal jumps until the characters tired and falls over to regain health). Also, I don't understand the "battery" that seems to drain when I try to rest and in generally whenever I'm injured. Does the battery hold some sort of significance because once it ran out, nothing bad happened.

(I'd really encourage lessing the waiting time though the day counter is just fine though you may want to increase the possible interval to 1000. I maxed it out over 999 and it went back to 0 on the next screen and it never counted up again).

Also, I think you should include the seizure warning at the top of the description because those were the most potent lights I've ever seen in a game (they made my eyes hurt just looking at them).

Also, would it be possible to include a fast forward of skip feature to the opening. It seemed to drag on a little too long.

sorry about nagging so much. I definitely like the solitude of the game and I'm interested in seeing where it's leading, but if the game is frustrating to the players then they are unlikely to finish it.

[Pride and Punishment]

*Bug*
I don't know if everyone else is having this problem, but once I reach the end of the last room before the boss and I try to go to the right off screen to trigger the green flash to take me to the boss room, I just fall off the edge and get a game over screen. Then, when I press retry, I end up in the boss room and the boss isn't moving (he's in like a standing animation) and my arrows go right through him without damaging him. I can also walk through the wooden gate in the boss room on the far right and I (again) will get a game over screen. Then, when I press retry, I get a screen where my three hearts are flashing, a brown background, a grey floor, and an arrow meter in the upper right corner filled to capacity (with no hero insight).

I like the game (even though it is probably pretty short). I really hope this gets fixed. I want to see how this ends.

glitchs2d responds:

Don't worry it's not a bug, its just not finished. I'm balancing the boss fight at the moment trying to make it beatable for the average player. I will probably release the update tonight, more than likely.

[It's All Your Fault!]

There are many problems with the game and since the others aren't being specific enough, I will be.

Glitches
- The description says the game should end on day 7, yet I made it to Day 9 and I can continue going.
- Every single day, I end up in debt and yet there has been no game over (I never could seem to get enough money)

Problems
- I think it is good that you added a tutorial, but it doesn't properly explain everything.
- It does not for who and when I should hit the emergency button to bring the security bots.
- It does not state what to do when a robots says it "forgot its card" or "is at the wrong desk"\
- The goals and objectives should be stated at the beginning of the tutorial, not the end.
- A video demonstration of what needs to be done in the tutorial would also be helpful.
- What's the point of having two sides to the card (not to mention the robots always handing it to you so you have to flip it)? With this set up, whenever I try to compare the facts on the card and on the computer screen readout, I have to move the screen, flip the card, and then hover my mouse over it to physical compare them. This is tedious and could have been made simpler.
- the mail system also suffers from problems. When I click on the mail icon when there is new stuff, the mail should pop open. Instead, a hexagon pops up with a small mail icon.
- The text with the robots trying to convince you to let their corrupted friends through should be skippable because I really don't care what they have to say.
- You should make the manual that you can click on and activate smaller because I keep accidentally clicking on it. Also, I don't think it is necessary to have it pop up after every level.
- Like others have pointed out, the game is repetitive and boring. You could have made this thing fast paced and made it so you have to do a certain number of robots a day (even though that technically is an option in this case, how it is now feels more sluggish). Even the loading speed is sluggish.
- Although I haven't played the game they are referring to, even if this game has a different story, if it has many of the same qualities of the game they are mentioning and you didn't bother mentioning that game as inspiration or a guide then yes, this is a rip off and plagiarism. You need to give credit, where credit is due.

Still, the game does seem interested. I hoped you'll keep making games in the future.