2008 Competition Results: (6:We Like It Retro)

5th Place – Retroman – Total: 251

Ian:

I love this game.
I hate this game!

I love the graphics: So cute, charming and full of character. Smooth scrolling
I hate the graphics: So limited, repetitive and empty. No parallax.

I love the sound: Nice meaty explosions, cute lasers. Err…
I hate the sound: The music is too twee to enjoy over and over and over and over…

I love the gameplay: Old school retro run & gun fun with added platforming goodness
I hate the gameplay: Repetitive, shooting and scooting action. Enemies everywhere.

I love the sense of one more go: I’ll get further next time
I hate the sense of one more go: Back to the beginning, AGAIN! No restart points.

I love the whole retro feel: Old style, but fresh. No scoring, lives, bonuses etc.
I hate the whole retro feel: Lacks old school rewards – No scoring, lives, bonuses etc.

I love this game. I do. I really do.
I hate this game! Actually, I don’t. It’s fantastic. A bit more variety, and some restart points wouldn’t go amiss, but overall a really playable, if limited retro game. Now for RetroMan II…

73%

Geekay:

There’s nothing like a good old fashioned platform shooter.  Bionic Commando & Gryzor to name but a few spring to mind when thinking about this style of game.

That’s a real shame as this game is not a sniff near any of these.  It certainly has the potential to be a fantastic shooter, after all I love the artwork and the general feel of it.  The problem lies in repetition land.  Firstly all the bad guys look the same, that’s just boring.  I’m not asking for hundreds of characters.  A few different heads and perhaps some colour changes would have made all the difference.  Secondly, the cruel respawning is unforgivable.  You get so far, you get killed and you’re right back at the start with everything you previously slaughtered all risen from the dead.  Thirdly there is no variety in the terrain.  Boring.

These 3 main issues combined create a game that doesn’t feel like it has an aim or a goal to achieve. I like the engine but this really does play like a demo, especially when there are infinite lives at bay.

More of this please but variety is the spice of life.

55%

Spray:

It’s a shame that this game had to be entered into this competition. That’s nothing against the game, mind you, it’s a pleasant enough scrolling shooter.

There must be hundreds of different ideas for retro style original games so why does every bugger do this. I mean, is it wrong to ask for originality in original games?

To be fair to Joachim, it’s not his fault that he’s chosen a popular genre, but you need something extra if you’re gonna pull it out of the bag. Runny roundy shooty games all blend into one another and the plain graphics and ear splittingly high pitched tune really do nothing for this game.

Oh well, NEXT!

66%

Oogy:

There’s no real backstory to this game so I’ll make one up. I’m stranded on an alien planet, and the inhabitants seem a bit hostile to me. Luckily I am armed, or else I’d really be in big trouble. Not that I’m not anyway.

This game doesn’t feel like it’s finished yet. There’s no titlescreen or even a menu. Just a screen that tells me what keys to use for what and the game begins instantly. The graphics are nice and animation looks well designed. At least on the first screen, since the game’s difficulty level is so high that I can’t see much more of the level, and for all I know it all looks the same. No cheat-mode supplied either, which seriously hinders the reviewing.

Enemies seem to crowd together alot, and this makes it hard, since a single blast of one of their weapons sends me right back to the beginning. With all previously killed enemies respawned and thirsty for more of my blood. As much as I hate games that are overly easy, the same can be said for games that are insanely difficult. And with only a single life to loose, no scores or any indication of progress, makes this a game for me to avoid.

57%