A little below average...

But hey, it's Newgrounds, this isn't' exactly the target audience for the chicken dance. It's animated well enough; I don't see why this should get blammed when a bunch of other crap gets through. Don't get discouraged and keeping making more flash.

A good start

I agree with the last reviewer; you've got potential and I think you're going to do good things if you keep at it. But, I also liked this flash. It's simple, definitely nothing too flashy, but it's fun to watch and at least it's well executed and an original idea, which is a lot better than most entries can boast.

Great, if short

At first I thought the game was too hard. But, now, having played through it a second time and actually beaten it, I think the difficulty level was just right - which is very rarely the case on Newgrounds - usually something is either insanely difficult or extremely easy.

Overall, the game felt really polished and professional - very much like playing one of the old Contra games with Pico characters. The story was also well written, for what little there was - it gave just enough justification for what you were doing so it didn't seem completely random, and it also managed to have genuinely funny moments - particularly the ending.

Also, I like the control setup. Any time I can use the arrow keys to move around instead of the AWSD keys, I'm a happy camper. Other than that, the control were really simple and intuitive.

Would have been nice to see more variety in powerups, but, given the length of the game I think the amount that are in there are certainly enough - although, the missles and flamethrower seemed kind of worthless in my opinion - but you need stuff like that keep people on their toes and thinking strategically. Also, a secondary attack of some type might have been nice - such as a grenade blast that damages everything on the screen - through probably in this game, that would have made things too easy - but in a game with longer levels it's something to consider including.

What really impressed me was the AI of the first boss. There was a definite pattern - and once you learn it, he's beatable - but even if you go in knowing what to expect, you can still get your ass handed to you if you aren't paying attention, which is good because it keeps me as a player from feeling passive about the game and it shows that the game really is challenging and solidly made and is not just about learning the "tricks" to beating it.

As almost everyone else has said, more and longer levels would have been nice, and this type of game is perfect for platorming action. But I actually appreciate the length of the game as it is now - it's just long enough to be an entertaining and challenging mini-game that you can play when you have a few spare minutes, which I assume was the intention given the Author's Comments. And I'd much rather play a short, well thought out and polished game than one that's a little longer, but possibly rushed in places, and so in the end not as good as it could have been.

Really there's nothing negative to say about the game - any complaints I could think of would just be minor nitpicks - and this is certainly a game that's worthy to bear the Pico mantle.

It would be great to see more of these types of games later in the year - you certainly have my support in releasing them, for whatever that's worth to you.

So yeah, thanks for a really excellent submission - I wish that more flash games were as well executed as this one.

Very solid game

Whenever I see Armor Games at the beginning I know it's going to be quality. This is a very simple game that can become very addicting. I guess graphically it would be nice to have a little more going on, like different backgrounds or something like that, but like I said, it's a simple game so it doesn't need to be too flashy. Controls on the game are very responsive and the objective is immediately clear, even if you didn't read the instructions. Very good job overall.

Good song, but drowned out by noise on track

I REALLY enjoyed the Optimist Demo which you posted a while back, and I had been eagerly awaiting a more polished version of what sounded to be a really promising track. This version of the song still has a lot of the elements that I liked about the original demo; really great guitar riffs accompanied by solid and appropriate vocals; well written lyrics; and overall you've really created an epic rock sound without crossing the line into the rock opera hijinks of, say, Meatloaf.

However, a lot of the really positive aspects of the song are lost because they're drowned out by other noise on the track. The drums especially seem disproportionately loud, particularly in the intro portion of the track. However, this doesn't seem to be a problem during the chorus - in fact, I would say that the audio quality is probably the best during the chorus parts of the song, and I wish the rest of the track could sound more like that. I am not sure if the drums drown out the other instruments because of less than optimal recording conditions, or because of how the track was mixed in FL Studio and Reaper, but, if you could lower their volume somehow I think it would really improve the overall quality of the track.

Or, alternatively, maybe you could redo the drum part with less emphasis on the cymbals and mix it in with the other tracks in FL or Reaper? I THINK it's the cymbals that are really the main cause of the noise that I've been referencing in this review.

I thought that the original Optimist Demo really struck the right balance between the drums and the other instruments on the track while still letting the vocals shine through, and I would like to hear something more like that, where the drums are a little less harsh and there's less use of the cymbal. Around 1:46 on this track I think you achieve exactly the right balance between the drums, guitars, vocals, and everything else - so if you want to know which part I think sounds the best, listen to the portion between 1:46 and 2:06.

Anyway, I hope you find some of that helpful. I really do like this track overall; I have been known to blast it pretty loudly while driving and it really does sound like something that Muse or a similar group might have on an album. I'd just like to hear it cleaned up a little more. I know you weren't recording under ideal conditions, so maybe we can look forward to an updated version of the track in the future?

Wow

This was a really beautiful song with an eye catching title (at least for me). This is the first song I've heard on Newgrounds that moved me enough to want to write a review of it.

Definitely good stuff, especially for being an instrumental. I wish that there were vocals to go along with it, I think that would make it perfect, but it's pretty damn close to being perfect anyway, even without vocals.

I have to say I think this is a pretty successful rendering because before I read in your comments that it was a 3D rendering I was thinking that maybe the mooncakes were made out of polymer clay or resin.

Overall, a good piece showcasing your strengths

Okay, so this is probably coming a little late, but I have to totally disagree with the previous reviewer. I think this piece is actually very well thought out.

You have a great triangular composition going on here, which moves the viewer's eye very naturally from left to right. The tilt of the neck and the angle of the shoulder and the bend of the knees all create lines which draw attention towards the moon, which really is the focal point of the scene since it's the primary light source, is pretty radiant, and also rather large. Now, all of that might not have been intentional, but that's okay. Some elements of composition can be intuitive, so, you probably have good instincts.

I also think that overall the anatomy of the main figure well done. There are a couple of small problems, but nothing glaring; the hands could use a little work (the right hand doesn't quite look natural as it's holding the lighter and the thumb on the left hand looks just a little big); and, I think based on the angle of her hips and the fact that we're seeing some of her navel, her chest should probably be angled towards us a little more - meaning that we'd see both breasts. Aside from that, she seems pretty well proportioned and you really did a good job of conveying a particular kind of emotional distance in her facial expression.

The coloring and shading is also well done for the most part. If I were to recommend one thing, I would say try and add some darker tones to your shading, maybe adding one or two layers of varying shades of gray (if you're using GIMP or Photoshop, create a new layer, set the layer to multiply and then start shading). I think it would help your figures look a little more solid. I know you're influenced by anime, so, take a look at how some of the figures are shaded and emulate that.

Overall good work.

Good use of color and understated emotion

I really like this one; of the stuff that you've uploaded, this is my favorite.

I seem to recall you complaining that the hand looked wrong when you posted this in the art forum, but I actually think it looks just fine. Not sure if you changed anything since you posted it in your thread, but it definitely looks good now.

I really like your selective use of color and the restraint you used in picking skin tones which emphasize the other cool colors in the painting.

From an anatomical standpoint, I also think this is very polished, particularly when compared with some of your other work.

Really, there's very little to criticize, except for some minor points. Some portions of the hair get a little blurry, which is slightly distracting since the linework is pretty clear in other parts. And, while I like the splash of rose on the cheek, there's something about the contours of it that make the cheekbone seem like it extends out a little too close to where the ear begins.

Overall though a really good piece and I'd be remiss not to give it a 10.