Player-03's Reviews

[Gravitaxis ++]

Why does he do it?

He didn't open a parachute at the end (or do anything else to stop his fall), so was he committing suicide? That doesn't make sense, because too many people didn't bother to stop him. What was going on?

Also, based on the book at the end, it looks like there are two cities on the inside of a large sphere, each upside-down from the other's perspective. Also, it looks like gravity pulls on people in different directions based on the city they are from. This means that if an inhabitant of one city went to the other, he would fall up from that city (and then back down towards his own).
Is this correct?

[Xionic Madness 2]

I wish I'd watched the others earlier

A number of lines (especially Kary's final comment) made a lot more sense after I watched the first two parts.

All three movies are very well done. The story is fairly good and the action is amazing. Your use of color helped a lot; I would have taken quite a while to figure out who the main characters were if not for their distinctive colors.

My only real complaint is that the characters never seem to go up against anything but, as you put it, "cannon fodder" (well, XV did take a while, but it was pretty obvious throughout the battle that he would lose). On the other hand, this is what makes madness movies entertaining, so I'm going to go ahead and give you a 10.

[Wolf's Bane 3]

Seems Newgrounds has officially outlived Kongregate (as far as web games are concerned). I wonder which site it'll outlive next? Oh right, I'm reviewing the game.

For the most part, this game lives up to your usual quality. In fact, now that I think about it, you've gotten way better at fixing typos since the early days. (You only really notice the presence of typos, not the absence...) I'll need to remember to add a star for that.

Story-wise, I like it. I could take or leave the brutality, but Ada is always fun, and for whatever reason I especially enjoy these plotlines about high-stakes games (the Invidia arc was another favorite). That's not to say you should immediately do more. They'd lose their charm if they came up more than once in a while.

You have "creepy protagonist" down to an art form at this point, and you're getting good at giving each episode a unique theme/focus, while fitting it into an overall plot. I didn't figure out this episode's theme until the very end, but it really tied everything together at that point. I'd go into more detail about that and other plot points, but, you know... spoilers.

Humor-wise, the sudden appearance of "...LOL!!!" got me. I think it was the exact time and place it appeared: just as the drama was reaching a new high, in the journal (which is expected to be serious), and right underneath that clown's grinning face.

My one gripe is that "assume my gender" jokes are tired, and this one wasn't even necessary to the boss-minion banter going on at the time. A different joke could have added more personality. A joke about the minion dress code, or about how the thugs are actually all named "Thug," or about Richill's attitude/personality. The rest of the conversation would work as-is: "...and who is this, Mr. Thug?" "I told you, call me Dr. Thug. Respect the effort I put into (forging) that doctorate!" "Bold of you to assume I give a damn." "Whatever..."

The gameplay was... fine. The darkness in the escape sequence was a bit annoying, but it's always hard to get that right. (I could have turned up my screen brightness if it was a real issue.) Bit of an underwhelming raft puzzle, even compared to similar puzzles from Medieval Cop, but it went fast and so that was fine. In the future, if you want to expand on the concept, maybe try rock-pushing on ice?

The final portion of the escape actually contains a softlock. While the guard was patrolling, I tried entering the room just behind them, and automatically got caught. That's fine, I'm learning. I'll try the rock next. Oh, wait: the guard stopped patrolling! They're just standing there staring at the wall. I can't leave the room to reset it, there aren't any pieces of paper for me to pick up to re-trigger the patrol pattern, and nothing else seems to have an effect either. I should have tried saving and reloading, but instead I just restarted the escape.

I would say that the mystery section takes a bit too much guesswork. I usually have no problems staying above half health, and I can appreciate an episode with higher difficulty, and most of the game managed higher difficulty without actually killing me. It's just... either I missed way more hints than I usually do, or the mystery actually has enough guesswork that the mandatory damage will finish you off. (I was actually at 1 hp by the time I first encountered the mandatory damage.) It didn't help that every character other than Ada was brand new - knowing barely anything about them, how was I supposed to guess who that one NPC was looking at? (The brand-new characters also meant the scene was less interesting than some of your other mysteries. Not holding it against you, that's just what happens.)

And of course, I continue to enjoy the music. The default/background music is simple enough not to distract, while NEFFEX's far more exciting music comes in at just the right moments. Wish I had the audio experience necessary to give more feedback than that, but I don't so I won't.

Story: +2 stars. It's why we're all here!
Humor: +1 star. In a somber episode, well-placed highlights stand out even more.
Gameplay: +1 star. It may not be the focus, but it's not boring.
Music: +1 star.
Length: +1 star. I prefer these slightly longer episodes.
Total: 6 stars. Wait...

Softlock: -1/2 star.
Tasteless joke: -1/2 star.
Total: 5 stars.

Looking forward to what comes next!

[Pixel Grower]

Interesting concept, but not very fun

Essentially, the strategy is to drag the mouse side-to-side until you reach the next level. I got to level 9 and 86,138 pixels before realizing that it would probably take over an hour to get to level 10, at which point I stopped. I could have kept going; I was gaining back any health I lost. I just could not bring myself to do so.

By the way, on level 9, it is hard/impossible to see the falling pixels against light-colored backgrounds. This isn't a big issue, though, as being able to see the pixels has no effect on strategy. You move the mouse left and right, no matter where the pixels are. (Optionally, though, you may move it back and forth over a smaller area when they fall in a thin column).

[OCD+]

This hardly qualifies as a game

The show contestant medal is cheatable (press tab, then hold enter), the pianist can be beaten by copy-pasting (pastebay.com/28024 without the space at the end), the war hero one can be done by leaving your computer on overnight, and the rest require macros. None of them are actually interesting or playable.

[Bafana - Chasing The Dragon]

Whoops, looks like I missed this when it came out. I've been listening to the original mix this whole time. (For comparison, I uploaded a copy of that at https://www.mediafire.com/file/hd5bkuk2qq0ui6z/359669_Chasing_The_Dragon__Radio_.mp3/file , and will take it down once you respond.)

As you said, the two versions are pretty similar, but there are more differences than just the intro. It has more varied instruments and lots of little background details. As others have said, it's a little repetitive, but so was the original and I liked that version just fine.

My initial reaction is that I like the old version a little better. I can tell that this version is objectively more polished, and I'm sure I'm biased by nostalgia, but I have a couple specific gripes as well. (Disclaimer: I am not even remotely a musician, so I may get some concepts wrong.)

First: the first 13 seconds feel too watered-down. My initial reaction was that you added it not because it's what the song needed, but because it's what club patrons would expect if a DJ played it. I was perfectly fine with the original mix's intro. (I don't know, maybe the song's fine and my real beef is with the genre...)

Second: some of the instruments clash. For instance the string or synth (not sure which) from 1:09-1:24 is either too loud or too high-pitched. (I know it keeps going until 1:37, but it's a lot more subdued compared to the other instruments.) The old instrument you used for this section (a piano synth?) was a lot softer and helped make the segment feel pleasant and relaxed, which I'm pretty sure is the point.

Third: in the original mix, 0:57-1:24 actually switched up the main melody in a way I really liked. It was similar to this version's 2:46, but even simpler, giving the song more variety. (Granted, the background instruments were maybe a bit too noisy for what should have been a calm interlude. I think the ideal version of that bit would have the old melody but the new background. Or maybe you tried that and decided it was too calm for a trance song, and that's why you chose the louder lead instrument?)

Fourth: I'm not sure what to make of the buildup from 2:46 to 3:40. You changed the melody quite a bit, and it feels off. For comparison, the original mix had this same instrument in the background. It played a closer-to-normal version of the melody while a foreground instrument played the original melody. In theory, I think this new version should be the best version, due to adding the most variety to the track as a whole. But at least for now, the new melody feels too different, and I'm not used to it.

And finally, I'd like to end with all the things I like. Why am I giving this so many stars if I have all these complaints? Well, I really do like the original mix, so I'm rating that too. Wouldn't be fair to penalize this version due to nostalgia. Plus, the core of both versions is the melody, which remains great. No complaints there. And several of the changes are just better, like that little background jingle that keeps coming up (for instance, at 1:02 and 1:07).

[Skyro[Clocktown]]

Nice job

I can hear bits of Awakening the Evil King in there, and I'd say it fits well.

[Reasoner- Final Thoughts]

Uplifting

In my opinion, this song (and especially the sections starting at 1:29 and 3:17) can best be described as "pure happiness."

[Mars - The earky days]

Wow...

This would make a perfect background in a game. It is interesting and has plenty of detail, but still seems simple enough that it wouldn't be distracting.

It's too bad I'm not planning a space side-scroller; this is exactly the type of background I would use.