kcw | journal | 2004 << Previous Page | Next Page >>
Ark-Annoyed 3D by Mike Plouffe

Breakout game in 3-D, though by 3-D it means you can tilt the board, but since the bricks are still in 2-D (though the have height) it's kind of meaningless and quite annoying, hence perhaps the name. Nice little intro music and good sound effects with the ball hitting your paddle and bricks. The ball routine seems to be a bit dodgy at times. Good interface. There is a level editor which looks a bit tedious. I think I was expecting powerups like in Arkanoid.

Gameplay: Poor (2)  Seems to get repetitive rather quickly.
Graphics: Average (3)  The background space scenery moves!
Sound and Music: Average (3)  Not a lot but effective.

I1neum by René Bauer

A cool Qix clone. There are balls moving inside a rectangular playing field. You move along the sides and dart in to section off a piece before the main ball hits the section you are currently working on. Section off 80% or more of the original playing field and you on to the next level. There are bonus items you can get if they are included in a section you create and the main blob can shoot at you. There is intro music and game music that is synth-futuristic. You can set the playing field to swing back and forth for an extra challenge. Four levels included.

Gameplay: Good (4)  A bit slow at times.
Graphics: Average (3)  Nice looking but the blobs are nondescript
Sound and Music: Good (4)  Like the theme and sound effects.
Frogspawned by Iain Bethune

You're a frog who can move left and right, jump and shoot your tongue straight up. The object of each level is to eat all the flies without eating any bees or getting eaten by a bird. You shoot your sticky tongue to catch flies, hopefully multiple for the extra points. You can jump on branches to get more height and there are floating leaves which block your tongue. There is also a timer so you have to hurry.

Very polished interface. Techno soundtrack that can get repetitive. Sounds of the bird yelling as it attacks, your tongue shooting, eating flies. The background is an actual picture. The game elements are mediocre computer graphics. The frog moves a bit slowly and the tongue shoots a bit slowly.

Gameplay: Average (3)  Very simple and a bit slow.
Graphics: Good (4)  Especially like the interface.
Sound and Music: Good (4)  Lots there, music & gameplay don't match.

Snowball by Aaron Sullivan

You're a snowball and must navigate each puzzle level to the exit. There are ice blocks to move around, snow to eat and get bigger so you can move more ice blocks, and multilevel terrain to block your path. Cool subdued music, good tutorial levels, challenging game play. Awesome game.

Gameplay: Excellent (5)  Well done levels. A bit hard to move around.
Graphics: Good (4)  Cute animation, very cartooney look.
Sound and Music: Average (3)  Other than theme, no other sounds.
Copyright (c) 2004 Kevin C. Wong
Page Created: November 9, 2004
Page Last Updated: November 9, 2004