Matt McFarland

Riders on the Storm includes very interesting fluid dynamic effects which are showcased as it's main focus.  The abstract graphics are also pretty cool, and the game's presentation is pretty good.  It includes a pretty cool title screen where you can play with the fluid engine as well.  The games simplicity is where it falls short.

The games difficulty starts stays at the "Too easy" range a bit too long, and it would be better to see the level progression work towards a more challenging game a bit earlier.  I couldn't get the sound to work on my machine, so I cant judge on that aspect.

All in all, it's a decent game but could use some more enemy types and level dynamics.  It would also be better to see some backgrounds in the game to give it a bit more depth.

Graphics: 86

Sounds: 0

Innovation: 88

Overall: 67

Tim W

Riders on the Storm is a daring experiment in fluid dynamics, combining the effects of heat with classic shooter elements. Use wind blasts to knock back enemy bullets or direct the flames away from your ship - overheating is a constant danger to watch out for.

Enemy ships are affected by the flame as well, so use them to your advantage. A little underwhelming at times, but as Bill points out the game is great for a quick fix.

Graphics: 80

Sound: 50

Innovation: 80

Overall: 70

Charlie

Riders on the Storm features some really well implemented fluid effects, and bonus points for actually having it affecting game play. I love the way the secondary weapon blasts enemies and bullets out of the way.

The game play itself is a little repetitive for me, with the difficulty increasing over time rather than having different levels and enemy set. I’m sure that with a bit more time this will end up being something that you can sit and play for extended periods of time, but for now it’s the sort of game that is great fun for a quick five minutes here and there.

Graphics 85

Sounds 65

Innovation 80

Overall 70

Matt McFarland

A decent arena shooter with a christmas theme.  The game has a solid presentation that comes with a fully integrated menu system, high scores, pausing, and even a tutorial. 

The graphics were very pleasing and easy on the eyes.  The music was light which gives it a casual feel.  If you're in the mood to shoot at things and space out this game is perfect for you.  The spawn point levels did annoy me though, because I felt that the spawn points had too many hit points.   

Overall, I found this game to be very casual, with great graphics and a well thought-out presentation.  I also found the casual elements mixed with robotron to be quite innovative.

Graphics: 73

Sound: 56

Innovation : 76

Overall: 72

Tim W

A pretty decent arena shooter with a Christmas theme! Standard keyboard and mouse control combination implemented; strangely sound is turned off by default. Nice sprites as well, though they could use a little more character. Overall, an entry that works well with no bugs in sight - but there's very little cheer and fanfare to brighten up the proceedings.

Graphics: 65

Sound: 65

Innovation: 45

Overall: 70

Charlie

I am a bit of a bah humbug around the Christmas period, so I didn’t think I would enjoy this entry much. As it turns out, I couldn’t help but like the jolly graphics and jaunty festive music.

The game itself is a little slow to get started, but gets there eventually, and by the time you get to the gingerbread man boss you feel like you are beginning to be challenged. On the whole though it’s a fairly solid entry.

I did notice a bit of a bug during play, sometimes the enemies would get stuck on the obstacles on the screen.

Graphics 70

Sounds 60

Innovation 50

Overall 65

Matt McFarland

I was really impressed with the accessibility Eraser offers.  With all the different control schemes the game becomes playable for a broader audience and I applaud the efforts there.  Too bad you need additional file requirements, but perhaps they'll be releaved in the near future.

Where Eraser really falls short is the level design.  Some of the levels get more difficult when they shouldn't.  The game started off really good for me, and I was ready to give it a great score, but then once I got slapped in the face with a much harder level then previous I found the level evolution to be constructed improperly.  I prefer a gradual incline myself.

The game lacks music but it was ok as I could pump my own tunes while playing.  The Control scheme is ace but some of the game's physics seem a bit wonky.  For instance when I shoot the the secondary weapon (which seems random to me at this point) the weapon wont appear if I'm too close to a wall but certainly not close enough to cause a disruption.  Also some of the enemy movements could be smoothed out a bit.

The game does have a great concept and has potential to be a massive commercial game that could make millions because it includes an educational aspect regarding mathematics.  The game could focus more on mathematics and reward players for knowing what they are and teaching players who don't get it.   The levels would have to be far easier but the control schemes are excellent.  I do believe this game has great potential and will be interested in future releases.

Graphics : 50

Sound: 40

Innovation: 89

Overall: 64

Tim W

Attributes of a professional development team - upload the final build two months before the final submission date, go on a holiday, come back, play some Wii, then add online high scores to Eraser just to prove that they can.

(Warning: bad puns ahead)

This arena shooter is definitely worthy of an examination (sigh) regardless of its file requirements. Grab letters, numbers and symbols to form equations, hence earning yourself some bonus points in the process. Collect power-ups to increase your firepower, and use the level designs to your advantage - as cover or to stem the flow of enemies.

There are a few drawbacks though. Stage selection is absent, and some players may prefer an actual endless arena shooter instead of one that's based on level progression. Nevertheless, top marks for this entry. (ugh)

Graphics: 80

Sound: 60

Innovation: 90

Overall: 80

Charlie

Eraser is a fairly standard arena shooter with an interesting hand drawn sketch book look to the graphics. I found the graphics a little small, and so difficult to grog the entire screen. I also had some problems with the difficulty level, finding the later levels far easier than some of the earlier ones.

It would be nice in future versions to make more of the graphic style by making things bigger, showing players more of the interesting style and making things easier to see.

Graphics 65

Sounds 50

Innovation 65

Overall 60

Matt McFarland

Arms of Avalon is an interesting title for a shmup, because which reminds me of an RPG!  The game itself is pretty fun and includes lots of interesting power-ups and 2 different modes.  The menu system is pretty nice, although it's a good idea to read the manual before playing as the control set up is explained there. 

What I really liked about this game was that both playing modes were fun!  The Simple playing mode is really easy but I had fun destroying everything with the powerup system.  The more complex "Variable" system is much more of a challenge and I'm really glad the Crimson Knight took time to develop the two.  The game styles can almost be seen as two different games, especially if he changed the sprites! 

Where Arms of Avalon falls short is there isn't enough a variety of enemies to keep it interesting.  This is specially true for "Simple playing" as the enemies just shoot straight and I only ran into two different ones throughout the level.  Both helicopters...  The boss battle is good fun as well.

Graphics: 46

Sound: 33

Innovation: 43

Overall: 65

Tim W

Arms of Avalon is a decent 2D horizontal shooter featuring one long level and few enemy sprite designs. Plenty of power-ups to collect but unfortunately the player doesn't have much variety when it comes to stuff to a splode. There's a nice menu with an array of configurable options, plus the author is kind enough to include a pause button. With a bit more content and better sprite work, this might have been a contender.

Graphics: 50

Sound: 30

Innovation: 30

Overall: 60

Charlie

This is a fairly simple looking horizontal shooter, with sparse graphics and sounds. The game features one long level with a boss at the end. The game presents a number of game modes, the first being simple mode, which was pretty limited and uninspiring stuff. I had FAR more fun playing variable mode, where power-ups were plentiful and enemies numerous, and the game got a better chance to show off some of the pixel art on the weapon effects.

More diversity in the enemies and a wider variety of graphics would  have made this title a much more worthy entry in the competition.

Graphics 50

Sounds 30

Innovation 45

Overall 50

Matt McFarland

DarkSpace is an enjoyable little shmup that comes with both a handy menu system high scores.   I was also glad to see a pause button featured in this 1 level demo.  My only gripe about the menu system is that it is a bit slow when you're changing your selection. 

The game has okay graphics, and great sound.  I personally found the epic music to be very fitting and I really enjoyed the first level.  There are some slow down issues when things get a little tight, but the experience still remains enjoyable. 

Overall, Darkspace has a cleverly designed level with a decent presentation, and I'd like to see more with this game.

Graphics: 55

Sound: 78

Innovation : 40

Overall: 78

Tim W

Dark Space is a horizontal 2D shooter that features an improved engine from the one used in Zynaps Remix. Frame rate is slightly choppy at times but fortunately it doesn't detract the gameplay much. Sound effects are less endearing though - shots can be rather loud at times.

The only major problem with this entry is that it ends too quickly. One level and a quick boss encounter, that's all you're going to get. Still, it works great and with a bit more content this effort could have certainly ranked higher.

Graphics: 60

Sound: 25

Innovation: 55

Overall: 65

Charlie

I didn’t really get on with Dark Space. The sounds for the bullets are dreadful and I ended up turning off my speakers. The graphics had some problems as well, most of the sprites for both player and enemy look good and animate well, but there is some dodgy masking on several of them leaving a purple outline around them.  The game also slows down when the yellow vertical lasers are active which is pretty annoying, although it doesn’t really effect the game play.

The weapons system needs tweaking also, as I only found myself moving when a bullet or asteroid was going to hit me, the rest of the time the spread of the bullets was enough that I didn’t really have do anything but watch.

Perhaps with some further development time this game could become something, but as it stands it’s pretty weak.

Graphics 50

Sound 15

Innovation 25

Overall 30