Score: 9

"Almost as good as can be"

submission: Spewer

date: May 13, 2009

Spewer is by far one of the more original games I have seen for the last few years - and it doesn't squander the opportunity presented by its originality. The game contains enough levels to occupy one's time for a few hours, depending on skill. It is difficult, yet accessible for even those who might be considered newbies. I myself have never advanced far into such games, yet I managed to beat every level in Spewer - the difficulty level was just right.
Some levels seem a bit less inspired than others, but this is balanced by the brilliancy of others. I found that the difficulty level was a bit jumpy as I advanced through the stages, some levels were downright ridiculously easy compared to those preceding them. This could be counted as a flaw or a feature: On one hand, the jumpiness can be a little irritating/perplexing; on the other, some easy levels in between the very difficult ones can provide a much needed breather.
Controls are responsive, excluding some of the more processor-intensive levels. I found that even my relatively high-end laptop (MacBook Pro) struggled a bit with some stages, but restarting the game sometimes helped bring speed back up. Due to this, I detracted one point from my final score. I do not know if such a thing is possible with this game, but an optimized version for lower-end computers would increase playability a lot.
The audio was delightful - from the sucking sounds of spew-swallowing, to the relaxing music that completely failed to get on my nerves, unlike the music found in many other similar games.
All options and configurations I would have expected were in the right place, no complaints there.
Finally, the level editor was a nice touch. It is easy to use ( it would be nice if it were a little easier to browse the different tiles, though ) and the in-editor physics tester is a much appreciated feature.

My final score is 9/10, or 5/5. Although perhaps unavoidable, the slowdown found in some levels brought the score down a little - as the game requires such precise movements in some key areas, the slowdown can render the game unplayable. My only other nit-pick was the somewhat clunky palette in the editor and the sometimes - just enough to bring the score down to nine.

Thanks for the great game! It was very enjoyable and recommended to all who like puzzle-platformers.

Score: 8

"Fantastically Twisted"

submission: The Christmas Special

date: December 28, 2008

Very nice, indeed!
The sick, morbid humor is very nicely executed, the facial expressions were very nice, and the audio was a perfect choice. Many will be offended, and I'm sure the score will suffer because of it, but it doesn't really matter. I won't be surprised if this gem ends up on the front page.

Score: 1

"Worthless."

submission: legion of doom

date: December 24, 2008

This animation needs a seizure warning. This is potentially dangerous to people with epilepsy.
As to the quality of the flash, well, it's pretty bad. Lots of tweens, that crudely drawn character flickering about, and bad music in the background.

I like my animations watchable.