The Great 2011 Review Contest [Reviews: 200]

Make games! Discuss those games here.

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Shizuma
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Post by Shizuma »

Shizuma's Review #1 - First Fantasy

First Fantasy is a mostly traditional RPG release game by G-Wreck. Starting out this game I saw a well designed title screen which then proceeds to a optionally skippable intro. The intro is one of those pitfalls I find to be plot-breaking. It tells a creation story of the world. The problem with these types of intros is they are mostly completely irrelevant for hours or forever and are often just boring. Putting it even more bluntly; be entertaining and relevant with intros or just don't bother.

Getting into the actual world and story in which game game takes place, you are thrust into the role of a unnamed man who upon defeating some birds in a rather impressive scripted sequence another troublesome plot element occurs; the Final Fantasy 6 (FF6) style introduction of this man. As long as OHRRPGCE has been around people have always attempted these. Sure it was cool in FF6, but it should never be re-attempted without major differences and a good reason. FF6 had the good reason of rapidly introducing over a dozen characters.

The overall story isn't bad, the dialogue is good, decently funny and gives you insight into the world and events. Past the bad introductions the game was doing alright. There is a bit of a problem as once you go into town; it's a good part of the game but it lacks direction and I found it often confusing on how to proceed due to some awkward choices in tile passability. I do complement this game on very clear graphics though. The graphics are a bit plain but good. However the tree and roof tiles lack the pronounced outline and solid appearance of the rest of the tiles.

When it comes to the world setting, there is a problem with the presentation I felt. It came with a expected almost "Flintstones" take on a primitive culture. This isn't always bad but considering the overall seriousness of the game it was a problem. The clearest way I can explain how to make an improvement is to point to the game "Zeno Clash" as a good example of how primitive worlds can take a very creative approach. The things I liked about First Fantasy reminded me more of that game rather than Final Fantasy 6.

The battles are too slow with not enough options other than brute force. The music is sometimes good, sometimes not (Such as the battle theme). It's overall a fairly short demo which isn't too focused on those things so much as it is on a story with a hand-full of scripted events and a first town full of NPCs. I think if the mistakes mentioned in the story are fixed this game will have something going for it. It ends on a rather compelling cliff-hanger so I'd like to see it continued. For the meantime, this demo has too many flaws that are hard to see through.
Last edited by Shizuma on Thu Jan 12, 2012 5:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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The Wobbler
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Post by The Wobbler »

I am happy to see that so many people are in the review writing mood! Any chance any of you guys want to contribute some of these to HS? The past few issues have been slim as far as reviews go. Good to see the lethargy has passed! Keep up the good work!
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Shizuma
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Post by Shizuma »

Surlaw wrote:I am happy to see that so many people are in the review writing mood! Any chance any of you guys want to contribute some of these to HS? The past few issues have been slim as far as reviews go. Good to see the lethargy has passed! Keep up the good work!
I don't usually write reviews but I'll see how it goes. I haven't given up on writing content for Hamster Speak in whatever fashion.
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Shizuma
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Post by Shizuma »

Shizuma's Review #2 - Transylvania Girls

Transylvania Girls is a dating simulation/time management game by SDHawk and Gizmog. This title was produced under the context of the "Say it ain't so contest" which required pornographic content; so this game is only recommended for people of legal age who are OK with that kind of thing.

Like the typical dating sim it is built around tasks such as work, church and sleeping. These things take up your time but build your stats. This is not the most exciting type of gameplay but it has been done well by having short and cute scripted animations. The stats are for completing the objective of the game, successful courtship of a virgin so you can revive Dracula.

Reviving Dracula was a nice touch, it created a focus for the game that is strangely enough more familiar to games than simple courtship as well as creating a element of plot and humor. It also gave them an excuse to use Castlevania music and diversify the objective to include collecting the remnants of Dracula. As the courtship or dating elements take place you are involved with several decisions unique to each of the three girls you may meet throughout the game.

Regarding the girls in this game; I was a bit confused at first in that the girl who is the "right one" is random. This is very good for replay however since it wasn't clearly explained to me other than the authors eventually telling me. I may of potentially quit playing the game thinking it was broken if I hadn't been told.

The girls are interesting enough and distinct, and the dates are well-written, humorous and stimulating dialogue is found from start to finish with easy to understand and surprising consequences. It was a very satisfying game to defeat which is a good thing for any game although especially dating sims. The girls were not particularly appealing in the dating sense. This could be intentional due to the story but creating some interest from the player couldn't hurt much.

Despite the contest moniker, this game does not really contain much adult content whatsoever, and I feel a more widely acceptable release is called for as the elements are all hidden within the ending and are not particularly important anyway. It deserves to be remembered by more people as a classic.
Last edited by Shizuma on Thu Jan 12, 2012 7:02 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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8bifit
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Post by 8bifit »

Shizuma wrote:
Surlaw wrote:I am happy to see that so many people are in the review writing mood! Any chance any of you guys want to contribute some of these to HS? The past few issues have been slim as far as reviews go. Good to see the lethargy has passed! Keep up the good work!
I don't usually write reviews but I'll see how it goes. I haven't given up on writing content for Hamster Speak in whatever fashion.
Uh... I think you just wrote two. :kamina:
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Shizuma
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Post by Shizuma »

8bifit wrote:
Shizuma wrote:
Surlaw wrote:I am happy to see that so many people are in the review writing mood! Any chance any of you guys want to contribute some of these to HS? The past few issues have been slim as far as reviews go. Good to see the lethargy has passed! Keep up the good work!
I don't usually write reviews but I'll see how it goes. I haven't given up on writing content for Hamster Speak in whatever fashion.
Uh... I think you just wrote two. :kamina:
Can't a guy just review around here without people giving him the business? This is why we can't have nice things!
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JSH357
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Post by JSH357 »

This contest has been a lot of fun. I would have written more by now but for some reason doing this has also given me lots of Motrya energy, so my time's been divided.
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8bifit
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Post by 8bifit »

Sorry if I offended. Wasn't trying to. Just trying to point out that both of those reviews are more substantial and better considered than some I've seen in HS. To say that you "don't really write reveiws" after posting two quality reviews seemed kind of weird. That's all I was saying. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
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Shizuma
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Post by Shizuma »

8bifit wrote:Sorry if I offended. Wasn't trying to. Just trying to point out that both of those reviews are more substantial and better considered than some I've seen in HS. To say that you "don't really write reveiws" after posting two quality reviews seemed kind of weird. That's all I was saying. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
I was just feeling like people were picking on me. Giz jsh and mewmew review with no complaints but immediately questions came up when I reviewed. Keep in mind this is a contest, it doesn't have anything to do with HS or me being particularly interested in reviewing.

Happy you think they're quality. The reason i say I "don't write reviews" is I don't consider my writing very good and I have the tendency to be over-critical. Maybe I'm wrong.
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8bifit
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Post by 8bifit »

Nah, man. Didn't mean to make you feel singled out. It was just a timing thing. You just so happened to be last person to post a review so I commented on it. Truthfully, I think most of these reviews are of a high quality and it would be cool to see some of them make it to HS- especially considering the dirth of reviews in it lately. Also, by putting them in HS, they will have a permanent home and won't be religated to a contest thread that will be all but forgotten within a year. Just my thoughts on it...

And you are too critical of yourself. Then again, the scrutiny you use on yourself, is the same scrutiny that makes you a good reviewer of others.
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Post by JSH357 »

JSH’s 2011 OHR Game Blog #21 – Monster Lot by Surlaw and RMZ

I am hesitant to review this as so many stones have been thrown against it. I'm also have a slime of a time trying to figure out just why it doesn't work. Monster Lot seems a lot like a case where the creators put a lot of heart in to it, but the end result just didn't resonate with the audience like they were hoping.

First of all, I want to say that this plot probably would have worked better as an actual sitcom, made for television. I feel like the sprite-based art makes it tougher to appreciate the designs of the characters. The show seems heavily inspired by Futurama; an animation style similar to it would have helped this quite a bit.

There have been a lot of complaints about the show having too many characters, being too long, or having too much talking. Again, the OHR format is what really exacerbates this problem. If you were watching it on TV with better production value and editing, it would make a lot more sense.

I can't really make any direct criticisms of the plot because even after rewatching it, I honestly can't remember much about the movie other than it starring a hodge-podge of characters that reminded me of Zoidberg, Tow-Mater, and a few other cartoon stars. It just washes over me, like nothing's happening at all. The voice acting is fine, the graphics are above average... Monster Lot just doesn't come together the way it should. But hey, that's just my opinion. I'd love to hear a positive review point out some concrete reasons why it was enjoyable to them, as I know there were some people who rated it highly in the contest.

Rating: 3 Monster Mashed Potatoes out of 10
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Gizmog
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Post by Gizmog »

Surlaw wrote:I am happy to see that so many people are in the review writing mood! Any chance any of you guys want to contribute some of these to HS? The past few issues have been slim as far as reviews go. Good to see the lethargy has passed! Keep up the good work!
Sure, use anything you guys feel is good enough to print. I wasn't meaning to snub you or anything, I'm just insecure about my writing and submission processes make me nervous.
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The Wobbler
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Post by The Wobbler »

Your reviews are good and they already have at least one screenshot, the only real additional requirement for printing a review is to have a title screenshot and two of the game itself. Your HOHR Tribute review in particular would be great to have with just a couple more screenshots if you've got time to send some over.
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Post by Mewmew »

Mewmew's Review Of Doom RPG

I didn't know what to expect when I first ran this RPG, I think to myself, "how can a person change an FPS game into an RPG"? I really loved the intro, very well done and the presentation was amazing. The areas are big in this game, but that leaves you with a lot to explore and enjoy!

The start of the game was a bit tough, thankfully there are some random encounters where you can make use of exploding barrels. Once I found a shotgun, random encounters were a breeze (until I ran out of ammo.) The face portrait representing the character's current health is a nice touch, I wonder if we'll have one for additional characters that join the party as well. XD

The sound effects suit the game perfectly. However, the corpses of felled enemies did look kind of weird. I'm not sure if it can be fixed with current OHR engine, but it is a neat touch to the game. I unfortunately found myself often out of ammo, so I resorted to using Nailboard most of the way though the game.

This game is definitely enjoyable, and allows people who stink at FPS games to enjoy the story RPG style. XD

RATE: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥/10
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Post by JSH357 »

JSH’s 2011 OHR Game Blog #22 – Arms Race by RMSephy

This was one of the entries in the Fight Battle Contest. As such, there isn't much to the game besides looking at what wizardry Sephy used to attempt to make an interesting battle involving only one command. What he chose to do was make a sort of puzzle game.

In order to win Arms Race, you have to strategically attack only with certain units to get their Attack stats nice and high, while using the others as meat shields for enemies that counterattack. Or at least, that's the way it seems to me. I haven't been able to finish the game.

I think that this is about as interesting a concept as anyone can pull off given the contest limitations, but to me, it's still not incredibly engaging. By nature, these games have a very quick shelf life--even with the enemy variety, you play one game of Arms Race and you've basically seen it all. I applaud Sephy for trying.

Rating: 3.5 Rainbows Tasted out of 10
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