CroutonsOfDeath's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Spike - A Love Story]

Something this simple shouldn't be so much fun

Amazingly, despite being as simple as it is - this is really addicting and fun. I think through a combination of charm and actually relying on a fair and balanced difficulty keeps it from getting repetitive. The problem with a lot of other reflex games is that their difficulty curve is either non-existant or wonky as hell. I often get tired of reflex games that start off patronizingly easy, and then immediately shove a spike up your arse expecting you to have the reflexes of a hyperactive, nitrous guzzling cheetah.

It was nice that the difficulty here was almost always fair, it still can eventually be beaten by memorizing the proper timing but the difficulty curve is steady and it doesn't change the rules or speed. The survival mode is also a good addition, it's really good for keeping your reflexes sharp.

Then of course there is the charm of it all - I too am a sucker for the retro style, and it's also a nice, dark twist to be a hero crushing trap and it's hard not to smile when you get a crush and the spike trap looks like he's just had the best orgasm of his life. I'd love to see a sequel to this where you get to play as more than just one trap, this is a great start and a really, really fun game.

[Cripple Cannon]

Fun!

I was kind of worried by the title this'd be just another of the many other "Toss" games that are being pumped out at the moment, but this one is at least a little different. Actually having a goal and trying to make that goal with what you have is kind of a nice change, plus it can lead to some really funny moments. Is it wrong to laugh at this kind of stuff?

I did notice some glitches in the physics though. Maybe it's just that they're finicky I don't know, but the ragdoll would collide a lot with nothing and go apeshit. On the first level I set a trampoline a couple feet from the bus, and when the guy bounced off the trampoline his foot grazed the top of the bus - which caused his ragdoll to spaz out and fall back in front of the bus. Those spinning fan things like to cause spazzing out a lot too.

Regardless - I had fun. Good job Team Fuffy Noggins (I had to say that aloud. Teehee.)

[Drop Dead 3]

Great!

I loved it, an improvement over #2. #2 was frankly, a little bit of a disappointment. The level unlock requirements in it were frustrating to me, so it was nice to see them a bit more fair here; mainly the fact that you don't ALWAYS have to beat the pain record on a level for your score to count towards the next world. So without that frustration, I was able to enjoy this one a lot more - and all the other additions were fantastic!

ttursas responds:

Cool! :) Yeah, I also felt that DD2 was a tad too difficult, and the levels were too spacey, so I hope I was able to fix those issues in DD3.

[Winblows 98]

Done many times before, and better.

There are lots of interactive Windows parodies, some are better than others. This is not one of the good ones, sorry. That's not to say it's the worst I've seen (This actually appears to have SOME effort - I've seen others far worse.) but it could be a lot better. There's just so few features, and the gags that are in here - have been done too many times.

I will give you points for the D: drive gag and the Winblows poker play gag.

[Sushi Cat 2]

Adorable and fun.

This is a review of all 3 games, as I saw this on FP and decided to go play Part 1 & "Honeymoon" first. I can honestly say I absolutely love them. They're so damned cute, watching a buoyant blue cat gobbling sushi to plug up volcanoes and rescue his plush wife from a bacon dog. Priceless. It's also a ton of fun to watch the Cat jiggle around and grow big, I laughed a little the first time I saw an Extreme Cat wearing a pirate hat trying to squeeze down the bucket at the bottom.

It's a clever Pachinko style game, and while not the most challenging - it is at least fun to play and also fun to watch. The cutscenes are always fun and make me smile. I wish I owned an iPhone (I'm the only person in the universe who doesn't have one, apparently.) so I could take this game on the go.

The only real complaint is that I do feel that at times, forcing you to use powerups to beat a level can be a nuisance. Level 13 in this one ticked me off because the first 4 tries, no matter where I dropped my cat - he'd NEVER get the power up, and could never collect enough Sushi without it.

That's only a nit pick in the end though :)

[Liquid Measure 2]

Clever!

I enjoyed that a lot. I like puzzle games and this one was fairly well designed. I do agree with juhas514 that the water could've had some more animation to it, but it's not enough to ruin the game for me since graphics aren't everything. It was fun though and had a nearly perfect difficulty balance.

[Toy Stackers]

Needs work

I like these kinds of games, and this one wasn't bad, but it wasn't that good either. The main problem was within the games physics. The hit-boxes felt half-assed in some places. One of the cars (I think the red ones) held some objects as if it had a rectangular hitbox instead of a curve. The trucks also fooled me, I tried stacking something on top assuming that the pipe on top would block it.

The marbles were the most annoying though. They'd bounce when you set them down, no matter from what height or position, and if you did manage to get them to stop bouncing (Not easy) if another object touched them, including other marbles, they'd start bouncing. Most of the challenge came from the marbles physics going ape-shit and causing other objects to fly off the board like a rocket just because they were bouncing a bit.

The music was strangely depressing and monotonous, a bit too downbeat and minimalist for me; but at least you could turn it off.

If the physics were a bit better this wouldn't be all that bad. The puzzle design was decent, if a little easy at times but it didn't really do much for me all overall.

[Road of the Dead]

Cool

This is a cool game but I feel it could be better. There were some gameplay issues and design choices that somewhat brought the experience down for me.

Graphically, this game is very good for a flash game. SickDeathFiend's art looked great and all the animations were pretty smooth, and it was easy to overlook the gradient textured walls; besides they're close enough to a freeway barrier I suppose. There could have been more variety in the zombies/'rines but that's just a minor nitpick, especially when you are usually squashing them anyways.

The controls were good as well, though it would've been nice to move backwards just a bit in some cases or be able to do a stopping turn.. err, stopping "slide," whatever because it was occasionally frustrating when I'd have to deal with an obstacle just because of a tiny pixel. I remember a time where I was on fire and stopped the car for a second, but since you couldn't "slide" or whatever just a wee bit without moving, I had to blow up despite the obstacle only being an inch in front of me.

The biggest problem I have with this game though is the "Retry, build, retry, build, retry until you succeed" method of gameplay. To be fair, I know that a lot of people like that style and its integral to Defense games and such. However it has never really appealed to me, and it made the game a bit repetitive for me. Having to replay sections over and over just so I can get the proper to stats wore on me and really took some of the appeal out of the game.

Like the zombie variety/wall graphics, this next point is more of a nitpick really and since I'm not a programmer by any means for all I know this may not be possible (yet) but I would have also liked to see the road curve on occasion, to add some more depth and even visceral appeal; to maybe ease the fact that you're really playing a merely 2D game amongst other things.

I'll also admit that there could be more artistic license here. Although SDF's art is well detailed and looks great as a whole, there isn't much true style behind the visuals and the setting is starting to get old. I know that it really isn't story based, but I would've still like to have seen a few more ideas flowing in the games universe and visual design. The voice acting, while "good" in truth also kind of wore on me, mostly from hearing it over and over.

It was still fun though. While I wouldn't play it long periods, it is entertaining enough to warrant going back to and I have always had a soft spot for car games where things get squished a lot, hearkening back to my all time favourite arcade racer; Carmageddon. Keep up the good work and I'd love to see an enhanced sequel.

[Silent Hill: Room 304]

Cool.

I liked this. I am a huge fan of the Silent Hill series (I've even enjoyed less notable entries such as the movie and some parts of Homecoming.) and was somewhat skeptical going into this, but I enjoyed it overall.

Silent Hill has always been a great duality of body horror with psychological horror; often with a nice bit of cosmic justice to tie the two together. I can tell that the body horror is quite absent here but ultimately that is not a detriment, in some ways I think it is one of the things that impressed me most about this game. Good body horror is hard to pull off, but it is also very easy to mass-produce crappy body horror which is much the folly of many horror games including the American developed Silent Hill games (Well, except Shattered Memories) and I'm glad that for once someone realized that the true talent and the true heart and soul of a great Silent Hill experience is the psychological horror and the boon of "Cosmic Justice."

It makes me happy that faced with having to (or simply deciding to) drop one of those two aspects, you kept the more important and much smarter aspect. The biggest negative I feel this had on the game is that while they did work, jump scares don't really fit into Silent Hill for me and the lack of a psychological connection did make them feel distanced. Regardless the actual atmosphere was perfect and the story was relatively strong, and as mentioned above was complimented by the presence of a true form of cosmic justice; something sorely lacking in horror, especially American.

The only other real complaints I have were with Adrian's voice; which occasionally felt off; and there was one puzzle that irked me; and that was finding the safe code. I would've accepted looking at my phone to figure out that puzzle, but when I have to Google a cipher it really sends a fracture down the experience. A good point n' click has all its puzzles in a place where they can be solved without having to pause and consult anything that isn't already within reach of the player, I.E. a pen and paper for notes and everyday objects and I certainly didn't memorize that cipher; even if it was the basic one; due to my crappy memory of the earliest grades.

Despite my minor complaints, I liked it. I also liked the use of live action images, which is a clever concept and reminded me of a ghost town in my own state I like to call our little slice of Silent Hill; fog and all. ;)

I'd love to see you do more in this vein, be it another Silent Hill tribute or a unique project.