AmericanRobot's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Tower of Heaven]

Some good, some bad

The retro graphics were charming and well done, I especially like the limited color pallet to give it sort of a dreamy feel. The music was catchy and a joy to listen too.
My main issue is with the rules system. It's used in some clever ways and it is rewarding when you finally pull a level off, but I can't help but feel it's an artificial way of making the game harder in lou of creative enemy and level design. If each level had a different set of rules or the rules could somehow be used to the players advantage, it would be a little more satisfying to play.
Otherwise, I feel like there isn't enough in this game to keep most players coming back.

[Space-ninja]

Sure it's functional but...

There just isn't enough for this to be interesting. Once the charm of the retro sounds and graphics wears off, all your left with is a bland side scrolling platformer that uses artificial game lengthening item collecting and substitutes actual challenge for lousy level design. I admit I didn't beat the game, but if you can't interest the player within the first few levels, what reason do they have to play? This just doesn't do anything innovative in terms of game play, graphics, sound, story, or design.

[Loved]

I don't completely buy it.....

I played through the game twice, first picking what came natural and ignoring the instructions given by the game. Next, I pocked the opposite answers and did everything the game said. As far as answering the questions goes, it didn't seem to effect anything. When I ignored the game, everything became colorful and pixelated and very hard to make out. When i listened, the game became more retro looking, like an old game and watch video game or something. I can assume that there isn't supposed to be a wrong or right answer, but i don't see the symbolism in the imagery when compared to your actions and answers. It also changed the ending you get, both of which ended really abruptly and didn't really make sense, but were both ultimately unsatisfying. The game claims to effect our actions both within and outside the game. I'm not really sure how any game outside the Nintendo Wii will affect our actions outside the game. Did you mean that spiritually?
I don't want to sound like I'm bashing this game completely because there were a lot of good ideas here. For one, the simple graphics, music, effects and text were all done really well. And I was intrigued enough to play through it multiple times.
I just feel maybe the overall message gets lost in the attempt to be deep and ambiguous. I like the idea of open interpretation, but it's a hard aspect to pull off well.
I think there is still an untapped potential for art games like this and I don't want to discourage flash artists trying something a little different. I want to see more stuff like this!

[Pico's Ludo Vengeance]

Serious bugs near the ned

The game was mostly entertaining, i liked the choice of music a lot. Most of puzzles I solved by accident, sometimes it was hard to keep track of what I had and hadn't accomplished. The uberkid fight was pretty clever, but outside of that, nothing really stood out to me in terms of design or style.
The last boss battle is also horribly buggy. For one thing, the text scrolled without me pressing the space bar, so I couldn't even read it. The first time I didn't even know what was going on. Also, during the fight, the boss would sometimes just pop up on the other side of the screen appearing on top of me and draining half my life before I could even walk away. This also happened with the golden egg your supposed to collect. It appeared halfway across the screen from me and I didn't have time to grab it before it scrolled off screen. Also, one time I walked to the bottom of the screen during the boos fight and died for some reason.
It's a decent homage to Pico and the gang, and the writing was amusing but it had some bugs.

[SkyFyre]

Best shooter I've played in years!

Seriously, this is one of the best shooters I've played on Newgrounds. The setting is imaginative, and fun to look at. All the characters are really creative, they look nice and are animated well, but the hierarchy is still in place, so you never get confused as to what is in the foreground or background, or what is and isn't a projectile. I love all the different enemy types, and how the levels are paced so well. It reminds me a lot of Mars Matrix, where you die a few times on a level, but then you cash in your experience and upgrades, and then just breeze through earlier levels. Man, it's so satisfying!
There are two main points that really make this game great. One is that you specifically tell the p[layer where the hit box is. If you've played any shooter, you know how frustrating it can be to gauge where you can and can't get it. It was nice to give the player that luxury.
Second, I love how the bullets turn into coins after the enemy dies. Some might make the argument that it makes things a little easy, but I just spent the last 10 seconds dodging through hair thin bullet fire, which felt like an eternity, I think I earned myself a little break!
I seriously can't think of an improvement for this game. Well done!

[I Hate This Game]

Lacking in style, execution and concept.

The idea of using multiple solutions to solve one problem is fin enough, but it's effectiveness relies on ingame hints or visual clues to keep it entertaining and fun. The walk through is almost mandatory for this game, unless clicking randomly and exhausting every possible theory sounds like fun to you. Sometimes, the solutions didn't even work! Level three I believe it was required you to click on a thin white strip on the left hand side of the door. I clicked one, nothing happened, twice, and still no reaction. After about four or five more clicks, it finally took.
It didn't help that all of this was accompanied by loud, obnoxious music. Playing this game is a lot like building a new office chair. You just have to read the instructions. The only difference is that at least I have a new chair afterwords, you'll have nothing to gain from this game, not even the satisfaction of being smart or clever!
Also, being self aware of a game's lack of quality doesn't make up for said lack of quality. If you want to play a good point and click puzzle, I recommend the Adventures of Remus or the Trilby series.

[Journeys of Reemus]

Very clever and stylish

The puzzles and characters and outlandish scenery were as clever as the puzzles. The graphics were nice and colorful, full of detail, and the game roles along at a nice pace. The music is also very enjoyable.
The only real problem is there seems to be a bug with the ant (haha, get it, bug, ant, I;m a regular Jerry Sienfeld) who stands with the guard blob thing. After I distract the blob with the mouse, I attempt to kill the guard ant with the spear, but even if I throw it and hit him, he just reappears and kills me. I'm not sure if theres a step I;m missing, but there's no logical reason it shouldn;t work.
I wish I could have beaten the game, so I could write a more credible review, but I'm definitely going to check out the rest of the series.

[Barbarian Bob [Remake]]

Enjoyable for the most part

An entertaining little aimless game about violence. I'm always up for that. The artwork was colorful and vibrant, though it seemed like some areas were more detailed than others. The characters were simple, but still appealing. The controls also work well, blocking, parrying, and attacking are fun, but i find the consistency of these tactics to be kind of pointless at times. Enemies always seem to block after I parry them, leaving me wide open for a sword to the face and when I try to counter attack the big guys, my sword seems to go right though them.
I was still able to enjoy the game, even though I was crap at it. A few more enemy types might have been interesting, and would add some variety to the game. Most importantly though, I'm glad the remake still retains the challenge of the original.

[Pico Blast]

Boss Rush, emphasis on RUSH

The game played really well. Hum,ping, aiming, and dodging attacks was very exhilarating. The four bosses were all interesting and each had really unique attacks and patterns. The free falling part was also a great way to wrap up the short and sweet game.
The animated prologue and epilogue were well animated with top class voice acting.
One of my favorites for sure.