02 Game review for YellowOut
link: http://www.eddiezone.net/flashgame/special/Car_out.htm

What is it?

It is a puzzle game of using vehicles. Player is supposed to get the yellow car out of the puzzle full of items like trucks etc. The game has 60 levels and player can play any levels to their own perference. Each level is getting harder and harder to solve with more and more items clutter to block player from getting the yellow car out to the exit.




Is it fun?


Strangely yes!!! The game has a simple objective -To get the yellow car out from the cluttered puzzle. But each level poses the challenge to the player as more items are position strategrically to block YOU from getting the yellow car out from the maze. This game also calculates the number of moves YOU took to complete each level. This poses a challenge to the players as they will think of the shortest number of moves to complete each level. This is because player will gain more score if he complete each level with shortest number of moves.



Weakness?


I would think adding a timer to this game would make this game more "exciting" as player play against the time. Right now, the game does not have a timer, which means player can take their own sweet time solving each level. In addition, i would suggest this game should not have its level "open" to the players. The next level should be "open" to the player only when the player reach the expected score. This will make the game more challenging and it will drive the players to contining playing the game.

Developer : Gaz

URL: http://www.silvergames.com/game/red-remover/

This game is fun.

Red remover is a physics-based puzzle flash game. Objective of the game is simple; you remove red objects from the screen while keeping the green ones to win the game. This game packed in 40 levels with 5 additional unlockable ones, a decent length in my opinion for a casual game.

The mouse is necessary for this game. You remove objects by clicking on them. As the objects affect each other in the game, you will have to think carefully before clicking on them or you have to restart the level. Some of the objects are also designed to be unclickable and thus you have to make use of other objects to make those objects fall off the screen.

The levels are the stars of this game. Cleverly designed, with each of them over in one or two minutes, makes the game extremely quick and addictive. Layout of the different colored objects are interesting and the levels are designed such that they can be solved logically. There isn’t even a single level in the game that is so frustrating to the point of making me stop and quit playing. But that is not to say that this game is extremely easy. Levels in this game are created with progressively increasing difficulty. The first few levels of the game act as a tutorial for players to get into the game and be familiar with the game’s mechanic. The game gets progressively more challenging but also much more interesting with additional elements such as multiple gravitational forces inside a single level. Solving the puzzle in the levels are also not fixed to one single solution; with some of the levels so brilliantly designed that you are able to solve them using different methods, although that does not apply to all levels. The game also challenges you to complete the levels with as little clicks as possible and that is necessary to unlock the 5 extra levels that are locked in the beginning of the game. As well and clever as the levels are designed, the flow of the game is still not perfect. There are still occasional levels that I found easier than the previous ones but yet are placed after them.

Another great element that makes this game so wonderful is the use of physics. Objects in the game works like how you would expect it to be and makes the game very easy to understand. Objects will fall naturally once other objects supporting them are removed. Objects will collide with each other and gain or lose momentum. Bigger objects can weigh down or push smaller objects away and likewise smaller objects will move and roll faster than bigger objects. The developer also tries to make the gameplay more varied by having objects that actually defy gravity as we know it. Objects in the game will fall off the screen based on the direction they are facing and sort of create levels that have multiple gravitational forces that can act with or against one another.

Graphics in the game are simple. You get simple 2d shapes like squares and circles flatly shaded in 3 different colors red, green and blue. They are also painted with smiley faces that animate simply which gave character to the otherwise dull and lifeless shapes. Still I feel that they can improve the graphics by adding more shading or effects as the game looks pretty bland compared to other flash games. Sound in the game is also kept simple with only a few effects to cue various events like the clicking of an object or winning the level.

If you find yourself wanting more after completing the 45 levels in the game, the level editor is there to satisfy you. It allows you to create and design your own levels and submit them online for others to play. A built-in browser of sort for custom levels would have been nice as finding custom levels in this game works by visiting the game’s forum and reading up the threads to find links to them. Still, it is a great feature to enhance the replayability that most flash games lack.

Red remover is still one of the most compelling flash games I have ever played. The levels are fun to play and the custom levels will have you coming back to the game once in a while.

Rating 8/10

Weiwen

CHARACTERS=GAMEPLAY=PLOT

Star Ocean : Till The End Of Time by SquarEnix

Star Ocean is a series of RPG games, created by Square initially, which is now SquarEnix. It is a pretty much unique games, with its signature battle procedure. Basically, instead of telling the characters what to do, players move one characters, out of 4, in a battle. Players then move that character, just like a multi-combat game like Tekken or Street Fighter. The remaining 3 characters are moved by the computer.  

This feature is what makes players devoted to the series. The battles in this game are visually attractive as the 4 players involved will create myriad of moves, resulting in never-ending streams of colors filled with movement effects as well as sounds. Moreover, the enemies too double the intensity of such images and heightens the thrill in going into battles. Unlike any other games, battles in SO:TTEOT have never been boring, but very much anticipated.

This game has great character designs but very much mundane like any other RPG games. Male lead, sword bearer. Female lead, magician. Short character, old character, butch character, evil-like character. Not forgetting extra character who is almighty. However, despite the not-so-original character concept, their visual designs are eye-appealing. Costume, facial expression, movement as well as the relationship of individual to the whole setting are commendably match. Character design is very much important in games, especially RPG as they are the representation of players, but in the virtual world. SO:TTEOT manages to capture players’ interest in this factor.

Additional factors such as overall setting, landscape, level gaining, weapon modification, magic units, skills, etc also add on to why this game managed to become very popular when it was released almost 6 years ago.

However, one thing that this amazing game lacks. It is the primary factor, the most important factor of all, the story. It started out to be very medieval, the usual RPG setting with a smooth plot with a little bump here and there. But as the story progresses up to 70% of the gameplay, it has brought the game experience from max to zero.

The story and plot of the game suddenly change to the setting of real-life. Well, basically, the characters are actually characters from a game. The game manufacturer decided to abolish the game due to economic reason and these characters apparently, jumped out from the computer screen and started killing real humans. This swap, which many might see this as an opportunity to widen the gaming plot, does not seem to be useful, at all. The not-so-connected plot from virtual world to reality, with no slight indication for the first ¾ of the story, was suddenly altered. As if, the last ¼ portion was forced.

I stopped the game, despite enjoying the non-Final-Fantasy-characters-such-as -boys-who-look-like-girls game from SquarEnix. The 30 hours spent on the experience was pretty much entertaining and I would have given it an 8 out of 10 rating. However, when these characters started to kill real people, I’m sorry, but it is not more than a 0 out of 10 ranking.

In conclusion, I find that there must be a balance on the key factors for games, especially RPG where narrative factor is emphasized. Character design, game play and plot have to be able to weigh equally throughout the game journey. Some games have far better gameplay then character design, and it won’t work either. Players expect the best from the games that they are playing, or at least a strong reason why they should invest on their time, playing.

Kelvin

Viwawa is a website built and conceived in Singapore, by a group of developer for online casual gaming.

One of the most popular game under Viwawa is Wahjong, which mean Mahjong, the favourite socializing-gambling game for many Singaporean.

Mahjong itself has simple rules but can be a complicated game which exercise your observation, judgement and decision-making, sometimes it even trigger your emotion stability when you lost lots of money. Its a good brain warm-up exercise but it require 3 other more players to play with you and you need a place to setup the Mahjong table.

The good

Wahjong is making Mahjong playing incredibly convenient, you no long have to setup chairs and table, wash and arrange your tiles physically, its all programmed to be done in the game itself. Whats even better is that you are playing with other real players, who you can interact with and not just computer default player who is programmed to play along with you. Whats even best is that you can play casually at anytime of the day and quit whenever you want too, whereby quiting in the real physical Mahjong game will get you whacked by the other players.

There are very few online Mahjong game but Wahjong appeal more than the rest because of its cartoonic illustration and use of colours. Viwawa also allow users to custom their wawa (player's character) making it even more personal for them.

The game play

Select the channel and numbers of tai you want to play

Select the table which you want to join

Game setting

Game end when someone hu

Calculation of tai for you

The bad

The 2 worst scenario that can happen in this game is when someone quit the game or walk away from their game, even though the game can still continue but its makes winning even harder with randomly discard tile for every round and having to wait for the player to timeout.

The other scenario is when the game lag and you miss a turn, that rarely happen but when the connection is overloaded the game play will be affected by other players.

Even though its advantage is being causal and convenient, some player still prefer the physical game because of the strategy involved to tackle other players, money and physical touch as luck.

The last bad about this game is that it only speaks in Chinese or Cantonese, player who cant understand Chinese and Cantonese will have problem playing and understanding the game.

The conclusion

Now that you know of Wahjong, you can Mahjong in the middle of the night without having your neighbour knocking on your door to complain about the noise :)

Try this game yourself!!

http://www.viwawa.com/en_US/game/Wahjong

What is the game about?
The Asylum is a casual Point-and-Click game where the player is expected to analyze the odd behaviour of abused cuddly toys and solve their deep-rooted problems. The player is expected to to work their way down the checklist of therapies and get to the root of each toy's unique problem by making choices on the forms of therapy listed on the clipboard given to them.



How do you play it?
You start of in the lobby of the clinic, and have to go into the Patient's Lounge. Upon entering, one comes across a group of stuffed animals for u to choose from. Each animal shows various signs of mental disturbance and the player has to pick one to begin with. After choosing your character, you can then proceed into the therapy room to attempt to help them.


As shown in the screen above, you, as the doctor, have a few courses of action to choose from on the clipboard.

Many of the actions vary from plushie to plushie, but the courses of action that remain constant are;

--

Medical Examination: This is a general physical examination to see the condition of the plush toy.

Dream Analysis: This involves putting the patient under hypnosis, and then using their dreams as a way of interpretation.

Therapeutic Interview: In which a third-party element (in this case, a sock puppet), is introduced to help to make the plushie open up.

Administration of drugs: A somewhat extreme resort to turn to when the patient is showing extremely erratic or agitated behaviour.

Professional Assistance: This is a journal that you can refer to in order to get hints to help reveal the order in which you are supposed to do the actions.

--

The rest of the activities vary, but all of them help to trigger flashbacks in the plushies that may help to unravel their problem.


There is also a Therapy Progress bar located on the clipboard, to help you monitor the progress of the patient. A right decision will fill the bar, whereas a wrong decision would cause the progress to go into decline. Once it hits zero, the patient is considered to be completely frazzled and it may be necessary for you to use electroshock therapy to "shock" them out of it.





What makes this game so compelling?
The Asylum is one of the most emotionally moving interactive narrative experiences I have ever come across. It makes the player empathize with the stuffed toys and form a bond with them. After seeing

Is it fun?
I think that it's very fun, because there are not many games that can engage you on such an emotional level. You actually begin to feel sorry for the plushies and begin to actually feel the need to help them out of their funk. Another drawing point of this game is the fact that it actually requires you to THINK, rather than to just DO.

Is it hard?
To a certain degree, yes. Alot of the decisions you make are actually based on guesswork, and you have to solidly rely on the "Professional assistance" button and the Therapy Progress bar to make sure that you're on the right track.

Synopsis
- Casual point-and-click game
- You play a psychiatrist, who has to analyse the psychological problems of abused stuffed toys to help them recover.
- You have a list of actions you can take, and they will either have a positive or negative effect depending on what order you do them in.
- Once the Therapy Progress bar is filled, the patient is considered as recovered and can be released.


Author