Score: 8

"I bet Emil loved it."

submission: EMIL

date: September 5, 2009

FULL DISCLOSURE: I'd reviewed this on another account that had stolen this vid and switched it out for malicious content. I will now give the praise to its rightful owner.

At least you admitted it was pure action, sans plot up front. But it's very neatly and tidily animated, and the fight was good. Fatboy Slim as a battle track works fine? And the finishing move at the end? X-D Worth the price of admission alone.

Very well done. Find a sound FX guy for your next one, and let's see something on the next level.

Score: 7

"Flawed, but worthy of my quarter"

submission: PJ and The Claw Machine

date: September 4, 2009

Well, it's obviously a starter, but at least you had a plot, decent timing, ideas of humor, and knew how to fade out the music loop when it was done. Definitely no stick short. Ready to check out your other stuff.

Score: 8

"Cute, funny, good job!"

submission: Oscar

date: August 23, 2009

Only gripe I had was with the voice sound quality... our lady in black didn't sound 100% close to the mic.

But the look, the voice acting, the timing with the sound effects, the general cartoon feel... spot on.

Great short.

Score: 7

"Brief, but did the job."

submission: Phil's Toy Hammers

date: August 22, 2009

Short, fast, funny. Wasn't epic, but didn't have to be.

And hey, we could use more squeaky toy hammers. Ending was a surprise, too.

Score: 10

"Moved again"

submission: DARE

date: August 21, 2009

I realize there's a lot of backlash against remakes, especially with the cookie-cutter mindset of Hollywood that lots of fanboys love to hate. However, I like what Patrick Majewski has done with the reimaging of Josh Wimble's Dare.

Patrick's look and shading definitely added to the edge felt with the tune. And I liked how Pat's look beyond the Western borders (not that there was anything wrong with Josh's hero changing the immediate world around him at home in the original; one should act where they're called.) I also appreciated the individual moments for Pat's hero here: it made him seem a bit more real.

I was wondering about the opposition the hero had to face in each video. Josh's hero had to worry about street toughs. Patrick's hero simply had to move out of his comfort zone. Would there have been any way to show local opposition to changing the world, like the government in Burma? But then, I realize there was only a few minutes in the song.

The loss of Pat's hero's mother also added a new face to the video.

I liked the shout out with the "give 'em a Coke" particularly. (And a point that sticks in my craw: Coca Cola ads are more widespread and recognized than Christian crosses.)

And seeing how many people were moved at the end of the man's life was also a great thing and needed addition.

Same great message, new angles. One of the greatest stories ever retold in Newgrounds. Five vote all the way.

Score: 9

"I'd buy THAT for a dollar!"

submission: Daytraders of the Dead

date: August 19, 2009

Full disclosure: I played this at Armor Games, and am writing the review here.

I'm showing my age here, but that really took me back to the Smash TV days.

INTEREST AND DIVIDENDS:
Rich graphics and colors, and the BGM and sound effects really set the mood here. I particularly liked what they did with the power-ups and pick-ups.

Theme and story. Crooked traders and zombies. You know this was bound to happen. And bringing back the 1980s/90s with the Smash TV motif and dark humor was great.

Variety of weaponry, boom-boom stuff, and buffs to go with it. I'm partial for the room-clearing rocket launcher, nukes, and the laser. And Mexican school buses para el ganar!

Difficulty: I could play the darn thing and find it was a challenge without it being a frustration. I had to earn my win.

FEES AND PENALTIES:

Lag time on my older computer. It slows down especially badly when the screen's chock-a-block with zombies and cash'gem pickups on the Story Mode's last level, difficult setting, or if I last particularly long on Survival.

The directional arrow: I have to agree; it's a distraction and not needed.

The mature rating: Yes, I know, it's blasting zombies, not playing with Teletubbies. (Or blasting Teletubbies.) But a bit of a shame I can't share it with the kids (this year, anyway).

No end boss: I was hoping to blast a Bernie Madoff or G. Gecko-esque Big Bad at the end of this thing. Having only more zombies to ventilate on the last level... well, it felt more like the end of a day at the office than a triumph.

SUMMARY:

I guess what really sells this game is that it takes all sorts of neat bits and pieces (the stock ticker, lame puns, story for what it is)... and puts it together in one great package. Lots of planning and combining went into this, and it's a winner. I give this one a "buy" recommendation.

Score: 7

"It's a blast, but needs a bigger burst radius"

submission: Super Briefcase

date: August 15, 2009

This retro sounding, retro looking game was pretty amusing, and gives pretty big bang for its buck, but there's room for so much more. I was hoping the scenery would scroll and and our hero would run in the streets looking for shelter, help, and what not. Dialogue was good, but I was hoping for more of a story.

But I hope the bigger project that torpedolab's working on will have some of that. Definitely keeping a heads-up for more stuff of his incoming.

Score: 6

"Got the action and sound... needs a story!"

submission: Bleach Sprite Fight

date: August 13, 2009

You show some raw talent for piecing the music, SFX, animation, movements, and what not together. But what's missing is the rhyme and reason. I don't know the story behind these two guys, who they are, and why they're fighting and why the audience should take note. Put in a plot, maybe some lines or dialogue in text bubbles if you have to, and that'll probably help you score higher next time.

Score: 8

"THAT'S how you do a Town Hall Meeting. ;-P"

submission: Mastermind 3

date: August 13, 2009

Just for the record: Goodbye in Cantonese -- "Joi gin." Mandarin -- "Zai jian."

"Bai bai" will also work for both.

Pretty amusing in general. Though I have to admit, it was more like laughing AT the Mastermind silently than with him. And pretty good what he accomplished with red, black, pink, and white.

And I strongly suspect the current protesters against Obama's "flag/report something fishy" e-mail addy took a cue or two from the Finland minions.

Good stuff. Not much more to be said really...

... oh, heck with it. "BALLS!"

Score: 9

"...emosewa 'nikaerf saw tahT"

submission: Gravitaxis ++

date: August 11, 2009

Late to the party on this one, I know, but Newgrounds is blocked in China, and I had to wait until I could get a work-around the Great Firewall that allowed me to sign in. God bless virtual private networks, no joke. :-)

Anyway, I was positively impressed with how far Vinnie has come with his animation since Day After Those Days++. Liked how neat and fluid it looked in the opening shots, and piecing together what the heck was going on while trying to figure it out was quite an experience. Music was a good pick and well timed to the action.

Eh, Vin, any chance you can put this on your VinnieVeritas punto com site? There are a lot of Chinese who can't afford VPNs. :-(