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Reviews

Showing 4 reviews by amarillion [2010]. all reviews

Mountain Valley
by cltatman
all reviews of Mountain Valley

Review by amarillion all reviews by amarillion

Nice graphics, but it's frustratingly hard to control!

Scores: Overall 2 Artistical 4 Technical 2 Genre 3

The source god
by Victor and André
all reviews of The source god

Review by amarillion all reviews by amarillion

In this game, the "hand of god" controls programmers who have to battle to protect the integrity of the code against bugs. The code to protect is actually the code of the game itself, which makes for a really neat implementation of the "view source" rule. I feel "battle against bugs" is an accurate metaphor for what programming is like, although I don't really feel like I'm being controlled by a deity when I'm on a bug-zapping spree. We can see that the "deity" rule was second in line for this game.

The hand-drawn graphics are good but not as great as some of the other entries we've seen this year, and certainly not as extensive. The blue and red lines give it a "notebook" effect, but this is in sharp contrasts to the default, monospace font that is used everywhere. All sprites are animated, which gives a nice effect.

Gameplay wise, I had a couple of problems. It's hard to see where you have to click exactly to control your guys, so sometimes you end up clicking furiously next to one of your programmers while they are eaten by a bug. The clicking problem also makes it hard to switch in a hurry. And if you don't move the programmers from the starting spot, they end up stuck in the bushes in a later level.

For future improvements, I would recommend against the use of numpad buttons, because that requires laptop users to find and plug in an external keyboard. The fixed resolution is also not ideal for laptops.

In conclusion, this is a solid entry, that scores very high in the technical category. Because of lack of balance and some other gameplay issues the overall score is not as high though.

Scores: Overall 3 Artistical 3 Technical 5 Genre 3

Elemental Sun
by entheh
all reviews of Elemental Sun

Review by amarillion all reviews by amarillion

I believe the hand-drawn rule has actually caused the art quality to be above average this year. Elemental Sun's colorful graphics are a good example of that principle.

Of the five rules, the "view source" rule defines the gameplay of this entry the most. The goal of the game is to attach snippets of code to elements. The code describes a complex sequence of steps, or a nuclear reaction, whereby the element will transform into other elements. Different elements generate different amounts of heat. The goal is to assign functions to elements so that they transform just right and generate enough heat to reach a predefined amount.

It's a very original puzzle concept, and well executed. It's a lot of fun to figure out what the different functions do. The game is well balanced, and the heat target is set that you can't just get by with a sub-optimal solution.

The overall polish is excellent. The GUI is smooth and responsive. Every action has subtle feedback so that you always know what you're doing. Entheh's soothing voice make up part of the music score, which actually works quite well to build suspense.

It's hard to find any negatives, but still I managed to find a few. The puzzles are complex, but the problem space is limited, which means that it's often possible to stumble upon the right combination without really understanding it. Another small negative is that IMHO the genre requirement is not worked out to it's full potential. But overall, this is an excellent entry.

Scores: Overall 5 Artistical 4 Technical 5 Genre 3

Super Battle Thor II
by Team Battle Thor
all reviews of Super Battle Thor II

Review by amarillion all reviews by amarillion

TINS is all about fun, and everybody should enjoy participating even if the result is not that good. In this case, the entry is clearly unfinished. What we see instead, is a slideshow of artwork and music.

The artwork is actually rather nice. We clearly see a Viking, walking through an ancient world, and battling a troll, a sea creature, and ultimately a dragon. All of this is accompanied with dramatic music that matches the events.

Hopefully a more complete entry next time!

Scores: Overall 1 Artistical 2 Technical 1 Genre 1