Xentarim's Reviews

[Madness Confliction]

Pretty good. Some posing issues, though...

I think this is pretty well done, especially considering that this is more-or-less a one-man job compared to some of the lousy modern day cartoons that the professionals are doing for the big companies.

Animation is fluid, action is good. The start was a little slow though (I mean literally, like at the start when Tricky was running, he seemed to be running a little too slowly).

Main issue I have was with some of the posing, however. At some points, the characters' two-handed grip on their respective weapons looks a bit off, almost like the arms are twisted. Add that to the fact that they do not actually HAVE arms to help the imagination, it does seem to detract from the overall polish of the final product.

Perfectly fine apart from that, however. Great job!

[Tarboy]

Holy Smokes!

Holy cow, that was IMPRESSIVE!

Professionally done, with flair and style - an inspiring piece. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of this =)

[8-Bit Pwny Club ep.2]

Farney... =D

Very funny, if you are able to catch all the references. One of the very rare instances in which I actually laughed out at a Flash animation.

If you're a (longtime) gamer, you'd definitely want to watch this =)

[Sharp Trigger]

May be the start of something interesting

First off, it's pretty promising, and it definitely promises to develop into something great in future.

However, a few things do cripple the overall experience.

Firstly, and the most obvious, is the voice acting. Generally it was too forced, trying too hard to sound tough, and the attempt at imitating action movie stereotypes is too obvious. Instead, it would probably be better to try to relax it a bit, make it sound a bit more natural. It would also help if you left out the one-liners, which are really quite cheesy, to be honest. Unless you're intentionally going for the cheesy kind of atmosphere, of course.

Secondly, there are some consistency and balance issues. While I can understand the rather quick RPG sections, and how sometimes cover can be unavailable, but I found the last part to be a bit off. It difficulty seemed to contrived, created by intentionally breaking the rules. Sniping without cover, enemies popping in without ceremony and firing without any indication, and the fact that they can hit you from a sniper-rifle distance, all seemed out of place. Toward the end I found it more necessary to memorize the locations of the enemies than to try to react to their appearance. It just seemed unnecessary.

Perhaps you could have made cover allowed (since you *are* in a building), but set a time limit to clear the enemies? It would fit better in the context of the game, seeing as how you are trying to get evacuated but are surrounded. The evac chopper would have been forced to leave you behind if you took too long to clear the area.

In any case, it shows promise, and with some improvements to the consistency of the mechanics and atmosphere, would no doubt elevate to greatness.

[Alice is Dead - Ep 3]

A somewhat muted end to a great series

I had to think really hard before I decided on a score.

My first impulse was to give it a 9. However, after some consideration, I think the 7 that I've put here is more justified. Please hear me out.

**Possible Spoilers Ahead**

I had realised that my first impulse to give it a very high score were due to things that were introduced in the first two games. The White Rabbit, Alice and Hatter portrayed as assassins is a cool idea, but one that was already previously established. Essentially I felt that this third installment lacked the creative fuzz that made the first 2 games great. The setting no longer took advantage of the Alice in Wonderland crossover premise, and essentially dwindled into a by-the-numbers double-cross story.

The second thing that bothered me is the pointlessness of it all when we reached the end. The first game kept you in the dark about who you were playing in the first game, and in the second, the Rabbit was prominent because he was the one who changed Wonderland forever by activating Oyster Cloud. But why are we playing him here? His tale in this game had served no purpose, and he made no lasting impact. It just seems that his role here would have been better as a side-story, while Alice and the Queen's tale should have taken major focus.

Certainly some of the red herrings here exacerbated the problem. An assassin who failed to have his handgun ready when in an elevator is frustrating, and gives off a vibe that the ending was rushed, and the entire story arc may not have been well thought-out.

If the Rabbit's end was necessary, perhaps it would have been more interesting to set the main character as someone else who witnessed it, instead. The Cheshire Cat, perhaps? Or some unlikely hero who just happened to be thrust in the middle of it.

However, despite all this, there is great production value in this. The voice-acting, in particular, is stellar. The mood is here, and it's great. I simply find it sad that this one had failed to be as creative as its predecessors. Taken without the great setting and ideas of the first and second games, this third installment would become generic. That a separate FAQ page is required to explain all the dangling threads seems to support the idea that the storytelling could have been improved.

These are, of course, just my own opinions. Please take what you will from it, and I hope that some of them prove constructive. Sorry if any of this may seem offensive, as I can see that you have all put a great deal of effort into it.

Hope I will see more of your works soon. Cheers!

[Escape the 13th Floor]

Not bad, but fell slightly short

This is a rather long review. Please bear with me, and take what you like from it.

As a puzzler, this was pretty good. The puzzles were clear cut, the solutions were not obscure, and it's good that it never resorted to pixel hunting.

As an adventure game, however, this fell a little short of the expectations it set for itself. The atmosphere hinted at something sinister, from the starting premise to the music to the odd quirks within the building, but the game never cashed in on it. If the story were unimportant, it would probably have been more satisfying with a straightforward storyline, for example a rich but eccentric millionaire dares you to try to escape his newly constructed office building. Something simple, perhaps.

If the story IS important, then at least some sort of teaser should have been thrown in to keep the player interested. Perhaps explain why the papers are blue or why a certain entrance point is so obscurely placed. In fact, why is a key dangling out of reach without any rhyme or reason? If it's some diabolical plan, we'd like to know more.

As daakmore stated below, care should also be taken with the solutions. If a more obvious solution is presented but is not allowed, it only serves to frustrate the player. Try to make sure that the solution you set up is the only (or at least the most plausible) solution available. It is often a thrill for the player if the resolution of a puzzle makes the player go "oh gosh, that's brilliant. Why didn't I think of that earlier?"

As stated before, the ending does not help to cash in on the game's general atmosphere. Without an overarching story and motivation, this game just feels... reduced. Which is a waste, considering the amount of freedom the plot grants you.

All in all, a pretty good puzzler, but if you were aiming for an adventure game, there are some rather unfortunate flaws, but I believe your future efforts would be worth keeping an eye out for.