BlackPlastic's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Paths 2]

((VOTED5))

This was easily one of the hardest games I have played in a while. It combined intense strategy with lighting fast reaction time and percision. The amount of thought that was needed to beat each level was so great it was almost to much.

The game started off pretty rough with me on the third level having no idea what to do because I didn't know you needed to get the key the go back to the door sign because nothing told me that. You may want to make a little note of that at the top of the screen just to help out people who havn't already played the previouse game.

Getting towards the later levels things just became way to cluttered and you barely even knew what you were doing anymore. It started to become a game of reaction time more then strategy and in a puzzle game you always want strategy to be at least a bit more important.

What I think you should do is just completly get rid of the whole key and unlocking the doors thing. It just overcomplicated things and seamed pretty pointless to me since you are just doing the same thing you did before exept in a backwords order. If you really don't want to do that at least make it so the ball doesn't move faster once you've gotten the key.

I would also like a few changes with the drawing of the line. There should definantly be an erase tool. I have no idea why there isn't already because you would think that would be an important part of a game like this. I would also like to see some sort of onion skin of the line after you've erased it to make it easier to compare your new line to your old line.

Frusterating this game may be, but it was still fun and very well made so it's not like I can give it a bad score just because I had a hard time beating it. I would just really like to see some of the changes I suggested becaus I know the game could be much better.

[MindScape]

((VOTED5))

This is easily one of the best platformer games on Newground sto date. The only other that can even compare is the legendary Franks adventure series. This had something Frank Adventure didn't though, Originality.

The whole angle change thing or whatever you wish to call it was an amazing addition to this game. It seperated this game from just being another platformer. It could however be glitched at times, like in the living room level towards the beggining I almost gave up because I kept falling into this pit that would make me fall in a circle for like 30 seconds and I kept falling into it while looking for the exit.

The game got pretty bland and reptitive after the first level. The first level was great with some cool looking backgrounds, funny cut scenes, and a boss battle I guess you could call it. Level 3 was alright but tried to hard with the angle changes if you ask me. Level 2 was incredibly boring and you're lucky enough I was even able to get through that. Also a weird puzzle maze isn't a good replacement for a boss battle.

I ended up losing all my lives pretty far into level 3 so I can't give a complete review but from what I played this game was incredible. There is an absolute must for a sequel to this incredible game.

[Brick Hole]

((VOTED3))

I really hate seeing a game with a lot of potential go to waste. Believe me the idea was great, original a great twist on a classic game. The game itself however was practically unplayble, for many reasons.

The graphics in this were the main source of the problem. Not only were they unpleasent to look at but they also made the game incredibly hard to play. The blocks had very irregular and odd shapes because of the way you shaped the rectangles on the playing screen. I really had to observe for a second to figure what shape the block I had was. By the time you've thought out your move you are already dead though.

I also wasn't to fond of the controls. Mostly the fact that you switched directions using the control key was very odd and didn't seam natural at all. I don't see why you could just make it the up arrow like it should be. It wasn't already being used and most people are much more used to the up arrow then the control key.

Mainly just work on your graphics before you even think of remaking this because that was definantly what was holding the game back. Don't let this good idea go to waste, try to improve it and re-release.

[Nodes]

((VOTED5))

This is definantly not a game for the weak minded on newgrounds. It took a ton of thought, or for people like me a ton of luck. This one of the few games where I gave up after such a short ammount of time and that is only because I was completly clueless on what to do. I got to level 6.

The difficulty is probably the main problem in this game. I'm not exactly saying you should take out all the parts of the game that make it hard. I just think you should add some more levels to the beginning that are easier because once you get to level 4 things start becoming terribly hard if you ask me.

Also if you ask me, adding a time limit isn't really changing the difficulty of the game at all, it just makes things more anoying and frusterating but you are still playing same levels. You should either nerf the whole difficulty thing completly or improve it drastically.

One way to do that is by make maybe 3 settings, adding easy, and maybe easy will give you some easier beggining levels, normal will start you towards the middle, and hard will place you directly at the near impossible levels. I would prefer difficulty not being the game at all but what I said is always an option if you really wanted to keep it in.

Anyways despite a few problems with the difficulty and amount of levels, it was a still a great game. The idea was very good and it was presented in a good fashion with some really nice graphics. It was a really entertaining game but it wasn't perfect, which is why I'm giving it a 9.

[- Circlo -]

((VOTED5))

I found this game to be very fun and addicting. It was definantly a very generic and overused idea but you did definantly give it your own style by adding powerups and unique level designs and such.

The level designs were a very good part of the game. They let forced you to use strategy and be quick on your feet. The levels were flawed at times. Take level 12 for example, because of the blank bubbles it was basically impossible to win without powerups because you could only pop bubbles outside of the barracade of blanks, and the bubble shooter just kept adding more. The level was pretty much impossible which was why I never got past that point.

I think the bubble shooter itself should just be taken out of the game completly. It took a lot of strategy out of the game by causing you to think quick instead of think hard. It also made it impossible to win at times without powerups if the blanks shot in the right places.

Also like I say in a lot of games, the whole life system should be taken out. You should be able to try levels as many times as you want without needing to start all the way over. The only part of the game that this would have a negative affect on would be the highscore system. But an easy way to fix that would be to have the time it takes you to complete levels count towards your overall score.

I hope you take some of my suggestions into account because it was a really fun game that I enjoyed very much, it just could be a little bit better.

[Hotcorn]

((VOTED5))

I aboslutely loved your originality in this game. I can honestly not think one other game that plays like this. And the originality in this game was backed up by a great fun and addictive game.

The level designs were pretty good, some of the level were pretty basic and uninteresting but others really gave an inovative twist to the game. Powerups like freezing the time limit or speed up your mouse or putting "bad corn" in places that would get you to the kernals faster give strategy to the game. If the game was simply just "try to pop as many kernals as you can in the time limit" then it would not even be nearly as good as it was. I actually had to stop and think about how to do things.

I spotted a couple things wrong with the game though. The most urgent problem that should be fixed is an option at the bottom of the screen to change the quality. I had to right click to change the quality which exposed my mouse which wasn't intended to be shown while playing the game.

Another problem I spotted was that you could save preciouse second of time in the levels by moving you mouse towards the kernals, or whatever would be your first move, right after you clicked to start the level. Then once the level starts the sun would do some sort of rapid movement to where your mouse was. You could say it was teleporting because it would get to your mouse in almost no time at all. That could easily be fixed by making the level start right when you clicked the button. The waiting time seamed unnecesary.

The levels also seamed to have no order of difficulty. One of the levels might be incredibly hard and you need to try ten times to finish it, then the level directly after it you easily finish on the first try. You should probably reconsider the order in which the levels happen, or possibly adjust the times for some of the levels if you really don't want to change the order.

Overall, this was an incredibly fun and addictive game. I definantly had a lot of fun without before getting stuck on level 24. This is definantly a game you should be proud of, not by just graphics or physics, but a great idea.

[String Avoider]

((VOTED5))

This was a great inovative twist on the normal mouse maze game. The physics were great and I loved the scissors powerup thing. Instead of just doing something everybody else does like when you go over it you get more points or get another life, you did something new and original which was cutting off half of your string to make it easier to manoover around. This game got really hard really fast and I liked that because in most mouse maze games it's just a test of patience while this actually took some skill and thought.

I think the whole life system may have been a bit unnecesary. I say you just nerf the whole thing and let you play as long and far as you want since the real challenge was passing the levels, not passing the levels in a certain amount of tries if you know what I mean. I'd also like to see more inovative powerups like the scissors. Just use your imagination and I'm sure you could come up with something as good of an idea.

I would really like to see a sequel to this game with some of the changes I suggested because I really had a good time with this game, I just think it could be a bit better.

[The Last Stand 2]

((VOTED5))

This was a very good game. Probably one of the best games on the site to date, but that doesn't mean it went without its problems.

The main problem I had with the game was the survivors. These were slowly ruining the game as you progressed in my oppinion. They offered absolutely no strategy to the game, all they did was just make the zombies die faster and basically make the game a lot easier. I would be a lot happier to play a game where I was in charge of every zombie I kill. Not some helpful AIs that are taking more kills then myself. The only reason I think that survivors should stay is if you put some strategy into them. You would have to figure that one out because I can't really think of a way.

The other problem was weapons. The chainsaw for example. It actually added strategy to this game which was clearly lacking in it. Whenever someone started attacking the barracade you could just whip out your chainsaw and cut them in half. The problem was as the game went on, the chainsaw became less and less useful, until it was finally obsolete. I think a way to fix this problem would be instead of finding new weapons ALL the time. You could find weapon enhancers as well. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be able to find weapons, just not all these pointless weapons. Maybe one pistol, one automatic, and one melee weapon (if you took my idea in getting rid of survivors you wouldn't need to worry about not having 6 weapons) There could be houses with chainsaw, rifle, and pistol logos on them. The first time you go to the houses you get that weapon. After that you will get enhancments for the weapon who's logo was on the house. I think that would be a great addition to the game.

Other then those two problems I had with the game, I thought it was a fantastic game that I really had a lot of fun with. It killed about 20 minutes of my time which is not usually something a flash game can do. It is definantly a game to be proud of, good enough to be best on the site? Not in my oppinion but I can easily see other people thinking that.

[Skill Stack]

((VOTED5))

This game was one of the most addicting games I have played in a while. The idea was pretty simple yet very original. There really wasn't much variety to offer here when talking about different modes and game types you can play, but I found myself very satisfied with the one I had. Also the highscore board really saved this game, it wouldn't be nearly as good without it.

The one thing I would suggest is instead of just having your points gradually go up, you would get more points as you get longer combos. Say the first time you lock in you blocks you will get 100 points, lock it in again 200 points, again 300 points, then you miss it and get 0 points, then you lock it in and get 100 points. Hopefully you understand the pattern I'm getting at there. I think doing that would make more sense then what you have now. A mix of the two could also work.

And as I say with pretty much every game that doesn't have one, it needs a level system. I don't want to just play a 1 minute game then close out. I want to progress through the game and see it get harder and harder. Say at the beggining levels you only need to stack 10 times and the bar moves slow. Once at the higher level you might need to stack 50 times and the bar moves significantly faster.

All and all, like I said in the beggining it was one of the most fun and addicting games I've played in a while. Put in the suggestions I gave and it will be even better.

[Mouse Dodger!]

((VOTED4))

This game was a great idea, as much as a mouse maze game can be. You found an interesting way to make a mouse maze game more interesting. Instead the usual test of patience and steadiness this tested your strategy on how to get through obsticals. The problem was that it was to unforviving to let me get passed level 4.

What I hate the most is seeing really good games go to waist because of simple mistakes. Here was the mistake in this game, whenever you die, you go back to level one. Maybe you didn't realise this when creating the game, but it's an incredibly hard game to play. The slightest slip or moving your mouse to much when switching levels can easily lead to your demise. That is why there should have been some sort of checkpoint system.

Here's the system I thought up that could probably work quite well here. You have to beat 5 levels with 3 lives, if you die then you lose a life and if you lose all of your lives you go back to the beggining of the checkpoint, then once you beat 5 levels you won't ever have to go back to the first five even if you lose all your lives. Whenever you reach a checkpoint you get all your lives back. This system would be used until you finally beat the game.

Of course you don't have to take that suggestion if you don't like it but I found it to be a good idea that could really help this game be better. Anyways, it was a still a great game as is, good job.