Score: 6

""Loosely based"? More like "Carbon copy""

submission: Squario

date: December 10, 2009

I played all the way up past the first boss, and what I can tell, the only differences between this and mario is that you can't see the difference between big and small squario, you control like you're walking on ice the entire game and you didn't bother to implement the fire flower or the exit flag bonus points. The levels are carbon copies, the game mechanics are carbon copies. Or if not carbon copies, so close that I can't tell the difference. I certainly didn't see any "more features".

Score: 5

"Lacks polish in so many ways"

submission: Arcanorum

date: December 9, 2009

This game looks like it could've been interesting if you'd done it right, but you didn't. First off controls. The fact that the ship and more specifically the weapon are frustratingly, painfully hard to control and working up a good swing is nearly impossible is probably just me not being very good, but Playing the game "right" is nearly impossible, the reaal way to win is to distance yourself from the enemy and poke them for the minimum damage when they get close rather than try to whack them with swings. Nothing wrong with that, could've been fun. Bosses do have absurd amounts of health though given how much damage you do.

Now to the actual problems. I was constantly finding myself stuck to an enemy because our weapons were interlocked. Whenever this happened, it was impossible to break the lock, nearly impossible to control my weapon and down to luck whether I would be the one who happened to take enough damage to die or he would. It also got caught on a dead enemy's discarded weapon at least once. The ship controls like it's made of molasses, without something to indicate the mouse's position you'll frequently wave it outside the game (and it won't pause if you click outside--in fact, if you then try to use the bullet time you'll scroll away from the game). The framerate drops when there's many enemies. You don't have nearly enough money buy many of those upgrades even by the end of the game without retrying a level many times, but earn so little money per kill that even that would become a grindfest. Being locked into one upgrade track defeats the purpose of having a variety of weapons. Dialogue is full of mistakes (and generally rubbish). Random powerups are massively unbalanced; I'm not aware of luck doing anything, radioactivity has a pathetic effect and doesn't even work half the time, but invincibility is such a gamebreaker that getting it almost guarantees you will beat the level (regen and rampage are overly strong too for something that drops randomly and thus might drop three times in one level or not even once). And finally, when I finally slogged through the last level of the "evil" path (thanks entirely to lucky powerups) the game failed to end the level--the friendly and both bosses had disappeared somewhere, and when I killed the last remaining enemies nothing happened. I eventually had to suicide to return to the menu.

So many things are wrong with this game. The core idea has potential, and the gameplay could've been fun, but massive bugs, terrible balance and an upgrade system that locks you in to one weapon type ruin it.

Score: 7

"It was interesting up until it stopped working"

submission: MagnetiZR

date: September 21, 2009

It was interesting through the first 15 levels, if not quite as rewarding as Auditorium, but on level 16 the game decided I was done. It started ignoring two of the color-switching magnets, even when I passed right through them, which rendered the level impossible. I probably would've stuck around to the end if the game had let me, but that's a game-ending bug..

Score: 6

"The lyrics kill it"

submission: Sodomy

date: June 19, 2009

You probably would've gotten a nine or ten, a favorite and a download if not for the inclusion of the "lyrics" which seem to exist solely to offend. I mean, I'm not offended, but it soils the enjoyment of the song nonetheless, and I don't feel any desire to put it on my hard drive.

Score: 10

"Another great piece"

submission: ParagonX9 - HyperioxX

date: June 18, 2009

This song is very cool to listen to and it goes all over the places. Unlike the previous commenter I liked the piano interlude and the part immediately after--it gives the song a surreal feel.

Score: 10

"Very good song"

submission: BR - Battle Music II

date: June 17, 2009

Funny thing: I opened this song in a new tab without reading the description, went on to do other things, then two minutes later I came back to see what it was a remix of so I could go find the original as well. And am surprised to see there is no original, this was entirely your own.

Reminds me a bit of The Clash, though I suspect if I listen to enough of your songs they'll just all remind me of each other. I don't think this one'd really work in normal battles or a boss; it's too serious for random encounters but not dramatic enough for a boss. I think this is either cutscene music or music for a scene where you charge in and face several small battles back to back. Or maybe for a timed escape sequence.