Coop's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[TANKMEN: Battle!]

Simple game, but quite fun

Final Fantasy meets Tankmen in a battle across the post-apocalyptic wasteland, created by Jeff Bandelin. I can see this game coming back for a sequel, but it does require a little additional work, just to make it really appeal to the "grinders" out there.

You've got a nice bunch of customisable armours for the guys that you can use - why not have them available from the start, so you can make your own team?

Three characters would really enhance the Final Fantasy aspect of it, plus special moves for each one, what weapons they really like to use, once they have been unlocked etc - Heavy Weapon, pistols, close combat specialist etc.

When you Level up, how about giving us a few more hit points - being outnumbered 5:1 in hit points against the Gold Team isn't fun, even if by being at Level 15, you can grind them to pate pretty shortly after combat begins, due to the effectiveness of barrier and the defence skill. Flatten out the benefits of the skills and throw a few more HPs on instead.

The experience chart seems a little weird - why so many points to get from 14 to 15, then 300 all the way to 20? If you're going to do that, I'd suggest that you have an exponential curve, with 300 for the first 5 levels, then 400 for Level 6, 500 for 7 and so forth. You might want to split that up further, as I'm not sure even grinders want to fight about 200 battles to unlock that medal...

Some sort of story work between the levels would be nice, just to give it purpose - you could throw in some voice acting to make it nicely narrated and it would be a much better feel for the inclusion in the game, such as why they must carry on.

Finally, where were the team with the hockey pads and the NFL helmets on?

[Review Request Club]

[Escaper]

I haven't escaped for a while

I don't remember these games being so short, which was a little disappointing, to be honest. With the way that it took me a few mouse clicks to get everything working, I was out of the game and not really enjoying your animation style, which was a shame.

Perhaps you could have given us a few more dead ends to look at, as opposed to the whole "the toilet is dirty" route. Even then, the only really trouble I had was recognising the code to dial into the phone. I'm more used to the UK equivalent, which would have been three tones all the same :P

This game is good, but cut short in its prime, I'm afraid.

[Review Request Club]

[Rolling Ball Tutorial]

Too much text

Sorry, but I got bored by the lack of practical applications for this piece - you don't show people how it's done, merely write them an essay on how to do it, which only teaches the most hardcore of nerds how to do what you did. I think that with the way that the piece is set out, it needs a revamp to get it working properly.

Start with the basics - proper buttons, as opposed to having to click on the letters, which move away when you mouse over them. As they all stand, you've got a good standing with the way that the setup of the menus etc, but getting some buttons sorted would be a great asset.

When it comes to the tutorial itself, go into depth, but remember that pictures can speak louder than words. You might have to have more frames for the piece overall, but you will get the points across with a much better rate of completion, where people actually use the tutorial and it works.

A mute button would also be nice, since the music did get a little on my nerves.

[Review Request Club]

Kwing responds:

Come to think of it, adding pieces of the engine to the tutorial bit by bit may have helped. Anybody following the tutorial can do that themselves for the most part, though.

Yes, the music sucks doesn't it?

[S-RPG: PSP Adaption V20.1]

It feels... wrong

I'm not sure that this game feels entirely correct - the user interface isn't really as good as it could be - pressing the arrow keys to get into a building cost me some attribute points while I was just trying to move, as opposed to doing anything useful for my character.

On the main map, it looks really silly, with the way that the character moves really slowly. It it so time consuming for this to move across the screen, that I just get bored with the gameplay. I think that some sort of back story is required to take this piece further than you have at present, giving the player some sort of purpose. Even Frank's Adventure had a purpose in gaining hentai for progressing through the story, so there is a precedent for taking your piece further.

Put a little more effort in and get yourself a story to fit this around and you'll be onto a winner.

[Review Request Club]

Kwing responds:

The arrow keys control parts inside the building so that when you're on your PSP you can use those as shortcuts instead of moving the PSP's incredibly slow cursor. I was careful to keep any mixups from happening by not using the right arrow key as a shortcut when you go to work, not using the up arrow key as a shortcut when you go to your house or the university, etc. I designed it for ease of access and tried to prevent people from accidentally doing something they didn't intend on doing with the shortcuts.

Seriously, there are running shoes in the store. I've already told this to one other reviewer. On top of that, there are clickable shortcuts in the bottom right corner if it's too slow for you. Using the arrow keys is really better for the PSP, while clicking the shortcuts is more convenient if you're using a computer.

As a remake for the original Stick RPG, my intention was to make the storyline bland. I made the traditional "save the princess" gig with Story Mode because I wanted it to retain the blandness... Which I spiced up by adding racy humor in between levels.

I see what you're getting at with this review, but your complaints don't hold much bearing in the context of what this game was supposed to be, and the style it was done in.

[The Tween/Easing Tutorial]

Good work

I like the fact that you've added the mute button now - it really helps when I'm trying to pay attention to what's going on, as opposed to the music itself. Even though the music is good, you've probably got it set a little loud for my liking.

Still, enough about that, as the flash is what we're concerned about. You've done another good job with conveying the instructions simply and concisely. What did bug me though was the 90 degree angle you chose for the pendulum - it was too much. Most natural pendulums swing at an angle of closer to 45 degrees, perhaps 50-60, if they're lucky, but usually no more. A little niggle, I know, but I love my physics :P

As you pointed out in the first tutorial, with your tweens, the physics of a train slowing down is great for an example - why not show the really advanced stuff of a train hitting something on the track, slowing down and carrying on?

Keep up the great work!

[Review Request Club]

[Save your life 2]

Hmm... good, but some issues

I think that you've made a decent stab at this game - the question about a certain city with lots of canals in question 23 wouldn't accept. I've been on Wiki and double checked the spelling - I'm not sure how you spelled it, but I couldn't get past this one.

Still, that aside, you might need a little writing assistance with the clues - that city for example doesn't start A___M, it starts with an A ;)

With these small issues in mind, it doesn't really take away from the enjoyment of the game, but the terminal issue did stop me from progressing, which was a little disappointing.

[Review Request Club]

EventHorizon responds:

you're right, something was disappointing, however thanks for your vote and review!!

[Newgrounds Medals]

Concise

A good little guide, showing people that there is more to Newgrounds Medals that truly meets the eye. I particularly liked the tutorial which discussed a little about how to make the medals - it I were a game developer, I'd now understand how these things were put together.

The interface is pretty good, but I still think that you need to get yourself some more features here. I know that it's going on about how the current game of the moment has Medals, but even though we're less than a full month from the flash, that seems dated, with newer flash having superseded it. Perhaps other features would distract from this?

[Review Request Club]

EventHorizon responds:

thanks for the review!!

[Metal slug: final SC]

It needs more

I like the way that you've got a decent set of sprites used here, complete with traditional moving parts from the Metal Slug genre. What gets to me (in a similar way to Fro's creator) is that there is no sort of program to turn this into either a living comic book, or some sort of a movie. Like I said to Fro, this is something I did use on a basic PC some 15 years ago, so it isn't beyond the realm of doable.

A decent set of music, settings and characters give you some good basis for the piece, but unfortunately, it is a little limited, with only the person that is watching, or those looking over their shoulder can really tell what is going on.

I'd like to see you take it further and give us these parts of the program that other scene creators cannot reach.

[Review Request Club]

[The Menu/Button Tutorial]

In depth tutorial

I like what you've done here - you've set out how to make buttons and a menu, so ever a complete novice in flash (me, for example) could make a few buttons and a menu. I like the way that it's set out, without assuming that the viewer knows how to do anything, save for being able to type in some codes and use a mouse.

The layout is pretty good, but you could certainly use a mute button for the music, as it does get a little repetitive. The flip side is a selection of 3 tunes to choose from.

You're clearly a competent animator, so why not take it further - How about a menu that descends when you mouse over a tab? It would have these buttons hidden from view and thus keep the main focus of the flash in view and tidily so.

[Review Request Club]

[Avoidance 4: Classic]

Addictive fun

A basic, but quite enthralling game, where it seems quite easy to get everything put together at the start, but it gradually gets more difficult. I liked the point scoring bubbles that you can pick up along the way to push your score up.

I think that there is something really missing here - a tutorial or level key, telling us what will get us points and what will kill - I found myself dodging the point scoring bubble on the first run through, as I couldn't read that it said "500" on it, due to the size. When I'd caught a 1000 point bubble, which was larger, I found out the true nature, since I decided to chance it. A little more information would help here.

Perhaps you could use some powerups for the game, ones that allow you to kill bubbles for points for a short period, additional lives, or shields. Finally, a scoreboard would be a nice addition to this, since the game is based on getting a score as high as possible.

I liked the music selection, though with this sort of game and my style of play, the mute button seemed the better option for me.

[Review Request Club]

TheSongSalad responds:

Thanks for the review man, I really appreciate it. You make some good suggestions.