http://www.kongregate.com/games/Rob_Almighty/the-dreamerz
Review on hold
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
World 1-82: Liquid Measure 2
Liquid Measure 2
http://www.kongregate.com/games/smartcode/liquid-measure-2
http://www.kongregate.com/games/smartcode/liquid-measure-2
Liquid Measure 2 is a puzzle game where the goal is to fill all the pots by placing them under water tanks. The game introduces this mechanic in level 1 by showing that one pipe has 1 water part to give, and one jar has 1 water part to receive. The goal is to fill the jar(s) with the correct amount of water parts. The game increases in complexity by providing multiple pipes to fulfill each jar, or multiple jars for each pipe. Soon, you are no longer able to move the jars around, and pipe extension pieces are added instead (which bears a striking resemblance to the game Pipe Dream). Curved pipes and straight pipes soon become the new norm, and you are required to affix them to the correct pipe bases and line them up properly with the jars in order to continue. Eventually, overflow pots come into play, where you can dump all the parts of water into these jars to fulfill the part requirement on it, and then the extra parts will spill out into a new jar. Blocks are the next obstacle, which prevent you from pouring water through them and placing items over them, and are completely immobile. Next up are water splitters, introduced in level 7, which are a piece of pipe that send water in two separate directions instead of the usual one way. This is the last new implement.
These elements are gradually combined in various interactions with each other into new levels to make the game a bit harder. In the end, there are 31 levels to complete, and while this game can be slightly challenging at times, it's a fairy easy concept with no increases in complexity beyond level 7. I didn't find this game particularly challenging at all.
This game loses a few points for not changing it up after the first 7 levels, stagnating in the measure of difficulty very early on, and also for not having separate mute button for sound effects and music (which is one of my biggest pet peeves in a game, being that it is such an easy thing to implement and yet is so often omitted). For being a puzzle game, Liquid Measure 2 was just too easy.
These elements are gradually combined in various interactions with each other into new levels to make the game a bit harder. In the end, there are 31 levels to complete, and while this game can be slightly challenging at times, it's a fairy easy concept with no increases in complexity beyond level 7. I didn't find this game particularly challenging at all.
This game loses a few points for not changing it up after the first 7 levels, stagnating in the measure of difficulty very early on, and also for not having separate mute button for sound effects and music (which is one of my biggest pet peeves in a game, being that it is such an easy thing to implement and yet is so often omitted). For being a puzzle game, Liquid Measure 2 was just too easy.
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| 3/10 |
World 1-81: IntoSpace!
IntoSpace!
http://www.kongregate.com/games/BarbarianGames/intospace
http://www.kongregate.com/games/BarbarianGames/intospace
IntoSpace! is a launch game revolving around building your rocket due to what the introduction pins down as an old scientist being harangued by his boss to build a spaceship to earn a ton of money. So, the scientist gets to work building a crude startup rocket, finishes his prototype, and... that's where you come in! His/your first launch goes about as well as one can expect, taking off and flying a little bit, but definitely not breaking any barriers into space.
As an aside, this game has pretty catchy music. This is definitely spaceship building music. It's upbeat, groovy, and if I were a rocket scientist, I don't think I could complain about this being on the radio. Your goal here is to gather money to upgrade your ship so you can get, as the title says, IntoSpace! Along the way, you face some basic obstacles, such as lightning strikes turning off your engine, and crashing into objects which damage the hull, preventing you from going much further. There are a few perks, however, since you can collect fuel along the way and launch yourself through speed gates for a bit of an extra kick.
As with most launch games, there is a meter on the side that pinpoints how far your spaceship currently is, and how far you need to go. There are checkpoints, which when passed, grant you extra rewards. The HUD also shows your speed, fuel levels, and height. Your basic abilities include boosters which you can use for a little extra push, the ability to hover over the engine with your mouse to kill the engine briefly, and the ability to maneuver your ship to help avoid or obtain certain obstacles or perks (or to combat air resistance). As you progress through the game, you can upgrade several things: hull durability, maneuverability, engine thrust, fuel tank size, boosters, extra money based on altitude and checkpoints, reduced fuel consumption, and reduce air resistance.
And really, that's about all there is to this game! It's simple, it's fun, it gets grindy as with every other launch game, but if that's the kind of thing you're seeking, then IntoSpace! is a good choice for you. IntoSpace! definitely satisfies that slow-building, consistent upgrade appetite that you surely have if you play launch games.
As an aside, this game has pretty catchy music. This is definitely spaceship building music. It's upbeat, groovy, and if I were a rocket scientist, I don't think I could complain about this being on the radio. Your goal here is to gather money to upgrade your ship so you can get, as the title says, IntoSpace! Along the way, you face some basic obstacles, such as lightning strikes turning off your engine, and crashing into objects which damage the hull, preventing you from going much further. There are a few perks, however, since you can collect fuel along the way and launch yourself through speed gates for a bit of an extra kick.
As with most launch games, there is a meter on the side that pinpoints how far your spaceship currently is, and how far you need to go. There are checkpoints, which when passed, grant you extra rewards. The HUD also shows your speed, fuel levels, and height. Your basic abilities include boosters which you can use for a little extra push, the ability to hover over the engine with your mouse to kill the engine briefly, and the ability to maneuver your ship to help avoid or obtain certain obstacles or perks (or to combat air resistance). As you progress through the game, you can upgrade several things: hull durability, maneuverability, engine thrust, fuel tank size, boosters, extra money based on altitude and checkpoints, reduced fuel consumption, and reduce air resistance.
And really, that's about all there is to this game! It's simple, it's fun, it gets grindy as with every other launch game, but if that's the kind of thing you're seeking, then IntoSpace! is a good choice for you. IntoSpace! definitely satisfies that slow-building, consistent upgrade appetite that you surely have if you play launch games.
 |
| 7/10 |
World 1-80: Haunt the House
Haunt the House
http://www.kongregate.com/games/SuperFlashBros/haunt-the-house
http://www.kongregate.com/games/SuperFlashBros/haunt-the-house
Haunt the House is a game where you play a ghost and the goal is to, as the title states, haunt the house due to the noisy guests disturbing your quiet slumber. You are able to possess different items, each of which allows you to perform a different spooky action in order to scare each of the 30 guests away. The game also features an atmosphere level (increased by scaring people) which unlocks more powerful hauntings. However, if you scare the guests too much, they "might do something stupid!" so you have to be deliberate with your spooks. Ideally, you will scare all 30 guests out the front door, and the "do something stupid" bit refers to making them jump out of windows to kill themselves. In the end, the game does track how many guests you scared vs how many you killed, but if you are just looking to collect badges on this game, it doesn't come into play at all.
Overall, this game took me just shy of 11 minutes to complete the second time around. Although it was mildly intriguing to be the haunter instead of the hauntee and it had a fleshed out art style, Haunt the House fell very flat in terms of encompassing a range of key elements. The sole objective was to scare the guests out; there was no visible timer, only two passive upgrades, no character growth, gameplay grew stale almost immediately, no story other than the initial plot, and it was not even remotely difficult. Despite the fact that this was meant to be a funny, holiday-themed game, I still can't justify giving it a very high score. The music was decent, but there was no way to mute the music or the sound effects (short of muting the tab manually in your browser, or muting your system settings).
Overall, this game took me just shy of 11 minutes to complete the second time around. Although it was mildly intriguing to be the haunter instead of the hauntee and it had a fleshed out art style, Haunt the House fell very flat in terms of encompassing a range of key elements. The sole objective was to scare the guests out; there was no visible timer, only two passive upgrades, no character growth, gameplay grew stale almost immediately, no story other than the initial plot, and it was not even remotely difficult. Despite the fact that this was meant to be a funny, holiday-themed game, I still can't justify giving it a very high score. The music was decent, but there was no way to mute the music or the sound effects (short of muting the tab manually in your browser, or muting your system settings).
 |
| 2/10 |
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