MINUBEAT – Reviewed by Foslock
November 12, 2007 at 12:8 | In Reviews | Leave a CommentTags: cactus, minigame, minubeat, shooter
MINUBEAT, by cactus
I would call this a minigame. I usually hate minigames, but this one has given me some hope in that category. The thing that stuck out differently about this game compared to most of the other GM made games that I’ve played in the past is the smoothness and innovativeness of MINUBEAT. The game combines the classic scrolling space shooter with Dance Dance Revolution. The funny this is, you only have a minute to play the game.
Yes, I know these sound like impossible styles to combine, but MINUBEAT does it incredibly. The main point of this game is to press the buttons “Z, X, and/or C” on the beat to the music in the background. The game shows very little documentation but all it takes it a few tries to figure out how to play. You can use the arrow keys to gently move around. “Z” fires three laser bursts on every eighth note (two times a beat) in the direction you’re moving. “X” fires four fast homing mines that attack to the nearest enemy and explode (on a beat) when all of the mines are touching something. “C” as far as I can tell destroys all of the enemy’s projectiles seen on the screen.
The thing that dragged me into this game wasn’t the short and simple game play, it was the aspect of having to push the keys to a rhythm of a strangely addictive beat playing in the background. Think of a huge machine pounding metal and a grate blowing smoke into the air.
For all of those who don’t like reading a lot of words, here is just a little synopsis of the good and bad parts of MINUBEAT, in my opinion:
The Good:
-Smooth, matching graphics
-Great sound effects and background sound
-Easy controls
-Not to complicated for a minigame
The Bad:
-Too short
-Lack of enemy differential.
-Having to start over at the beginning when dead is tedious
-Lack of story and depth (not really necessary for a minigame)
Basically, I want cactus to make this into a full length game and add more features, maybe add a story and levels. It’s such a good idea for a full length game I think it gets wasted in just a minigame.
Q&A with Nobody – By Fabio
November 11, 2007 at 11:6 | In Interviews | 6 CommentsTags: Archer, Boom New York, Nobody, Smallness
Jan Willem Nijman (Better known as Nobody) is the creator of many GM classics, including Boom New York, Smallness, Archer, and more. He has become an icon of quirkiness and intervention in the GM world. Recently I got an interview with this GM great.
Q: What made you start using GameMaker?
A: I think I once saw Gamemaker in some kind of kids computer magazine. I downloaded GM4, and since I didn’t really know English at that time, I mainly made crappy edits. After a year of non-gm, I came back to it, joined GamemakerGames, and started making “real” games.
Q: What gives you inspiration for a game?
A: Almost anything. Mainly movies and screenshots of other games, without me playing the games. Imagination can do quite a lot with just a screenshot. Also alcohol helps sometimes.
Q: How do you start a game?
A: I make some sprites. If the sprites don’t work, the project won’t be made. After that I start coding. If I get bored within 3 days, the project is usually doomed.
Q: Which is your favorite project of yours?
A: Pfff, hard question. They change a lot, so I don’t really know. Perhaps Boom Manhattan, because of the awesome story. I enjoy making stories more and more nowadays.
Q: What makes a game good in your opinion?
A: A game needs to be fun to play, that’s all. Graphics can be crappy if it still plays awesomely. On the other hand, crappy graphics can ruin the experience.
Q: What is your favorite genre?
A: I don’t play much games myself. I spend most of my time on making them. And if I enjoy a game that’s not because of the genre, but because of the game itself. I don’t really like fps’es, but Half-Life is my favorite game. A game has to be quite perfect for me to like. So dislike most rtses, except for the blizzard ones and red alert 2. I also really liked adventures, my favorite one being Grim Fandango. I don’t know, it was mainly my brother who got me into gaming, with Warcraft 2 and command and conquer. After that, he introduced me into some of the later (3d) Lucasarts adventures.
Q: Can you give us any exclusive details on your latest project?
A: Well, I have multiple latest projects, but sure. The one I’m quite excited about at the moment, is my entry for the Yoyogames winter competition. I’m making it together with Tim (escapader), and it will be a non-combat exploration platform game. I’m doing graphics, he music, and both programming. The graphics are simple grayscale, plus some colors. It has awesome animations. I can’t really show anything, but I can tell something about the story.
The player is happily flying around in his biplane, when suddenly the engine fails. His plane crashes, and he manages to escape with a parachute. You land in a world you later find out to be a giant floating iceberg. The people there are in trouble, since the iceberg is melting. What is causing the melting, and can you rescue the people? That’s what you’ll find out in this game.
Q: What are your other interests in life?
A: I enjoy music, mainly semi-electronic and buzzy rock. I play the piano and own a guitar, although my guitar skills are very bad. I also read quite a lot, and hang out with friends. Other then that I’m busy with school. In the final year now, after that I plan to study Game Design and Development. So when you will be playing my games in a year or 6, you can say you’ve seen me grow and get famous. 
Q: Any closing comments?
A: Yeah, spread the use of the word slordig, and let it conquer the world! You use it in a positive way, like cool, or awesome.
DDDEVASTATIONNN – Reviewed by Fabio
November 10, 2007 at 10:10 | In Previews, Reviews | 1 CommentTags: contra, DDDEVASTATIONNN, metal slug, radnom games
Classic games. You have to love them. Whether it be Castlevania, Metal Slug, Streetfighter, or even Super Mario. Radnom Games is producing a classic with a bit of a spin; DDDEVASTATIONNN. DDDEVASTATIONNN takes on similarities to Contra, another classic. You play as a silhouetted character whose identity is unknown. Your objective? Fight your way through levels riddeled with enemies. Sounds like the regular formula, right? Wrong. DDDEVASTATION is unique to many ways that people fail to realize. The graphics are a simple, solid color with simple shapes and different colors. It all flows together in a way that is ascetically pleasing to the eye. Different colors represent different things. For example, red represents an enemy. The way you progress through each level in comparison to other platforming shooters is much different as well. All in all the experience itself is somewhat refreshing amidst the dozens of other platforming shooters coming out these days.
Fight enemies on the edge of a cliff.
Something you may not enjoy about the experience is the controls. They take some getting used to, and although they are acceptable, there is some room for improvement. But then again, almost everything in the game is different from the conventional shooter.
Another great feature is the unique boss battles. Each boss has ‘parts’ in which you must destroy. For example, one boss might have an arm, head, and legs. Each part has it’s own health value and you must take out each piece to destroy the entire thing. It’s unique quirks like this that make DDDEVASTATIONNN a refreshing experience.
The varying environments in the game add to the experience. The game puts on this feel of always having a living, breathing atmosphere that you yourself are a part of; something many platforming shooters lack. Enemies vary throughout the levels, each with different attributes.
Stunning environments grace the eye.
Something that may turn people away from DDDEVASTATIONNN is its difficulty. I won’t lie, DDDEVASTATIONNN can be VERY hard at times. But, it’s this very aspect that makes the game worth coming back to. Most games people can run through in less then half an hour, but DDDEVASTATIONNN will keep you coming back for more every time. You’ll actually see yourself starting to improve as you play more.
And it’s not just the difficulty that’ll make you wanting more, it’s the simple want for more of the great atmosphere and just a plain want for more of the DDDEVASTATIONNN universe. This game is a mix of classic and new, and it all comes together very well. A challenging game that will keep you entertained for a time to come, DDDEVASTATIONNN is definitely something to keep an eye out for. I highly suggest it both as one of my favorites and a must-play in the GM world.
A swarm of enemies closes around you.
DDDEVASTATIONNN
Size: 8.6 MB
By: Radnom
(http://www.radnomgames.com/)
W.I.P.
4.5 out of 5.
SOUTH – Reviewed by REZ
November 10, 2007 at 10:7 | In Previews, Reviews | 2 CommentsTags: machete, SOUTH, wingboy, zombie
Let me tell you about a WIP thats still not getting the respect it deserves. A game called ‘SOUTH’ by wingboy.
Its hard to review ’SOUTH’ without reminding the readers constantly how intoxicatingly good it is, but as I walk you through this zombie ridden game, I’ll try not to. For you see, ‘SOUTH’ has a little something for everyone. Provided that “everyone” is above the age of 12 and is prepared to see some zombie breasts. Yes, you heard me right. Are you begining to see why this game is so intoxicating?
Before we touch on the major stuff like gameplay, I think its important to mention what everybody sees at first glance, graphics. The graphics of ‘SOUTH’ are well, graphic. The character sprites are very large and detailed, making every encounter with a new kind of zombine both thrilling and fun. The environment sprites compliment the rest of the graphics quite nicely. Pretty much everything has some degree of detail, including the massive/sometimes moderate amounts of blood. Animations, although fluid, sometimes seem a bit wonky. Especially certain zombie walking animations. However, its nothing bad enough to hurt the overall game experience. Not much can be said about the sound effects and music, they’re fitting and they get the job done.
Above: secret areas like this one make exploring levels quite satisfying.
The plot is pretty vague. From what I played in the previous demo, there’s only one cutscene at the begining of the game that attempts to explain what is happening. I’m not even going to try to make sense of the plot, I’ll just tell you what I know. Zombies are running wild in a southern town called ‘Normal’ and as local trench coat wearing-machete wielding badass, its your job to clean up the streets. But you can’t do it alone, so you fuse your hand with a mutant demon that can basically turn you into a laser shooting X-Men character. Alright, I suppose it sounds much cooler without all the pop culture references I added in there, but you get the gist of it.
Above: The game’s main character showing off his trademark ‘electric buzzsaw’ attack
Now here’s the fun part. The gamplay of ‘SOUTH’ is mostly hack ‘n’ slash but you can mix it up by using ranged fireball attacks via your demon hand. You’ll be doing a lot of plowing through weaker, less intelligent zombies but you’ll occasionally run into a fairy clever zombie. In fact, the most dangerous enemies in the game rely on cheap tricks. Although these clever zombie thrills add to the fun, they can get pretty tiresome. For instance, there is one type of zombie that will randomly break through a window and start clobbering you. Seems like a good idea, and its actually pretty fun to fend him off. The problem is, this trick happens too much and you never have enough time to jump back and protect yourself. So get used to the fact that you’ll lose some health no matter what.
Above: These guys will freak you at first when they rip off their faces and charge you but like the window zombie, its a fun yet annoying trick.
All in all, ‘SOUTH’ has a great mesh of graphics, sound effects, and gameplay. The game’s shortcomings in enemy design wouldn’t matter with more zombie types, its all just a matter of lowing repetition.
I realize its not fair to judge WIP, but honestly, I can’t wait any longer to express my liking of this game.
4 out of 5.
The Black Clock – Reviewed by REZ
November 8, 2007 at 8:2 | In Reviews | 1 CommentTags: Black, Clock, Max, Max Robertson, Robertson
Few games made with Game Maker attempt to set a mood, even fewer create a mood that makes the game itself worth playing. One of these unsung few, is The Black Clock by Max Robertson.
From the start of the game, you are thrown into a dark, somewhat depressing world. Obviously inspired by ‘The Ring’ and other grim tales, the game takes on a black and white setting inside a film reel where you play as a boy trapped in the reel itself. The overall story isn’t all that clear, as it is releaved through tid bits of flashing text and outbursts of random silhouettes and outlines of mansion residents. From what I was able to acquire, it has something to do with a mansion being torn down or rebuilt. Which ever is creepier.
The graphics are without a doubt, the most striking feature of the game. Robertson hand drew all of the in game graphics with the exception of a few player sprites. Rather than adding a photo shop effect or pixeling film grain, he gets the point across with almost Tim Burton style ink drawings. The sounds, although very real sounding, compliment the whacky drawings very nicely. The screams of little girls and house wives haunt to this day. If anything, the sounds themselves are the most frightening part of this game.
Another odd thing about this game, although its a horror game with no goal whatsoever, there seems to be very little violence involved. So hats off to you, Robertson, for making me jump a little out of my seat without the ol’ head in a box trick. Innovation at its finest indeed.
I won’t spoil anymore for you. The Black Clock is more of an experiment than a game (which probably explains why it was so short). I reccomend playing it if you’re a fan of exploration games.
GMC TOPIC LINK TO “THE BLACK CLOCK”
This game earns itself a solid 3 out of 5.
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