dirtofgrandeur's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Out There Somewhere]

Way too damned hard. I played a 30 minute game and must have covered all but some minute corner of the map, probably on the fringes. Interesting concept, artful execution, but subpar execution in terms of difficulty.

[Shadow Tag]

Thoroughly difficult, which I will admit is the primary reason I'm deducting points. The trial-and-error nature of the game is a little harsh, though I suppose this is balanced out by the game's brevity (I don't see it taking more than 3 hours at worst).
Still, that such minute and little errors can cost a player victory seems unkind and unbalanced; many times I died simply because I wound up snagged on a corner for only a second or two. Also, in the final level, the necessary items are tucked away far too subtly. I walked past the map at least eight times before realizing it was there.
However, the art direction, the sound design, and the programming are top notch. For having done this in 48 hours, everyone involved outdid themselves.

[Tallboy]

For what it was, you could hardly have done a better job on this; it's great stuff. The music was a perfect fit for it and the art design was cheerful and entertaining.
I think my only two complaints, and they're small at that, is that all of the movement in the background could sometimes be distracting, but I don't know if I would have liked the game as much without it. I'm conflicted there. Additionally, a pause function would have been great.
A few neutral points I have: I found the game much easier to control with keyboard controls enabled, as it allowed me to use both hands more easily. That said, trying to control the cursor with a laptop touchpad was incredibly difficult, as sometimes the page would scroll down and I'd get nailed by something overhead when I couldn't see the screen. That pause button would be awesome here.
In total, it takes some time to get a rhythm going and to work into a stride, but this was thoroughly entertaining and made my morning :)

[Man Who Sold The World]

Still baffled on that last medal. I have all of the pieces of eternity and have tried exploring everything. Is there a glitch, or just something obvious I don't realize I'm missing?

That said, the game was good, but the pacing was a little rough. I liked the overall concept though, and I'd love to see you expand on it, or an expansion on this style.

[Undead End Hardcore]

Great Game!

At first, I thought this game to be far too difficult, but it's a gradual increase in difficulty if you do it properly. If you begin on easy with Unca Scott, then play through on normal with the police officer, you should be fine. Playing with Jason actually felt the most difficult for me, as many enemies were just far too quick for him. Either way, great sound design, brilliant sprites and enemy variation, and perfect pacing.
For all those leaving comments that demand certain similarities to other games: if you want that functionality, why don't you play those games? As a retro shooter, this is spot-on and doesn't bog itself down with things it doesn't need.
Also, a few tips for those who may not have seen earlier comments . . .
For those playing as Unca Scott, the best melee weapon (and really the best weapon for most situations) is the crowbar from the first room. Stick with it.
For those playing as the officer, you can reload his gone if you continue pressing the fire button. I thought I had 20 shots max the first time I played as him, and assumed that I was supposed to use the knife only, as a sort of difficulty setting or what have you.
Oh, and for those seeking the Jason unlockable, play on normal and simply revisit the first long, main hallway over and over. After you pick up the key, each revisit will spawn a newgrounds tank instead of a key. Get 13 to get Jason.

[REDDER]

Very well done.

I actually greatly enjoyed the minimal nature of the game and have no complaints that it wasn't "more like Metroid" or any of the similar things others are saying. Not being able to shoot at the enemies was the entire challenge of the game (that and the awful response of the controls, which is my most glaring complaint). On the topic of the controls, they really stick if you're playing in IE instead of Firefox or another browser; this is a SERIOUS problem. No matter how good of a player you are, it is nearly impossible to compete with a control scheme that seems to conspire against you.
Also, I do somewhat agree with the comments about the graphical glitches. I understand that they are intentional and I think that what you do with them after you gain the last gem is GENIUS, but the time between serious glitches and then is unbearable. I had to play the game over a course of days just because it gave me such a headache to try to watch the screen. Changing panels would have been fine, but the flashing background was nauseating. Overall, you did a great job (the sound design was very clever and set a great mood), but there's room for improvement. I greatly hope to see a sequel or something similar. Good luck with any future endeavors!

[Next Action Frog]

Simply Awful

This game is an exercise in futility. No matter what I did, my actions were futile, as the game would seem to just begin controlling itself, throwing me off cliffs and into danger countless times. I concur with all of the other arguments and frustrations as well. If you want the game to be hard, work more on level design and complexity instead of killing us all with faulty controls and nonsensical level-design bugs.

[zOMGies]

Good, but with a serious learning curve

It took me a week of playing on and off to get to a point where I felt comfortable with this game. It does progressively get easier, but until about the point where you get the sniper rifle, it's nearly impossible to feel like you're winning on a basis of skill. Ironically, once you get the final weapon, you're practically invincible unless you make dumb mistakes. At that point, if you have the time, you can be setting the highest scores all day. It was fun, and definitely challenging, but the initial difficulty was a big turn off. Oh, and some of those achievements, are ludicrous.

[Hero's Arms]

Meh

It's good, but far too long. The whole "save and quit" thing is wildly inconvenient when it takes you right back to the start, 'cause that walk is LONG! It wouldn't be so bad if things weren't so repetitive, but doing everything all over again after you think you've gotten somewhere was also pretty lame. It showed skill and dedication, but no flash game warrants this much effort on the part of the player.

[Robot Dinosaurs]

Possibly the Funniest Game I've Every Played Here

HILARIOUS! Sure, it's like 2 in the morning here, but those sound effects/vocals are ludicrously funny at any time of day and the absolute redundancy of the text/storyline is awesome. Please, do continue making things like this!