Score: 9

"Simply great"

submission: Art of War 2

date: October 1, 2007

I've seen quite a bit of flash and have played many games, and this game really gets almost everything right. The balance between plot and game play is sensible, and there is a good compromise made between the gritty aspects of the environment and the cartoon-like aspects.

Maybe I'm biased towards this game since I'm a little bit of a WW2 buff, but I think others will like your historical approach the way I did. You didn't try to be too dramatic or serious, but you also didn't treat the battle of Stalingrad like a joke. What could've made it better would've been an initial cut scene describing the dire state of Soviet Russia, and the bitter savagery of the German invasion.

That said, this game isn't perfect. There is too little mercy for failiure, which I realise is a design choice, but its simply frustrating to have no chance after the smg guy crosses a certain line. My suggestion would be to give your player a small amount of life. Not so much life that the realism and gritiness is lost (I actually really like how you don't make the player invincible, and have them react believably to being in the line of fire), but also make it so that it is possible to kill the smg guy.

In my experience, the difficult game done right is a game where it is hard, but not impossible to succeed when the odds turn against your favor. When a hard game is done improperly, its literally impossible to turn the game around. Rather than being stimulating, this scenario is frustrating.

So, in conclusion, this game has a laudable sense of style, game play, and originality, but still does not achieve perfection.

Score: 10

"Limited graphics are pushed aside by good plot"

submission: Simon The Zooplankton

date: September 20, 2006

Although the movie's "graphics" were just a few images, I wasn't horribly displeased with the effect. It was a nicely drawn character, and some of the writing was enough to make the movie entertaining. Certainly no masterpiece, but still a fun experience nonetheless.

Score: 2

"Nice graphics but bad organization and bad grammar"

submission: KoolMoves Tute (3in1)

date: September 20, 2006

Whilst the graphics in the spinning 3D cubes and other nice little effects was nice, it didn't save the tutorial from all of the poor grammar and sentince structure.

This tutorial was hard to read. Sentinces had dangling modifiers, plural verbs were used in place of singular ones. Although I'm not senselessly strict about small grammar mistakes, the grammar errors here inhibited effective understanding of the text.

So, when making a tutorial. Remember to proof-read your writing so its understandible. Good luck in the future.

Score: 8

"Captures the heart of the melody"

submission: Avril 14TH Ambient Mix

date: July 19, 2007

This remix in many ways, with its intricate echoes and long notes, captures the spirit of April 14th better than the original.

And while that's saying a lot, I would've wished that the remix had gone farther in its originality, adding a new form and melodic structure.

I guess there's not too much to say, other than that the instruments and the sounds of the instruments are 100% perfect, but that the form and the melody don't go beyond their copied form.

But in spite of these drawbacks, I will certainly listen to this piece in the future, great work!

Score: 2

"Not very much added to the original"

submission: Switched On

date: July 19, 2007

This song, in my honest opinion, doesn't contribute much to the original song.

The original song isn't reorganized or restructured, and all that has been done is a beat has been moved on top of the existing song. While the beat is of quality, it makes little sense in the context of the overall piece, and quite frankly it only composes a small part of it.

While this song is technically a remix, it doesn't really seem to go the extra step that truly differentiates a remix from an original piece.

I apologize for being so negative in the review, and I am looking forward to seeing your future pursuits in music.

Score: 9

"Truely Exceptional, Would make AFX proud"

submission: Mercury_Zed

date: July 19, 2007

The drums do need some work like the other reviewers have said, and that's why I docked the score down to a 9.

But really this song is quite exceptional, certainly one of the best songs I've heard on the Audio Portal.

The melody is catchy, and the contrast between the harsh bassline and the melody reflects Aphex Twin's style.

Perhaps along with the drums, this songs biggest problem is the form. If you look at AFX songs like Vordhosbn or Fenix Funk, the melody itself transforms through the song as new melodies are brought in. Here the introduction of new meldoies is a tad bit akward, although the melodies themselves are fantastic and complement each other.

For improvement, all I can say is look at Fenix Funk 5's first minute, and see how the first thrashing beat is replaced by a rough turning sound, and a light synth sound appears in the top octaves, gradually harmonizing with itself as it expands, and the turning sound dies down and completes, not just by quieting itself, but by turning more slowly, and more roughly, as the melody reaches its apex and begins to move through itself rapidly. At that point the main melody wears itself out and ends. The second melody than introduces itself.

There's definitly a great piece here, and it foreshadows a lot of potential.