Reviews

Review by MarkOates all reviews by MarkOates

"Les Beaux Ballons" by the team BALLOONTASTIC is an underwater-themed game that delivers a fixed perspective experience. With opposing players facing each other, the objective is to inflate balloons and shoot down those on the opponent's side. The game's use of vocals in its music added a whimsical DIY touch. Though the music itself is enjoyable, we felt that introducing more variety in the soundtrack would enhance the overall experience.

Initially, "Les Beaux Ballons" presented some challenges in understanding the objective clearly. It took some time for us to grasp what we should be doing, or, what effect shooting our balloons had, and that affected our ability to get immersed into the gameplay. To enhance the gameplay experience, consider incorporating more visual and audio cues (when collecting items or hitting targets), to clarify the objective and help players better understand the mechanics. By providing these cues, players can more quickly immerse themselves in the excitement of the balloon battle.

It was good to see an entry to TINS that was developed using Unity, and this choice was reflected in the visually appealing atmosphere, graphics, and animations. The underwater setting creates a captivating backdrop that immerses players in the game's world. However, as we delved deeper into 'Les Beaux Ballons,' we discovered that the gameplay mechanics felt somewhat underdeveloped, resulting in a sense of repetitiveness. The core mechanic became a repetitive task, lacking enough variation to fully engage us. While the attention to visual detail is commendable, the game would greatly benefit from incorporating additional gameplay elements or introducing new challenges that break up the monotony and enhance interactivity within the 2-player gameplay. By expanding the mechanics and adding more depth, 'Les Beaux Ballons' could achieve a better balance between its impressive visuals and engaging gameplay experience.

Including 2-player gameplay was a great choice. As reviewers, we were happy to have a game that we could both play together, and as such it felt like a solid trade-off for not implementing one of the other rules.

Overall, despite the impressive visual presentation, "Les Beaux Ballons" would benefit from further gameplay refinement to match the high standards set by its visuals.

Scores: Overall 2 Artistical 4 Technical 3 Genre 2

Review by awergh all reviews by awergh

Genre (Fable)
=============
As far as I can tell there was not a fable in this game. There were some fish and balloon animals but no fable, at least not explained in game or the logs or readme.

Technical (Overall and use of chart)
====================================
I didn't find a chart in the game but the game itself appeared pretty solid technically.
That said it included a two player mode so I will assume that the chart rule was skipped.
As a two player game I think it seemed like a solid implementation and the game was specifically designed for this rather than being bolted on. Unfortunately there wasn't really a one player game mode so my experience was playing by myself as both players which may have made the experience worse.

Artistical (Generally and Iridescence)
======================================
As far as I know I didn't see any iridescence but I may have missed it.
The speech balloons were clear but I didn't understand if they did anything in the game. From my experience the speech balloons didn't really do anything gameplay wise.

However while it didn't really do much in the artistic implementation of the rules it is very nice to look at. By far the prettiest looking entry in the competition.

Conclusion
==========
This game was visually quite nice to look at. It reminded me of gorillas somewhat in that you had to attempt to destroy the other player on the other side of the screen except it wasn't turn based.

I did turn the sound off as I didn't like the music that was in the background.

I found that it took a while to play by myself because it really was a two player game instead of one player.
Maybe if there were less balloons or there was more to do this would have been less of a problem.

Generally while it didn't meet all the rules (at least in my opinion) it was well polished and visually nice looking game. I suspect as a multiplayer game it would be much more fun then trying to play by myself.

Scores: Overall 3 Artistical 4 Technical 3 Genre 2

Review by victorwss all reviews by victorwss

This game features very beautiful graphics. Et il est en français.

It is really a 2-player game.

The music is relaxing when you hear it for the first time. However, it becomes really annoying from the second time and on.

The speech balloons are there for no reason at all. Oui et non, mais pourquoi? Je ne compreend pas!

I don't remember about charts or iridiscence, maybe I didn't even noticed them. Also, the animals (fish) are just incidental characters in the game. Further, a dog-shaped balloon isn't really an animal. There is no fable at all nor anything even remotely looking as one.

Unfortunately, the gameplay is not very good. It is a boring and uninteresting game.

But the game still have some potential nonetheless. There are some good game mechanics there that should be reused in some later game or an improved version of this one.

Scores: Overall 2 Artistical 5 Technical 3 Genre 1

Review by KillerWasp all reviews by KillerWasp

I can't compile C# in Linux.

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None

Review by Yubi all reviews by Yubi

"Ba... ba baAA bAAAAA
ba-baa baaaaaaa....."

A game deserving of the adjective beautiful. A slow-paced turret shooter where the objective is to destroy your opponent's balloons.

Though I use the word "opponent," partner may have been more apt in describing our approach to Les Beaux Ballons. It took some time for the two of us to puzzle out together just how the game worked, from its controls, its objectives and its mechanics to exactly what benefits of the "powerups" were meant to confer. By the time we figured out how to play the game, the competitive spirit was all underwater. Some instructions would have saved us a lot of time.

I think what this game lacks, above all else, are both audio and visual effects. There's not much impact from the inflation of the balloon, its trajectory through the water, and its collision with the clownfish, the powerups, or the opponent's apparatus. A trail of bubbles or some hydraulic noises would have made a world of difference in every interaction.

I will also complain that the trajectory of the balloons is too fast and straight to make intuitive sense in an underwater game, and that the opponent's balloons take too long to destroy. In the end, the other player and I chose to cooperate to clear the water so that my balloons could be targetted more easily, all so that we could see what happens when one side wins. Fewer "lives" in favour of a faster turnaround on battles would have been more engaging.

There is a lot that this game could have done with just the simple physics hinted by the accumulation of wasted balloons drifting on the seafloor. More of an arcing projectile motion, heavier missiles and some kind of threshold velocity to meaningfully collide balloons with obstacles seems like a necessary baseline for this game to feel aesthetically convincing.

So what did I find most beautiful about this game?

It's the fully engorged sushi balloon for sure. Never had nigiri looked so intimidating! That, and the choice of background music, which continues to play on repeat in my head as I write this review.

Parting thoughts:
It's a good-looking game that I would love to play again if further developed, but feels incomplete at this time.

Scores: Overall 3 Artistical None Technical None Genre None