Score: 9

"..."

submission: The Love I'm Searching 4

date: December 23, 2009

... a step up for you, Skaijo, and a great flash movie! You've matured and improved your animation significantly from your previous animations and if you keep this up, who knows, you might soon be rivaling Adam Phillips. ^_^ . Allow me to detail my review:

- Graphics really were that good. You may recall how I once commented (well, more like created a thesis!) on how you would eventually need to adopt a more 'FPF' styled animation to go further. Well, in this movie you've taken a massive stop in that direction by increasing the number of 'intermediary' poses when you use tweens (the final dance comes to mind, for example), which means that this is by far, your smoothest movie ever! It looks really, really nice. Kudos for that!

And, of course, apart from that, your drawings are also quite rich, specially the backgrounds which are always highly detailed, even if you did use a lot of photos this time (thankfully, they fit with the overall style really well). Also, loved the use of black and white scenes! They really added a nice touch to the movie and created a nice contrast.

- Musically, well, honestly I wasn't a big fan. Not bad, by any measure, but definitely not my cup of tea either and the main reason why I didn't give you a straight ten (which is kind of mean, on my part). And did you use a few, sparse sound effects (such as a girl exclaiming), or were they a part of the movie? Also, I must say that, unlike previous movies, there didn't seem to be there enough coordination with the on-screen action and the song itself...

- Character design, as always, was pretty good, with a lot of diversity in all characteristics and a coherent design. Pretty good, in other words! Actually scratch that, your character design really shines here, sometimes I think you rival with Vinnie (from the CCC series) in this aspect!

Storywise, not the most original of stories, BUT, with your creativity shined through, as usual, with some very interesting scenes and set pieces, making things fell very fresh and interesting. I think it helped that no camera angle for a single scene lasts too long, which is a tough thing to do, requiring lots of extra work, but which payed off well. Also, the length of the movie was pretty much spot on.

So, overall, a great step up for you, with greatly improved animation (and I must give emphasis to how important and great that is!), showcasing your creativity and talent very well. My only real criticisms lie with the choice of music (a purely subjective thing) and perhaps a better use of it. I.e., great movie!

Cheer and kudos! Can't wait to see what you'll come up with next. ;]

Score: 9

"..."

submission: Professor Layton pt. 5

date: August 12, 2009

... a definitive improvement over the previous one. This whole series is extremely twisted and dark, making it hard to get the humour right sometimes, but this time around I greatly enjoyed it. Let me detail my (quick) review:

- Graphics, well, there's some definitive improvements this time around, especially the backgrounds (which are a great step up from last time) and the different art style you use in the middle. I am slightly disappointed that your animation technique isn't that good (I think you've done better), but it's competent enough.

- Sound-wise, the voice acting was great, as usual, as was the music and the special effects. Not much to comment here, really, except that the dialogue was slightly more fluid and clear this time around, from having less two-people-speaking-at-the-same-time.

- Humour was the biggest improvement from the last movie. It's difficult to say what's changed, why it's much more funny, but it just is. This series is always skirting around the edges of dark humour, sometimes crossing the line (not necessarily in a good way), but this time around it worked well.

In part, I think, because you managed to compliment the character's insane dialogue and actions with the puzzle/videogame aspects of the game really well, kudos for that. It may not be laugh out loud funny, but it's funny and humorous nevertheless.

The length and flow was also pretty good, as was the contribution towards the overall storyline. I'm beginning to become quite curious as to how this is all going to end, despite my strong suspicion that things aren't going to end well for anyone.

So, overall, a solid and funny entry for the Layton series, highly enjoyable. Cheers and kudos!

Score: 8

"..."

submission: Maybe It's a Virus

date: August 3, 2009

... against my usual style, here's a relatively quick review for this cheery and fun movie. But I will go into detail:

- Graphics are pretty good. You favored style over polish and details, which isn't necessarily bad, but neither good. I mean, Most of the images you create are quite simple to make (a couple of circles and a ellipse can go a long way!), but they look good, for the most part. I also love the use of colours in this movie, the purple hues with black and white fits really well.

However, as I said before, a little more detail, a little more polish (the mushrooms, for example, look slightly poor) and more complex animations (aka, something more than simple motion tweens), would have improved this aspect significantly. Oh, and the choice of font was somewhat a let down, didn't really fit in.

- Music was top notch, really good stuff. Your friend Julia has a great singing voice with a nice delivery and the song lyrics, although cliche, still sound fun and are enjoyable. The rest of the band accompanies well too. The song's structure, although very simple, still makes for a good song. Overall, although this isn't the most creative thing out there, still sounds fresh and fun, quite likely due to the delivery.

- The overall music / animation coordination was a mixed bag. The intro, with the eyes, is perfect for example, as are the windmills and the rockets launching. But the Zelda stuff looked completely out of place with the song and some of the random transitions, with the balloons for example, although following the rhythm, felt a little too random. This could have used more creativity, I reckon.

So, overall, a fun, pretty good movie for a very good song, that could have used a little more work, both in the ideas and the execution, but that despite this, has enough charm and style to become better-than-just-good.

Cheers and kudos! Hope to see more movies from you and more songs from Julia's band too!

Score: 6

"..."

submission: When Pigs Fly

date: July 29, 2009

.... a typical game from you, auntie pixelante, but not as good as some of your previous efforts, as it suffers from a sever case of repetition and lacks a reward effort. Good, yes, but lacking. Allow me to detail my review:

- Graphics are simple but very well done. You have quite some skill when it comes to making pixel art and this game showcases this quite well. The diversity of the backgrounds was also pretty good, as was the sparse animation. Overall, this might be the game's strongest point (ironically, given your focus of gameplay).

- Sound, well, ouch. I managed to get used to it and it wasn't too bad, but the pig's squeals were very, very annoying. You surely must have known the effect it would have had on the player, so this was a personal choice of yours, one that I can't really fathom. Were you attempting to add an 'extra level' of challenge by forcing the player to hear it? Reward them by playing perfectly and not having to hear it?

In any case, I assume that this was intentional and, in that case, you succeed in making the game significantly more annoying/frustrating thanks to it. If not, then please, please consider using other sound effects and/or just music next time.

- Gameplay, well, it's complicated. The game's responsiveness is adequate, as is the acceleration that the pig undergoes when moving (in any direction), as you wanted to make the game challenging, but not 'impossibly' so. So the controls are quite reasonable.

The game's difficulty level, although quite high, was tolerable and you deserve praise for it. It's quite hard to make a game difficult without making it 'fake difficult' (which can be fun in itself, if it's done ala I Wanna Be The Guy) and I feel that this game doesn't make that mistake. It's difficult because it requires high level of precision from the player, as well as patience, but not unfairly so.

However, there is a problem when it comes to the level design. Now, I know that given the sort of gameplay this game has, there is a limit on how creative you can be when designing challenges for each level, but it got far too repetitive far too quickly.

I mean, about half-way through, already the game was presenting screens that were very similar to a previous one, just significantly more difficult. To be frank, facing a challenge you've already overcome, if not presented in a drastically new manner (stuff like new graphics, new abilities for the game character), gets a bit dull and becomes more of a chore than fun.

This is, I feel, the game's greatest flaw and it could have been corrected only in a few ways: by having more diverse level design (ideal, but difficult to achieve), new game mechanics (which would have been against the spirit of the game) and/or more diverse presentation (not a very reasonable request, given that the game already has a diverse presentation); or by making the game shorter. I know, I know, it's short as it is, but I can't shake the feeling that it's too much of a one trick pony...

- Finally, the ending provided no satisfaction for the player. Given that in previous game's of yours you've provided at least some tentative rewards, I feel that you should have made the effort here and added a little something. But, so as to not end in a sour note, let me say that the overall presentation of the game is quite good and that the premise, as silly as it is, was stretched out and well developed.

So, overall, a good game, with good overall presentation and a difficult but fair level of challenge, but lacking when compared to previous game's of yours (although, now that I'm thinking, this may be due to your unfamiliarity to Flash), by being too repetitive and unrewarding.

Still, cheers! Hope to see more games from you on Newgrounds in the future! I <know> that you're a talented game maker and that you can make really good-but-hard games.

Score: 8

"..."

submission: Parliament Deathmatch

date: June 28, 2009

... I don't know how you do it, I really don't know Chris. But EVERY SINGLE MOVIE you've been giving us the past year has been crazy awesome, clever and funny on a whole new level. This movie is no exception. I wish I could somehow take your skills and talent, bottle it up and sell it; I'd make a fortune! But allow me detail my review:

- Graphics are great, as usual. Great, detailed facial expressions WITH perfect lip syncing (which even has chin movement, which is pretty hard!) is a trademark of your animations and, again, this movie is no exception. Sparse but precise and well done animation and nice character design (they really look like politicians) round up the positive aspects of this movie.

The only aspects of the graphics of this animation that I felt could have been slightly better would have been a more diverse range of camera angles and better 3-D animation in the beginning , though the movie doesn't suffer from either.

- Sound-wise, well, silly as hell, but in a good way. The music was utterly simple and silly, like in a old B movie (I mean, c'mon, Organs?!) but worked, somehow, beautifully, and the sound effects were even more silly (someone saying what sounded like 'Woosh!', for heavens sake!), but again, it's sufficiently campy that it's funny.

Voice acting was, as usual, spot-on. I mean, both you and Liam have very distinctive voices, so I recognize them from previous cartoons, but your both quite talented as voice actors, so that's not a big issue.

- Story-wise, well, crazy awesome as usual. But slightly too short and coming off too much like a one joke gag, without an steady increase of crazy moments which is norm in your work, such as in Don't Worry, Son, or more development of a story and/or jokes. So it's not really your best movie in this department, sadly...

... BUT, it's still very funny and 'epic funny' too, which is why even in this, one of your weaker movies, I still have huge, mad grin and clinch my fists with joy when I see the great payoff! You always seem to come up with some genuinely creative, original and funny way to turn the mundane into the awesome.

So overall, a very good movie, with all the polish you usually apply in the graphics and sound departments (which means that these are great aspects of your movie!), but slightly lacking in the story / joke department, but only slightly.

Cheers and kudos!

Score: 7

"..."

submission: Shards and Splinters

date: June 15, 2009

... not your best work, HeRetiK, but interesting nevertheless. If I'm not mistaken, you attempted to make something akin to the 'Around the World' clip from Daft Punk, by associating certain images with certain sounds, right? If so, it's an interesting concept to work with, but I have misgivings with the music chosen... anyway, allow me to detail my review:

- Graphics were, well, interesting. I see clearly that you've taken some suggestive, but normal images such as masks, knives and lips, and applied generous amounts of layers and effects to produce something quite bizarre, even if we can still identify these objects.

I'm guessing you're somehow attempting to 'symbolize' the sounds via the objects you chose and I think I might have identified one or two connections (such as the knife sound being a somewhat 'cutting' sound, for the lack of better word). Even if you're not, you still managed to create some very interesting imagery and I like the way you use special effects to achieve this; it's provocative.

However, despite the illusion of movement, as you re-used your imagery constantly, it came out looking a bit lazy. And I know this might be very well against the spirit of your project, but it might have been more interesting if you attempted different effects for the images in different scenes or somehow provided us with something more unique, as the repetition comes out too strongly.

- Musically, well, I'm pretty confident that you choose this song for some reason, although I can't guess why, so this next criticism might come out completely flat, as the reason, whatever it might have been, is probably a good one.

My personal qualms with this song is that it is a very difficult song to hear/listen to/'digest', it's something so radically different that very rarely I've heard something like this before. I'm not saying it's a bad song, but its so strange and extreme that I'm not even sure how to classify it! As such, you have to a high tolerance towards 'extreme songs' (at the lack of a better word) to appreciate this project more.

For example, personally, I think I have a quite high tolerance towards non-mainstream songs (I listen to Shellac!) and I found it incredibly tough to go through the song the first time. Heck, my ears are still ringing/deaf a bit as I write this review!

So, maybe the choice of something easier on the ears, as long as it fits what ever idea made you choose this song, might have made things more accessible, which I feel would be a virtue in this case.

The coordination between the images and the song, on the plus side, was spot-on, a must in this sort of flash.

All in all, this is an interesting flash that comes out as more of an art project than anything else. It's provocative in a way, defiantly so because of it's song, but maybe too difficult for a normal person to be able to stand through. Still, major props for the guts on making something like this and kudos for your creativity and I'll look forward to seeing what you can up next. Cheers!

Score: 10

"..."

submission: Gravitaxis ++

date: June 15, 2009

... mesmerizing and all out amazing. Vinnie, I really, really love your work (I'm always eager to see your next movie!) and this is the perfect example of why. Creatively stunning and original, really brilliant. Allow me to detail my review:

- Graphics are top-notch, as always. You're very close to belonging to the group of the very best animators on Newgrounds, which means you're very very good, despite using a relatively economical way of animating. This is because you make sure everything is polished and well done and looks good. Your drawings are also remarkably detailed and your backgrounds are all out excellent.

But, really, what stands out in your animations, time and time again, is your fantastic character design. I honestly believe that your characters, which we usually see only for a second or two, stand out marvelously and seem unique and really interesting, visually. This remains your greatest strength and it helps make the worlds your create seem so more alive and interesting because of this.

This aspect of your animations, ever since Hoy Te Amo ++, has always been excellent and you've even improved from your first animations, so I can't really find anything significant to criticize. It remains exceptional.

- Sound-wise, great tunes! I think that your soundtrack fit in perfectly for this movie, couldn't have been better, and it really helped create a great ambiance for the movie. Oh, and you've managed to time the on-screen action with the music perfectly.

- Story-wise, well, just extraordinarily creative and interesting. You've managed to have an utterly original and interesting idea and then executed it in an even more interesting and original way. It does leave us wanting for more, more explanations as to exactly what we just saw, what was going on, who the characters were, but sometimes doing that makes things even better.

The flow of the movie was great, the length too. And the images you created because of your movie, many so dammed evocative, are exceptional.

So, overall, a great, great movie that stands tall among your other work. Great animations, great music, great story/premise, making for an exceptional movie that I can honestly say, I have no real criticisms towards.

Massive cheers and kudos for this one and many, many thanks for keeping creating your wonderful animations.

Score: 8

"..."

submission: Serial Environmentalist

date: June 10, 2009

... as always, Matzerath, your twisted sense of humour shines through brilliantly. The graphics are also improved from previous movies, although I do have slight qualms concerning the voice acting. Allow me to detail my review:

- Graphics, as I said, are improved from previous movies, specially the animation, which has more action than usual. I mean, normally your animation is too limited, many times with just mouths moving, but in this movie there's always something moving in a way that keep things 'realistic'.

The overall style of the drawings is quite similar to your previous movies and looks pretty good, but the 'fuzzy' look that everything has when you zoom out was a letdown, as it obscured some details and just felt wrong. Still, overall, it looked good.

- Sound effects, although limited, were effectively used. The voice acting, however, was a bit problematic. I mean, you're an effective voice actor, with a good delivery for your jokes and the recording quality of it is very good, the problem lies with the fact you opted to do both characters yourself.

Now, some people have a wide range of voices they can pull off, see egoraptor for one, but I feel that you sadly don't belong in this group. What I mean is that you have a quite unique voice and when you play two different characters, it becomes far to obvious that it's a single person doing them. I'd recommend, for your next movie, if you are going to have two or0 more main male characters, to try and find a good voice actor to do one of the voices (try searching the audio forum, there are a few topics there that'd help you).

- Storywise, pretty funny throughout. I didn't quite bust my gut laughing or anything, but I did chuckle a lot and was genuinely pleased with it, as I usually am. You have a pretty bleak and unique sense of humor that works pretty well, no small part due to your execution. The pacing of the movie was pretty good and the overall length too. Oh, and I loved the satirical edge of the movie too, you really know how to make clever humor! This is probably the best part of this flash.

So, overall, a fine and funny movie that could have used a second voice actor (and a zoom effect that didn't produce fuzziness), but was funny, clever and satirical. Kudos!

Score: 8

"..."

submission: Apples.

date: May 30, 2009

... cute, sweet and fun, I remember watching this movie when it first came out and wanting to leave a review... I guess its better to be late than never! Allow me to detail my review:

- Graphically, its pretty good. I love the character design in this movie, love it to death. Who'd thought a guy with a sack on his head and a purple thingy could look so darned adorable and fun? Not just that, backgrounds and everything else have a pretty unique and interesting look, which makes for a movie that's a joy to watch, specially given the level of polish you've incorporated into the drawings, making sure everything looks good.

Animation, while sparse, is used precisely (you know how to create excellent lulls in the action!) and is very well done too, being fluid when necessary. When its not (i.e., the truck), it looks even better!

- Music is awesome. I mean, it really gives life to the movie, and the combination of kazoo and acoustic guitar is just perfect for giving the movie a rural, child's game and fun feeling. I'd honestly say that this is the movie's greatest strength.

Sound effects were spot on, no complaints from me! In fact, I actually really liked that the airplane engine sound was done by humming, it sounded slightly silly, which is perfect for a movie like this. =]

- Storywise, well, it's not the most complex movie ever made, obviously, but fun to watch. I get the feeling that you had a very specific objective that you wanted to accomplish, to make a simple, short, but fun story, and I think you accomplished it well.

The length is probably right, neither too long, nor too short, the pacing is excellent (again, great use of short lulls!) and the scenes are appropriately fun/funny.

So, overall, a short, simple movie that's polished like hell/very well made, with a great soundtrack, very good animation and drawings, in a very simple storyline. Kudos!

Score: 9

"..."

submission: Ultra Sheriff - Nemesis

date: May 29, 2009

... style, style and style! The emphasis of this flash is all on making things look stylish, no matter how over the top and exaggerated it makes things, and it works. Allow me to detail my review:

- Graphically, that was excellent. Animations were very well done, for the most part, drawings were very polished and, well, stylish, with good use of colours as themes for both sides. Character design was interesting, although somewhat derivative, and the backgrounds were pretty good too, because although their faded look didn't fit the action that well, they are very well done and I loved the 'moving parts' of them!

It wasn't all perfect, though. While character animation was excellent, a few times it was evident that you cut corners a bit and re-utilized an animation or two (but it was no biggie), and I felt that the main ship could have used more 'movement'.

- Music was good and fit the movie very well, the timing of the on-screen action with the tempo and movements of the music being spot-on. Sound effects were very effective and sounded right, I particularly loved the scream of anger the 'boss'. Overall, top notch in this aspect.

- Storywise, well, it's a very simple story, but this is more of a movie video, so no biggie really. The length of the movie was very good, neither too short, nor too long, and the overall pacing was probably right too.

So overall, a great movie, fun to watch and polished. The only real criticism is that maybe, just maybe, it could have been a little more original and ambitious. I mean, I really liked this movie, but I get the feeling that it could have been something extraordinary, instead of 'just' great, had you tried to be more creative and ambitious storywise, although would require a longer song, probably.

Nah, forget it, I'm being silly. As it is, this is a great movie and you can hold your head up high! Cheers and kudos!