Score: 3

"Demo or not... drastic changes are needed."

submission: Metroid Maze 2 Demo

date: August 6, 2008

I am a huge old-school Metroid fan. I'd normally eat up anything with the classic Metroid elements in it and call it great even if it was less-than-great in reality. This one could make it to that level - but it needs more than just a face-lift from the demo version. It needs to look less like Berzerk (yes, the Atari game)! The feel isn't so great, either. I guess it might be an improvement over mouse controls (I did not play the first one) but it still feels rather stale. This has puzzler potential I'd like to see explored. This could get much better - but way WAAAAY more work needs to be done to get it there.

Score: 7

"Great First Edition!"

submission: Bricks Breaking 3

date: August 6, 2008

This is the first time I have seen this type of game played in this way. I'm sure it's been done, but kudos for being the first to introduce it to me. It's got a fairly compelling gameplay value. I'd like to see some additional features packed in there. The bomb idea is a great addition - what more could be put in like that? The sounds were a little annoying (the slide-whistle block raising is what I'm picking on here) and it could do with some inconspicuous background music - although it is nice to have the ability to play it without music because for people like me, I like the sound effects to be there while I crank up my own music to play to. All-in-all this is a very good game. A little polish to the graphics, sound and maybe the gameplay can really launch this puppy!

Score: 5

"Typical Fare - But a Good Starting Point"

submission: Dress Up Kakumey

date: August 6, 2008

As was said before, this is nothing particularly new or different. It's a dress-up game. I agree that it is a little cluttered, but it is nice to have a number of things to select from. I found that the alements were a bit too similar to one another - some more variety in the clothing would help turn quantity into quality. To help minimize the clutter, perhaps different types of items could be placed in a separate window that allows you to flip through your selections - like a virtual closet - and hang them back up when a change of clothes is selected. It may also be of interest to cause items (some - if not all) to snap into position once close enough to the worn position. Lastly, ditch the current music. There is no reason why - out of the gazillions of songs that exist - that that one should be on there. If you want to add music - seek an original composition by someone on the music portal, get the permission and include their song on your game. That will supply a reason for it to be there and it will add something unique to your game to help make it stand out. I think this is a good start to a good dress-up game here - it just needs some more tweaking.

Score: 8

"Exceptionally Offensive"

submission: Public Masturbator

date: August 6, 2008

I try a lot of the games meant to offend or "stimulate" the taboo subjects. Most of them are created for the lowest common denominator BY the lowest common denominator. This one, however, made me laugh. Albeit, it's not the next Grand Theft Auto, but, come on, for a chuckle - it really hits the spot. It was surprisingly well done in that respect. Kudos.

Score: 8

"Busy Game"

submission: Go Go Plant 2

date: August 3, 2008

There sure is a lot of presentation. The game's not all that bad, either, but somewhat dwarfed by the gobs of STUFF going on around it.

Score: 8

"Packaging is everything... well, almost."

submission: MindFeed

date: August 3, 2008

This was a fun quiz to take. It was like a a Vaudeville act. Even though the content wasn't something to talk about around the water cooler, the presentation was over-the-top-great. I'm not saying that it was a polished turd - I mean, the content WAS good, but I'm just saying... an 8 is an extremely high score from me for a quiz. The graphics were completely fitting, the animation was spot-on and the sound was environmentally rich and fitting to the application. Well done. I'm going to go have a bite of my bagels now. Thank you.

Score: 4

"Needs a lot of polish..."

submission: One Level Game: Hardcore

date: August 3, 2008

This game has a good start, but it needs a lot of polishing up before it's finished. The graphics appear to be just temporary elements to show game object boundaries. The shapes used did not seem to have a good "feel" to them, nor did the control. It needs to be much smoother - and would probably benefit most by being linked to mouse movement instead of arrow keys - although you could make the keys work with some tweaking to the physics. The sound - and I'm sorry if you are a fan of that song - needs a lot of work. The song is grainy and does not compliment the game very well. I know the theme of the lyrics does a little, but that's not the point. The sound is grainy and doesn't hit the player very hard. I did not make it very far into the game. It is difficult to control, but more importantly, it is not compelling enough to keep the player playing. With those tweaks I suggested, I would be willing to bet this can all turn around and be a good game. I gave it a four because it seems to be about 50% finished (and I'd likely rate this type of a game 8 at the most unless something really REALLY impressed me about it.

Score: 3

"It's probably me..."

submission: Creekwood Forest

date: August 2, 2008

I gave the game the old college try and I just couldn't figure out what was going on. I clicked some tiles, I got a failure message... Actually, it wasn't compelling enough to stick around and really learn it. The graphics and sound are pretty good but the gameplay does not really GRAB me. Sorry, had to pan this one.

Score: 6

"I am obviously missing something important."

submission: Besieged

date: June 25, 2008

To be sure I was not left in the dark, I read the in-game instructions from start to finish. Pointless. The pop-up notes during play offer the same information. With no introductory level to get you used to the "balances" of the game, I found the opening level too difficult. I played for half an hour, which was enough time to lose the first level twice in a row. I guess I missed something important because I don't see why level 1 should seem so imbalanced. The graphics are "okay" and the sound is good, but all enemies shooting down one path was disappointing. XP seemed like a good idea, but I didn't notice any differences between level 1 towers and level 5 towers. This game has potential, so it gets a six instead of a lower score because I feel that it can be finished and turned into an 8 in the end.

Score: 8

"Excellent Strategy Game!"

submission: Storm Of Androids

date: January 3, 2008

This game has the makings of an incredible product! I might like to see some upgrades considered for graphics and audio - that would push this game beyond the limits of the current score. The mechanics are very good, though, and although it looked daunting at first, I caught on in a short time. I think this game is great - but could be exceptional with a little polish.