ChronoNomad's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[William and Sly 2]

Simply stunning!

This game is beautiful in every way. The music, character animation, multi-layer backgrounds, and the gameplay are all very impressive components that come together to create a very rich experience. I guess that my only regret is that, once I did everything there was to do, I still wanted more. Will there be a third installation in the series one day? I truly hope so.

[Frantic Frigates]

A pirate themed bullet hell? Yes, please!

I guess I'll get the not-so-good stuff out of the way since there really isn't much in my opinion. First, it's a fairly easy game overall, but that's far from being a deal breaker in this case. For a lot of gamers that may not be hardcore bullet hell fans (or even know what that means), this game is a great way to jump into the genre without being bombarded with thousands of on-screen enemy bullets. Secondly, it feels a little short. Granted, you can play the game virtually forever, but if the game had more stages and bosses it could be even more epic. I also felt a bit slighted by the fact that you cannot - no matter how you pick and choose your upgrades - max out all stats at one time. Doing it this way does make sense, but I was kind of hoping that the ability to maximize your capabilities would become available after beating the main game.

As for the positive points, for one thing I've been massively addicted to this game since I first started playing; enough so that I earned myself all the in-game medals and increased starter cash. As with a lot of games like this, I can't help think how nice it would be to get some Newgrounds medals and points, but I understand the whole "Play this on our site!" mentality, so that's cool.

The music is rather epic, and it's fairly reminiscent of Pirates of the Caribbean much of the time, so I have nothing but good things to say there. The sound effects may not be anything to write home about, but they aren't annoyingly mute-worthy, either. The graphics and animation are quite excellent, and the game itself is just as easy to pick up and play as you suggest. I've probably played for at least three hours altogether, so I can say with some amount of certainty that it's quite bug-free.

The loot and upgrade system works pretty well, and trying different stat builds really changed my overall gaming experience. I personally prefer a fairly even build (as much as possible), but the most important single stat would have to be speed, in my opinion. Dodging enemies and their bullets becomes vital to survival by the end of the game, and it can make things a whole lot easier early on.

Thanks for making such an entertaining game! It may not be very difficult when it comes to those of us who are used to frenetic bullet hell shooters, but that makes it fun for everyone to play. I'm sorry to see low scores from users who want a truly hellish challenge, but the general consensus remains decidedly positive. 5/5, 10/10

[Wonderputt]

Review, Take 2

Edit: Due to a highly unfortunate and rather annoying moderator hack, I am copy/pasting my initial review that was removed. It's nice to know that users can't actually be banned for leaving a complimentary review. :P

This has got to be simply one of the coolest putting games that I have ever played. Between the artistic style, incredible graphics, and fun animations it's more like a miniature self-contained world than a game.

There was obviously a lot of pre-production design work done for this, and it really shows when playing the finished product. As much fun as it was to play the first time, then you add something new for subsequent plays! That's just plain impressive, and I have currently played the game five times just to improve my score and successfully complete the additional content. My only gripe is that there are no Newgrounds medals. I know, I know...go play it on Kongregate, right? Ah, well.

Thanks for making such an incredible game! I will quite likely be back for more soon enough.

[Snailiad]

Great game--kept me coming back for more!

I have really enjoyed Snailiad for the most part, but there are the odd glitches that can take away from the fun. Several times I used my gravity powers and ended up magically transported to the next room with no way out. Once the game even killed me outright for breaking a previously impassable wall. Yes, there are tons of secret passages, but this was simply a bug that happened at random points. Most of the time it was a minor setback, and having an in-game Load option was particularly helpful at that point.

The controls themselves are pretty good, though I'll admit that when I first started playing I found them to be a pain. In many instances I was unable to jump if Snaily (or Sluggy) was too close to a wall. While this generally wasn't a big deal, at times it cost me taking damage from an enemy that I otherwise would have been able to avoid.

One final thing that I found to be a little frustrating was having to watch the credits so...many...times. It might be nice to have a way to skip them. I actually tried to do something else and let the credits roll one time, all the while forgetting that the game pauses the instant you click outside of it.

Okay, that pretty much takes care of the cons. Now I'll move on to the pros.

The gameplay and bizarre story were engrossing in a way that I really hadn't thought possible...at least not when the hero is a gastropod. After completing the game on Normal difficulty with all items and full map completion, I then undertook the even more difficult Slug Mode. Wow, talk about ramping up the difficulty!

Then, after I had completed Slug Mode, I went after the insanely difficult Boss Rush. The boss that gave me the most trouble was definitely good old Mr. Red Box of Doom, thus forcing me to create a new strategy after he whupped my butt a couple of times. After that I completely shocked even myself by beating down Moon Snail's second form and losing only a single heart in the process! Final time: 6:15.09 :D

Is it strange that these accomplishments are so fulfilling? Yeah, probably...but who cares? I even managed to locate the Super Secret Boomerang, although the other two secret medals remain a secret...for now. There's just so much to this game! It's like Starwish (loved the references) meets Metroid and and a ton other old-school games...with snails. The art may not have been amazing, but it was cute and fun. The music is fantastic though, and it really lends itself well to that old-school 8-bit feel.

Overall, this game ranks high on my "You have GOT to play this!" list. It's a lot of fun to play, not to mention quite a challenge. 5/5 - 9/10

Some of the enemy names were cute, while others were quite bizarre, but I really think that GraviTurtle sounds even better than Gravity Turtle. :)

"...and You."

[Skinny]

I think I could really enjoy this game...

...if the controls weren't so infuriatingly buggy. It looks and sounds beautiful, but every action from walking and jumping to shooting the claw glitches on a regular basis. Half of my button presses and mouse clicks are completely unresponsive.

First, Skinny won't stop walking. Then he won't jump or shoot the claw, but when he finally decides to do it the same command happens repeatedly. Watching him jump or fire the claw half a dozen times in rapid succession is really annoying. I didn't have any trouble with the wall jumping, except for when it glitched--then it became impossible. I don't know why it's so buggy, and I've tried a lot of different methods of playing the game to make it better, but nothing seems to fix the issue.

I really want to play this game, but it's simply unplayable with all these control problems. Other folks don't seem to be having these issues, but that doesn't help me. It's a shame, really. I had to quit playing in the Waterway (repeatedly) because I couldn't even work my way up and out of a chasm. I really hate giving up, but I wasn't given a choice. Well, at least I managed to play long enough to earn the first medal. All I can say is - if you're reading this - I hope it works better for you than it did for me.

AtmosGames responds:

I'm sorry about that ChronoNomad. I really am. I wish I knew what to do! :(

[Track the Ball]

Good Game + Level Editor = Great Game!

The mechanics are simple, but nailing down some of the levels is pretty challenging. Mouse controls were a little awkward, but arrows couldn't have been simpler. Not only is the main game fun to play, but the inclusion of a level editor is pure genius! Or maybe it was simply a no-brainer with this kind of game. Either way, it was definitely the right way to go. Even when the original game is done there's still more content, and that equates to replay value.

The music was decent, and it took me playing and making levels for over an hour before it started getting on my nerves. Not much in the way of sound effects, but they were pretty par for the course (pun quite possibly intended). Mute buttons for both were a nice addition. Achievements are always fun, but it's a shame that at least some of them didn't translate into Newgrounds medals. We love showing off our spectacular feats, after all! :D

Oh, and here's a level that I did since we're all sharing:

<Level>
<Line>33333333b5c3004c3</Line>
<Line>3b0000040300050a0</Line>
<Line>303300003333344bd</Line>
<Line>3034000000300035c</Line>
<Line>30003303304030330</Line>
<Line>33003240005334351</Line>
<Line>30003303340030330</Line>
<Line>3034000000300035d</Line>
<Line>303300003333333ac</Line>
<Line>3a000004c3345c30d</Line>
<Line>33333333a05d3a0d3</Line>
</Level>

[Space Arcade(the game!)]

Very nice bullet hell space shooter

You've done a great job of putting together an interesting and challenging game. The difficulty curve in the final tier of levels is extreme! It was a little painful grinding for money, but once you found the "cash cow" levels things started shaping up. High level shields and attractors were still out of reach by the end of my game, but maybe I'll come back and grind it out a little more later on.

No medals? That's a shame, because this could really have some nice ones. There is some slow-down between the on-screen enemies and shots, but in a game like that it actually helps a bit. If I had to choose one thing that I found particularly disappointing, it would be that expending cash for Smart Bombs doesn't rid the screen of enemy shots. Of course that just increases the challenge level even more--especially when you're getting mobbed by thousands of enemies all shooting their own unique patterns of bullets.

Graphics aren't amazing or anything, but who cares? This is a game of dexterity and skill. Besides, more complex graphics would exponentially increase the slow-down. The music is awesome, but even these great tracks get too repetitive after a while. Props for including music and sound effect mute buttons! Always a wise move.

[Dimension Diver]

Looks nice; poor controls

The graphical quality is quite nice and the animation is fluid, but the controls are an enormous hindrance. I sometimes found myself dashing mid-jump completely by accident, more often than not resulting in damage. It just doesn't bring anything new to the table in the side-scrolling genre, and I found it to be kind of boring.

Also, was that some kind of button tutorial when the game first loaded? I couldn't really tell because it vanished from the screen before I could even read it.

[Mystery of Willow Mannor]

Good game, but there's one enormous plot hole...

The is interesting, though not really much of a game when compared to similar titles. Only two choices per tree makes for a very streamlined experience, but in this case I don't think that's such a good thing. One thing I did not enjoy was being forced to start all the way back at the beginning after each ending, mainly because there is so much text to cycle through. That's a lot of excess clicking despite the fact that it may be standard for interactive visual novels. My best suggestion would be to allow for more text per page in order to reduce the overall number of pages, ergo fewer clicks.

<<Don't read the rest of this review if you haven't played the game yet as it contains spoiler material>>

Okay, on to the plot hole so big you could drive a Mac truck through it. I shot the groundskeeper outside the house. He was dead. I took his key. I pondered being arrested for murder briefly before entering the house through the front door. Further along, I pulled the lever to the right of the door at the end of the passage. I fell into the hole and was knocked unconscious, awakening a bit later in the room with Orion. After we pushed the metal door open, who did we run into? That selfsame groundskeeper that I had put a bullet in and left as mulch for the yard. Whoops! Quite the continuity conundrum, and it left me feeling disappointed.

To fix that issue you would either have to A) not let the player shoot the groundskeeper at all, B) make the gunshot of the non-lethal variety, or C) have some other character come into contact with the player and Orion later on. Any of those options would repair the overall integrity of the story.

tenentenen responds:

Yeah, but The detective isn't a doctor, it's a stretch, but it's PLAUSIBLE that Marsh THOUGH Norm was dead, and yet he was not.

But yeah. it's a flaw.

[Color Cleaner]

Quick puzzles, and pretty fun

Just the right number of levels (30), and the difficulty progression is consistent. The music and sound effects were minimal, and I have to agree that this version of Music Box Dancer made me want to take a nap rather than work out a bunch of colorful puzzles. It was also too loud...so thank you for adding a mute option.

Incidentally, I disagree with the walkthrough on the final puzzle. In my opinion there's a better way to complete it that doesn't require quite as much random luck. The key is to remove a certain color of block in the right order, but here's the actual solution if anyone needs help:

(spoiler)
-- First, remove the small green block near the lower right corner to release the large red < block. Next, take out the small green block second from the left to release the small red > block. Now, (and this is the tricky part) remove the small green block on the far right, and the small red < block will bounce against the small green block. As the red block is bouncing backward, remove the small green block holding up the long vertical red piece, then quickly take out the final green block to keep the long red piece from slipping out and away from the other red blocks. Pop the red blocks, then finish up with the blue ones. --
(end spoiler)

I've tried this method a dozen times, and it worked 2/3 of the time. There's a chance that one or two of the small blue ^ blocks will float away either before of after you pop the red blocks, and that will probably require a reset if it happens. Trust me, it's not really as hard as it seems with the right timing...and at least a little bit of good luck. It's still easier than the solution shown in the walkthrough video.