Christmas 2004 Dualstream Day of Zeux Judging Sheets:astral

 /## astral's DoZ Scores ##/

 /## Ranks ##/

## Scores
- #17915 - 101/300
- #1799 - 92/300
- #2004 - 105/300
- #22947 - 30/300
- #323 - 165/300
- #35974 - 105/300
- #4865 - 200/300
- #5349 - 135/300
- #548 - 51/300
- #6168 - 185/300
- #743 - 85/300
- #7468 - 140/300
- #812 - 85/300
- #84865 - 152/300
- #9532 - 205/300
- #962 - 95/300
- #96234 - 30/300

## Weight Rank Order
1 #9532
2 #6168
3 #4865
4 #2004
5 #5349
6 #323
7 #84865
8 #35947
9 #7468
10 #812
11 #17915
12 #743
13 #962
14 #548
15 #1799
16 #22947
17 #96234

 /## The Reviews ##/

## 17915 - They Hide in the Dark

Gameplay 15/75
      The gameplay is nothing special. It's a shoot-em-up with minimal interaction. Space and dir to shoot, unlimited ammo. Two types of enemies and a boss await you. One type runs at you and blows up (that was the only thing that managed to damage me the whole game, and only because it caught me by surprise) and another kind that just sort of wanders around like a gimp and spits shot in a few directions every now and then. Nothing special. Actually as a whole the experience is kind of drab. There's a status bar that shows you your ten health points, but you really won't even have to look up there. Not really all that fun, lining up and shooting is boring as crap.

Graphics 30/60
      The graphics are simple, done in that old impressionist-looking style that used to be so popular. The colors are all pretty neutral, nothing sticks out as vicious and harsh although maybe the palette could've been helped a little bit. The two things that require being shot blink when you do so, that's a nice touch. The characters themselves aren't particularly interesting, and while the style isn't offensive or anything the backdrops are quite dull. Good looking, but more could've been done.

Innovation 5/45
      Innovation. You've seen everything in this game before, except maybe a boss who likes to play hide and seek. Simply put, it DOESN'T innovate. I can't really award too many points when there was no innovation except for a boss who basically seals his own fate.

Plot 5/40
      The plot is far short of impressive. It's run of the mill, and the author(s) do nothing to surprise you at all or even make you want to play the game more than once. I'll award it some points assuming it wanted to be a mindless shoot-em-up .. but even then it wasn't that great a shoot-em-up either.

Music/Sound 30/35
      This is probably the game's strong point. I liked the music. The game song would've been aggravating maybe had the game lasted long enough to cause it to repeat, but it didn't. Three songs total, all three are pleasing to hear.

Theme 11/30
      Okay it didn't really stick to the theme TOO well. The townspeople were scared. There's more you can do with fear than that. I didn't even see too many people who were particularly afraid, seeing as they were all getting a pretty good night's sleep despite nightmares. I can't give it less than 33% because it DID use the topic after all.

Discretion 5/15
      Props for turning something in.

TOTAL 101/300

## 1799 - Dungeons Down Under

Gameplay 10/75
      The game opens up with a character creator. That's pretty nice, it gives you a pretty sexy variety of things you can customize for a game made in 24 hours. Too bad no matter what you pick you're going to be killed by an S on the first floor. As if combat wasn't a frustrating ordeal, the magic system isn't complete and the dungeons are mostly just a test of how well your hands can avoid cramping. If you like ADOM or Nethack this'll just piss you off because it tries to be like them and fails miserably.

Graphics 5/60
      Nice menus, nice title screen. The game graphics are nothing impressive. They went for a specific look and got it, but I don't like that look and I think they could've done more. Just because it's text mode doesn't mean you actually have to use text.

Innovation 30/45
      Innovative dungeon generator. One of the best I've seen even though it fails to put any interesting content in the dungeons themselves outside of "0 gold" pickups. If there were more to it the score would be higher, but it IS pretty nice.

Plot 15/40
      Dungeon romps really don't need a plot and this one's no real exception. Decent score for the scrap it gives you, without trying to forcefeed you any crap. The author(s) even admit to copping out and giving you a shallow game, so it's not like you're going into the game with any delusion that it's the next final fantasy. Hey, at least I didn't have to sit through any bad cutscenes.

Music/Sound 10/35
      The chiptunes just pissed me off. Chip is good when done right, but in this case it was just a headache. Sry :(

Theme 15/30
      Hit ancient ruins right on the head. They didn't really do anything with it because they decided not to have a real plot, but it's all good. It worked, here's some points.

Discretion 7/15
      Props for turning something in, and for at least TRYING to go for something different and interesting. Even though the game was frustrating as hell.

TOTAL 92/300

## 22947 - team 22947 made a game about fear and this is it.'

Gameplay 0/75
      The game is an invisible maze. NO NO NO NO NO.

Graphics 5/60
      What graphics?

Innovation 0/45
      Oh snap, you walk around. What? You expected me to say something complex about it? IT'S A MAZE FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

Plot 0/40
      Well, there IS a plot, if that's what this category is for. Can't say it's particularly present or enjoyable, though.

Music/Sound 25/35
      At least the author spared my EARS from his sense of humor.

Theme 5/30
      It deals with fear but the only thing that's scary is that the author thought this would be interesting to submit.

Discretion 0/15
      ...

TOTAL 30/300

## 323 - Voyage of Fear

Gameplay 45/75
      The game is a sidescroller with a mouse controlled weapon. I had some issues getting the game to start since hitting P sticks you on the title screen where you get to watch the nice waving effect for a while until you realize that it isn't going to advance past that without editing. After that the mouse controlled weapon will be sure to leave you utterly bored and the bland single-minded level design won't impress you much past pretty colors. The boss fight I was in was interesting, that was the most challenging part of the game.

Graphics 50/60
      The graphics are great, the palette works, and the animations that are there are nice to look at. Probably some of the best graphics I've seen yet out of the games I've judged, though a lot of things could've used more detail. The cutscene things are also good looking, and the title has a great waving effect and it's pleasing to look at.

Innovation 20/45
      Mouse controlled weaponry is pretty new, big sprites, but other than that it is a run of the mill sidescroller with nothing exactly spectacular about it. A few points for the sprites and weapon, but that's it.

Plot 15/40
      The plot was pretty thin. I guess you could say it more or less worked like a jeep, it got the job done but it wasn't pretty. Probably could've done with a little more reason and fleshing out.

Music/Sound 10/35
      No music, spotty sound effects. They weren't very clear, but they were better than no sound at all. More could've been done here, I think.

Theme 20/30
      I think the game used the theme in an interesting manner. It took fear and more or less used it as a fear of what the character was, not necessarily a fear of something external. Far different than the LOLZ BUMP IN THE NIGHT pattern the other fear games have been using.

Discretion 5/15
      Starts on the wrong board. If you shoot directly above you in a certain way the gun will mess up. The flying skulls are just annoying, and I think for a game like this the health count is way too low.

TOTAL 165/300

## 35974 - Are You Afraid?

Gameplay 10/75
      Walking walking walking. That's all you do. Walk and read.

Graphics 10/60
      The graphics were pretty bad. Bland, lot of empty space. Bland colors as well.

Innovation 0/45
      No real innovation throughout the whole thing, sorry.

Plot 35/40
      Given that this was basically a motion book, the plot should've been good. It didn't make a whole lot of sense at first and seemed kind of rushed, but other than that it was pretty good and tied in both concepts. I liked the ending a lot.

Music/Sound 20/35
      Pretty good music. Wasn't aggravating, but there wasn't a lot of variety. What was there worked.

Theme 20/30
      Tied in both concepts, and though not specifically creative with them the game didn't really disappoint in the theme area

Discretion 10/15
      Not really much of a game, what was there was annoying as hell, but the plot was good. Also, it was an interesting concept. Too bad there wasn't a lot of game to go with it.

TOTAL 105/300

## 4865 - Scottish Adventure

Gameplay 50/75
      I don't typically like inventory based adventure games but this one wasn't that bad. It's nothing special but the game is interesting for at least a once through. Probably the best of the games I've tried to go through so far. The logic doesn't always make PERFECT sense but with these kinds of games it rarely does.

Graphics 50/60
      The graphics for this game are really good. The title screen is spectacular, in particular. As soon as I loaded this I knew I was in for a treat. They aren't perfect, there's more detail that could've been added, but what's there looks good. The animations are nice and the world seems alive enough to be believeable. The two char people are good looking too. I liked it.

Innovation 5/45
      If the game really lacked a whole lot it was in this department, the game really didn't throw anything at you that you haven't seen. It's rare to see larger players in a finished game and that was pretty nice. Some points for that, I guess.

Plot 25/40
      The plot is cute. It wasn't exactly the next Lord of the Rings but it fit nicely with the style of game. The player actually has a reason to go around combining and breaking items, he's a cheap bastard who won't pay for anything, which is actually something of a rarity for inventory games. (A method for the madness, I mean) and the ghost character is interesting.

Music/Sound 35/35
      The sound and music is great. The title music made me smile as soon as the game was loaded and the songs during the game are pleasing to the ear. Nice choice of music. The sound effects aren't particularly impressive but they're good enough and certainly don't take anything away from the game. Kudos on sound choice.

Theme 25/30
      Doesn't do a whole lot with fear unless you count the ghost and even then, he wasn't a scary ghost. However, ancient ruins was hit right on the head in a very creative way. Instead of spelunking, you're trying to get started in your new home.

Discretion 10/15
      What can I say, I just really liked this game.

TOTAL 200/300

## 5349 - Unearthin' Egypt

Gameplay 60/75
      Sidescrolling action game. Nothing spectacular but it was pretty fun. Some optional items that you might need depending on how you play the game, and those are challenging to get, bordering on frustrating. The engine for it is pretty refined and I think in some spots the developers included some little places where you needed to use the few flaws in the sidescroller to progress. One kind of enemy, and a few original bosses who are all easy to beat but require a different method of beating each one. I liked it.

Graphics 20/60
      The graphics were sort of bland. The environments weren't that great looking and they were undetailed outside of the brick pattern, a background color, and heiroglyphics. Enemies were unanimated and keys, hearts, and ammo were all default. The player was pretty much the only animated entity. Everything else was really just one frame except the lava.

Innovation 0/45
      Nothing really all that innovative, fun game but it doesn't really try anything new on you.

Plot 15/40
      There wasn't really a plot, but I guess it really didn't need much of one.

Music/Sound 25/35
      Default sound effects, the mod music was pretty good and the other sounds were okay. Not exactly a spectacular set but worth the majority of the points.

Theme 12/30
      Hit ancient ruins exactly in the same spot that first comes to mind. Not really creative at all, but it did USE the theme so I have to at least give it the third it needs to stay qualified.

Discretion 3/15
      Bugs bugs bugs and the same enemy over and over again?

TOTAL 135/300

## 548 - Fear of the Ancient Ruins III: The Infernal Fear

Gameplay 15/75
      Another sidescroller, only with more suck. Slow "physics" and not everything in the game adheres to them. snakes tend to fly and so does voodoo boy. The fighting was run of the mill shoot a million enemies after collecting a billion ammo containers so that definitely takes some from the score. It just wasn't fun.

Graphics 5/60
      Awful graphics. Eyesore colors, the titlescreen is boring, the objects themselves are either unchanged or undetailed. Just awful.

Innovation 0/45
      Once again, nothing you haven't seen.

Plot 15/40
      The plot really made no sense, but this was one of those kinds of games a plot really wouldn't have saved. So props for letting me off the hook and not testing if I could read properly.

Music/Sound 5/35
      One word: Aggravating.

Theme 11/30
      Buhh buhh buhh more ancient ruins. You'd figure some people would've tried a few other things, but they didn't. It's more of the same.

Discretion 3/15
      It isn't fun, it feels half thought out at best. Late entrant or joke quality.

TOTAL 51/300

## 6168 - Judgement of the Immortal

Gameplay 50/75
      Hack and slash with a few other controls. Basic gameplay setup, probably would've gotten more interesting if the game had gone farther. I believe the author(s) must not've finished the game, because it is awfully short and the plot didn't come to a satisfying end. The levels are randomly generated, and there's a message box detailing everything that happens to you.

Graphics 55/60
      I have to admit, when I saw that it didn't have a title screen I Was slightly discouraged. However, as soon as the game loaded, it was obvious that the game was something else entirely. The overworld is beautiful and the area that you can play is simply stunning. I truly hope the author(s) intend to finish this game after the DoZ is said and done.

Innovation 30/45
      Everything is big and beautiful. The game experience itself feels polished. While you may not find anything particularly innovative, I want to give it points here just for being so well crafted, and at heart it really is innovative because this feels more like a commercial product than a game with a day long development cycle.

Plot 20/40
      The plot isn't ground breaking but it's interesting enough and leaves room for development if the author(s) actually finishes the game. It's all presented to you in a prologue manner at the very beginning, but like I said, there's room for more and there's a lot that COULD be explored.

Music/Sound 10/35
      The music is alright. It isn't great but it does work. I didn't notice any sound effects, the game could've benefitted from some.

Theme 15/30
      It's the same ancient ruins stuff over and over again.

Discretion 5/15
      It's unfinished. Did I mention that if your health drops below zero you don't die?

TOTAL 185/300

## 743 - Temple o' Ketera

Gameplay 20/75
      Typical sidescroller. Really annoying controls, enemies weren't exactly impressive and I didn't quite understand exactly how I was supposed to win that boss fight. Just not that impressive, sorry. Ended up being more of a headache to play than a fun experience.

Graphics 10/60
      Graphics were sort of lacking. A lot of undetailed blackness and the environment tiles that WERE there were sort of bland, save for a few decent things here and there. More could've been done, I think.

Innovation 5/45
      Multiple weapons, none of which really prove too useful. Sword engine in a sidescroller is pretty neat, but there wasn't any real innovation there. Sorry.

Plot 30/40
      From what I read the plot seemed to be pretty well thought out. I thought the concept was interesting even though it was forcefed too you at the start of the game with a big gray text box. Props for having ancient ruins used for something other than spelunking.

Music/Sound 15/35
      The music was okay, sound wasn't really present. I can't say a whole lot here because there wasn't a whole lot to talk about, but at least it didn't hurt.

Theme 15/30
      Ehhhh... it used ancient ruins differently, but I don't think it did anything spectacular with it. Half points here.

Discretion 10/15
      It was a nice little game, if a little halfassed.

TOTAL 85/300

## 7486 - Zeeb's Interplanetary Adventure

Gameplay 40/75
      Inventory based adventure game with an interesting graphical user interface. Instead of using the normal text box, it actually displays all the items on the left side of the screen and it gives you a status readout. Other than that, typical inventory based game. Fun, but not spectacular.

Graphics 25/60
      The graphics were eye pleasing and nothing particularly harsh. Could've been a LOT more detailed, but it was cute. Looked very oldschool, maybe rushed in some areas. There were cutscenes, and those were pretty cool.

Innovation 10/45
      No real innovation except the pretty menu.

Plot 25/40
      The plot is there, but maybe run of the mill. Interesting enough but wouldn't win any short story contests.

Music/Sound 15/35
      The music for this game is cute. I didn't really make any note of great sound effects. The title music specially sets an interesting mood for the rest of the game.

Theme 15/30
      More of the same stuff done with the topic. I don't see why things have been so one track for this DoZ, but I guess these things /work/

Discretion 10/15
      A few bugs and sometimes the inventory system was just frustrating, other than that, pretty nice.

TOTAL 140/300

## 812 - Jeff Kenny: Secret Agent

Gameplay 20/75
      The gameplay wasn't that great. It consisted of dodging crap and walking up next to people and kicking them until they died. Then waiting for your fatigue meter to go back up. Not really that fun.

Graphics 15/60
      Bland, many colors that hurt the eyes, bad animation. More detail and a new coat of paint and maybe it wouldn't have been all that bad.

Innovation 15/45
      Interesting three manuever combat system.

Plot 10/40
      The plot was more or less run of the mill evil overlord with run and do stuff objectives. Nothing spectacular, wouldn't win any awards in a story contest.

Music/Sound 10/35
      At first it was pleasing to the ear but it quickly became repetitive and the source of a headache. I muted it after a while.

Theme 15/30
      It used the theme. What else do you want from me? I'm tired of saying that I'm tired of seeing the same stuff over and over. I really think more could've been done.

Discretion 10/15
      Some issues with gameplay, a bug or two that stops the game and makes you restart.

TOTAL 85/300

## 84865 - Fear Nothing

Gameplay 30/75
      The gameplay is boring. Action RPG with a little item hunting. Multiple weapons to spice it up, but it's basically all the same thing.

Graphics 30/60
      The graphics are grainy but they work for what the game is trying to convey. Plain white all over the board in the middle of the game is more or less just an eyesore, but other than that none of the boards are particularly bland or too busy.

Innovation 5/45
      Not really innovative. All of this stuff has been seen before.

Plot 25/40
      The plot was interesting, confusing at first but solidified later in the game. Didn't make a too terrible amount of sense even later, but at least it was a little more substantial than some of the other entries.

Music/Sound 35/35
      The sound liked to have scared the SHIT out of me the first time it surprised me. After that it sort of lost it's impact a little bit, but the lack of music combined with explosive sounds is interesting to say the least.

Theme 17/30
      Fear fear fear, it didn't do anything particularly original with it, but at least it was interesting in execution.

Discretion 10/15
      Some issues with bugs and pauses and things making no sense.

TOTAL 152/300

## 9532 - Run! Run! Run!

Gameplay 50/75
      I enjoyed this game thoroughly. Even though the gameplay was run and collect, it kept me interested and the little tidbits of "information" the game threw at me were humorous. The radar on screen made the the game itself less of a frustrating experience, which was possibly gameplay's only drawback. The small screen size tends to cause aggravation when out of nowhere the various enemies catch you, long before you ever realize their position. This forces you to possibly get caught several times just to feel ou the movement patterns of the enemies, which just pissed me off.

Graphics 55/60
      The graphics are pretty solid. The first level is a little less than impressive, but the second level is detailed and pretty, and the third level is just plain odd. The player is well animated and interesting to watch, he even opens his mouth as he runs. the title screen is appealing as well. Probably the best or second best out of the DoZ.

Innovation 40/45
      Oh my God the radar. The radar the radar the radar. It's a spectacular feat in robotic, thrice that since it was completed in a twenty four hour time period. No other game's got it to my knowledge in Megazeux, and warrants well over half of the innovation points.

Plot 5/40
      Probably the only drawback of this game. You're afraid of stuff, which is basically all you can scrape up from this game. It's not impressive and wouldn't really be enough to keep you doing this for a long period of time.

Music/Sound 25/35
      The music and sound is interesting, fitting, and the sound effects are borderline ridiculous. I liked the collage of sound this game provides.

Theme 15/30
      Well, it did something pretty standard with fear. I think maybe there were far more creative methods for using the topics, but this one worked well enough to earn some points.

Discretion 15/15
      I didn't find any bugs, and besides maybe a little frustration the game was a great experience, even better than some of the games that get a full development cycle instead of a 24 hour period.

TOTAL 205/300

## 962 - Zombies

Gameplay 35/75
      An exploration sidescroller. Kind of reminded me of metroid without the fun. I think more could've been done to make this game interesting, but the concept is solid. The controls are a little aggravating and parts of the game make use of some of the engine's faults but in a way that more or less pisses you off because the faults only occur about half the time you hit the keys properly.

Graphics 20/60
      The same tiles and enemies over and over again. Lots of black space and there was no title screen. Another one of those games that could've done with a new coat of paint.

Innovation 0/45
      Absolutely nothing about this game is new. It's all the same stuff over and over again.

Plot 15/40
      The plot isn't exactly impressive. Kill zombies, scour the ruins for a crown. Another one of these award winning DoZ plots.

Music/Sound 10/35
      No sound effects, same song over and over again, and the song doesn't sound that great.

Theme 15/30
      It used both of them sort of but in every possible predictable way. Boring.

Discretion 10/15
      A few issues with the sidescrolling engine breaking.

TOTAL 95/300

## 96234 - Tha Mindkilla

Gameplay 0/75
      Not a game.

Graphics 30/60
      Decent graphics. Sort of.

Innovation 0/45
      No innovation.

Plot 5/40
      The plot was poorly explained and retarded.

Music/Sound 30/35
      The music was pretty good.

Theme 5/30
      The theme was barely used.

Discretion 0/15
      If you want to waste my time and turn in this to play, I'm not gonna waste my time writing a decent review.

TOTAL 40/300

## 2004 - Afraid to Forget

Gameplay 10/75
      The gameplay is destroy EVERYTHING. An interesting variant to destroy x or collect y, you just forget about all of that and try to destroy everything in your path. A little single minded, but interesting. One board long.

Graphics 30/60
      The graphics aren't that impressive. They're run of the mill, but at least there aren't huge black spots, with zero detail as seems to be a running theme in the DoZ. Oh, and no title screen.

Innovation 5/45
      A sword engine and stuff that explodes really doesn't constitute innovation, but the spree level thing is nice. Similar to the Grand Theft Auto wanted levels.

Plot 25/40
      The plot is really good. Far different from the other games. The hero isn't a clear hero and there really is no full closure to this game besides his death. It's probably one of the more interesting plots I've seen in a game. I just wish the game fit the plot a little better and maybe it was a little more developed.

Music/Sound 0/35
      Uh. Default sound effects and no music. Not exactly impressive. At least it wasn't annoying. There was a slight issue with the no ammo sound still playing, though.

Theme 30/30
      The theme usage is spectacular. Maybe a little condescending being that the author points it out, but other than that, great. No other game did this, and honestly I don't think any of the other authors would've thought of this.

Discretion 5/15
      Bugs, one board, aggravatingly long opening and death sequences.

TOTAL 105/300