Seawana's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Zilch]

Fun and well made.

I've been playing this game for a while now and I really enjoy it. The art is cleverly done and really makes me feel like I'm playing a real dice game. The sounds complement the game nicely and there really is no need for music. The gameplay is simple and surprisingly addictive. I think it's the addition of the awards that's kept me playing this long because I have something to shoot for. You get a 10!

I do have one major gripe. The ads. Holy cow, man! Are you paid by the view? I'm assuming this is the case because this really well made and fun game is crippled by the same fricken' ads over and over again after each match and it makes me want to scream. I'd taken to just doing something else anytime the ads are up ... which seems to be all the time ... but I'm about fed up now. I usually never replay a game with this many ads in it because it makes the creator (you) look like a huge tool. If they were cleverly inserted in a way that didn't take over the game I wouldn't mind, but seriously. As they are now, they suck. -2 points.

I also noticed a bug that gives the computer an advantage. When it rolls and gets options of "2 ones" or "2 fives", if it selects either of those, only 1 one or five is selected from the rolled dice. It correctly gets only the 100 or 50 points score for the single die, but if it rolls again it has more dice rolling than it should. So the computer's advantage is more rolls with a greater chance of getting larger score combinations. I suspect this comes from the fact that rolling 2 ones or 2 fives should also allow the player to select 1 die as a valid scoring option. However, that option is never shown in those circumstances for either player even though the computer is allowed to choose it. -1 point.

So all in all, I love this game. If you fix that bug and reduce the number of ads shown (or make them less intrusive somehow), I'll keep playing. As it stands I'm kind of annoyed with it now and may not play much anymore.

agby responds:

Curious, it should be showing one ad after every fourth game, so assuming you take 10 mins to play a game then it should show you approx one ad per 40 minutes? How fast are your individual games?

[Estimate It]

Majorly flawed.

The game itself is a good idea. In fact, I really like the idea, but I simply cannot play for long because the interface is so inconvenient. A game like this absolutely screams for the ability to play using only 9-key control. Things to change:

1. Have the system caret automatically in the guess slot so you can immediately start typing your answer.
2. Allow "enter" to submit your guess.
3. Allow "enter" to double for clicking the "Next Level" button.

Forcing the player to use the mouse to do all these things severely detracts from the game play. I end up spending precious moments fiddling with stuff that makes the game infuriating. This game is called, "Estimate It", and the focus should be on the estimation aspect of the game, not fighting with the interface.

Now don't get me wrong. I really do like the game concept and I would play again if you update to improve the interface. As it stands, however, it's not worth it IMHO.

RivalSaga responds:

Thanks for playing our game. We will improve the UI in the next release.

[< lightBot >]

Very fun and challenging mind game.

I saw this game on the front page for a while before I tried it out. I'm glad I finally did. I love it.

The days of packing a worthwhile program into a tiny space are long gone for all but a handful of programmers these days. I like the concept here and it really brings back good programming memories.

As much as I enjoy this game, I am really annoyed that there is no kind of save feature. I'm currently stuck on level 11. This means I have to repeat all the previous levels to get back to where I really want to be which is an annoying PITA. Had you offered a "Choose a level" option on the first screen you'd have gotten a 10 from me.

There is obviously lots of room for growth in this game, but I'm not convinced it needs it. The great thing about the game is it's complexity because it is so simple.

FYI, I don't know if you are aware, but this is the same concept used in Bill the Robot (uploaded to Newgrounds long ago). Fans of this will probably like that game as well. No I didn't write Bill the Robot, but it's one of only two other games of genre type I have ever seen and I figure people might like to play it also. I forget the other one. :-/

[Primal Defence]

Fun, but low replay value.

I like the game overall. The graphics are good, the sounds are repetative (but certainly acceptable), the music is alright, and the gameplay is pretty fun.

Sure the gameplay gets repetative after a while also, but I can let it pass because it's fun to see how many enemies you can hit between the eyes in a row.

I would have liked to see some info on what the bonuses were for in the instructions. They were easy to figure out, but still, some info is always a good idea.

I was confused by the "you can't fire until your last-fired weapon reloads" concept. Why did you make it work like that? To me, that blows the whole reason for having the ability to quickly swap weapons out of the water. I really wanted to fire off a powerful weapon and then quickly switch to a less powerful one to finish off a tough baddie, but alas, I ended up having to wait for the powerful weapon to finish reloading first. Once I realized this little hiccup, I never bothered to stray from the fastest loading weapon. 'Tis better to fill the air with lead and to miss with a couple than to chance a single miss with a very slow weapon.

So anyhow, I liked the game overall. It is good work. I probably won't bother re-playing it though.

[Landfill Bill]

Meh.

The graphics were good and I approve of the "recycle" message, but I have to admit I lost intentionally. Why? Two reasons, one: it wasn't all that fun and two: Recycle Michael should lose his job for leaving work without cause. What a fricken' slacker.

Matmi responds:

True, but leaving your work to save the world is a noble deed.

[Hi-Tech Captivity]

Acceptable.

The game was unremarkable. I guess that comes from the lack of time available, so it's understandable. I'd like to see a remake with a storyline and more complicated puzzles or some more escape games from you. You obviously have talent in this genre.

I do have a little nitpick. I'm very surprised (and somewhat saddened) that a college student doesn't appear to know the difference between "your" and "you're". I suggest you brush up on your grammar skills a bit for any future work you do. It's a very simple thing that will make them look far more polished.

Anyhow, good work.

Daemonz responds:

thanks, i plan to make more from this. And hopefully many others.

also thanks for the english lesson haha ;-)

[The Last Stand 2]

A very well done game.

I give high marks for this sequel. The new features and enhancements are great.

I was bummed out by a glitch where I unarmed myself in order to re-distribute my weapons and I couldn't re-arm myself or the other survivors and had to quit. :-(

Still, the mood is just right and the game is good fun. Nice work.

[Virus_1]

Fun and difficult.

I really like the concept behind this game. It's very simple, fun and addictive. The animation is smooth, the sounds are great and it doesn't need music which isn't there anyhow. I'm having a fun time playing it, but I also have a few gripes. Many have been voiced before, so I'll just chime in.

1. Too hard too fast. Some possible solutions include levels, slower virus creation, less splits for the viruses, a ship weapon, more bombs, and different bombs (like 4 direction bomb or a standard proximity bomb).

2. Ship damage indicator is too subtle. A louder sound would help me know I'm taking damage. Also, I notice the ship's damage indicator can get stuck "on", and then I really have a hard time telling when I'm taking damage.

This is good work that I think it could use a little fine tuning to give it that little extra oomph and propel it to a classic.

[Scorching Earth]

Might be fun, I'll never know.

I like the idea of this game, but I can't even beat the first level. I'd really like to play more, but for crying out loud, start off easier and you'll maintain a much larger audience.

Oh well, I'll go play something else I guess.

[Broken Wings]

Very hard to play. Not fun.

The movement is really difficult and made me not want to play. I'm torn because the game itself looks great, but when I can barely control my ship, why bother even playing? Seriously, that drove me crazy and I basically stopped playing after a few minutes because I couldn't get the hang of it, couldn't target the bad guys and kept running into them. Maybe it's just me. :-(