JonBro's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Reincarnation: BB]

(Spoilers ahead)

While this game's graphics and sound are a lot better than your everyday mediocre half-hearted escape-the-room game, the puzzles and general design are not. Not by much, anyway.

One thing you want to always keep in mind while making an adventure game is that the player should have a reason to think the way you think, and not feel the need to guess randomly what they are supposed to do. "Figuring out the puzzle" isn't the same as "stumbling upon the right combination of garbage to make something happen."

For example, nothing hints that you are supposed to click on the moss in the background, nor does anything suggest that the moss would do a great job muffling the bell in any way, shape, or form. The drunk fly-frog idea was a creative one, but the hint that the purple demon gives is far too vague to really constitute a puzzle since the solution was so bizarre. "I need to make sure it stays there longer if I'm going to catch him" could have meant anything, from stabbing the frog, to distracting it with something else, to guiding it someplace where it is less mobile. It helps to be consistent, too; until the very end of the game, the pole with the lantern is never visibly loose or flexible, so why would it make any sense to have it knock out the wife-beating soul as opposed to using... almost anything else at your disposal to make him fall into the swamp? And how on Earth are you supposed to know that there is a crocodile in the swamp, when it is not present any other time the frog leaps into the water, but suddenly it is when you choose to tie the frog up with the rope? Nobody's going to solve that puzzle and think, "Oh! I just put two and two together! That makes sense!" afterwards.

There were other little design decisions (unrelated to the ridiculous nature of the puzzles) that I simply couldn't appreciate as I went through the game. One of the draws I have to the Reincarnation games is that rather than just being escape games like most are, they follow a unique formula in which you find a motive for killing a sinning soul and then make it look like an accident in the end. In this one, the motive is shot toward you as soon as you start the game, and it felt like something was missing. I kept hoping that the gutter on the house leading into the truck would come into play somehow, and it made me sad that it didn't, because it was a perfect setup for a potentially great puzzle. The constant yammering of the husband at the end of the game became quickly irritating, and somehow he kept screaming clearly when he was submerged in the water getting attacked by the crocodile. The music here was reused from a previous Reincarnation game, and it's good music, but it really doesn't fit the mood, because the banjo tune races at a hundred miles per hour whereas the gameplay and atmosphere go at more like a meter a minute.

This installment to the Reincarnation series also has the gripe I've had with every single previous game in the series. Programming-wise, I understand making a point-and-click game is easiest when you get to leave tons of buttons on the screen that do absolutely nothing, but it's very frustrating. When I see my arrow cursor turn into a hand cursor, I expect it to do something when I click my left mouse button down, and when it doesn't, I feel like I'm playing a dysfunctional game, and it makes this that much more of a guessing game. It doesn't help when there are other objects that you think you should be able to interact with in some way, such as the dog bowl or the bucket at the dock, and yet they are apparently only there as background elements (like the moss should have been).

Honestly, there's nothing that impresses me about me about this game, and I'm especially disappointed by that because this series been around since 2008, and that is plenty of time to learn how to make a truly enjoyable, well thought-out point-and-click game, which this was not. What could have been a short, sweet, mind-bending and rewarding experience was little more than mindless screen-clicking.

[SCGMD4]

I'm a huge fan of SCGMD3. I've perfected all the songs in that game multiple times. Nearly every problem that the second game had, the third one fixed, and there was so much more to offer that seemed to really enhance the feel of the game in general.

This, however, was a disappointment.

You've got a knack for programming, and you really know how to make a game look professional, but there are basic aspects of gameplay here that felt rushed, like nothing was specially planned beforehand, and the whole game suffered as a result.

The first thing I noticed was the downgraded frame rate. I know it's not lag on my computer. The arrows and letters seem to blur and chop across the screen, and that feels 'off' in a rhythm-based game. I set SCGMD3 and SCGMD4 side-by-side, and the arrows in #3 move much more smoothly than in this game, and this minor detail contributes to other bigger issues.

The eye candy of this game discourages focus. The running stick animations are clever and well made, but they're very distracting until you get used to them, which takes time. The human eye naturally focuses on whatever is moving most on the screen, and when a guitarist is dashing at light speed while surfing and flashing and jumping around, he's demanding more attention than the game you're playing is. I also get irritated by the popping animation the arrows make when you hit them as they cross the bar, because that animation covers up the next arrows in the same row. I turned off this feature and it was even worse, because there was barely any indication that I was hitting a key correctly. Previous games managed to find a safe middle-ground.

Over time, I discovered that many of the songs are full of notes that don't quite match the song itself. Many notes arrive at the bar a bit too soon, and many notes arrive a bit too late. This is this game's most significant glaring issue. When it matters that you're supposed to be able to get a Perfect Score on every song, that feat no longer seems reasonable if you can't hit the notes correctly and have it be registered. I never had problems with this in SCGMD3. All the notes were carefully placed and the game was developed to be forgiving in the right ways. I never worried that the game's programming would cheat me out of hitting all the notes in a long string of up-arrows. I knew it was always my fault I didn't play a song perfectly.

Even if all the notes in this game were properly synced and the programming was done as cleanly as the third game, more problems still remain. This game's difficulty is as 'bipolar' as I've ever seen. The Amateur songs are easy to the point where I've phased out in the middle of a song from boredom and kept hoping it would end. The Pro songs are the exact opposite. The messes of notes that pop onto the screen are often so excessive and disorganized that it's instantly overwhelming. It doesn't help that all of the notes in Pro fly across the screen faster, especially when the game's frame rate is less than ideal. One of the pluses of SCGMD3 is that you always had plenty of time to react to the notes ahead of you. It was never disorienting--it felt fair. I don't know if you made the notes go by faster because Guitar Hero uses this gimmick, but the difference is that GH has an excellent frame rate and the flow of the game remains intact.

Lastly, the "boss battles" are completely unnecessary. They seem like they're only there to make the game last longer. It's like they utilize all the game's other issues to supposedly increase a song's difficulty in the form of some comedy stunt, and yet they're so embarrassingly easy to beat that you're sitting there for two full minutes just waiting for the song to end and you earn nothing worthwhile as a result.

I understand that you were trying to make this a 'cool' sequel with creative, adventurous ideas (and in some ways, you succeeded), but those ideas were sadly expressed with mediocre design and unpolished gameplay.

[Bullet Bill 3]

15 months of meticulous work paid off.

I'll get into the review, but IMPORTANT STATEMENT FIRST:

Funny thing about the boss fights, guys... Getting the key is entirely optional.

You don't have to deal with Phantos at all. And I think all the complaints about this game being way too hard probably all stem from people not realizing you can fly past the key.

That said, this is masterfully done. I'm honored to have been a part of the beta-testing so long ago, because the level of professionalism in this game is unmatched. I don't even want to call it a Flash game because I think it goes beyond that. Every world leads to a new and awesome discovery. The level editor is amazingly polished, the characters are challenging to unlock and hilarious to use, the music is especially fitting... everything, down to the way the main menu screens moved, was obviously made with a lot of care, and I'm constantly impressed by how much detail this game has. Even the fire on the boss ships grows stronger and weaker as it moves left and right.

If I had to point out any flaws, I would say that it is a bit disconcerting that the Phantos moves behind the platforms instead of always in front of them, though that doesn't really affect the difficulty since his movements are rather predictable (yet hard to dodge). And while I personally found it obvious that the key for the first boss battle was entirely optional, apparently others didn't, so perhaps that ought to have been clarified in the design or the explanation.

Honestly, though, that's it. I cannot think of any flaws in this game that are significant enough to give it any less than a 10. Well done, Psycosis91. You still reign supreme in the field of sprite Flashing.

[One Step Back]

I quite enjoyed this.

This concept, while perhaps done before, hasn't ever been taken in this direction before, and it was done very well with its little quirks--like 'stopping time' when you don't move and seeing the paths your past selves are about to make. There's a great strategy aspect throughout most of the game, and what isn't strategy is careful maneuvering.

I will have to say, though, the careful maneuvering part could have used some work. My recommendation would be adding a few more controls or making the wall-jump setup more useful, mostly because when I went back to re-obtaining my past selves, I found that it was nearly impossible to get all of them because of my methods of travel before. Thankfully, I found what I think was a glitch allowing the character to wall-jump on one wall, but if that glitch wasn't there, the game would have been literally unbeatable at that point.

Also, the story worked well with how it brought back the introduction text to the ending, though the last bits of text seemed... rushed, somehow, like they popped up too quickly to keep the proper flow and effect of the story's meaning.

This was put together very well and lacked very little. 9/10

[Gretel and Hansel Part 2]

Mysterious, sadistic, unique, artistic.

At this point, the game is still pretty glitchy, but I can understand if you never came across any of the glitches on your own computer. In any case I'll ignore them in this review.

The general gameplay is very simple and implements several ideas not seen in any other point-and-click game, such as the ability to quickly use a weapon at any time, the use of thought bubbles to trigger actions, the quick screen-warp setup with the map, and the glasses-view that allows you to see into the past. They're all innovative, easy-to-use elements that really make the game great. It must have taken a while to write this out, too, as the puzzles are all quite crafty and the foreshadowing surpasses many stories in animated Flash form.

I love the artwork. The art isn't quite like anything I've ever seen, and it works so perfectly for the enchantingly creepy feel of this game. The mix of traditional imagery and Flash art is flawless as well. I have no idea how you got the swamp to look the way it did, but it's mesmerizingly awesome to look at.

Like the visuals, the music does a fantastic job capturing the general whimsical tension of this game, and it also didn't get repetitive.

The little extra bits and pieces of this game also made it rather enjoyable. Being able to change Gretel's hood. The skulls on the skull-tree representing the deaths you've had. The wolf dashing through the trees after obtaining the bear trap.

Besides the bugs that still haven't been ironed out, I only have a couple of suggestions:

1. Some of the yells are a little on the annoying side. The whining radish is excuseable because of its puzzle, plus it's actually not that annoying of a sound. At least, not compared to Gretel's squealing in pain as she sinks into the swamp. That noise is comparable to the sound a dying mouse might make.

2. I thought the ending seemed abrupt. It's not that the game wasn't a nice length, because it was--it just felt like the story was 'cut off'. Maybe in the third installment, you could either make the climax of the game really clear, or make the last few screens of the game show you a glimpse of your destination before you reach it.

Minor problems aside, this grim little fairy tale is a real piece of work. I consider it one of the best point-and-click adventures there is.

[ClickDragType 3]

It took me 5 years, but I've completed them all.

Packed in this small file are all of the greatest Flash puzzles ever created.

To this day, the obscure abilities of ActionScript haven't been pulled off as creatively and wonderfully as they have in these fifteen puzzles. Every single one of them is completely unique, very polished, and tons of fun to figure out. As if all that wasn't enough, the Behind the Scenes screens were fun to read as well, and it was quite interesting to discover the inspirations and changes of mind you had during the processes of all these games, especially if you're like me and you've stretched the outmost reaches of your brain for five years to solve all these puzzles.

The world needs more of your brilliant mind.

Thank you for ClickDragType.

[Make My Next Game]

Wonderful, Afro-Ninja.

This text-based game provides a lot more freedom and interest than any other one that I've played. There are a surprising number of easter eggs, and the medals actually make you think. I am really surprised that I eventually got all the medals, a few of which were really clever. This game truly is fun and is really pretty impressive for a few days' work.

I recommend everyone try to find the medals because of the immense amount of pride in finding them all, but for those of you who have simply lost all hope, here is a cheap cheat sheet:

1) Or GTFO?: Enter 'tits or gtfo'
2) Knock Knock: Enter 'knock knock', then anything, then the punchline
3) Tipsy: Enter 'drink beer' three times
4) Wired: Enter 'drink coffee' three times
5) Pixel Punchers: Enter 'hit computer', or something to that effect, three times
6) Success!: Start by opening Flash. Enter 'new project'. Name it anything. Enter 'add to project'. Add 'art' and add 'music'. When you add 'code', you're going to have to type a line of code and repeat adding code to the project another four times. 'test project', 'debug project', 'publish project', 'submit project', and you're done.
7) Efficient: Above is mentioned the most efficient way to enter everything (you can skip the 'rename project' and 'view project' steps).
8) Inception: Name the project 'make my next game', then proceed to finish it and submit.

[Letz Maek A Flash Gaem]

Oh hai Airyman

I found this minigame-game was really clever and funny. It made great use of some mechanics not commonly seen in Flash games. I was actually hoping for it to be longer than it ended up being. Still, one and a half minutes of fun :D

thinking-man responds:

Thanks to the internet and iPod apps the normal game attention span for a child playing games is now down to about 2 minutes. This is just short enough to make them not bored.

[Escape the 13th Floor]

Legitimately fun and fairly polished game.

The art could use work and sometimes it seemed like the modes of travel seemed unecessary and lengthened the trip from one particular floor to another, but overall everything flowed well, the puzzles made sense, and it took me a long time to actually get stuck (I wouldn't have once resorted to a walkthrough had I seen that button next to the fortune-telling curtain before). I will say right now the puzzle with the safe was my favorite part of the whole game and that alone makes me want to play more point-and-click games by you.

[Heir]

Well presented, but feels out of place somehow.

I've never played Shadow of the Colossus, but the atmosphere in Heir has the same dark intensity and surprising immensity I picture being in that game. The controls are smooth, the platforms are only slightly buggy when there are steep slopes, and the story was actually interesting; it was simple enough that it wasn't exactly the focus of the game but it was unique enough to be unpredictable.

I just can't shake this feeling that this game could be improved a good bit, though. For the most part, the graphics were incredibly simple, and a lot of the same image was noticeably copied and pasted to other parts of a stage. In addition, the three massive creatures in this game didn't really feel like living creatures. Essentially every level was just a huge bunch of platforms, vines, and spikes put together into the shape of a figure. What little I've seen of Shadow of the Colossus, for example, seemed to make use of the Colossi being conscious of your presence, and the detail of their armor and the fur on their bodies makes for a natural playing field that doesn't seem like it was made to be walked around.

I had fun with this game, but the appearance could use a bit of a touch-up, and the massive beasts really don't feel a whole or feel much like beasts.