Score: 9

"Engaging and informative"

submission: Hiro Shitaku

date: September 25, 2006

I have the CD that you got the shakuhachi music from! :D Nice! It was kind of annoying though how it kept playing that same clip every time.

The shortcut techniques used by anime are very interesting to me, so I was glad to see such a concise summary of them here. I don't want to say too much, but I am inspired to use similar techniques for games. It would at least be a cool experiment...

Thanks for the nice movie!

Score: 7

"Kind of confusing, some cool parts"

submission: Slowloft: Overdose

date: September 25, 2006

I didn't quite understand this animation and how it fit with the message it was supposed to convey, but I still liked it. That old silent movie thing was a funny surprise. The most interesting part for me though was that very stylish pastel colors thing. It reminds of an iPod ad or the game Nom.

Maybe I could make a game with that style. :p That could be cool. So thanks for the idea!

Score: 10

"OMG teh bESt flash evAr!!1!"

submission: eBaums world dot com

date: September 17, 2006

:D

Great song, really funny and appropriate animation. Perfection. :p

Everyone should put code into their Flash games and movies that checks if it is stolen by eBaums and play this animation instead if it is!

Score: 9

"Amazing, though unoriginal"

submission: Madness Antipathy

date: September 16, 2006

I don't know what more I can say than all the reviewers before me. But yes, it is an amazing animation. I liked the abundance of melee combat, which was probably my favorite part of it.

But it did start to get monotonous, as the Hank predictably mows through hallway after hallway of minions. It gets hard to pay attention to each fight, which is a shame, because it is so well animated. I think it might be more enjoyable for people who are new to the series.

But another part of the problem I think is the pacing of it. As one or two reviewers have said before me, Hank has turned into a grotesque killing machine, no longer a hero. In the early episodes, the pace is slower, and it is easier to appreciate each move that the hero makes. Now the bodies are falling so flawlessly fast that it is hard to care.

It also makes the violence less shocking. For some reason, the earlier movies seem much more violent. Each stab and beheading is cringe-worthy. In this movie, they breeze by.

Another trend I have noticed in past reviews is a demand for a new Madness Interactive. Let me just say I am considering the project. :) Ideally I'd like to make an online multiplayer game with all three players, each with their own conflicting goals and abilities, set loose on a world full of minions. So many projects, so little time...

Score: 7

"A big improvement"

submission: Madness Elimination 3

date: September 13, 2006

Wow, this one is way better than the last one, Madness Elimination 2. I have high hopes for the fourth. :)

It stands on its own as a decent animation, but it is still no Madness Combat.

In terms of graphics, it is not bad technically, but it seems unpolished. Madness Combat was very stylistically consistent and minimal, making sure pretty much every detail fit in. This animation did not show quite the same level of perfectionism. That may not be the author's goal, so I am not too concerned about it. But it is still something to consider.

I liked the synchronization of the intro with the music. Also, the various camera effects seemed pretty sophisticated.

The choreography was much better in this animation than in earlier ones, much more flowing, but it still didn't seem to flow as well as Madness Combat. I wasn't kidding about watching Aikido videos online! :D Go out and watch some now!

I think capturing the flow of the fight scenes is the most important part in making animations worthy of the Madness name. All the rest is up to your own style and preference as an animator.

Score: 8

"Stylish, high-quality stick shooter"

submission: wpnFire

date: September 1, 2006

This is an impressive game. Personally, I enjoyed it more than Thing Thing, though other people might not like it as much.

The game is certainly very stylish. The menu had some interesting sound that reminded me of The Incredibles. And the very smooth controls contributed to that feel. The little things helped too, like the way that the camera moved with your mouse. I also thought it was interesting how the graphics were pixelated (though you can change that), since I don't see that much in stick stuff.

The graphics are very detailed, from the way the guns fit the different poses of the stick figure, to the bullet casings that spray as you fire the gun. The sound effects are also very nice, and plentiful. The only issue I had was with the gruesome sounds of enemy soldiers getting hit. Without a storyline, I was left wondering why I should be inflicting such pain upon these people.

In terms of gameplay, I liked that all the guns were available for experimentation in most game modes. I think that Adventure Mode should start a little easier, particularly since it is the first mode a new player is likely to try, being at the top of the list. Maybe start by making it harder to fall off the platform?

It's nice to have so many game types to try. But it's also nice to have one main mode that is more polished than the others.

For humor, well, stick games in general are usually kind of silly, though this one doesn't have any obviously humorous elements.

Overall, this is a really nice, well-polished game that could probably become a classic stick game. Try it!

Score: 6

"Nice, simple, fun"

submission: Ragdoll Avalanche II

date: August 26, 2006

It's nice to see more physics based games made in Flash, especially made by the author of Ragdoll Masters.

This game is very nice. It's fun to move around, the graphics are very consistent and clean, and so are the sound effects. That slice sound was very slice-y. And the blood spray fit the graphical style quite well too.

The music did get kind of repetitive, but you can't expect much more from a Flash game. It would also have been nice if the blades started out slower in the beginning.

The messages displayed upon dying were kind of funny, but oftentimes just weird and didn't seem to reflect your score. But the way you get sliced up was funny. It deserves at least a chuckle or two.

So overall, a nice concise game, definitely above average.

Note to True_Darkness: Soon, a Flash successor to Ragdoll Masters will arise. I cannot say any more, except that it will be even better than Ragdoll Masters itself! (sorry Matteo ;p)

And I can't make any promises, but a tutorial is certainly a possibility. Now, I must flee, before the admins find me. (hopefully that wasn't too much unrelated promotion)

Score: 7

"Fun! and well-polished"

submission: Stick Arena (NG)

date: August 25, 2006

I was pleasantly surprised trying out this game. The level of polish on the game is impressive.

The game is very easy to pick up and play, with simple, well-thought out controls, which I appreciate. The loading time is also reasonable.

All the little finishing touches, like the tutorial that pops up if you don't do anything, and the loading animations, were nice and gave the game a polished feel. On my computer too I was glad to find the game running smoothly without any lag.

The weakest point was probably the graphics, which don't look too good in screen shots, but are at least functional in the game. I didn't get tired of looking at them, but it might have been nicer to have a more consistent visual scheme. (the realistic background with the stick figures was kind of weird)

The sound was simple, but there were some nice features, like sound effects that got louder and softer depending on where they were coming from, so you could hear enemies before you saw them.

And of course the multiplayer is a very impressive achievement.

Overall, the game is really quite fun and well-made, so try it out!

Score: 5

"Needs more "aiki""

submission: Madness Elimination 2

date: August 15, 2006

Here's what I think stands between this animation and the classic Madness. Your character needs more "aiki". Here's something I found while searching for the term:

"To deal with an adversary from an Aiki perspective regardless of whether he suffers great bodily harm or death is to deal with him in a calm, emotionally detached, blending state of mind."

Part of the appeal of Madness I think is how well it portrays such a frighteningly relentless, yet calm and detached killer, smoothly and harmoniously dispatching his enemies. He is always in the right place at the right time. He anticipates his enemies' actions to draw them to their demise.

One reviewer mentioned "poor reaction time". I think this is because in Madness, the character did not react, he anticipated.

It's like Aikido with guns, and excessive violence.

Watch the Madness series again with this in mind. Also watch some Aikido videos online.

Once you understand this, the smoothness of your animation should improve. But it could also be interesting to try to capture this feel with a jerkier style of animation. Like the "Move-It" animation, perhaps?