edhe's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Fantasy Online]

A not entirely offensive game - in terms of locked off content (compared to a certain other game submitted to the portal in the last week).

A nice online RPG, but unfortunately, most of the quests I've come up against so far involve either killing X numbers of beasts or killing X numbers of beasts and then picking up Y amounts of loot that they drop.

In terms of enforced playtime, there is a mechanic whereby after exerting yourself for too long, you lose stamina and need to rest. Again, you can choose to purchase credits that will allow you to continue playing, but to be honest, I've never experienced such an event, and have been able to play for a protracted length of time - at least to be able to get a handle on the game itself.

I very much doubt it's a game I'd want to play though, because as I said, those quests can get pretty tedious.

But taking a step back and explaining how the game works, beginning on an island completely in the buff, you explore your surroundings and meet up with NPCs and take on quests. Partaking in said quests reward you with a trickle of cash (at my point in the game, about 15 gold per enemy) and various drops that you can equip, sell or trade (presumably in an intergrated player market). Completing quests reward you with various items or a sum of cash.

Combat is a matter of clicking an enemy to highlight it and then clicking again to engage it. Both parties beat each other until the other one dies or either retreats. With movement being point and click based, there are often moments where you might find yourself walking right up to your target instead of atacking. Skills can be obtained and either applied to grant various buffs and boosts or an in battle skill, such as heal techniques or an attack in exchange for a small amount of "TP" or energy.

As is to be expected with an MMO, there are a variety of shops and services your character can visit. These shops stock the usual fare - shields, canes and greaves, along with various, more desirable items only obtainable with the game's currency - gems. You begin with 5 single gems, but that from what I've played so far, that won't get you anything at all. Least of all a "standard pickaxe" that will allow you to raise gold coins the good old fashioned way.

Gems can be obtained in the usual manner - paying for them with real world cash, or interestingly, by paying a player through the player market for a "Gem Note" that can be redeemed. These notes are priced at around 500,000 gold coins for 20 gems and 2,500,000 gold coins for 100. Needless to say, they are a bit beyond my budget at the moment, and this can only get worse as players seek to profit from the need for gems. The current gem per dollar ratio ranges from 21 gems per dollar to 25 gems per dollar (approx). The touted "best value" deal comes with various presumably expensive in game items. That pickaxe mentioned earlier costs 10 Gems (though you start with a complimentary 5).

And that's pretty much it. You explore the world (divided up into several areas - areas which are locked off until you achieve a certain level), take on quests, battle monsters, pick up loot and sell it to the shops for more coin. I haven't found anything that resembles a main quest line yet, but the game does a pretty good job of leading you around the map as you take on the many tasks for the locals.

As for the presentation, the game is styled like a SNES RPG with simple but well done sprites, and the UI is relatively intuitive and complete, although the peaceful music that plays throughout my entire experience (there is no other incidental or battle music mind you or even sound effects) fits very well.

While this game is still supposedly in BETA, and you can expect to see marked improvements to the aformentioned areas, in it's current state (and from what I can bear to play at them moment - please prove me wrong in the reviews section if this is not the case), it seems relatively shallow. Nethertheless, it's a well made game, an acceptable example of a p2p game that a scrooge like myself can still enjoy.

[Swords and Potions]

If this was at all playable without shelling out for tokens, I wouldn't mind it, but I've gotten to the point where I have to wait 12 minutes after each day while you try and get me to pay for the right to play continuously.

On first inspection, it looks pretty good - you can play 12 days uninterrupted, and you can pretty much ignore the insidious paywall you've inserted into this game, but when you get to a certain point, it's impossible to advance, and I suppose that's the beauty of it all - from your point of view, anyway.

Rugs, Oak doors and other shop improvements - locked behind a currency you have to pay for with your own cash.

The option to level up your craftsperson freely - more real world money.

Worst of all, the ability to at least keep playing is completely nerfed when you find that you just can't without being tempted to buy more tokens so you don't have to wait 10+ minutes to play consecutive days.

This sort of thing really doesn't lend itself to Newgrounds.

It's kind of dissapointing, because a few hours ago, when I first saw this game and scored it 4 stars, it looked really fun. The cartoon graphics were really well done the music was nice and the UI was neat and easy to use.

It's a shame I'm never going to bother playing this game again. What's the point? I'm not going to buy any of your Mickey Mouse dollars, and my game at this point is pretty much gimped.

[Cowlorful]

Brilliant game, great concept...

Cute and simple style with a high incentive to replay levels for the bonus hats and a 100% completion.

However, I encountered a bug which (annoying at first), as I predicted would prevent me from completing it. Namely, on resetting your position after getting into an impossible situation, or indeed being reset after getting knocked down (kill is such an inappropriate word for a cute game like this!), crates would shift upwards slightly.
Therefore, when I got to a point in the game, cocked up and reset my position, my character could not fit through a gap between the ceiling and a crate (which through the bug is placed slightly higher than it should be).

The music is varied and fits well with the style, although I think it should probably loop more seemlessly.

Otherwise, I enjoyed it. The customisation of your bull with funny hats is an interesting feature.

[Hellhound(Alpha)]

Interesting

Having learned Spanish at school, I was at least able to understand the basic controls as they appear in game (I just notice you've written them in the description), but their layout was counterintuitive.

If this is indeed an alpha, I suggest you shift the action keys closer - like WSADQE if because that way, all keys are accessable without having to move your hand (even the spacebar with your thumb).

Elsewhere, the game played pretty fine. The long jump is just a bit too far for me, and I can't tell if the tutorial is giving me a handy tip to get over the gap - because it's in Spanish.

The graphics as you admit are basic, but the character animation is pretty good, even though the runing loop could do with a bit more bounce.

I'll be interested to see how this turns out.

Tcrakman responds:

Hey, thank you!
yes, the key layout for the game was badly choosed.
I have changed it to a more comfortable layout but still can have changes in the future.
Everything else will improve once i finish the coding for the first level.
Thank you very much for your review and the time you taked to play my game.
i promise this game, once finished, it will be far more cooler!

[Underdog!!]

Good, but tricky...

The gameplay is a bit difficult to get used to, and the voices are often difficult to hear, but the belts system, the varied fighters and even the unique intros and TKOs are nice ideas.

[Xmas Blackjack / Alma]

"You've played one blackjack/poker game...

...you've played them all."

And that's definitely the case with the 11 other Blackjack/poker games you have already submitted (over the past 2 weeks), featuring a different scantily clad anthropomorph, but the same (admittedly, functional) mechanic underneath.

So, no points for originality.

The drawings are really good, but that's all that can really be commented on. Everything else is standard.

[Ching Chong Beautiful]

It took me a while, but I completed it on medium..

People seems to have an issue with the controls and the physics, but if this played like Mario, the challenge would disappear. It is based on a Japanese Challenge show after all.

The music was an excellent selection of tunes that fitted the levels perfectly (my favourite being, the voice acting was equally well utilised.

Regarding gameplay, the challenge is certainly there, though on levels up to medium, it is only a matter of time anyway. The medals are the key to "Ching Ghong Beautiful", and certainly require you to hone your skills on a level to truly master it.

Finally, the animation was fluid and the presentation tight, which makes this a great piece of work.

It is difficult, and I may never bring myself to slog all the way through it and earn the medals, but I'll certainly have fun with it.

[Soldiers' Defense]

Very frustrating...

I would really like this if I could play it, but by wave 28, with 5 miniguns and a rocket launcher, 400 troops are still marching through my tower.

Because of this, it's not like all the other 'defense' games on Newgrounds, because once you reach a certain weapon (and with the use of auto guns), you're pretty much safe.

I doubt i'll ever manage to get to a point on this game where, i'm comfortable, but I suppose that's what the game should be like, but it'll frustrate me to know i'll probably not be able to finish this (i.e acquire that last laser weapon)

The music and graphics are suitable too.

hazzard77 responds:

Thank you

[Surf's Up]

Getting a nostalgic feeling...

Reminds me of the surfing event on "california games" on the NES - that was about 7 years ago. The scoring system is a lot better, and it generally looks nice, but you could have put a few more elements into it like you did with "ultimate snake", rather than make a prettier version - like "lunar(missile)command".

[Movies: A How-To Guide]

Not bad, as far as tutorials go...

...although you could, however have made it even better by adding animation to help describe some of the tasks - that would clear up any confusion anyone might have.

FilamentProductions responds:

Hmmm...good idea. :)