Sifr's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Shift: Freedom!]

Rather Disappointing...

// START REVIEW

0. Hello...

1. First of all, I just have to say that I'm a really big fan of the earlier Shift series, with Shift 4 on the fringe.

2. Good Points:
* The tongue-in-cheek humor is still there, which is good. I think that the humor is one of the quintessential features of the original series aside from the complexity of the puzzles.
* Complexity. The key feature of the series that has got the people who played them hooked. I'm glad to see that after all the iterations of the game, the puzzle difficulty doesn't seem to deteriorate.

3. (Not so) Good Points:
* Graphics. One of the main draws for me to the Shift series is the minimalist graphics. It had an appeal that seemed to match games that are very graphic-intensive. The black and white scheme, paired with the humor, kept me enthralled even with the growing difficulty of each level. When I first saw the more bloated version in this game, I didn't want to dismiss it early. I even saw it as a positive that the series was taking on another direction but when I got to playing it, the new graphics didn't mix well with the setting. At some point, the graphics may very well be the cause of the game's slow pace, very uncharacteristic for a shit game.

* Slooooooow and Buggy. There were many glitches that I didn't seem to mind because I really wanted to enjoy this game. After Shift 4, I wanted to see Freedom! as a redemption for the entire series but I was disappointed.

4. Sorry...

// END REVIEW

[The Snow Runs Red]

Holiday Cheer-full

// START REVIEW

0. Hello and Merry Christmas.

1. Good Points:
* Overall plot was good. Very grounded to the season. Gives a fresh spin on a Christmas game.
* Graphics. Very nostalgic. The classic, retro feel is a nice touch. Complements the theme very well. Very well executed.

2. (Not so) Good Points:
* Gameplay. The aiming mechanism was very limited. There were only 8 angles to shoot from, there wasn't an "in-between" which causes some frustration especially when an enemy gets close and out range of an angle. Weapon variety was also limited. The upgrades were really a non-factor.
* Replayability. The game, sadly, was not very engaging. It was very easy to play, even to the point of not expending a life even after the 25th level. I only played up to level 25 so that I could get the achievement and hoping that it would be a boss level.

3. Overall, this was a good effort. Just not enough variety for my taste, I guess.

// END REVIEW

[Larry And The Gnomes]

Masterfully Excuted

// START REVIEW

0. Hello.

1. Great Points:
* Gameplay. Very enjoyable. This game really stayed true to its platform roots. The enemies are very well balanced and the battle system is quite engaging. It doesn't feel like a tiresome hack and slash game.
* Music and SFX. Very crisp and pleasing to the ears. Props to the sound guys! Very thematic, the music and sfx are spot on for every situation. One noteworthy exception though is the lightsaber sound. I know that it is a miniscule detail but adding a lightsaber sound could have only helped the game.

2. Good Points:
* Graphics. Well crafted. The graphics of the game are very nice, holding true to the series graphics. The blood was very well mixed and the bosses were very well made. I especially liked the artwork put in to the cameo swords, it really captured the essence of the weapons.

3. (Not so) Good Points:
* Controls. Very minor detail but having read the other reviews, I do agree that a 'shield' option could have been a nice addition especially when one finds oneself in a bit of a situation. Also, a double jump could also be a nice addition.

4. I applaud you guys for the effort you put into this great game, this is certainly not an easy feat to accomplish!

5. Good day and great job!

// END REVIEW

[Primary]

Brilliant!

// START GAME

0. Hello!

1. Good Points:
* Gameplay and Replayability. Rarely do i get hook on a game, let alone a flash game, but Primary has me hook, line and sinker. Although the moves are pretty limited, the gameplay proves innovative enough to have an extended playability.
* Graphics. Awesome. What can i say? The graphics are smooth the use of the colors are fantastic. Very pleasing to the eyes.
* Music and SFX. Very entertaining, the sfx are right on the money and the music is pretty easy to listen to.

2. (Not so) Good Points:
* N/A

3. Great job! I couldn't believe I have only stumbled upon this only now.

// END REVIEW

[Paradox Embrace]

Paramount

// Start Review

0. First of all, thank you.

1. Great Points:
* Very Surprising. I seriously did not expect much from the game mainly because it loaded too quickly. From my experience, quick loading == not a very good quality. This really caught me off guard. This is a very pleasant surprise.
* Graphics. Awesome. Very homey, very pleasing to the eyes, the color mixtures were fantastic. The environment adapted very well to the transformations. Great job.
* Concept. Fantastic. Great balance between the transformations. I liked the fact that every transformation has a very specific task, enemy set, etc.

2. Good Points:
* SFX. Good. It meshed well with the game, very well-timed.

3. (Not so) Good Points:
* Story. I like this game because of the concept and the gameplay. I really didn't come for the story for this one but an extended story is a welcome addition.
* Features. It would be nice if in the next games more features would be added to give more zest to the game. Not that this game needed more zesting but it would also be a welcome enhancement. Perhaps add red herrings to make the puzzles more complex.
* Complexity. I'm really on the fence regarding this one. I really like the puzzles in the game but feel that they are very straightforward. Perhaps an added complexity would be great.

4.Bad Points:
* The game was too short. I really wanted more of the game, I couldn't get enough of it by the time i finished level 9 :P

5. Great game. Probably one of the best medal-enabled games I played so far. This is kind of like a puzzle version of Ching Chong Beautiful. I hope this does well!

// End Review

[Portal Defenders]

Very Addicting

// START REVIEW

0. Hello once again.

1. Great Points:
* Graphics. Keeps in theme with Castle Crashing the Beard. Masterfully made.
* Gameplay. Very amusing. I didn't think I would have played this game for a long duration but I was mistaken. Gamers should pay you for making such great games.
* SFX. Well-timed. Suited for every situation. It has this arcade feel to it like CCTB.

2. (Not so) Good Points:
* Difficulty. Admittedly, I'm not a "high-level" gamer but I'm not a noob either but this game is really getting to me. Very difficulty. Maybe you could have a difficulty setting option for gamers who are no that great.

3. Wow, the medal feature is awesome. How could other flash authors use this? Or is it still in beta?

4. Great job!

// END REVIEW

[Super Mafia Land]

Very Amusing

// START REVIEW

0. Hello.

1. Good Points:
* Graphics. Very well drawn, consistent all throughout the game. The color mix was very nice, indeed reminiscent of the old super mario games.
* Wonderful Homage, your promotion of the game does not disappoint. A big improvement from every other fan game.
* SFX. Very tight, well-timed and suited for every situation.
* Music. Not tiring at all, the music was very fitting to the theme.

2. (Not so) Good Points:
N/A

3. Good job!

// END REVIEW

[Time4Cat]

Amazing

// START REVIEW

0. Hello Megadev Team.

1. Good Points:
* Graphics. Very impressive. The foggy texture of the graphics relays the 'time travel' theme very well.
* Gameplay. Very simple but does the job pretty well. So far the controls are very sharp.

2. (Not so) Good Points:
* SFX. The cat sound can get pretty annoying with time.
* Predictibility. The algo used for the randomization of the items was not very impressive. Good nonetheless. Not really a bad point, since I myself couldn't make an algo as good as that.

3. Other notes: The game is very simplistic, maybe added features could spice things up.

4. Good day.

// END REVIEW

[Climbing Ninja]

Well Made

// START REVIEW

0. Hello.

1. Good Points:
* Simple but elegant. The game mashes well together. The premise is simplistic, the graphics are simplistic but it all synthesizes into one great piece of work.
* SFX and Music. Very nice. Suited in every situation. Well-placed and well-timed.

2. (Not so) Good Points:
* Size of screen. It's very thoughtful having a screen resize option, but if you had made the screen smaller from the get-go there might be no need for it.
* Glitches. There are quite a few bugs regarding the delay of jumping. The coding may be fine, so there's not much you can do with this one.

3. Good day.

// END REVIEW