Bad-Atom's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Mass Attack]

Simple, addictive and fun!

4/5

What an ingeniously simple concept! Like all good puzzle games, it required a lot of thought and skill to master. The game mechanics were spot-on, and the learning curve was nice and steady. I was instantly hooked.

The only downsides in my opinion would be the graphics (a little sparse and colorless) and the lack of extra features (difficulty levels, more scales, etc.). But these don't detract from the excellent gameplay one bit. Great job!

[Tornado Button Smashing]

Wow, that was crazy!

4/5

That was the jolt I needed tonight! What a great concept! I love death and destruction, and I love tornadoes, so this is definitely the game for me. The graphics were fun and colorful, the action fast-paced, and the sounds were pretty funny. Yeah, hitting the Enter button was carpal-tunnel inducing, but it didn't affect me too much because I was having so much fun. I was laughing the whole time I played the game

And there should have been tiny people running for their lives, so you could suck them up. I'm just saying...

[A Walk in the Park!]

A good concept, poorly executed

3/5

I really wanted to like this game. It has a great idea behind it, and the mechanics of the game design are novel. But it has a lot of notable flaws.

First of all, the visual design and look of the game is kind of bland and dreary. That, combined with the mellow music, works against the concept. It should be bright and sunny and cheery and exciting - instead it makes me want to stay indoors.

And the big problem is that the game is very slow. I could understand maybe a leisurely pace, but it's so slow that in the end, it's not very much fun to play.

Now, I actually enjoyed the idea behind the game, and the game itself is cleverly made. But it needs to be fun, fast and exciting.

[MindScape]

Clever, challenging gameplay

4/5

This game really grew on me. It takes a moment to get used to the game mechanics, but once you do, it's a really clever and well-constructed game.

First of all, your graphics are perfectly suited to this concept. They're simple in design and color schemes, which helps keep things from getting too confusing. I've always liked your art style, and the game is really reflective of your work in general. The backgrounds were simple and clever. The main character and the enemies are very clearly delineated and well-animated.

The game mechanics, while a little unusual, become completely natural once you get the hang of things. It's not your typical side-scroller, that's for sure. Later on, the game throws a few curveballs with the different environments and a couple of different activities (the switches and the final race). It's a credit to your programming skills and the game's learning curve that it's easy to figure it out. Probably the only weakness would be the somewhat loose hit detection, especially when rounding corners. I bumped into several enemies even though I seemed to be far enough away. But it didn't hurt the overall gaming experience. The level of challenge was perfect - it wasn't overly easy or difficult.

I loved your choices in music - it really set the mood in each level. The whole game had a great mood and feel. I'm giving you extra credit for creating a nice storyline to frame the events. It wasn't tacked-on or gratuitous, and the ending was surprising yet made perfect sense. Nice work here. I wonder if you got your inspiration from dreams or maybe you're just a little insane. :)

Now after all that gushing, I do have one major gripe and I saved it for last. I was really annoyed by the keys used for the controls. A, W and D are not the optimal keys for this kind of game. Most games of this type would use the arrow keys and/or space, or allow customizable controls. The way it was set up here was awkward. But this is a very easy thing to fix.

Overall, I was really pleasantly surprised by the game. It really grows on you - and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've always enjoyed your animated work in the past, so it was nice to see you put your visual stamp on a game. Great job!

HeRetiK responds:

thanks for stopping by! :)

the recent version on MINDistortion allows using the arrow keys as well, the version on NG is unfortunately not so up-to-date.

[Solarsaurs]

Fun diversion

4/5

First of all, thanks for using my song! It goes really well with the game. The game itself is very amusing, although it gets old after a while. But it's a fun little diversion, and the idea behind it is off-the-wall, which I like. Great work!

[Draw-Play 2]

Clever concept, well-executed

4/5

This game was a pleasant surprise! It's like a cross between a platformer and a building game. It reminded me of Lemmings, which is a good thing in my book. The mouse control was fairly smooth (only a few minor glitches) and the keyboard control was good as well. The learning curve was just right, and the difficulty options and custom level editor give it a lot of replay value.

There were a few drawbacks. First and foremost, I found the graphics very unappealing. While I understand the need for simplicity in a game like this, it really could have used some character and some color. The stick man doesn't cut it. The animation frame rate was nice and smooth, though.

Also, I found it very easy to cheat my way through a lot of the levels by going over the top of all the obstacles. As long as you don't jump over the top of the screen, you can walk to the goal and avoid a lot of the traps/spikes/etc. Maybe this is a feature, not a bug. :)

It would also have been nice to be able to duck. The stick man moves when you hit the down key but he doesn't duck. I don't know if this was something you were planning to implement but didn't - I just noticed, that's all.

The music choices were good as well, although I would have gone for something more catchy and video-gamey. But that's just a matter of personal preference.

This was an excellent game overall, and I would love to see an improved Draw-Play 3.

EggysGames responds:

Thanks for your long and detailed review. I said the style of the graphics was going to stay, and stay it did.

Ducking would have made it too easy.

Number 3??!! Sigh...i dunno, maybe, but doubt it. Don't get your hopes up. Unless you wanna send me a million dollars to encourage me to make it. Thats fine. I have no problem with that.

[Bloody Blades]

Great game, but very repetitive

3/5

It's got style, it's got a great look and feel, and the controls are nice and smooth. The music gives the action a nice rhythm, and it's just a good game overall.

Unfortunately, it quickly becomes very repetitive. There's really no end - like it's on a loop. This can be easily fixed. Either break the game down into progressively harder levels, or make the single level harder and faster until you're overwhelmed with enemies and you can't win.

This is a very good game. I hope to see version 2.0!

[Flash Point]

Good mix of mini-games and RPG elements

4/5

At first I was expecting another Wario Ware-style blitzkrieg like the Four Second collabs, but this one was a bit different. First off, the pace was slower, and made it much more enjoyable. It gave me a chance to get ready and think before each mini-game. It also had a nice little story, almost like an RPG. And the final boss battle gave it more of a goal at the end.

The graphics were mostly nice - my only complaint would be the lack of animation in the cut-scenes. Otherwise, excellent work. The music was top-notch, I really enjoyed it. The few sound effects that were there were good as well, not too annoying or obtrusive. The mouse controls were fairly precise, which is a must in these fast-paced type of games.

This is a really good collection of games overall. Some were a little on the easy side, and I beat the game pretty quickly, but that's not a big complaint. You can always add different levels of challenge, or make a sequel (hint, hint). Good work!

[Pac-Xon]

Great combination of ideas!

4/5

I was pleasantly surprised by this. I was expecting a cheap Pac-Man clone and instead I found a very clever combination of two different games.

The graphics were adequate, maybe a little on the small side. The sounds were appropriate but sparse. Some tense music would really add to the excitement of the game. And the controls were just slightly off. These aren't huge concerns, and they can easily be fixed in a new version. (And I definitely want to see a new, improved version!)

But it's the concept and gameplay that really made this work. Good job.

[Be a Touchtone Genius]

Interesting idea, needs more though

2/5

It's a nice concept, but there's really not much to it. If you were able to play a series of notes back as a song, it would be more useful.

Interestingly enough, I had used this idea a while back for one of my songs in the Audio Portal, called "Dial Tone".