Bad-Atom's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[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.

[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.

[Vending Vendetta]

Interesting concept

3/5

I really liked the concept of the game. The graphics and sound effects were average, and the controls were decent. I would definitely expand on the idea, add more options like bigger machines with more items, etc.

Smoking-Chimney responds:

This is a really useful review, I am thinking about a sequel along those lines... thankyou! :D