simbrian's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[1 Kilobyte Challenge!!]

impressive

Not bad for 1kb, but would it be too large if you fixed the bugs?

-bullets from nowhere
-game doesn't end when they pass you
-bullets don't harm you
-collision detection is bad. Really bad. I had a hard time hitting the enemies.

Still, good job for the file size!

anthony777w responds:

I noticed these while I was working on it. At first they didn't happen but as I had to shrink it it appeared. But, too bad, I couldn't do anything about it without making it bigger. Thanks for the review though!

[S-W-A-T]

not bad..

Well first i'm going to say that I didn't do very well in this game because I have a really tiny laptop mouse that isn't meant for this type of quick precision thing, but i'll rate what I did see:

-nice, crisp visuals, and little funny bits strewn about in the game
-it would be nice to see enemies popping out from hiding, or running into position instead of transporting onto the battlefield, but i read your reply to the other review, so I udnerstand why they aren't there, but maybe next time, eh?
-more weapon variety would be cool. a few sniper levels would be fun (if there aren't any already)
-how about the ability to move to different pieces of cover? And instead of always having a wall, why not a box? Then we could move our mouse to the bottom to take cover.
-make enemies less predictable
-add more health, OR some difficulty levels. Higher difficulties have smaller enemies and the least health. Hardcore mode with only 1 hit and you're dead.

Overall good job though. The next couple of installments will undoubtedly be highly anticipated.

[Joes Farm Last Stand]

alright

I would have liked more weapon options (shotgun, grenade launcher), more enemy variety, and something to do with all of those extra shells that have no purpose after you buy the second (and last) weapon.

But it does look nice. Add those things above and give us an option to switch weapons/ammo types, and you've got something to rival The Last Stand.

[SquareKeeper]

really awesome potential!

just a little bit of tweaking, and you've got a gem here.

Here are some suggestions, but please feel free to PM me for more in-depth discussion:

-brighten up the colour scheme. The energy bar is light grey on white, and frankly, it's not easy on the eyes. The upgrade menu could also be brightened up a bit.
-slower energy drain, less damage from impacts. the square's occasional irratic movements make collision avoidance impossible at times, and then whenever I feel like i'm doing well, I suddenly die due to energy loss. Boost the amount of energy you receive from the red squares as well. Some seemed to give me a lot while others did almost nothing for me.
-upgrades are all good, although you might want to arrange them by type and cost. Yeah, that would help. Their current ordering does look a little random.

But yeah, I played it a bunch of times only to be thwarted when I start to feel like i'm getting the hang of it. I think that your primary concern right now is getting the energy properly balanced, then you can make it look nice and sound cool.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the second version. After this is polished, I feel that it's going to be a VERY popular and fun game. Again, PM me for more detailed suggestions. I'm always happy to help out developers.

Good job!

[Nebulae]

beautiful

Firstly, wonderful job with the graphics. The eye candy in this game is phenomenal!

My only suggestion would be that not all new stars are attached to your central one... if you know what I mean. A little more variation in the constellation formation would be cool, but it has to be random to add some replay value. The ability to rotate it at will would also be useful.

[Ether War]

almost perfect

Firstly, to first-time players: Just focus on cannon, shield, and engine upgrades. That's all you really need to win. Chase the yellow orbs around and destroy them. Upgrade your engine so you can keep up with them. Careful: they regenerate.

Well I played through this game twice, and I have a number of suggestions for you:

-more enemy types. I want to see battleships hammering away at eachother out there.
-more weapon types and upgrades. What you have is a really good start. How about some sort of system where you have to upgrade your hull to make room for more weapons? Eventually players will be able to elvolve into their own personalized ship type.
-add a campaign mode with missions. Missions could be survival, escort, and your standard "destroy 'em all." A campaign mode would be cool because it would give you enough time to fully upgrade your ship as you see fit.
-sandbox mode where you can fight for as long as you like, with increasing difficulty. Game over when your base is destroyed. Enemy is destructable. Basically a survival game with no end.
-add base upgrades.
-make it easier to get ether. More powerful enemies drop more. It really is a pain to get enough for the mroe expensive upgrades.

You already have most of the hard stuff done, mainly making everything look nice. PM me for more discussion on my V2 suggestions.

Good job.

Kajenx responds:

Thanks for the ideas!

[Breach 2]

excellent potential!

Firstly, it ran fine in IE for me.

For first time players, do not forget to buy upgrades. I did, and it gets immediately easier after you do buy them.

Suggestions:
-add lives
-add shield, and upgrades for it
-add some kind of special weapon to use in a tight squeeze, maybe a few special weapons based on different play styles
-add levels, and put the shop between levels
-more enemy diversity

This game has incredible potential. Everything looks great, but the gameplay is dull. With the above upgrades, and some levels, this game will be good enough to make it into my favourites. Right now it's just too dull. If you're willing to put a bit more work into it, PM me and I can give you more detailed suggestions, and I don't even want anything from you but a good game to play.

[Portal Defense]

average

It's a good, solid, and rather bland TD game. It has no real defining features other than the fact that it's modelled off of NG characters. Gameplay is boring, and I quickly grew tired of hitting "next wave" every level. I would have liked it if the towers' range and attack speed also increased with their level, and an interest feature is always ncie in TD games.

[Death Dice Overdose]

pretty darn good

I'd suggest a life system, or something like the GOW health system, and don't let the dice kill you as they are fading away.

Everything looks beautiful, and it's just plain fun. Excellent all-around.

[Madness Regent]

good

Well visually everything looked alright, but I did find the controls to be a little irritating. I found myself falling short on some jumps, and it was near-impossible to dodge Clown's attacks.