Review: Collaboration Contest: Martin's Tale

Write and read reviews of games that have been uploaded to Slime Salad.

Moderators: Bob the Hamster, marionline, SDHawk

Post Reply
User avatar
JSH357
Liquid Metal Slime
Posts: 1341
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Columbia, SC
Contact:

Review: Collaboration Contest: Martin's Tale

Post by JSH357 »

This is the first time I've played these all the way through. Forgive the lack of a proper review format; I'm doing this in a running commentary style.

PART ONE (By TwinHamster)
Midnight. The time to pursue greatness. I agree. I begin my quest exiting a "Shup," baffled by spelling errors but amused by the silly plot.
I watch my hero jump onto a random animal, reminding me of Adventure Time. I can forgive the horrible spelling errors just because of that one thing.

So far the graphics are great, but the spelling is really irking me.
"Goodness Damn" will be my new way of referring to Goodness in vain.
I'm amused by the situation our hero is in at the registration station, and love the deus ex machina with the Warp spell sending him to an UNKNOWN LAND. I'll take this moment to point out that the graphics have been great so far, if smooshed; particularly the animations.

"If you stay here too long, you'll grow a beard. A truly untameable beard." Classic OHR line right there.

I like how the knight takes Martin's sword and teleports away without offering to teleport him in return (which is what the player is seeking to do in the first place).

The first half of the game is a perfect adventure game parody; none of the clues or items make any sense, but it does not bother the player, who is hopefully amused.

The sound effects are stupendously awful, but were only funny the first time. These are the weirdest Zelda-style battles ever. I feel like if the game had been completed, it would have been better than it is.

I think that this Chapter would have been better off as a pure adventure game, with none of the battle elements. Those felt really tacked on and irrelevant. Still, it leaves me wondering what will happen next.

-Chapter 1 Evil Number Scores-

Graphics: 8/10
Good stuff, especially the animations. Weakened by the OHR's screen resolution, but I can't hold that against the author too much.

Sound: 6/10
The sound effects are awful, but the music fits pretty well. Some good stuff.

Plot/Dialogue: 6/10
Excellent for what it is, but the lack of proofreading is readily apparent. One of the best parodies of the adventure game I've seen.

Gameplay mechanics: 5/10
See plot. The adventure game parts were great, but the second half of the game is just on the wrong track. Still, a fun way to kill 15 minutes.

-Chapter 1 Band Comparison-
The Doors
Some people will love it, some people will hate it. The ones who hate it are the ones too stuck up to remember how to have fun.

Stay tuned for Part Two
Last edited by JSH357 on Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.
My website, the home of Motrya:
http://www.jshgaming.com
User avatar
JSH357
Liquid Metal Slime
Posts: 1341
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Columbia, SC
Contact:

Post by JSH357 »

PART TWO (by Xerian)

We start off with some dialogue that could really benefit from plotscripting. The canon seems to have been followed. I like the trick of graying out all of the menu items that are unused. The dark palettes are annoying and are always a sin against humanity.

The game crashed about two minutes in. Attempt number two.
Okay, this time it worked. If the creator went through the trouble of scripting that pitfall, why couldn't the hero move around while he was talking too?

As expected from a Xerian game, I talk to the first NPC and find out I'm in emo land. Oh GOD talk to more of them and it gets even more emo. I join Martin's desperation in wanting to escape from this land of horrors.

"A victim I am... raped and mutilated before my captor chewed me apart with his teeth" says one of the NPCs. Yeah. We're not in Kansas anymore. Stepping on the bottom of the screen warps me right back. Is this a joke game? How do I get out of here?! I wish I could see the screen, but the palette is all dark.

Thankfully, the readme has solutions. Well GEE thanks for giving me all those clues leading to that conclusion! ... And it leads to MORE emo NPCs. The second puzzle is much more simple to solve, since the emo tells me how to get past it.

Finally, a change of scenery. OH GOD--I'm in Hell! What is wrong with this guy? Finally, a save point. Man, these non-emo NPCs are even worse. The third puzzle is simple once one realizes he can move (and it isn't a cutscene). And... that's the end. Phew.

- Chapter 2 Evil Number Scores -

Graphics: 5/10
The hero walkabout is great, some of the other walkabouts are good. I can't stand the dark tiles, though. Not really my thing. I don't like straining my eyes to make out what's going on on the screen.

Music: 8/10
Great selections for the most part. The best thing about the game.

Plot / Dialogue: 6/10
Good, but short. This didn't feel like a complete chapter in Martin's saga to me. The dialogue was pretty good, but would have benefited from some plotscripting. Martin is just a talking head as-is.

Gameplay mechanics: 2/10
Some poorly thought-out puzzles. The last one was exciting, so it gets some credit, but I feel like there wasn't much thought put in to this chapter. A nice try given what's there, but Xerian could have done better.

-Chapter 2 Band Comparison-
Jefferson Starship
Come on, guys! You could do so much better than this. Get your act together.

Stay tuned for Part Three
Last edited by JSH357 on Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
My website, the home of Motrya:
http://www.jshgaming.com
User avatar
JSH357
Liquid Metal Slime
Posts: 1341
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2007 7:38 pm
Location: Columbia, SC
Contact:

Post by JSH357 »

PART THREE (by RMSephy)

I really wanted to like this game.

First, there's some great attention to continuity in this installment. We pick up where Martin left off (sort of) and the previous Chapter's plot is explained in this one. There are also a lot of references to other games, which are mildly amusing.

The problem with this chapter is that it is intentionally confusing. This is funny for about a minute, but then becomes extremely annoying (When I was slated to make the fourth game in this series, my plan was to pretend this chapter didn't exist because I couldn't make sense of it). I won't even touch on the plot because it really goes without saying that it is basically inaccessible. Now, the dialogue is well-written, if a bit tedious to read. I applaud Sephy for his typing skills under pressure.

Stylistically, it’s the best of the games so far. Sephy tells us exactly what we’re getting in to from the start (A confusing mess). The graphics are also (mostly) good, although a lot of them are clearly placeholders. I feel like this chapter would have been a lot better if Sephy hadn't tried his hardest to make it confusing.

I also have to point out that the battles are every bit as muddling as the plot--I never legitimately won any of the fights in this game. I'm sure there's some clever strategy that can lead to victory, but I never felt motivated to find it.

On a good note, this chapter ends with our heroes effectively destroying the current universe (as well as the previous chapters'), leaving things wide open for the next installment. Hopefully it captures my interests more.

- Chapter 3 Evil Number Scores -
Graphics: 4/10
When they are good, they are good. Unfortunately, most of this stuff is half-baked and rushed.

Music: 2/10
Ripped and the selections don't really fit in that well. I kinda liked the last boss music selection.

Plot / Dialogue: 1/10
Impossible to comprehend (If intentionally) and full of walls of text. Yeah.

Gameplay mechanics: 1/10
Unless I'm missing something, this just wasn't thought out too well. Can't say I bothered to give it a second chance, but I can't say it deserved one. The sad thing is I know Sephy is so much better than this. :(

-Chapter 3 Band Comparison-
Journey
Pretty awful, but there's maybe that one redeeming song. Could also be a horrible influence on future works.

Stay tuned for Part Four
My website, the home of Motrya:
http://www.jshgaming.com
Post Reply