Mega
Graphics: 2
Technical: 2
Gameplay: 3
Total: 7
I should say up-front that I actually liked this game more than the scores indicate. The physics work and the collision detection and gameplay are good. It can be a bit hard to aim, and a ‘brake’ key might have been a nice touch. On the downside, the game’s pacing isn’t terribly good- and some of the graphics are a bit on the cheesy side (especially the player’s explosion).
BlackJack
Graphics: 1
Technical: 2
Gameplay: 2
Total: 5
A weak entry. Graphically, even given that it’s a card game, the graphics are ugly- the blue-text-on-bright-green background simply doesn’t work, and the cards and backgrounds aren’t anything to write home about either. There are a number of technical issues- you can re-deal at any time, even when in the middle of a game, and if you have a hand of more than five cards, it will run over the end of the window. The lack of a persistent ‘money’ supply also hurts the game.
4kWormDiet
Graphics: 3
Technical: 2
Gameplay: 2
Other: -1 Incredibly low framerate
Total: 6
Although this entry is graphically attractive, it was hurt a lot for its’ low speed. This isn’t something that I’d normally knock an entry for, but it got getting a consistent 6-8 FPS on my computer. Given the worm’s glacial pace, it took me something like 5 minutes to even figure out if it had a ‘game over’ screen.
Sn4Ke
Graphics: ?
Technical: ?
Gameplay: ?
Total: 0* (Would not run)
This didn’t run on my computer, from either the JAR or webstart.
Brain Burning 4k
Graphics: 1
Technical: 2
Gameplay: 2
Other: +1 Ranking and High Score
+1 Multiple Games w/ title screen and menu
Total: 7
This unique entry emulates the ‘brain training’ series of games for the Nintendo DS. While it contains three small games, none of them are particularly good in and of themselves. There are a handful of other issues which jump out at me- the timer and current question, for example, in the ‘calculate’ section are not completely erased after each question. There is no indicator whether you’ve gotten a wrong answer or not in the ‘type as quick as you can’ and ‘find the odd one out’ sections- the former simply ignores wrong answers with no feedback where the latter unceremoniously dumps you back to the title screen. Displaying each individual score on the title screen in addition to the combined total would be an improvement, as well. On the plus side, the game has a working menu to select from the various games and a persistent high score and ranking.
Note: Oddly, when I was testing this game, I got a “jar could not be opened” error after I closed it. I assume this is my browser and haven’t marked the game down for it; likewise, it’s probably not worth a whole point deduction anyway, but if it happens across OSes and browsers, pretend I mentioned that above too.
FallDown
Graphics: 2
Technical: 2
Gameplay: 2
Other: +1 Title Screen
Total: 7
The gameplay to this game is very similar to that of ApoFall (above), although its’ slightly less impressive graphically and the pacing isn’t as good. The control, however, is a little better and it has a couple of touches that ApoFall lacks, such as a fullscreen mode. I had a little trouble getting it to take keyboard input at first.
Pipe Extreme
Graphics: 4
Technical: 4
Gameplay: 3
Total: 11
A very impressive 3D version of Trailblazer based on a tube. It features a curving, 3D tube, 5 different levels, a solid physics model, and an interesting variety of obstacles. The keyboard control is very player-friendly and the game is solid and challenging. An excellent entry and one of my favorites. The one thing that kinda wierds me out is that your ball casts a shadow on the bottom of the tube at all times but also sees to cast one on whatever surface it’s rolling on.
Metro4k
Graphics: 3
Technical: 4
Gameplay: 3
Other: +1 Randomly-Generated Maps
Total: 11
An excellent stripped-down version of SimCity. The procedural graphics are simplistic, but are well-done all-around; using the height of a building as a way to indicate its’ size is a very nice effect. It turned me off a bit at first that there weren’t any displays for pollution or emergency services, but eventually I got the hang of it. The blinking ‘no power’ sign can be a bit hard to see, but beyond that I have no complains. Another excellent entry.
I have spent more time playing this than any of the others I’ve played so far. It also prompted my associate Karrde to dig out the Super Nintendo version of SimCity.
4k - Billiard
Graphics: 2
Technical: 2
Gameplay: 2
Total: 6
A basic pool game with a decent physics model and play control. While the graphics are workable, they’re kind of rough around the edges; on my computer, the ‘inner’ coloring of balls sometimes goes beyond their outlines, and they’re all the same color. The crawling-ants graphic used for the shot indicator is a nice touch, too.
Space Evaders
Graphics: 4
Technical: 2
Gameplay: 3
Other: +1 Title and Game Over screen.
Total: 10
A fast-paced, fun Space Invaders variant. The procedural graphics are very nice- in fact, some of the finest I’ve seen in these entries- the little pieces of ship that fly apart look particularly good. The gameplay is solid, too, although the auto-fire is perhaps a little too powerful- even in later stages, I found it was pretty easy to whip the crosshair back and forth pretty quickly in the beginning of the stage and clear out a large chunk of the enemies.
Sub4k
Graphics: 3
Technical: 2
Gameplay: 2
Total: 7
The well-done procedural graphics are the highlight of this entry. The gameplay offers the ability to submerge and render yourself temporarily invincible, which is a plus. However, the game is rather slow-paced and the visible area is fairly small.
Space Inversion
Graphics: 3
Technical: 2
Gameplay: 2
Total: 7
This game certainly has the vintage look down, but I felt that the gameplay fell somewhat flat. The AI for the tank is good, but possibly a little too good- I found that I spent a lot of time watching it nail the leading edge of my formation one invader at a time.
Tile Style
Graphics: 2
Technical: 2
Gameplay: 2
Other: +1 High Score
Total: 7
Graphically, I found that it was hard to determine at a glance which tiles were part of which in this game- thicker/more visible barriers between tiles may have helped, or a different palette for the triangles. The ability to resize the screen and have the graphics scale appropriately was a nice addition. Control could be kind of awkward.
Scorcher
Graphics: 1
Technical: 2
Gameplay: 3
Total: 6
An unimpressive Scorched Earth clone. While the AI and physics is decent, the graphics are minimal. It can be hard to tell how much life each opposing tank has if you’re not watching during their turns, and even so it can be difficult to tell whose turn it is at any given time.
Starship Invaders
Graphics: 4
Technical: 3
Gameplay: 4
Total: 11
This entry features excellent graphics; the Enterprise and Romulan Ships both look good and rotate smoothly, and the parallaxing stars in the background are a good addition too. The lack of an explosion graphic of any kind when a ship is destroyed is a bit odd, however. The gameplay is impressive as well, using both keyboard and mouse control and giving you quite a few abilities.
4kimon
Graphics: 2
Technical: 2
Gameplay: 2
Other: +1 Sound
Total: 7
This 4k implementation of the old Simon game is one of the few 4k games to feature sound. The online high score table is another cool addition. Beyond that, there’s nothing much to say about it- the graphics get the job done but are otherwise unremarkable and the gameplay is the same Simon game that’s existed since the 80s.
