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Kato's TLDR Level Reviews

Archive: 149 posts

For those who have not seen one of my reviews before, they tend to be very long, extremely biased, and yet some people seem to like them. I'm not sure why they like them. Possibly because most have more than 200 words in them. Which is why they are called Kato's TLDR Reviews.

If you would like a review:

- Post the name of your level.
- Post a link to your level.

As always, there are certain things I look for in levels which I keep an eye out for, as I rant about the things I liked, didn't like, or was confused by. Then, at the end of said reviews, I do a TLDR section, providing an itemized list of the following categories, in a more abbreviated form.

Navigation - How easily and comfortably I can find my way through the level.

Visual - How pretty it all is.

Sound - I am NOT a music expert, so this part is usually pretty empty. I mainly just check this one off.

Gadgets - How nifty the contraptions and logic were in the level.

Story - An optional section depending on whether or not your level has a story going on.

P&A - It stands for Pleasures and Aggravations. This is a new section replacing 'Glitch Abuse'. Now that massive multi-layer levels with broadcast chips and animation tweakers are the rule and not the exception, I can't rightly judge their appropriateness. So P&A is now reserved for things like obstacles I wish to single out as being completely awful, or small things which make me giddy.

Some Notes:
1. I do not review Incomplete or Beta levels. I am not a level tester, so please make sure your level is a finished product. If it is a Part 5 of 7 with parts 6 and 7 in the works that's totally fine. But make it a complete Part 5.
2. I do not review Editor Picks. If you've got a Pick, then your level is obviously fabulous and you shouldn't need me to tell you that.
3. In regards to the above, I WILL still review a level if it gets picked after you ask for a review.
4. I do not review levels just because you want free plays.
5. If you ask for a review, please remember... you ASKED for a review. You do not need to get defensive if you disagree with me.
6. I reserve the right to refuse to review certain levels. I've only done this a handful of times.

Other Specs About What I Will Or Will Not Review:
1. I can review LBP1 (PS3), LBP2 (PS3), LBP3 (PS4), and LBPK (PS3) levels.
2. I will not review Music Galleries. Sorry! I have nothing against them, I'm just not a very good judge of music.
3. I will no longer review Multiplayer Levels. Again, Sorry! But I only have one PS4 controller, and I'm too introverted to ask my friends to play LBP with me.
4. I am best at reviewing platformers, puzzlers, survival levels, and movies.
5. 9 times our of 10 I will not get your jokes.

And Finally My Pet Peeves That You Should Be Aware I WILL Call You Out On:
1. Ceiling-Grab sections. I hate them.
2. Levels that just 'end' without a scoreboard.
3. Overly-Cute levels. Not just cute levels, but actual travesties of sugary-sweetness that send you into a diabetic coma.
4. Levels that claim to be the 'scariest level ever'. Ha ha, no. They're not.
5. Puzzle Levels I can accidentally make unsolvable. No, really. I've done this before. Several times.
6. Levels that are incredibly hard and not entertaining.

That's all. As as the title states... TLDR-LBP1-3+K reviews. Keep em' coming.

2013-05-09 21:51:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Since you already played it, a bit more in-depth review on Hatter Fields'd be neat. Otherwise, I look forward to reading anything that shows up here.

2013-05-09 22:01:00

Author:
GunslingerShane

Posts: 20

Hatter Fields: Pt. 1
by GunslingerShane
Link: http://lbp.me/v/jsqw47

I'm going to come right out at the start to state that no matter what patter is splattered on Hatter (Fields) I really did enjoy it, to the point that I found myself annoyed it was over so quickly. I AM looking forward to part two, so regardless of how I nitpick, I think Pt. 1 was GREAT.

First off, something is amiss with the player character's head. I couldn't tell if he was wearing a helmet, or had somehow decided a striped cantaloupe was a better solution, but the environment is too good looking to have a bulbous yellow bumblebee butt swaggering in my face. Which sort of goes with my next thing, that could potentially fix it. The camera is reeeeeeeeeeally close to the environment. I understand that vision should be limited, but it's a bit TOO limited. I was actually curious if there was a way to have a zoomed in camera when interacting with important items, and then an alternate view that automatically zooms out when you're walking around. It doesn't need to be super way back, just enough so I can see the whole of a bedroom at once.

During my first run I had a little trouble finding the spade. Looking back at my earlier suggestion to have a garden shed close by, I actually have a different idea. I think it might benefit with a short text cutscene with your character saying something like 'These flowers were planted recently. I wonder if they lead anywhere?' It doesn't necessarily need to be that obvious, but any kind of indicator would be useful.

I liked the piano puzzle the most. It was my favorite gadget. However, maybe right from the start of the level maybe your guy could mention that the car is busted, but the radio and tape player's still working. Or maybe mention that his girlfriend's mix-tape is in the car. I only say this because my car only has a CD player, as tape decks are going the way of the dodo.

I guess the best advice I could give is that I like that you're not holding the player's hand, but the scale of the map is too limited for me to find myself confused by any puzzles. A lot of design and a lot of tech has gone into this so far, but for some reason I'm hard pressed to believe that the complexity could yet be full. I think it could mostly benefit by having more things to do. Yes this is the opening level, and I'm not expecting exploding demon heads to pop out from the get-go, but replaying it diminishes interest because the sequence of events is too brief. And if your level's length is padded exclusively for the newcomer trying to hunt for a key, there's going to be a lot of people with ADD quitting out very fast.

Take my review with a pinch of sugar, and a pat on the back! I genuinely liked it. I liked it, and I want more of it.

TLDR:

Navigation - Some items slightly difficult to locate. Immersion sometimes broken by wandering under tables or shelves.

Gadgetry - Interesting puzzles. Top-down perspective is unique and clever. Inventory a little difficult to manage, but much better than anything I could do!

Glitches - I didn't notice anything being abused. Everything seemed rational, and tight.

Story - So far so good. Lots of questions, but I expect they will be answered later.

Notes - Sunflowers are awfully cheerful for such a dark atmosphere. The note in the basement about the 'guy in his car'? Consider 'the man I dreamed about last night'. Anything more poetic than 'the dude with a car' would be preferable.

Really awesome stuff. I'm looking forward to the next chapter.

2013-05-09 22:45:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

I'd like a review of these two levels, please.
http://lbp.me/v/bzk2ms
http://lbp.me/v/h3qtcq
If you can only review one level at a time, then review the bottom one. They're both part of a series, the top is the intro and the bottom is part 1. You can't understand part 1 without the intro.

2013-05-10 02:28:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

SackDroid: Intro, Pt. 1
by Kalawishis & Friends
Link: http://lbp.me/v/bzk2ms / http://lbp.me/v/h3qtcq

To make a long story short, used here rather ironically, I was not able to finish SackDroid last night. There sheer amount of it there is, is overwhelming. I started playing at 10:20 PM, and had to stop at 11:30 right when I needed to fix an elevator. Will I go back and finish? Probably.

So certainly the creators deserve recommendations, commendations, and prizes for all the work put into these levels. A tremendous amount of effort has been put into it all so pat yourselves on the back. But I'm going to be honest here, playing this level is like playing Final Fantasy. There are so many cutscenes and stories going on, that I get frustrated waiting for the game to shut up and let me play. Making a cinematic experience is a double-edged sword. Yes people are going to be awed by the labor put into it all, but that could be a bad thing. Yes you're telling an intricate story, but some people are going to get very bored.

My biggest gripe with the story is that it has a strange line of balance between world-building and breaking the fourth wall. A handful of characters are blissfully unaware they are characters in a story, while the rest of them pelvic thrust in your face and scream about Sackbots frying in water while tro-lol-loling about bounce pads. It's like you're watching Star Wars only it's been replaced by the cast of Spaceballs, with the exception of Luke Skywalker who walks around very confused as to why Han Solo has a Star Wars DVD, and indeed what a DVD is in the first place.

It's difficult to review this set of levels because let's face it, they're not levels, they're interactive story-telling. The individual parts end up being greater than the whole which is bothersome. The story was interesting, the jokes were funny, the gadgets were cool, the layouts were neat, the characters were developed, but they each came to work wearing a different goofy hat and and now there's so many goofy hats all over that you wish they'd all just pick one and stick with it.

I don't want you to feel downtrodden by any of this. What you've assembled here really is something very unique, and it's past the point of going back to change things. I'd certainly give this a recommendation, and I'd shake your hands if I could. You should certainly feel like you've accomplished something, but that's where I have to stop. So let's get to the nitty gritty then!

TLDR:

Navigation - Layout easy to use, but some technologies unnecessary. Dialogue Choices and Room Flippers are cool, but do we really need them? They don't change the story one way or the other, and that complexity could be better spent on making the environments look better.

Gadgetry - Gadgetry is the best part about this level, the elevator pods being my favorite, but a loud round of applause is most assuredly given for the Sackbot work. I think some costumes could use a little work, but that's a whole other matter entirely.

Glitches - There were some glitches used, but in a conciliatory fashion.

Story - The meat of the gameplay. Needs to find a better balance between immersion and self-awareness. Jokes were pretty funny though. The puking kids on the bounce pads had me stop for a moment to laugh.

Notes - I see this as a level that's going to get better later. So someday when I have more time I'll make an attempt to run through to the end. I don't want you to feel upset or discouraged, you do have a very good level here overall. I think it definitely deserves some recognition, much more than it yet has.

2013-05-10 14:09:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Thanks for the review! Really, the elevator fixing puzzle is half of the gameplay of the entire level but after it there's a long cutscene...so yeah. I wanted SackDroid to be in a Universe, but in the LBP universe, so all the fourth wall jokes weren't really fourth wall jokes but references to the world around them.

I'm really a movie maker at heart so of course that would be reflected in SackDroid. However, SackDroid - Part 2 will have more gameplay and less cutscenes so yeah. Even so, this is probably one of the stranger reviews I've gotten. In fact, I'm thinking of replacing my sig with "Play SackDroid - Part 1! Kato says "It's like you're watching Star Wars only it's been replaced by the cast of Spaceballs, with the exception of Luke Skywalker who walks around very confused as to why Han Solo has a Star Wars DVD, and indeed what a DVD is in the first place.""

2013-05-10 20:42:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

Cool! Certainly don't think of it as a bad review. XD I was tremendously entertained.

When I came to work this morning I was spouting off "SHOOT THE MESSENGER!" at my co-workers. They gave me very confused looks.

2013-05-10 21:02:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

F4F: AQUA-FRIED (Lite)
by Peoriaspirfire
Link: http://lbp.me/v/k85pkd

So I only played the Lite Version, but I do have the full-length version all queued up and ready, since I had a lot of fun with this tasty sample. I want to make clear one thing about LBP, by my own personal views. There are LBP levels, and there are Game Levels. So you scratch your head and say "But... LBP IS a game" and I say "FOOL! I have watched Soul Eater recently." And you say "What does that have to do with-" And I cut you off with "FOOL I was born in the twelfth century" and look at me dodging the issue.

ALL RIGHT. So what I mean is, I have certain expectations from LBP. You run, jump, grab, pop-yourself, and look at thinly-veiled craft materials trying to pass for the actual environments they're representing. What Aqua Fried has is what I can best describe as an 'old school' experience which I normally don't find in LBP. LBP is a new game for new things like movies, and complicated machine contraptions, and let's see how we can make point A to B one way a reality. With AFL The goal is NOT to go A to B, it's to collect as many spinning tokens as humanly possible. You remember that from the old days? When the whole point of some games was solely to collect goodies? Maybe not the best example, but you remember Donkey Kong Country right? Where Bananas were everywhere, and by God I would try to get ALL OF THOSE BANANAS. I did. I tried. I died. And Cranky Kong bapped be on the head with a cane.

Aqua-Fried is a level that remembers the charming importance of collecting arbitrary tokens for a better score. This is not a level for at least 65% of all Little Big Planetians, who view the Cosmic Imagisphere as a sort of passive-aggressive facebook, where you can dress up as a horrifyingly anthro creatures and slaps sackbots to their deaths in hopes of breaking a level. Yes, this is not a level for those cruel sadistic legions of lolcats and troll-faces whose single hivemind brain cell can't concentrate on anything not shiny, flashy, or worth a 'lmao' and probably wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. No, this is a level BY a gamer, FOR gamers, or rather, for EXPLORERS who enjoy not just breezing by landscapes at mach seven or rage-quitting the moment they die once because they were trying to chat with friends and weren't paying attention.

This is a very fun level to play, but if you're the type to wade through story and cinematics as if looking for a substitute for the still ephemeral Kingdom Hearts 3, you're SOL. The story is simple and needs no greater explanation than ALIENS BAD, WATER RADIOACTIVE and frankly if you're befuddles as to why coins are randomly floating everywhere and need an explanation of the scientific physics, then go get a career in mechanical engineering you soulless sheep! They float because you're supposed to collect them, so shut up and get JUMPING before they disappear!

I did have a few issues. Nitpicks really, since I've just spent four paragraphs bragging about it. One, there weren't enough random aliens, and you put some good work into them, so it's a shame we don't see more. However, this was the LITE version, so put that nitpick on hold. Second, the boss fight with the mother ship was a little bit touch and go. When you're on the sides, the aliens spawn really close, and you need some really fast reflexes to hit them in time. But more than that, once they were hit, they didn't immediately die, and their spinning out always happened right when firing lasers, in a sort of kamikaze "I'm taking you with me" maneuver. Once enemies are killed, they should immediately become harmless, and not have a chance to retaliate. They can still spin out of control and burst, but the suicide bombings should stop.

And of course my final nitpick is invalid. It's that the level was too short. But you don't need to tell me, I KNOW! This is LITE, and there's a delicious cheeseburger FULL VERSION waiting for me. Consider my appetite whetted.

TLDR:

Navigation - Good sense of explorations, and a favorable use of tokens to keep players, the interested ones, bouncing back and forth trying to collect them all like the world's most dedicated Pok?mon player.

Gadgetry - I had no "HOW U DO THAT" moments here, so there's nothing I noticed spectacularly unique, but don't think of that was a drawback. It's nonethless very complicated stuff, and definitely worth a round of applause. The visual look of the aliens was hilarious! I want a little one that can follow me around in create mode. XD

Glitches - I found no glitches, but like any level, physics and I never get along, so despite bounce pads promising they'd bounce you correctly, they didn't always do so. This is potentially due to my curse with bounce pads. I'm so bouncy myself, they feel unappreciated and jealous in game, so they're always out to get me.

Story - Story is everything it needs to be. There are aliens, there is some questionably contented water. Not every sack person is going to look appropriate for this level, but mine did and that's what matters!

Notes - Kamikaze Enemies were an evil, terrible thing. Beautiful design. Thank you for not abusing the 3D tools! I look forward to trying the full version.

2013-05-13 15:39:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Hi Kato .
I really like your reviews. They are constructive and sincere. Therefore, I would like to ask you about my level review.

GALACTIC LB Soccer FOOTBALL
http://lbp.me/v/kebcqj

The game designed for two players, but if you will be alone, it is automatically put into training mode where you will be able to test gameplay.

2013-05-13 18:42:00

Author:
Araxes

Posts: 36

2013-05-14 03:44:00

Author:
peoriaspitfire

Posts: 359

I'll try Aqua Fried Full first after booting up the PS3 then. Just in case.

GALACTIC LB Soccer FOOTBALL (Or as I like to call it... WHUBOOOOOOSH!!!!)
by Araxes
Link: http://lbp.me/v/kebcqj

I'm going to admit I'm a liiiiiiiittle hard pressed to do an objective review. Being a solitary hermit with no friends aside from a 14 year old cat (mine is Lucy not Susan) and a roommate who works nights, I was regrettably denied the joy of whubooshing some poor soul in the face last night playing this charming little gem. So you start off the level with a menu, and various selections. Start Game to Start the Game, Controls which you should only look at briefly because my Sackboy looks TERRIBLY WRONG with his head shrunk, but not as frightening as another level I played last night where there was a 100 foot giant Sack-Kato hovering off to the side like Godzilla crossed with a steroid abusing baseball player. Let me tell you, I didn't think Sackboys could be scary until I saw my own leering face hungrily eyeing myself and boy this is getting of the subject now. And anyway the third menu option is... Options....

I guess to start, I should definitely say that the functionality of the level, start to finish is a lot more impressive than visual appeal. I don't want that to sound like a backhanded compliment, because visually it seems to work and it's not bad. If I had to be as blunt as possible, I'd say the menu would immensely benefit from the font found in the Cross Controller Pack, or by making a custom font. Let it be known I do NOT own a Vita, but I got the Cross Controller Pack anyway because my ghetto-express method of teleportation was inadequate (although hilarious). Even so in the CC pack, playing the tutorials, you get a nice sci-fi font. I WANT TO STATE CLEARLY I am not referring to the MAIN MENU SCREEN for this because a fancy custom font is already in place there. I was just a little 'whuuuuuut?' over the controls and team select suddenly turning into wall scribbles. You did good! You should do good everywhere! BECAUSE GOODNESS PREVAILS OVER EVIL with me being the exception because I ooze evil out of every pore when I forget to apply my special Happy-Love lotion.

So the game starts after you select one of four teams. Electric, Fire, Zombie, and Amazing Cosmic Karma Sweetcakes (shut up), and are dropped into an arena. The field lets you use any player on your team, able to switch between them with the intent, like any sport, to move a ball point A to B. Booooooooooooooring right?

NO. SHUT UP. Your teams have super powers like fast electric users, strong fire users, flying zombie users (not sure how that works) and teleporting plasma users. While you CAN use the powers to assist your run, and while you CAN light kick or hard kick the ball team member to team member, you won't. No. What you'll do is run away from everybody until that meter above your head is full and then perform a MEGA-COSMIC-WHUBOOSH-ATTACK whereupon your legs turn into the warp drive from the starship enterprise, and the kickball turns into a round object even more deadly than a fusion of Sonic the Hedgehog and Kirby on an eating binge. You will WHUBOOSH the ever-loving-stuffing out of friends and foes alike kicking the ball hard enough to break the sound barrier, and promptly win a point!

I faffed about with two of the teams, plasma and zombie, but I only ever found myself using my Whuboosh because It made me happy seeing allies mowed down helplessly by my amazing Balls.... Ha ha ha.... WHAT? I do believe this level, being a Versus level, would benefit from having more than one person. (Obviously.) Overall the gadgets are pretty clever. A scoreboard to keep score, a kickball to kick, and legs that can punt refrigerators into the sun. The sackbot work is of particular note as if you aren't controlling them, they waddle listlessly towards the ball until close enough to be seen. Then you can hi-jack their Amish sensibilities and force them to channel Galactus devourer of worlds.

That does bring me to my biggest gripe. The camera focuses strictly on the ball which, while it works, makes it impossible to play until a team member wanders close enough to see. I am NOT a logic expert, but I can't help but wonder if it would be possible to have the camera following the player you're using at the time. Then again, I was only going single player, so I really can't say for sure.

TLDR:

Navigation - Menu is concise and well programmed. Controls and Team Select could benefit from a more custom or sci-fi font.

Visual - Starting with this review, I'm adding in two new notations, Visuals and Sound. Visually it was decent, mostly just neon outline. I might suggest straight neon for the floor, but tweak the brightness down, and maybe change the BG to Avalonia if you've got room.

Sound - Might could use more sound effects, and perhaps a music selection option with some Technic Tunes by Masta Blastya in the mix.

Gadgetry - The sackbot logic was impressive, as was the menu work. I found no errors aside from the Super-Kick Whuboosh being a little over powered. But if you take away my Whuboosh I will be very upset.

Glitches - 3D effects WERE used, but I did NOT find myself lost as to which layer I was supposed to be on like what usually happens when people use 3D effects, so that's all right.

Story - There's no story aside from super-powered aliens having a smackdown in a Soccer/Football/Whuboosh arena.

Notes - There should be the Fifth Element, The Katos, whose super power is an EXTRA POWERFUL whuboosh kick that charges in half the time, but they move at normal speeds and can't fly. XD Anyway, I enjoyed it. One final nitpick, if you have complexity space at all, consider the Avalonia background instead of default.

2013-05-14 14:35:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Wow . Thanks alot for this great reviev .
Finally i hear from someone what i can make , to do this level better .
With font in controls and team select , You have absolutely right . ( Menu was nightmare for me XD and i'm Was to lazy to make full alphabet with font from main menu , thats why i;m using this ugly stickers XD . Sry i'll try fix this soon )
haha , it was funny for me when You say i'm should use avalon background , becouse in first concept of this level this was a background XD . Later abandoned it when it turned out that level overheated and make so much lags that destroing gameplay . stadium also was grander and more interesting visually with more details . But it makes gamecrash and makes eyes after few minutes tired , thats why i'm decided to delete
almost 70% of the created background . But i'll try my best to find a solution betwen visuals and lags .
And last think , Yea , this superbals realy are OP , but when u play with someone , it's realy hard to full gauge and angage it . The reason why I added something like this was to force players to take the enemy ball.

OK , thanks again for this reviev and i'll get to work on update this level .

EDIT : I update level . Some of your suggestion used to make stadio looks better and font in team slection changet to this from main menu . To reduce thermo i'm destroy entire menu and emit some of the stadion parts when match start .

2013-05-14 16:55:00

Author:
Araxes

Posts: 36

One way you might bring down complexity, is to have the Team Players Identical. Members of my team all seemed to have slightly different outfits, some with horns it looked like, some without. If you just used one costume per team, it wouldn't lose anything, and you might could bring that meter down. : )

2013-05-14 17:46:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Hey Kato! I would love to have a valuble review from you on these levels:

http://lbp.me/v/cdyxqj - Be aware, it's on medium/hard level

And

http://lbp.me/v/-e7vzv

Thanks in advance! -Momo

2013-05-17 21:04:00

Author:
Momoli1344

Posts: 54

Sogville Swamp and Simple platformers: Open land of creativity)
by Momoli1344
Link: http://lbp.me/v/cdyxqj & http://lbp.me/v/-e7vzv

First I was like GRRRRR!!! SWAMP LEVEL! THEY'RE TRYING TO SHOW ME HOW ITS DONE but then I realized that I don't like my own level Miserable Mire, and that its creation was an unplanned travesty from beginning to last-minute-idea boss end. But anyway they're completely different level. Sogville has more of Moss-Ridden Bog sort of feel, and I was going for Everglades. Also one is a challenge platformer and the other is more there to tell a story. Anyway!

So I tried both, which means you're getting a compare and contrast review. Let me compare the two for you. Let's look at a few example images. Ahem.

http://ib.lbp.me/img/ft/24b97260827653d66f7273e4a36ff2d3df045500.jpg

http://i3.lbp.me/img/ft/3734359e01ada46ace99795ac6a90d5dfaa96d7e.jpg

http://i3.lbp.me/img/ft/8c3626db08a1c220856a013ed2a0620f8047332c.jpg

That sums it up. Oh wait, there's no swamp pictures. Hmmmm...

All right, so here are my thoughts. Sogville Swamp is a platformer level set in a swamp with some excellent scenery, and some good sticker usage. The level touts a rareley-seen these days limited lives checkpoint system on the basis that it's really hard. Actually, I didn't find it all that hard. People should be expected to die on levels. And people who rage quit after dying once or twice really need to stop playing Little Big Planet. I made it through Sogville on my first run, though it did get a little hairy at times. Near the end with the gator, you don't have much time to jump across his back to the other side. But it's not supposed to be a a magical stroll through daffodils.

On the other hand, Simple Land is actually not so simple. It has a unique visual style resembling 90% of my own personal hell, with some reasonable platforming, fun stickering, and my biggest complaint being right at the end before the scoreboard. Those last spikes murdered me hundreds of times, and the launcher would always over shoot. But I'm the person who can't for the life of me get off of spinning grab wheels correctly, so what they hey. I enjoyed the stroll so much I actually stopped to take photos, so that should tell you something.

Comparing the two, I'd say they're both quality levels, but Simple Land is the one that'd get my vote. Sogville has obstacles that seem all too familiar, and I was disappointed by myself knowing exactly where I needed to bounce, fly, grab etc. It just became a reflex like a lot of other platformers I play. Yes they're fun and challenging, but the whole fast-paced action hoo-hah doesn't really do it for me anymore. They all seem to be the same level with the obstacles and scenery rearranged slightly. And just because you paint your barn blue and move the horse stables to the other side doesn't necessarily make it a better barn. You've still got prize winning horses, and maybe they're easier for you to find, but they're still the same horses.

Simple land was different to me. It had something I hadn't seen before. It wasn't trying to tie itself to a theme, it was more like 'okay let's add in a loch-ness monster here, and put adorable faces on clouds. It was just much more enjoyable, because it wasn't cookie cutter. In fact I'd say it was a chocolate truffle instead of a cookie. Plain, simple, but I would always choose a truffle over a cookie because there's no bread, just chocolate. It had a really fun design and I can't help but think that it was more fun to create, since it doesn't seem chained down. It flies freely with simple contraptions, a pleasant atmosphere, and hundreds of adorable anime faces plotting torip my soul to shreds, use it for confetti, and then rip and tear and carnage and- SORRY. I struggle with personal demons around things like this though.

TLDR:

Navigation - Sogville has reasonable navigation but the dark colors and bright greens are a bit of an uncanny contrast. Simple land was a simple left to right trek which I would genuinely want to replay.

Visual - Sogville is the more detailed and visually impressive of the two, but I still like Simple Land more because it's more up my alley.

Sound - Nothing too stand-outish. They both had music, but Simple land I noticed little SFX here and there.

Gadgetry - Sogville again has much better gadgetry, but I still enjoyed Simple Land more (if not for that accused final launcher. XD)

Glitches - I found out the invisible spikes thing is a glitch, and I'm really starting to not like it. Over-using prickly bushes is a common theme in levels these days, and I just don't see why you couldn't have just used plain old spikes, or poison gas.

Story - There's no story in either so I don't have much to add.

Notes - They're both very good, bu Simple Land gets my recommendation of the two. You need Simple Land 2 with a magical rainbow-maned unicorn I can ride around on, and fire explosive horns at leering clouds. <3

2013-05-20 14:34:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

I have to confess that i couldn't agree with you any better, I actually enjoyed making Simple land more than Sogville (as I sadly was in the "pushing myself" occasion during the making of Sogville). Simple land started with just adding the first checkpoint part and some stickers, and from there it went it's own way, and many seemed to love that. I also missed the old times from lbp1, so making this had a huge influence from that, which can be seen by the different theme sets (for example the canyons), and of course the lovely music! <3 Thanks again!

2013-05-20 21:32:00

Author:
Momoli1344

Posts: 54

:o A still active review shop! You sure seem busy on the forums lately :3 I guess I'll take advantage of this and ask for a review for my kinda old yet new scenic level, Big Thunder Mine (http://lbp.me/v/hx6bv0/topreviews).

2013-05-22 21:07:00

Author:
theIronHorse

Posts: 279

For as long as I'm a member of these boards, I will try to provide my own opinions to anyone who wants it.

And as everyone knows, these reviews are only a matter of opinion, and my opinions often differ greatly from the consensus. Some levels are completely adored by everyone the world over, and then I play them, and don't like them at all. D :

Big Thunder Mine
by theIronHorse / Matthaniel
Link: http://lbp.me/v/hx6bv0j

Ha ha, stupid sheep. That's what you get for nomming on dynamite.

Big Thunder Mine is a railroad ride through scenery based on Disney's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. I'm not sure if it's more heavily drawn from the California or Florida one, and seeing as how I'm only familiar with the Florida one, I really can't say. I'm going to bet the complexity meter is screaming violently at you in this level, which is a shame because despite beautiful visuals, its very short.

I can see where the name theIronHorse comes in, because the level of detail on the train itself is somewhat jaw-dropping. It's well researched, or at least looks good enough to pretend to be. I don't know trains myself, so I can't say. Incidentally I had at one point made a level in LBP1 entitled Ghost Train, but it's an unparalleled disaster in every sense of the word, so it's not ever going to be published. Leave it to the experts I guess.

I did have a problem with BTM, and it's the whole reason why I don't like the 3D tools. What you've done is created an environment that's incredibly pretty, but one in which I cannot tell what I can and can't jump on. When I noticed the contraptions in the first cave, I did stop the train, but so much of the very front foreground objects blocked my view of the bounce pad on the floor. So I was wildly flailing on the roof of the train before discovering there was a 'safe' layer in front. Can a 3D tool make things look pretty? Yes, absolutely. But the actual game developers who make the actual game and story levels do not use it, so a level should never rely upon it. And when you start getting to the point where there's so much 3D that players are unsure if they can stand on it, you have a problem. I encountered this same issue playing Arabesk, actually, and it ruined the experience for me.

I did eventually find the bounce pad and fiddled with the contraptions, but I'm not sure what the point was aside from a lone prize bubble. The little hanging cart on the winch led to an empty platform which might have been for a points jewel, but I got that on accident with my grappling hook. XD

After that point I didn't feel it necessary to jump out anymore, so if there were further contraptions they were sadly missed. From that point on I hopped in the engine, blew on the whistle, and kept moving to admire the scenery. Credit where it's due on that front though. As long as I stayed in the train, the 3D-ness was fine, because it was all to create awesome scenery, which really gave a sense of wideness and openness to the world around. The culmination of this is the old-west town at the end where I slowed down and took a picture so I could look at it all later.

TLDR:

Navigation - I had some trouble exploring, not knowing what platforms were valid when I hopped out. Navigation aside from that is; get in train, hold button.

Visual - A visual masterpiece for sure, with some beautiful set pieces, and great attention to detail. This is somewhat countered by parts slightly lacking in it, like the geysers. I mean, compare the geysers to the Crystal Cave. See what I mean? But there's some really great set pieces here.

Sound - Sound was lovely for the level, but I MAY HAVE ABUSED THE WHISTLE SLIGHTLY. XD Give me a noise-making button and I WILL make an awful, funky remix from it.

Gadgetry - Some reasonably clever contraptions. I did enjoy the slightly rube-goldberg elements in the crystal cave where you activate one function after another

Glitches - I got lost on the landscape where it allowed me to explore, which is usually the problem I find on 3D using levels. Some of the foreground elements were really not friendly to people hopping out, and they would really get in the way some times.

Story - N/A

Notes - I can't decide if it's a level about collecting points, platforming, or a scenic ride, and the level itself can't seem to decide either. I only found points in two locations, but they seemed irrelevant. I only found platforming in the cave. But when it comes to scenic train rides, it's really, REALLY good. So If I had a comment, it would be to make it strictly a scenic tour, and forget about the other gizmos, because they absolutely can NOT hold their weight against the awesome, visual extravaganza you've got here.

2013-05-23 15:01:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Thanks for being so honest . You know, every single problem you stated with the 3D were things that I were afraid of happening. As for the geysers.......yea I got a little lazy

As for the diamonds, if I remember correctly, there are 4 diamonds in all, however I honestly don't remember where they are since I usually was working on this level really late at night. SO, thank you for this great honest review- it actually made me feel happy to read the problems you had with it because that is the things I've been improving on in my creating skills lately :3

EDIT: hahaha Just saw your comment about the sheep. Yea, that sheep never learns! it seems like every time I play the level, he's back, standing there chewing the dynamite. His life sure must be a blast! 8D

2013-05-23 15:15:00

Author:
theIronHorse

Posts: 279

These reviews are pretty awesome! I should have my new LBP2 level done relatively soon, and I'm definitely going to post it here. The review subforum is no longer as dead! Hooray!

In the meantime, my friend is looking for feedback on his new level. Would you mind reviewing it? It's called Vermillion Grove by squid2723 (http://lbp.me/v/kjwc6s). I already gave him some advice when making it, but another perspective is always nice.

2013-05-23 17:41:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

I look forward to your DELICIOUS LEVEL then, Bonner. XD Vermillion Grove is already in my queue so I'll give it the once-over tonight.

I've been trying to play every level that pops up in the showcase, since there's so much good stuff there.

AND WE ALL KNOW HOW MUCH I WRITE SOMETIMES. XD Srsly. I'd love to be a writer as my profession.

I can do more than one review at a time, so if anyone else wants one done, don't be shy. There's no limit.

-------------------

Vermillion Grove
by squid2723
Link: http://lbp.me/v/kjwc6s

Now I want to put up a big blinking lights disclaimer here; I am just one person with just one perspective. What I say is not a part of a greater whole. I say this because this is the first level I'm being tasked to review where I did not particularly enjoy myself, and I'm going to go into why. That said, this is only directed towards certain aspects of the level, while some of them were very nice. So please keep an open mind while I keep a courageous, honest, heart.

Pretend you've invented shoes made out of bacon. Bacon is delicious, easy to digest, and a lot of people enjoy the flavor. Then you've got shoes. Everybody needs shoes. Some people shop around endlessly for shoes, and they're an important part of life. Marrying the two concepts of Bacon and Shoes certainly seems good on paper, but in reality it's a soggy uncomfortable mess.True bacon shoes are an incredibly original idea, but it sort of falls in use. I'm saying this mostly in regards to the jetpack concepts here.

When I see a jetpack, I see it as a means to fly, but in this case the jetpack itself is irrelevant. What's being used is the tether, in this case, as a means to direct your arc of velocity. You're expected to jump out of the jetpack so it can fling you up high, an idea that took me no less than 20 minutes to get right from the get-go. It's a very unique idea so give yourself credit for that, it's just not very fun in practice. It's like being given a brand new adorable puppy, and you only get to play with the leash for a few seconds. I'm not sure how to advise on these, since jetpack puzzles are the bread and butter of the level, and some of them were good. The good ones did not involve precision physics.

Visuals seem to be this level's strong point, and thank goodness there weren't any of the crazy glitches used that I noticed. Some of the background elements didn't seem to match though. Some parts look very artistic, and some look very hodge podge. But I overlook that mostly on the basis that it's a stylistic choice. I don't fault anyone for visual choices, and nobody faults me for having a japanese fox that speaks french.

The level itself was great to look at, but I wonder how it would have gone using tetherless jetpacks, and more grab and pull puzzles, or emitter spike-wall maze puzzles, rather than trying 500 times trying to fling yourself just right from a foot long cable. Vermillion Grove has it's strong points, and as it has excellent backing, it's going to be a popular level. I'm going to have to be the odd one out though, so just remember that.

TLDR:

Navigation - The jetpack flinging puzzles were a nightmare, and the level was very short. I often had trouble discerning what platforms I could land on.

Visual - Good visuals with a nice wooded area style. Some elements seemed erroneous, but this could be a stylistic decision.

Sound - Music sounded like sequencer tracks. It was quite nice. I'm not a sound expert though, so I can't offer you anything more than that.

Gadgetry - The obstacles were very unique and original, they just weren't very fun as they tied you down. (That was a pun.)

Glitches - I didn't notice any, unless the background was on one of the 'extra layers' in which case it would explain why I had problems finding safe platforms, in which case, shame on you.

Story - N/A

Notes - You should definitely look into that free-flying jetpack idea. Cable-less jetpacks will really get you off the ground, lol.

2013-05-23 17:48:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Great review!

I generally agree with a lot of what you have to say. I think the level is designed well in many respects (mostly in regards to presentation) but there are a few issues that keep it from being a great level. I used to like jetpack jumps back on LBP1 but as I gained more sense I realized that they are obnoxious and frequently require a silly amount of precision. Even jetpack jumps that throw you high in the air are really finnicky and frustrating. I also agree that the technological elements were non-sequiters, and squid2723 agrees. The problem was that he liked the lighting of Eve's Asylum as well as the foliage. If anything, I hope LBP3 includes customizable backgrounds that allow you to remove assets you don't like.

The music track is actually from LBP1 and it's called Tricky Business. Overall great review. I think tethered jetpacks can still be used in a fun way, but I think there needs to be a sense of momentum and freedom for that. I should have my level done relatively soon, there are just a few (really sad) real life issues that need to taken care of. I will pass this on to squid, and I think he'll agree with most of it.

2013-05-24 16:29:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

This game was in the Mm picks a while ago, and it has 5000+ plays. Its very underplayed haha

Galak-Z Raiden: Resurgence
http://lbp.me/v/bypn4y

2013-05-25 19:43:00

Author:
RoDRiGo-FiLiPiNo

Posts: 60

Can I get a review on this level: http://lbp.me/v/g453df

It's a pretty simple level so I don't expect a long review.

Thanks!

2013-05-26 03:58:00

Author:
comishguy67

Posts: 849

If at all possible kato could you play some of my levels , im undiscovered under 500 plays and some of its old stuff (decent) and new stuff (great) i just need to feel like building is worth my time , i havent got a single play in about 3 weeks .

2013-05-27 13:23:00

Author:
Brutal

Posts: 184

-------------------

Galak-Z Raiden: Resurgence
by RoDRiGo-FiLiPiNo
Link: http://lbp.me/v/kjwc6s

http://i9.lbp.me/img/ft/9f9f39b94bf2c9b26a94f6b8ef6e4c3039d32eb0.jpg

I’d like to start by saying that this level already has an Mm Pick, so what I say is probably irrelevant. If you’ve gotten one of those then you know your level must be amazing, so the words of one person shouldn’t be much more than dust mites bouncing off the shell of an armored space fighter. That said, GOD WHY?!

The technology of this level is truly incredible. You clearly have a keen eye for logic, which on this level proves to be an example of genius. Genius for all sorts of reasons, from the tight level flow, to the power-ups, deaths, respawns, deaths, enemies, bosses, deaths, craft selections, deaths, deaths, oh, and the deaths too. They happen a lot in this level.

That’s really my biggest complaint. The level is fast paced, and holds no hands. But the essence of this level is not not survive, it’s to die less than the thousands of other players. Every two seconds when an enemy group spawns, they let loose a barrage of tiny red shots while you’re firing a barrage of tiny red shots, and suddenly it becomes nearly impossible to see what’s going on. And this is just stage one of four.

I’m going to be honest and admit that despite a truly legendary product, and an even more legendary amount of labor on your part (which will be sung of in heroes tales in mead halls by our descendents) I really didn’t have much fun here. There was no sense of accomplishment unless you survived more than five seconds, but then shortly after you’d die anyway, so it was all moot point. Anytime I ever got more than one powerup, I’d only get maybe two shots off before dying, so it just became a repeated process of spawn, use secondary weapon, die, repeat.

There are gamers out there (probably Japanese Touhou veterans, and Bullet Hell Fanatics) who would do this without breaking a sweat. This is a game for them, and anyone else who wants to be marveled by the clearly amazing logic involved. But for the average player, the not-very-good player, and even the really good players out there, this might end up just being a frustrating war of attrition with an EXTREMELY forgiving Grim Reaper. Would I recommend it to my friends? Yes, but with cautions. Once you’ve gotten through Stage 1, stop, give it a yay, and move on.

TLDR:

Navigation – Easy to manage appropriate controls, fun menu, but if possible it could use an undo button to reselect the last item. Everything else is on-rails.

Visual – Nice retro sprite work reminiscent of old arcade games.

Sound – Good sounds. Again, I’m no expert on this. To me there either is or isn’t music if it’s not a music gallery. So this is all good.

Gadgetry – Incredible logic work spoken of only by the Gods on Mount Olympus, so you certainly win an internet gold Trophy here.

Glitches - Some of the explosions have sticker overlap issues that broke the arcade immersion.

Story – You are a tenacious little ship with a few guns, an unbeatable health-care plan, and a grudge against an endless swarm of other guys.

Notes – Worthy of an Mm pick, but the level is unfairly balanced and overly hectic. Not something I would replay, but thems the breaks! : D Your next project needs to include a Kato Class Starship that actually GAINS health when shot by projectiles. XD

-------------------

Trance Wars
by comishguy67
Link: httphttp://lbp.me/v/g453df

http://i9.lbp.me/img/ft/d09f12b86912b6ef6930ab0aa1ed9a936ebea8a7.jpg

I was somewhere in the middle of that cluster when I died. You poor unlucky soul get the displeasure of being the second arcade ‘avoid everything’ I went through in a day. XD Though in all honesty, Trance Wars was a nice way to unwind after fighting off six zerg-rushes at once with a slingshot, and a guardian angel like no other. The essence was again to survive, but you’ve got only one life. Luckily you actually have a chance to do so.

Trance Wars was fun, but maybe I’m just getting too old or too ADD for games in its vein. All of the countless emitted shapes and I lost track of where I was very fast. And things just kept moving. I did eventually figure out that you have a shield button that envelops you in a ring of death which was helpful, plus your health regens which is necessary.

The level itself is very simple in format. It leaves me hard pressed to leave any relevant opinions, since there’s not much to go on except moving around and not touching anything for as long as you can. Technology in this level is up to standards. Twin-Stick controls are functional, easy-to-use, and of an appropriate speed.

The red shield seems somewhat superfluously controlled. There’s no limit to its use, so why have a button to hold it out at all? It doesn’t block anything from killing you if they take more than one hit, and those enemy types enter into the fray fairly quickly. Enemy health regen is a bit of a tough customer as well, since they heal faster than you can hurt.

Overall it’s a simple, functional level you can play if you’re experiencing a need for some down time, but like an after dinner mint, it’s tasty, quick, and sweet, but doesn’t really satisfy. However, it carries with it potential and possibility, and you’re left with expectations for future projects which will certainly be worth the wait.

TLDR:

Navigation – Simple controls, easy to understand system.

Visual – The simplicity of it all can still get very hectic when you’ve got five hundred little shapes bearing down on you at once, and some of them recharge, so you lose track of everything but those select few little dudes.

Sound – Fun music quite appropriate to the level, but I tended to zone it out once I started getting mauled by the little greenies.

Gadgetry – Wonderful logic tech that’s deceptively simple I’d wager. A good potential starting zone for future projects.

Glitches - I didn’t find any glitches with the objects, so that’s a plus.

Story - N/A

Notes – Again, I’m a bit hard-pressed to review some mini-game levels. XD The tech is always good, but there’s usually not a lot of substance.

Good show regardless.

-------------------

Brutal, if you want me to review a level, you’ll have to choose one for me.

2013-05-27 18:59:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

I'd be tempted to ask you to review my level, Contrast (click the image in my sig and it'll take you to the lbp.me page) out of curiosity. Though, it is rather long (though you can save your progress and return to the stage where you left off), and can be frustrating at times. You'd probably have to play through every stage to give a full review. If you're not up to that, then no worries.

2013-05-28 14:32:00

Author:
Ali_Star

Posts: 4085

I'll give it a full and fair review Ali, but it may take a few days. XD I'm REALLY close to finishing the final boss fight and ending to my platformer game, and I want to get that out of the way so I can look into newer projects and remakes. XD

2013-05-28 19:59:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

http://lbp.me/v/kjpsj-
by Brnxblze
Link: http://lbp.me/v/kjwc6s

http://i6.lbp.me/img/ft/8d66b70d8ea658d472e5fcc952eddb97345b5b2c.jpg

I do actually have a favorite LBP level, and it's a LBP1 level. It's an Mm Pick I believe and its got like a million plays, so it's overly-popular. XD But if it deserves that much attention, then it probably IS good. The level is entitled "Distress in Ocean" and it's a non water-based platformer. The reason it's my favorite level is NOT because of amazing visuals, or super-extreme technology, no. It has neither of those. What makes it so great is a sense of imagination and wonder. Every so often I'll go back and replay it for that reason alone. It charmed me is what it did. It was charming.

Today I'm reviewing another charming level, because it appeals to the inner child of the player. Your goal is to perform a number of household chores before getting to play Little Big Planet. From taking out the trash to cleaning your room, to trashing your SISTER'S room, you'll have to do each to proceed, with a few score surprises for things such as turning on light switches.

The atmosphere is for lack of a better word adorable, with bright blue skies, shiny red houses, amusing characters, and little unexpected tidbits, so you may just find something new every time. In my latest playthrough I jumped on the counter in the super-market, and the guy told me to get down! So of course I wiggled my butt in his face a bit longer before moving on. Incidentally this was my third try, and I still enjoyed it. So it gets major props for me liking it every bit as much on the third run. So repeatability is a yes.

Now I'm going to assume the complexity meter is not yet capped, but if it is, then feel free to skip ahead. What I think this level lacks, is detail touches. I'm going to give you a prime example. In your stickers section, under foliage I believe, if you've been a reasonably diligent prize collector you'll find a little smiling flower sticker. Slap that on a sticker panel (and I know you have sticker panel, the clouds are proof of that) add a stem, and a wobble bolt to the base, make it nice and small, and then pop a few down in the main house's front lawn. Tweak the wobble so they only dance slightly and viola! It's going to make a tremendous difference in style. You could even get more advanced by normal-bolting the flower onto the stem separately, and adding a gyroscope to it, so the stem sways, but the flower stays upright. Stickers stickers and more stickers! Add a few crayon doodles to the walls! put clouds on sticker panels with movers on them, and have them fade out of emitters. Rolling clouds!

The main point I'm trying to get across is the lack of motion here. For such an inventive atmosphere, there is a surprising lack of motion. Aside from your character, most everything is stock-still until you push it off a shelf or drag it someplace. With some more wiggly things you could make a HUGE impact. Incidentally before I first published my level Deep Ocean, there were no fish! So I added a few sticker paneled fish on movers, a wobble bolted crustacean or two, and it completely changed the level for me.

My second notation is the logic. Yeah, it works, but it seems a little hit and miss. XD I'd have to take a look at it to see exactly what's going on, but I get the feel that it's a bit easy to crack. There's this one dude who plays my levels, and for the life of me, I have NO idea how but he's able to get to places he shouldn't. I've purposely tried to replicate it to no avail. Not that there are any cracks here, just that some of the logic seems a bit fragile. With so many boxes of cheese puffs, I'm going to want them all! So it might be better to have just ONE come out of an emitter, and glue the rest to the shelf. Sure, it saddens me to not get a shopping trolley full of junk food, but it saves me the time of realizing what I did was wrong and having to restart.

So I'm sure you understand these are nitpicks. Once I beat this level it was insta-hearted, and it's already one of my faves. It's charmed me. Charmed me so much I want to see even more of it! Maybe even a Housework 2 level where you've got to unpack boxes, take showers, put stuff on shelves, repair the roof, clean the chimney, cure stupidness and solve world hunger. I really love this level. Keep it up!

TLDR:

Navigation ? Fun sense of exploration. Author was nice enough to touch up some of the trickier bits to make them less hit and miss. And make your pillow not look like a door mat. XD

Visual ? An old-school LBP1 style. Very nice to look at. Could maybe use more motion, stickers, and decor. You'll be shocked how much of a difference a single black gradient sticker can make to any environment.

Sound ? Music changes room by room, most of them LBP1 tracks, and they all worked nicely.

Gadgetry ? I think this is the main area which could use a little tightening. It works yes, but it gave me the impression that it wouldn't.

Glitches - No major glitches that weren't fixed by the end.

Story ? You are a child given a few chores, a happy grin, and a double shot of espresso. You do your work, and WRECK ALL ELSE. XD

Notes ? Your neighbor has a hot wife! What was I saying again? Oh, the perspective scenes are great! I also like that the house FEELS like a house. I will definitely replay this on rainy days. And others should try it too. It's worth it for the amusement factor alone.

2013-05-30 14:43:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

i have 3 you can pick from:
metal gear solid 4 act 1 http://lbp.me/v/je9ef3
assassins cread http://lbp.me/v/7-d0ef
star wars episode 5 http://lbp.me/v/6hfq-c
of course id like to hear what you have to say about ALL my lvls but ill settle for one or these...u can choose lol

2013-05-31 03:03:00

Author:
shady0420

Posts: 37

I do have all of these queued up, I just need a little more time to get through my queue backlog in-between recreating a boss fight. (Stupid Praxion!) : ) Actually only just last night did I get through VCorp's Downfall if that tells you anything about how far behind I am. XD

2013-05-31 13:39:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

http://lbp.me/v/kn45b2

That is what I want reviewed. Thanks

2013-06-01 03:03:00

Author:
morris6267

Posts: 144

Thanks kato for the reveiw you left , im trying to fix certin things but im working 12hr shifts 5 days a week and a 10hr shift on saturdays .so i sadly dont have the time i once did i was bored un employed lol so i created more things .

2013-06-01 05:21:00

Author:
Brutal

Posts: 184

well thx for trying my lvl. no review or rate so i guess u didnt like it very much. but thx for trying it out. i no ur very busy. guess i shouldve read ur profile b4 i asked. then i wouldve known tht u like platformers. which i dont make

2013-06-01 16:41:00

Author:
shady0420

Posts: 37

Uh... shady? Chill. I need time to write these things and I've still got one more level of yours to try. Plus there is someone in the queue before you. So sit down, get comfortable, and WAIT PATIENTLY. Thanks.

2013-06-01 19:44:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

lol i really meant thx for trying it!!! i wasnt being sarcastic. u dont have to like them. i just was happy i made the cut to be played cuz i no ur very busy. u dont have to play anymore of them its ok. play someone elses tht u might enjoy. my lvls are different then most so i dont feel bad when ppl dont like them as long as i like them. i just was reading ur reviews and they r they best iv read. so i thought id give it a shot. thx again!
im srry i guess i just lost faith in my lvls. i spend so much time on them trying to make something diff only to see another copied mortal kombat big bots lvl at the top of the cool pgs. i guess it makes me think tht thats all the ppl wanna play. i think i might just give up

2013-06-01 19:57:00

Author:
shady0420

Posts: 37

Contrast
by Ali-Star/alistair26
Link: http://lbp.me/v/de8yfjs

http://ie.lbp.me/img/ft/52ef0b1ce95e07951ef7b9e4b3a936db409553af.jpg

All righty I admit I couldn't make it through this one, but I still feel justified because my friends are all terrible people who would never have gotten as far as I did. XD Contrast is what I like to call a Keanu Reeves level. It's got style, many people think its sexy, and if you don't go 'Whoah' at least once, you're out of the club. Here my 'whoah' moment was when I pressed L1 and proceeded to 'flip' out over what happened.

The idea with contrast is that you have two workable platforming spaces. A white half, and a black half, and you can 'flip' between the two to solve puzzles and find new platforming solutions. The technology for this is great. I wasn't able to figure out how its done. I have my theory, but I'd rather not know for sure. Anyway...

The goal is to navigate a number of rooms this way, jumping from entrance door to exit, and occasionally using icons to affect the level, such as making blocks vanish, or platforms flip. However, problems arose for me when the difficulty ramped up extremely quickly. After the first three level I was sweating to finish. But then out of nowhere it got uncannily easy again. Then uncannily hard. Then easy. Then hard. Then even harder. It was a jarring 'contrast' if you don't mind me saying.

I had to call it quits in the first 'spike wall room' where you jump from pillar to pillar, wall to wall, and eventually end up on the ceiling. The platforms on the ceiling were very prickly, and rendered me incapable of jumping at their edges, making the jumps up there even harder. I only ever got to the switch once before dying. It grated on my patience because a lot of the jumps are really very hard, and not just in single spots, but everywhere. And if the game won't let you edge jump, then its just not being fair.

I did save a sticker, so perhaps I could beat it later on the first try. We'll see. Overall its a persistent marvel of sparse decor and immense challenge. It put me in mind of portal a fair bit, but with no gun. I think my biggest problem is just my tastes as a player. I didn't really like Contrast, but I really can't tell you why. It had a unique concept, creative solutions, bizarre and imaginative gameplay, and a fun visual style. And I can't rightly blame difficulty as a reason for not liking a level. That's never a valid answer. I guess it is the only answer. It was like having an adorable, bi-polar kitten who loves you, and licks you, and wants pettings, then out of nowhere eats your face off. You have fun playing with it as long as you remember in a moments notice it's going to re-enact a Vin Diesel film on your sense of self-worth.

So I guess my complaint is not the difficulty, but the sine wave of it therein which starts low, then raises high, then low again, and repeats. I was left boggled over one long jump I had to make, and was shocked I made it at all after 20 tries, only to reach the next level and be done in 15 seconds. It's like living with Two-Face!

TLDR:

Navigation – Some great and creative navigation with the color area switching. Some solutions took me a bit to figure out. However, some of the spikes are painfully inconvenient.

Visual – The level theme IS the visual style, and it works well. I like how your sack switches between planes.

Sound – Okay the music grated on my a little. It was all right at first, but after the hundredth repeat it grated my nerves trying to get pits to behave.

Gadgetry – Incredible gadgetry. Very unusual and very fun. Great stuff.

Glitches - No major glitches I noticed, or was aware of.

Story – N/A

Notes – Thank you for the sticker system. D: We need it!

----------------------------------

Shady, yours will be reviewed tomorrow. And yes, these are platforming levels. I may skip the Assassin's Creed level because, have never played ANY Assassin's Creed, I don't want to spoil anything. D :

2013-06-03 15:04:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Awwww, you didn't like it?

No problem though, thanks for playing and critiquing. I accept your criticisms, as they are criticisms that quite a few have made, a lot of the issues (such as the "no edge-jumping" whilst upside-down/at a right angle) are unfortunately caused by the necessities of logic. The one that you're stuck on - is that the one where the camera follows you? I'd say that level is one of the most difficult in terms of pure platforming. You get a relatively simple batch of levels after that, then a couple of tough puzzle based ones, then I start to mix things up a bit.

So I hope you do return to it one day, when you have time, that's if I've not ****** you off too much and caused you to buy another controller.

BTW, feel free to PM me your theories on how it works, if you wish. I'd be happy to tell you.

Once again, thanks for playing and giving a fair review.

2013-06-03 17:45:00

Author:
Ali_Star

Posts: 4085

Have to say you are really good at writing reviews.

If you wouldn't mind writing a review on my hidden objects level.
http://lbp.me/v/jwddj1
Has a pretty bad ratio of 2,600 plays to 373 yays (7 percent)
I don't know if that means most people didn't like it or they just didn't bother to yay it.
Either way I enjoy making them lol.

I've been making a new hidden objects level for awhile. It would great to know what you would like to see in my new game from playing the game I linked. The game I linked has a time limit while my new game will not. That's really the only thing I'm set on.

I know you have a back log, so no worries if you can't play it any time soon.

Thanks

2013-06-03 21:19:00

Author:
Greensmurfy

Posts: 300

@Ali-Star
Nah. I don't get P'O'd very easily. Frustrated maybe, but I'm always willing to get back on the horse. As I said, the sticker thing is great, because I am often a VERY DETERMINED PERSON when it comes to finishing level, and even if I can't do it then, I will probably try later. And yeah, it's the one where the camera follows you. See, now I have to get by it, because the puzzle ones were great! There was an earlier level where the map was a spiral and you had to switch around the sides to activate the exit. That one I really liked a lot. It was more of a brain challenge than a 'wing and a prayer' challenge. XD

@Smurfy
I'll add yours to the list. : D

2013-06-03 22:17:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Star Wars: Episode 5 & Metal Gear Solid 4 Act 1
by shady0420
Link: http://lbp.me/v/6hfq-c & http://lbp.me/v/je9ef3

http://i0.lbp.me/img/ft/95038d36ae0b4ff8087dce8fa9023e72b7f4e86c.jpg

You can deny it all you want, it's a platformer plain and simple. The essence of both of these levels is the same, so it makes my job a bit easier to simply say: You know your sackbots. I had to give the Assassin's Creed one a miss, but this is ONLY because I have never played Assassin's Creed, and I don't want any spoilers.

The sackbots themselves are well programmed, capable of changing weapons, altering enemy AI, rotating the camera, stealth killing, lightsaber fighting, jumping around, deflecting bullets etc. A huge amount of love is poured into the little guys, which is slightly disappointing when you don't get to use it. I encountered the same issue in both levels. After a brief foray of using my important skills, doing so became exhausting with the large number of enemies ahead that I just stopped giving a hoot, and force jumped my way ahead. And those little obnoxious flying guys need to stop following me.

MGS had a reasonably okay start, where you get to test out your stealth skills by jumping layers etc, but before too long there's a war going on, and nobody told you, and stealthing is impossible. I gave up trying and just hopped around enemy fire until I reached the scoreboard no longer caring about anything else.

The issue is that this is a biased perspective. I'm not a fan of Metal Gear Solid 4 OR Star Wars. I think Hideo Kojima has too much time on his hands and George Lucas should go back to eating his pancakes. Yes, the original Star Wars trilogy was good, but the moment they got racist undertones, I stopped caring. Most importantly, Luke Skywalker and Solid Snake are not characters I personally identify with, so running around as Mark Hammil or an old young clone sneak expert just doesn't have the same appeal as my shiny red hat and shiny green eyes bobbing around.

But we're here to review objectively. Is it good? Yes. The logic is swell. The levels are tight. Did I enjoy it? No. The visual style is too simplified, enemy tactics and placement is chaotic, and Darth Vader can go sit in the corner until he starts playing fair. You must be doing something right to have more than 10,000 plays, so that should speak for itself.

TLDR:

Navigation – Easy navigation but a bit too many functions. Why have a double jump AND a force jump?

Visual – Visual style is a bit too simplistic. Camera is zoomed pretty far back so I got lost at hectic moments.

Sound – Well, you can't go wrong with the actual music themes.

Gadgetry – Very good Sackbot programming and enemy AI.

Glitches - 3D tool in the Star Wars stage made it a pain to figure out what layers I could stand on at times.

Story – N/A

--------------------------------------

(And now that I've had a bit more time to type... XD )

I'm working backwards right now because I only just realized the queue puts the most recently queued ones on top! Silly me. Morris6267, I'll have a review for you tomorrow morning! I promise.

Smurfy's Hidden Objects: (Wild West Edition)
by GreenSmurfy
Link: http://lbp.me/v/jwddj1

http://ie.lbp.me/img/ft/e4ec0a5314b992cd062cab50d8d8e895554737fb.jpg

I may have inadvertently demolished myself before playing this. My brain works in mysterious ways, but I can tell you how I got there! D : I'd just queued an awesome Train Roller Coaster level by the Iron Horse/Matthaniel, so that put me in an old west mood for this one. That plus there are cartoony stickers in LBP so I immediately thought of An American Tale: Fivel Goes West. Which may also have happened thanks to one of theClassiestHobo's levels. XD Point is, it got to the point where I couldn't stop thinking about Don Bluth Movies, so I fixiated on All Dogs Go to Heaven. So I opened my music folder on my computer and had "You Can't Keep a Good Dog Down" playing on repeat for the duration of the level.

Point is, I had an expression between joy and panicked anguish as I feverishly panned around the scenes looking for the loots whilst Burt Reynolds and Dom Deluise sang off key from my computer. It left me sweating, sighing, and panting for breath by the end, exhaling deeply as I sank back into the chair. It was like I'd invited an attractive caller to my private quarters, admired the tight-fitting, cut garments, served a bottle of champagne and roses, then asked them to put on a Land Before Time mask and sing Once Upon a December.

THIS HAS RELEVANCE! I SWEAR! What you have here is a very fine level. The controls are astute, the idea is classy, the music sets the mood, and then you're gazing at something Chuck Jones did in high school. When I saw the title, I really didn't know WHAT to expect honestly. Maybe platforming around an open range wilderness locating desert tarantulas, cow skulls, and kochina dolls for some arbitrary reason that could be arts and crafts related if not for the questionable addition of a live arachnid. Maybe we're delivering them to a goth kid in New Mexico.

The scenes are well put together, but some details seem really out of place. The strongest scene is the night-time campfire where you've got an actual old west scene with some cleverly hidden silhouettes. Then there's a scene with a giant rainbow chicken. Like going from Bo Bandit to Charlie B. Barkin, you can see the transition but there's a tremendous disconnect between. Is this a sideshow minigame stockade borrowed from a Lisa Frank notebook, or a cleverly disguised art gallery that has you sorting through moving images with a way to keep score?

My suggestion for future editions is to go with the latter. I was very impressed with the Night-Time cowboys. it looked really nice, and the objects there were really cleverly hidden. I passed by a fish there and told myself to remember it because hidden though it may have been, I was pretty sure it'd come up sooner or later. The other scenes seemed a bit too chaotic with arbitrary stickers dropped in to make things harder to find. It wasn't so much that the objects were smartly disguised as they were thrown in amongst clutter. Perhaps a good scene could be like a Texas Novelty Map with cities marked by little icons, and the objects you're looking for are IN some of those icons.

You get MAJOR PROPS for including Move Control options though. I spent a hundred bucks on the darn thing, so I'll take ANY excuse to use it.

TLDR:

Navigation – The name of the game. Navigate to icons, and hope your vision is up to par.

Visual – Scenes a bit too mixed. Some were really great, some a bit too cluttered.

Sound – I WISH I could say something relevant but... well.. you know. 'I've been bought and sold, through warm and cold, but ten to one I'll still be runnin' rackets when I'm old!'

Gadgetry – Good use of cursor gadgetry. I never had trouble selecting objects. Range was just right. Move controls GREATLY appreciated.

Glitches - N/A

Story – N/A

Notes – How about a Space Edition? : D Or an underwater one?

--------------------------------------

Legend of the Hidden (but not really) Battery
by Morris6267
Link: http://lbp.me/v/kn45b2

http://i2.lbp.me/img/ft/e22344b10f7f10940805ed2fa1b7bb941a3f63fb.jpg

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

TLDR:

Navigation – Huh?

Visual – I just....

Sound – What?

Gadgetry – I mean...

Glitches - It's...

Story – I just....

Notes – Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

--------------------------------------

http://ia.lbp.me/img/ft/dea2603edf229c26439afc86988038a8c67dabc0.jpg

Okay that would be my review if I weren't trying to be objective. This is a level I almost wanted to play twice just to see if indeed I just saw what I saw. If you're playing this for the first time you're playing for the level and the experience. If you're playing a second time it's because of Mr. Beaver (LOL @ Cheap Name). Obviously I don't want to spoil too much but Mr. Beaver wants to go to the moon, and he needs a battery to power his rocket. The battery is hidden (but not really) in a convenient temple of contraptions and spikes.

See, now I say that and it really sounds so bland. People are going to get an impression that this is Animal Crossing or something. The humor is really its own animal, and it's a Beaver. I can't tell you everything that "occurred" during my trek, but the parts I remember most vividly are of course the story scenes. I'm left with two different experiences. One I loves, and one I enjoyed but it gets horribly overshadowed by the movies. In essence, I think the cutscenes are TOO good, so much so that they make the fact that there is a level here obsolete.

So let's take a look at that level, shall we? It's a little on the short side, with obstacle mostly involving spikes, bounce pads, and switches. The good thing about the platforming here is that it's fresh. Now I'm going to be mean here (not to you) and say that a whole lot of the really "good" levels out there all use the same dang obstacles over and over with nothing different, and it bothers me. They have a lot of the launch yourself and grab to change layer or die going on. I hate those kinds of levels requiring unprepared split-second reactions. In the Temple here, it's not like that. The strongest advantage is pace. I was always able to get to the next obstacle without tearing my face off, and I never felt any solutions were too difficult to understand. I had a few moments where I had the epiphany that you had to hit some switches twice, so that was unusual, and I like it, even if I died a lot forgetting.

Now I'm going to warn you most everybody who compliments you or ravishes praise is not going to be doing so on your level. They're going to be praising you for Mr. Beaver. So you've kind of written yourself into a corner with this. Beaver is equal parts funny and seriously disturbing, so I'm left with a mixed a opinion. I liked him, but he utterly terrifies me. And I can't rightly say it doesn't matter because he was funny. It does. And when the strong point of your level is a TRUE beaver of insanity (and I thank you Pond Skater) it's time to look at the Frankenstein you've put together from afar.

The level is well crafted, simple, and utterly hilarious. I'm reminded of a webcomic I read called Gunshow. It's the most incredibly depressing and disturbing thing I've read. It's also funny. For one instance, this girl is taking her old dog Buster out to poop, and is put on trial for a life of sins the dog has committed. She wanders purgatory for five years, comes back, digs up the dog's body, goes drinking, and throws broken alcohol bottles at it. In word and deed, it's depressing, macabre, and troubling. But then you read it, and it's hilarious at the same time. That's what this level is like. A seriously disturbed resident with brain damage and a violent side wants to fulfill his hallucination and will kill you for it. I guess the hard lesson here is 'don't be bored' or else Mr. Beaver will find you (but not really).

TLDR:

Navigation – Some tricky but not unfair navigation. I was able to keep a good pace going the whole way through.

Visual – Visuals are very simple. Perhaps could use more decorative additions?

Sound – Sound works for the situation. No complaints.

Gadgetry – Some good, simple (relatively) gadetry. Cutscenes are the best part. Very animated and fun.

Glitches - Didn't find any so thumbs up.

Story – Funny story, hilarious characters, but quite disturbing at the same time. Story overshadows the level.

Notes – Kato & Mr. Beaver sounds like a terrible name for a sitcom. But I'd watch it anyway.

2013-06-04 14:00:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Thank you so much! But wow, disturbing? That's... A bit off putting. xD But true. My characters tend to have some kind of psychological problems. Not really my intent but lolwhatever. Nevertheless I'm glad you found it hilarious. My favorite comedies are shows like South Park or Always Sunny, which I guess inspire my characters. So whatever.

2013-06-05 18:18:00

Author:
morris6267

Posts: 144

Thanks for the review Kato

I was seriously thinking of doing a space edition, but decided to work on a road trip edition.
Taking you through parts of the United States.
The menu is a map of the US and you can click on any city'landmark at any time.
After you find all the objects for a city you earn a post card sticker to place on the map to get points.

Really great feedback. It will help me with my next 1. I get what you mean by the disconnect between images because they don't relate to each other. It's really good that you liked the silhouette scene because the images I've worked on so far are more like that.

For the bar scene I purposely made the scene cluttered because it fit with the image. I'll definitely try not to clutter up the images for my next one.

2013-06-05 19:28:00

Author:
Greensmurfy

Posts: 300

Sometimes I realize, after hearting about 50 levels, that really I should only heart levels I absolutely would want to go back and play again. To me, if I give you a Yay, it means I enjoyed your level, love your stuff, good work. If I give you a Heart, it means you've published the next Dinosaur City: The Dinosaurs Strike Back, and whenever I get the urge, I'm probably going to go back and play it again. I guess there's something to be said about my tastes being askew from the normal, but hopefully you'll agree that there are several polished gems within the ClassiestDisplayCase of theClassiestHobo.

There's a lot of levels here, each arranged to a specific hub that makes up a set. You've got a hub for Movie Genres, Horror, and Storybook. I COULD cover them all, but if I spoke at length, I'd probably break my keyboard from wear and tear. So even though I only picked one from each to exaggerate upon, they're all pretty good, and you should go play them. I'm going to go through my top pick in each category, but mind you, I'm also doing this in reverse order from worst to best. Well... I say worst, but I mean is that #3 I like more than #1, and #1 I liked a little less than #2, but it's still my favorite, and MOVING ON....

MOVIE:
http://i1.lbp.me/img/ft/f71de1598cfdd43020344b165035ba697f15a8eb.jpg

The item on display from this grouping is Space Invaders of the Third Kind. The level opens with you being abducted by aliens and forced to participate in their tests. So after blasting off into space you enter an area with Gravity Bubbles. The Gravity Bubbles are half of what made this level awesome for me. A full half. They're REALLY cool. The bubbles have centralized gravity specific only to within their range, so blue bubbles you can float around mostly weightless, and red you suddenly become dense and heavy, and there was a fat joke I was going to make but I'm going to be nice today.

The flow moves nicely between gravity regions, and the platforming is fun and creative. It's an easy concept that becomes extra sweet when you get to shoot gravity from your helmet, letting YOU control how far you fly, and where. But it doesn't stop there! The journey continues on the alien homeworld with a really fun attract-o-gel segment. You get to make your own little planetoids you can walk around on which I found to be immensely fun. The ending is a bit brief, but the gameplay is excellent!

HORROR:
http://ib.lbp.me/img/ft/04b90c4a2ba20a1919de8a1e36305f492dff979b.jpg

A Scaremerican Tale: Phantom Goes west is a classic haunted house tale that follows the standard formulas and adds to them. It was hard to pick this one as my favorite one, since there's several in the Horror set I really liked. I chose this one primarily for the Trick-or-Treating segment where you are tasked to leave bags of doody on doorsteps, and toilet paper houses. I didn't take any personal pictures, but I actually made a little trick-or-treating costume to wear while playing this. And if your level is fun enough to get me to make a new outfit JUST for it, that tells you something.

A few obstacles are a bit prickly, but none detract from the spooky experience. I liked this one so much that there's only one element in this and one element in the Storybook pick that put in in my number 2 place. If you're dropping by the Haunted Tour hub, I recommend this one first, followed by Dracula, and then Santa.

STORYBOOK:
http://i5.lbp.me/img/ft/d653f877feac89a168531252f6f60983dec9bd75.jpg

This one took first prize not just because I like crocodiles (though I do) but because it faithfully remembers the lighthearted fantasy of the original story and takes you to all its locations. From the Lost Boy's tree house to the Jolly Roger, Peter Pan's labyrinth is a richly crafted experience you can really have fun with. The level is divided into many different segment from the story starting with the nursery in London. Not only is the platforming fun, but some of the puzzles are really visually appealing. Capturing the shadow for instance was presented really well.

The look of the level is great, and the catharsis is the pirate ship at the end. Usually I find nit picks to whine about, and in this case my only nit pick was that it ended too quickly. XD I'd say it was the perfect length and visual style, and really an A+ level.

TLDR:

Navigation – Easy pathfinding and easy to understand puzzles. Some areas are quite spacious, meaning the camera is often zoomed a bit too far out, but this is negligible overall.

Visual – A fun visual style. If you dont mind me saying so, it makes me think of LBP1. In space invaders some shapes were a bit too complex and wouldn't load properly.

Sound – Good use of music and sound effects.

Gadgetry – Fun gadgets! Nothing incredibly crazy, but none of it needed to be. It all works well without overstaying its welcome.

Glitches - No major glitches I noticed, or was aware of.

Story – Cute stories for each. Very family friendly.

Notes – If you ever get back into creating, you ought to make a Disaster Move Genre level, a Jekyll and Hyde level, and an Alice & Wonderland level.

2013-06-14 17:37:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Holy crap. I still don't know how theclassiesthobo works. Did he work on all of his levels from the start of LBP2 and publish them all at the same time? Or does he create really fast?

Either way, you've convinced me to play some of his levels.

EDIT: Oh I see now! Series and all that.

2013-06-15 04:39:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

Care to check out my new level? It's hopefully not crap, but if it is I will try to defecalfy it. It is the first in a planned trilogy, and I want every subsequent installment to be better.

http://lbp.me/v/k0j4we

2013-06-15 13:58:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

Yeah I have been playing LBP since LBP 1 released, I just never got on the message boards. I have about 9 levels on my moon that are done but still not published at all. They were at one time but I have to remove them to make room for these.

Kato, Thank you so much for reviewing my levels I appreciate it so much. You said some really nice things and I am really flattered because your stuff is so great too.

2013-06-16 01:46:00

Author:
TheClassiestHobo

Posts: 51

Haus
by bonner123
Link: http://lbp.me/v/k0j4we

http://i4.lbp.me/img/ft/d745ea72c8affec007e01345386aa42ba6b8dc5e.jpg

I?m sure you had no doubts what kind of review I?d give you going in, so most of this is going to be things you already know, just put down in different, longer words. Did I like Haus? Absolutely. Did I love Haus? Most definitely. Is it the be all end all for me? No, but no such level exists for my notebook, excepting a few LBP 1 levels which is a whole different house entirely. (But the carpet has more dignity than I do, so take that as you will.)

To start I would like to lavish praise on your voice actor. I?m not sure if it's you or someone else, but whoever it is did a really nice job. I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the German accent, not being German myself, but it was believable enough for me to accept. Somehow you?ve made the recorded lines less scratchy and low quality than I?d normally expect from a Playstation Microphone, which is a definite plus. I know generally those mics are terrible, so you must have gone through numerous tries to get this right. The dialogue is well written and hilarious, but to me veers a little close on the Portal side. While I commend it, be wary that Portal is sort of a touchy subject with its humor, and it's hard not to compare HAUS to say, GlaDos or Wheately. Both are talking machines that want to kill you, and say so in funny ways. I would advise leaning more to the house side of things than the computer side of things if that makes any sense. The lines about not moving an Ottoman, or the carpet having more dignity are A+. Lines about I am going to kill you with my mechanical deathtraps are a step away from the cake being a lie all over again, and then it's not just flattery, but a fandom appeal.

But we?re not here to criticize! Any criticisms at all are going to be nitpicks anyway, and if all I can do is nitpick, it means you?ve got me in a corner and I have little relevant to advise upon. So let?s instead go into something I REALLY like. And that awe-inspiring motif here is the visuals. Yes indeed, yes indeed.

Now everyone can just wave the little flag of ?oooh looks pretty? all they want, and it does, but I have a better one for you. The design is not just intricate, it's smart. It's not just detailed, it's outside the box. Wine glasses have wine, computers have keys, and even side facing televisions have moving pictures. I had to do a double take in one room to rotate the camera and observe a painting on a side wall. If I had a complaint in this department, it's that all the detail is a double edged sword. Those who move along at the level?s good pace are missing out, and those that stop to take a look are never going to finish. In fact, for the amount of detail work you?ve got going here, the pacing is almost TOO good. I finished the level very quickly, and I know I missed out on a lot of visual surprises.

http://i0.lbp.me/img/ft/8006f6c53c5072b282e3c742afb7f50c4b018ad6.jpg
This is not my photo obviously, but look at that laptop. It's got a screen, keyboard, DVI port, USB, numberpad?. And everything gets about that nitty gritty with its detail.

Platforming wise the obstacles are very clever, and they aren?t repeated. One of my biggest complaints with a lot of the super popular levels out there, is that they generally have the exact same obstacles all over the board, just slightly re-arranged and with a different look. Here, the environments are very tight, and the camera keeps close to your sackboy which is a HUGE HUGE HUGE plus in my book. Having a camera zoomed too far out can ruin an otherwise good level, so I thank you for keeping it personal, and taking the time to miniaturize the details to accommodate.

The obstacles were simple enough that I personally would not call the level challenging, but perhaps to some it may be. In fact I only had any vague notion of difficulty on one portion where you?re jumping over a swinging bar, and you must use the R stick to move platforms in and out to safety. It was a bit complicated for my uncoordinated fingers, but there was a good feeling of accomplishment after success. This is generally the case with every obstacle in this level. You can feel accomplished getting through difficult ones, and are rewarded by not having to go back through any. That another big complaint I have about a lot of Big Name levels; there?s no sense of accomplishment in obstacles. Yes, you?ve got your sackthing bouncing around and you expect them to grab something as they?re changing layers, and if you miss you die, and if you make it, you just keep moving with a sigh. This level is much the opposite, in that it rewards you for going further by way of its varied rooms.

I have one more nitpick here, but this is a stylistic thing on my part. I found the lighting to be a wee bit harsh in this level. It sets the tone nicely, giving it a rusty, broken haze to meet the insane AI?s personality type, but it also made a lot of things look a bit washed out. It didn?t make a lot of sense to me, since several obstacles are in bright blue. I?m not even quite sure how to explain it, since I don't think there are any filters being used. Just to me, the contrasts seemed a bit difficult to take in.

I think with good fortune and some decent PR this is worthy of an Mm pick, and I feel it's only a matter of time before it receives one. The whole of the level is really top quality, and you can actually see how much time and effort has been put into this overall. I definitely have this hearted, and I definitely want to see more of the story unfold. I?m eagerly anticipating what new and creative platforming solutions you come up with for your future installments. And for anyone who hasn?t played it yet? why are you still here? Why are you still reading? Go get to a TV and play it! Play it, and laugh. Or be sent to the punishment zone.

TLDR:

Navigation ? Easy to understand, and I had a few amusing ?Ooooooh THAT?S why that barrier?s there? moments. Fun platforming with a good camera view.

Visual ? Insanely detailed with all sorts of d?cor and props to behold and wonder. Lighting seemed a bit harsh, but was acceptable. I think it might have been keen to disguise your Cross Controller wormholes a bit. They seem quite stock standard when compared to everything else.

Sound ? Voice acting was hilarious and well written. I?m not sure I would have picked that music track to be playing for the level, but it worked.

Gadgetry ? Good gadgetry with some fun uses of remote control objects. (I will move that ottoman if I darn well want to, you crazy computer!) One of my favorite parts was using a controllable barrier as a shield against in/out moving wall panels on a bridge over a pit of black metal.

Glitches - No major glitches I noticed.

Story ? There?s not much setting up going on. You just are there in the house, and then bam the computer?s nuts. I think it might could have used a bit more buildup, or perhaps a slightly more obvious motive.

Notes ? Haus is a great level, and the best I can give you is just a few superfluous nit picks, so take that as you will. XD I really commend the detail work. It's inspiring, and I can only hope it sets a new high-bar for other creators to consider. It's certainly given me one.

2013-06-16 04:46:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Hi Kato, would you like to review my levels aswell?

PSN: ALPHA-OMEGA81
Level name: Fantasy Adventure
Link: http://lbp.me/v/ssweyv

There are 7 levels in all and they are all level linked.
If you want to review just 1 level, that's fine aswell though.

Tags to describe Fantasy Adventure Saga: Story - Platformer - Simple Puzzler - Easy - Boss Fights

Thanks in advance

2013-06-16 13:30:00

Author:
AlPhAoMeGa81

Posts: 73

Thanks for the review! I did have some worries going in, namely that the humor would be offensive (despite all of the German testers saying it wasn't) and that the constant dialogue would break the pacing and flow of the level. I was also worried that there wasn't enough checkpoints. It's nice to see that my worries are negligible though!

Speaking of visual surprises, there are lots of nods to levels my friends made. For example, there is a picture of the two sponge cubes taken in Vermillion Grove. The obstacles that glow bright blue actually change color to match the person who is controlling it. I did this mostly for people who were playing multiplayer so people can determine who is in control without having to individually test it. Since my popit color is pink, it matches the color scheme of the level, so I wasn't aware of the contrast

. I will look into better decorating the wormholes, but I'm not entirely sure what I can do aside from adding a sticker or two.

The person who did the voice acting is my friend SLS10, and he does voice acting in almost all of my levels (some of which aren't serious, but hey!). I do hope he actually gets proper training and such because I think he would make a good, professional voice actor should he want to.

Thanks for the really kind words though, it means a lot. The next part is where things start making more sense (and as such, weirder). Hopefully I can get it done by October or so.

2013-06-16 15:12:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

I know that you're already going to play The Happening World, but could you review it as well? Thanks.

2013-07-02 20:55:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

Hey! I have another request for a level that isn't mine! I'm curious to know what you think about this level: http://lbp.me/v/mesth7 . Almost all of the voice acting was done by SLS10, who also VA'd HAUS. I also want to keep this thread alive!

2013-07-02 22:41:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

KATO!

Hi der. You may know me, and that is awesome. I'd like you to review one of my levels, if not a few (Or even all of the ones in my signature ;D). I do platformers, you see. (Except for the Starship one, that's kinda for roleplaying) And your reviews are completely fantastic. I'd love to dedicate a day of my time to read one of your reviews for one of my levels, so would you mind reviewing one? You give great reviews from what I've seen, long and non-sugarcoated. So if you could check this one out;

http://lbp.me/v/mbyn80/activity

"Forgotten Playground"

And maybe some of the ones in my signature, that'd be fantastic, dood.

Thanks

2013-07-05 01:43:00

Author:
Radio447

Posts: 159

I'll get to these as soon as I can. I only just finished the Fantasy Adventure. XD

2013-07-05 02:41:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Fantasy Adventure
by ALPHA-OMEGA81
Link: http://lbp.me/v/ssweyv

http://i2.lbp.me/img/ft/902ea611d39ed8fbefc9942d72c754292bc57671.jpg

For those who don’t know me, I have a very unfortunate mental infection; I play the Sims 3 a lot. A LOT. It’s not a game it’s a disease. A disease where you pay Dr. EA to get even sicker with their ridiculous transactions. And yet despite me knowing it’s a bad thing, a TERIBLE THING, every time they release a new town, or a cow plant, I always find myself plonking around with Sims 3 to test the new kit.

There is a reason I’m starting a review talking about my bad habits. It’s because the best thing about Sims, if you’re a person like me, it’s that it lets you create stories about people’s lives. And I am nothing if not a storyteller. So as I started Fantasy Adventure, I fell victim to creating a story of my own, and vanished from the word processor for longer than I intended. So! Fantasy Adventure then.

I think there are two terms which best describe Fantasy Adventure, and I again want you to know that I prefer reviews to be honest. These two words are ‘Enjoyable’ and ‘Inconsistent’. Out of the seven levels there were parts that were cleverly arranged, fun, and looked very nice, and parts that did not. There were cutscenes with action and clever programming, and scenes where everybody just stood in one place with the camera zoomed way far out so you really didn’t know what was going on. I felt that this trend continued on a downhill slide throughout the level series as by I reached the Final Boss, I felt that you, as a creator, were getting tired of it all. I mean let’s face it, after Level 2 in the forest, there’s really not much beyond that quite as keen.

Don’t mistake my words as harsh though. There is that first word “enjoyable”, and there is quite a lot to enjoy here. You’ve got a pretty funny story that combines both LBP tongue-in-cheek references and fantasy adventures. There are things I think can be improved, yes, but that’s all levels. I do send my appreciation out to you for creating a continuous story I can follow, and for having good navigation.

That said, here are my biggest complaints. One, checkpoints. Double or infinite please. And more of them. One after every big obstacle. Several of the levels towards the end, starting with the desert, the platforming got a little hard and I had to repeat the level every time trying to bypass the obstacles. I’m not saying they were impossible, but as they say practice makes perfect, and unless they’re as easy as LBP1 obstacles (They’re not) you need at least a double at every turn. If there’s one thing I’ve found players not liking it’s re-treading after dying. If there’s not a checkpoint past the slew of electrified ceiling grabs, and they have to repeat the same obstacle again and again, then there’s no sense of forward progress. You lose that momentum, you lose the interest.

My second biggest complaint is the design. Some of the design work is great. (See the forest.) Some of it is disappointing. (See the final boss.) This goes back to that inconsistency though. But I can’t rightly judge this in that though, and I’ll tell you why.

When I play Fantasy Adventure, what I see is potential. Without wanting to toot my own horn, it’s exactly how I feel playing my original Crystal Crisis 1 levels. With Fantasy Adventure you can see there’s been a lot of work involved, a lot of feeling around in the dark, a lot of testing the waters, and a lot of learning how to do things. I don’t think it’s bad. It’s actually quite good! But it’s around the middle point of good, and there’s plenty of room for improvement. My suggestion is to be proud of what you’ve done, consider making a Fantasy Adventure 2, and then after that go back and play FA1 and see for yourself. You’ll find the best way to learn is to try, and by the time you go back later you’ll probably see your own good ideas, bad ideas, and anything else. So don’t be disheartened. I give FA a recommendation.

TLDR:

Navigation – Only a few points where the paths were unclear, but I enjoyed the free roam of the second level the most. A lack of checkpoints, and an unforgiving checkpoint system coupled with some difficult obstacles in the later acts makes it a bit hard on the player.

Visual – Good visual design, but I felt the sets were too big. (I do that too. XD) You can accomplish a lot by tightening up the landscape. Less distance to walk is not going to ruin it.

Sound – Music worked, with some unusual but effective choices.

Gadgetry – Fun but simple gadgetry. Most impressive was the leading sequence of events with cutscenes which was neat.

Glitches - No major glitches I noticed.

Story – Story was good. A little bit ‘generic fantasy’ but the title alone tells you that.

Notes – In Edenia Griever flew away on a box. I was elated to see it return in the next level once, and disappointed it was never seen again. D: Griever X Box = OTP. THEIR LOVE IS PURE!!!!

2013-07-06 15:16:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Thanks for the review and I really respect your opinions on my levels.
I started Fantasy Adventure Chapters 1 and 2 in LBP1.

After I've got LBP2 I was already at Chapter 3 and later I desided to update the 'cut-out' characters fom Chapter 1 with sackbots
and like Chapter 2, changed the music where necessary.

As for the rest of the Chapters, I really didn't want to repeat with the same kind of levels. That's why I only have one level like Chapter 2.

The last Chapter however, I wanted it to be a straight forward boss fight. Nothing more, nothing less.
I agree that it looks not all that great, but trust me when I say that I really spend ALOT of time with it to get it right.
And you know how much the thermo can be a pain in the butt...

Again thanks alot for taking the time to play my levels.

EDIT:I Replaced every checkpoint for an infinite one and placed a few extra ones.

Funny thing is that in the beginning, they all were infinite ones, but I've replaced them with singles or doubles. Probably shouldn't have done that...

2013-07-06 15:41:00

Author:
AlPhAoMeGa81

Posts: 73

Kalawishis's The Happening World (Funny Film) (By Kalawisis)
by Kalawishis (and Kalawisis who apparently did all the work.)
Link: http://lbp.me/v/me118c

http://i2.lbp.me/img/ft/cb207ca858f995f4846b0743e786f950f8af96a5.jpg

I should've taken pictures, but I didn't. I guess I'm fired. *explodes*. I am no stranger to internet lingo. I know LOL means laugh out loud, ROFL is rolling on floor laughing, and TROLOLOL means there's lol's with trolling involved. I'm not certain of the origin of the Troll, only that I believe it comes from the word CONtrol, or possibly PAtrol. I'm not sure. I do know that the iconic Trollface originated from somebody poorly copying an image from Mighty Mouse. The modern internet age is a time of Lolcats, Roflopes, Memes, and Trollfaces, but then there's the lower key, more intelligent variety with dry wit and classical treatments. It brings back memories of Fawlty Towers, and Black Adder, and other good british comedies.

The Happening World teeters on the edge of both, never quite falling in with either crowd. It's presented as sort of a Monty Python meets Encyclopedia Dramatica crossover, only set in a LBP world. The skits flow nicely into each other, with non-sensical situations being a highlight. Watching this, it's easy to find favorite parts, or select favorite skits. Some I felt were really good and triddle dee dee, while others just sort of meh'd on by. The film had a particularly strong opening, which cut itself short very quickly, and got quite a few laughs out of me. It was the unexpected event which made the scene, as is the case with much of the skits.

Obviously from the description, some scenes are 13+. In fact most of them are. In fact quite a few of them have questionable content, so It's not a film for everyone. I personally am not offended by anything in it, as I'm casual enough to shrug at most things. I take the Avenue Q approach to life; aware that it sucks, but you can still get by. However, not everyone shares that philosophy to that should be kept in mind. In particular the Obama in Venice segment, while hilarious, is most likely going to upset some folks.

There's not much else I can offer. As this is a movie I can't really comment on controls or navigation. The stories are funny, with some fun lines and quirky humor. I would recommend it, but not to everyone.

TLDR:

Navigation – N/A

Visual – Cute designs. Characters were easily distinguishable, as were the different set locations. I didn't get that the lady was in an outhouse at first, but this is due to a trim on the wood material.

Sound – Music worked. It was a bit uncanny for the button to have voice acting out of nowhere. I think it would be best to make it all-or-nothing. Either get voice acting for everyone, or no one. Personally I found no complaint with the default voices. They all seemed to fit. Lol @ Obama in Venice. Oh-bama....

Gadgetry – Good sackbot acting. The movements were nice and fluid and the events were well timed.

Glitches - N/A

Story – The Board of Directors scene was my favorite. The biggest jerks often make the best comedy in my book. WHICH COULD BE WHY YASSEN WAS MY FAVORITE SACDROID CHARACTER. XD

Notes – In the Happening World 2 you need to make of of TV reporters. XD

2013-07-10 14:38:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Will leave detailed thanks when my keyboard works.

EDIT: AND HERE IT IS!

Firstly, I think "troll" came from the word "troll".

Secondly, this is the longest review I've gotten on this film and comes with all the strangeness and silliness you could expect from Kato. I do agree with you that some scenes were pretty weak (the broccoli fairy joke wasn't told very well, making many people not "get" it, as well as some jokes not being strong in general) but I do like how you found other scenes funny. I never looked at my own film as a sort of mix between flashy internet and dry British humor, but now I see it clearly, with all the references to memes being the former and lines like "Nobody conquers Switzerland my a*s" being the latter. I guess you have a way with levels (this also shows in SackDroid review; "the individual parts are greater than the whole" summing up the level well).

Thirdly, I don't think you got the under 13 joke from my level thread. I think if you read when I said that more clearly you'll get it. It's one of those things that's meant to make people do a double take.

Fourthly...you LIKED Yassen? Oh God, I hate that guy. I cringe at all of his scenes because I don't find them scary or funny, and my voice acting makes him sound like a homosexual that just inhaled a helium balloon. Oh well.

Thanks for the review. I may take your suggestion. Hmm...yeah, I've got it!

The Workaday World (Funny Film)

Just a silly film about journalists, anchors, networks, and the lengths they'll go to to bring you the Big Scoop. If it bleeds, it leads, and here there is no exception!

I suppose that's why there are so many Bomb Survivals, Mortal Kombats, and other violent levels on the Cool Pages.

2013-07-11 00:53:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

Wow man, nice work!

I would really appreciate a review my Zombie Onslaught level. It was a very tedious solo project and I am curious about your opinion of it and if you encounter any glitches. So far I have not received very many reviews, and I would like as many perspectives as possible. I believe I have come to the right place, right?

Here is the link to the forum post so you can see what other people have said about it:

http://i7.lbp.me/img/bl/1c750a429f0b74dba3d0664f8a2407e59e0dd739.png
Zombie Onslaught (1P ONLY) (https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=81069-Zombie-Onslaught-(1P-ONLY))

2013-08-06 20:47:00

Author:
Reblskum666

Posts: 39

I'm back from the dead so yes I guess that I appropriate for the Halloween season.

I have a lot I need to finish, and I promise I'll get to it! I have a review half-finished of one of Bonner's levels. (I had to play it twice.) And I have several half-finished contest prizes. And two half-finished levels. Nyaaaaaaaaugh. D:

Esmerelda! Eleventy: Esmerelda Towers
by Giant_Robot77
Link: http://lbp.me/v/mesth7

http://i5.lbp.me/img/ft/155acc990f899201e050fb84320ea1f17356eb6e.jpg

I'm not going to post what I was originally writing here because looking back it was a train of thought that has long since derailed. And let's face it, that's to be expected in this case. This level had me going 'Huh?' 'What?' 'How the-?' all the way through and you should totally play it. No really. Go ahead. Your reaction will probably be the same.

My first impression was that this level was one big inside joke known only to the author and a close friend or two. But looking back, I'm no longer convinced of that either. It certainly has the feel of an inside joke with absurdist humor, bizarre characters, and Spoom. The humor is actually very adult, quite creepy, and yet at the same time is pulls off the old Animaniacs gig where the younger generations probably aren't going to get it. Like having a yaranaika next to a semi-phallic concierge.

This is not so much a level you play as it is a level you experience. My first playthrough I misses three whole floors (I'll come back to that) of content. If you just walk A to B like I did the first time, you're going to be left confused, bewildered, and basted in garlic salt. If you explore around, you'll still end up the same way, but I'm pretty sure you'll find out that being confused, bewildered, and basted in garlic salt is the whole point, and when you ask 'Huh?' 'What?' and 'How the-?' you'll do so because you're supposed to.

Okay, so I do have my problems with this levels, but it's hard to say if they're problems or not because pretty much any argument can be countered with 'Yes, that's supposed to happen' here. The first of which is the elevator. My first run through it went straight up to the top floor and I missed half the content. It moves a bit quickly, and I think ideally it ought to have a mechanism to stop on each floor. Maybe it does and I'm doing it wrong. My second complaint was the fat guy on the third floor who's erratic movements were a tremendous pain to get by sometimes. My third complaint is that some cutscenes tended to drag on a while, such as the mating dance and the raft death encounter. And finally (and once again I remind about that counter argument) there is no scoreboard. Yes, there is no score, but I'm left with a sense of defeat at my lack of accomplishment as is. Even if the ending boils down to 'You Die Game Over' I'd still prefer the finality of knowing that me and 300 other folks all share the same score of 0.

But despite petty complaints, none of them are problems without solutions, and none of them were make or break. If anything it was by design. It was certainly an original experience, but to my tastes I couldn't personally call it fun. To me, fun is merited to levels where I get a sense of accomplishment with my progression. Where I can enjoy a story or challenge without feeling like it's an exercise in bashing my face into a brick wall hoping eventually it will cave. It's actually a problem I have with a lot of the super-exquisite levels. They make them so hard that by the end I'm just left upset. If a level can go all the way through without making me upset, then I call it a win. I'm sure it's the reverse on my own levels. I play them so much I know them blindfolded and backwards and to a newcomer they can't be expected to know that the giant-laser-death-scorpion has a super specific pattern.

I can recommend Esmerelda Towers for sure, but with the caution that you may not understand it. I didn't, but it was funny, and it was at least functional. It has its own sense of humor and you may need to play it a few times to get into the proper attitude for it.

TLDR:

Navigation – Free-Roaming hindered by an uncooperative elevator, but the layout was simple enough regardless.

Visual – An absurdist design with characters designed to be intricate and complex as well as made of basic geometry. It's both appealing, and over-simplified. The vacant background makes it feel a bit empty and melancholy.

Sound – Voice acting is of course well done as would be expected. It mixed voices with gibberish in some places, but it seemed to work. Esmerelda is decidedly the most creepy thing ever.

Gadgetry – Aside from the elevator of ambiguous incontinence (because I couldn't tell if it was taking the ****) everything was working fine on both runs.

Glitches - If you miss jumping onto the raft at the end, you can't easily get back in it.

Story – The story itself is actually very simple and strange. Needless to say you are not a lucky sack-person.

Notes – The Prophetic Sponge was the best.

2013-10-24 17:06:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

The Flip Side
by megaextremist
Link: http://lbp.me/v/m95dp-

http://i6.lbp.me/img/ft/2964f13ded02de931e731f8cfbf6ca3664174b27.jpg

I played The Flip Side a while back on the flip side of me playing Dragon's Dogma. So.. about 2,687 years ago? Anyway, it's been a while, but I find that doesn't matter because this level is still freshly ingrained in my long-term memory. And it won't leave. The Flip Side is an exercise in Point of View alteration where the action takes place upside down. From your inverted perspective up becomes down, left becomes right, and hard becomes merciless. And I'm not kidding there.

It's hard for me to offer my opinion to the public at large because from what I gather, it's divided roughly between people who simply want to enjoy calming, easy experiences, and those who want extreme challenges. I've never shirked my contempt, for example, for platformers requiring any sort of ceiling-grab sections. Swinging I express no qualms since it's a basic application of physics, but whenever I reach a ceiling grab I sigh my weary little heart and try again. And again. And again.

The good thing about the Flip Side is that it's memorable. The bad thing is that it's memorable from repetition. Honestly, I hate it when my review basically boil down to me whining about difficulty, but it's not even that on its own. Due to the inverted perspective, you end up having to do some very awkward things with your controller, and human hands were not meant for some of the solutions I came up with. The perspective change is not optional either, and honestly I think I would have preferred the ability to have a right-side-up view at least for a few practice runs. The hardest part apparently is a jetpack portion where a friendly NPC advises you that the level can be completed without it. I didn't even get a chance to read all the things had to say because I'd died before having the opportunity. The gist I gathered was "If you find this next part too hard-" Dead. It was like a sad joke. And the punchline was I didn't even get to try it!

Graphically and musically speaking, it's all very solid. The designs are all AAA stuff with abundant stickers and decor. I liked a lot of the chaos actually with misshapen boxes, odd vertical rises, and everything looking like a Rube-Goldberg machine made out of crayons, paint, cardboard, and the souls of orphan children. I felt the visual theme consistent in its inconsistency for as little as that makes sense. It's the sort of place where the phrase 'Banana Shark on Rollerskates' could be used without irony, though I can't recall if any occurred.

I'd recommend The Flip Side if you enjoy those super-hard types of levels that test your patience at embracing futility. You will enjoy the ride if you can grasp the gimmick. I thought maybe that was my problem overall; not being able to think upside down, or perhaps just on the flip side of the box, but based on several segments I'm sure it would still be challenging without it. However, at my last test I did find a few 'holes' that had me fall through to the backstage area. I wouldn't call it a perfect level, but perfection is subjective. Try it out at least, but don't sweat it if you can't finish. (Though I did finish. Somehow.)

TLDR:

Navigation – Layout intentionally confusing. Several times I thought I was lost, but I wasn't actually.

Visual – Chaotic but not too much so. Visuals were good, being craft-like and appropriate to the spirit of LBP.

Sound – Honestly the music grated on me after a while, but I was playing at this level for over an hour, and dying every few moments, so I may be biased in that respect.

Gadgetry – Gadgetry is tight, but there's one long-launch section midway through that doesn't account well enough for players flailing and thinking they've broken something.

Glitches - A few holes, but they may be patched by now.

Story – N/A

Notes – I could justify the trek if you'd let me drop a nuclear explosive on something afterwards.

2013-10-24 19:41:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Oh, it's not actually my level (but I am the person who added the erratic doll). The level is by my friend Giant_Robot77. Awesome reviews regardless, I'm glad to see you're back.

2013-10-24 23:16:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

Ah, all right. (Fixes the author.) And yes, it's good to be back!

2013-10-25 13:53:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Apologies for the double post, but it has been quite a long while.

I'm interested in getting back into doing level reviews again. I don't THINK I have any on my backlog atm. So if anyone would like a Kato review, I'd be happy to. : D

2014-07-03 16:53:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

I love your reviews, and lucky me I'll have a level done soon (soon for me is the end of the month...). Uh, I'll link this thread to some people to see if they want something reviewed.

2014-07-06 00:27:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

Your reviews are super tasty.
Would you consider giving your opinion on this madness? http://lbp.me/v/qr1995p
Have fun!

2014-07-06 01:10:00

Author:
Mnniska

Posts: 531

Esmerelda Teaches Level Design
by Mnniska
Link: http://lbp.me/v/qr1995p

http://i6.lbp.me/img/ft/8b639cf6fe944cc420833f056edae803f4e0d091.jpg

I've somewhat dreaded reviewing this level after playing it the first time. ETLD is a level designed to demonstrate the very worst design decisions in a single level. It strikes me as a bit unnerving to play through it, because I enjoyed the level and had a lot of fun. I worried myself to sleep at night wondering "am I a bad creator for enjoying this level?"

After that agony I came to the personal conclusion that the level was intended to be a decent, playable level meant to exemplify a few common faults for the purpose of humor, and perhaps education. So it's all right to have enjoyed the level, and even better if you take something away from it. Most of the things I knew, but I did find a few sins I've been guilty of. The 'bad decisions' I noticed were... (These are only some.)

1. Visible Emitters - Unless your emitter has a reason to be visible, why is it?

2. Invisible Walls - This is one of those I'm guilty of which I'm less sure is a bad thing. But in the context, the wall was blocking off an area that looked distinctly traversible, and even held score bubbles. So why is it blocked off? I personally don't find fault in invisible walls if necessary, but don't make them obvious.

3. Sackwoman - Players have sack people of varying genders. Male, Female, Undecided... using the word Sackboy explicitly or Sackgirl explicitly, roughs up your immersion if you are playing a sack of a different gender. This one doesn't bother me so much either, though I do personally try to use "Sack-Thing", "Sack-Person", or "Sack-Buddy".

4. Pointless Collectibles - Collectibles are okay if they have a purpose. Aside from prize bubbles, I've personally only used collectibles in one level. Collecting them reveals the back story, and collecting a set of four will unlock prize bubbles at the end. ETLD suggests that collecting all collectibles should open up a secret area. I agree with this one. There should be a point to the collectibles.

5. Overly-Long Pointless Cutscenes - Cutscenes can spruce up a level to add story and interest, but use them only when necessary, and don't make them super long. I think this level was also trying to get across the oddness of having cutscenes activate via grab switches that leave your sackperson hanging on for the duration. That doesn't really bother me that much, but it does look silly!

6. Available Layers - If a layer LOOKS like you can jump onto it, you should be able to jump onto it. Especially if it looks like your life-saving grace over a spike pit. Don't give players false hope!

7. Dangerous Materials - Dangerous things should appear dangerous so players can tell what it is they are doing. Simply plasmafying an invisible hologram material around a checkerboard does not give a clear indication as to what's dangerous or what's not. I'm less approving of this suggestion, because some materials make excellent danger materials, such as Freaky Clouds which makes a good lava or poison effect. But I think the point to this is more along the lines of "At least THINK about the danger-material, and have it make sense in context."

8. The Rule of Three - This is probably the only design decision I disagree with about being bad. The level sarcastically suggests that three is a magic number and you should always make three of every obstacle. I would only agree with this sarcasm with an alteration. "Don't make three IDENTICAL and CONSECUTIVE obstacles." But I see no harm in repeating obstacles. You ought to change them up a little bit each time though.

9. Pointless Button Presses - Why are you required to press a button 30 times that you should only need to press once?

10. Immersion Breaking Portals - I'm kinda of on the fence about portals. So far as I've used them, they've been appropriate to the context of the setting, but ETLD suggests you shouldn't just use them as an excuse to get out of a dead-end. Personally, I would go a step further and say you shouldn't use them where they're not appropriate to the context of a level. I'm going to pick on Five-Eight-Five a bit here to provide two examples. Portals of Time (http://lbp.me/v/jxc4pv) was a GOOD application of portals as they were appropriate to the concept of time travel. Act of Stacy[/url) was NOT a good application, because why are there random portals going to a music concert? (Sorry Five-Ate-Five! XD )

There's plenty of other thing to learn in this treasure chest.... of stuff. Like Bananas and Pants! Or having toe-stub bounce pads. (I'm personally trying to better place my bouncepads these days.)

So what it comes down to though, and usually the reason I'm asked to review at all, is it a good level? NO. IT'S NOT. But that's good! That's the point! It's got so many terrible things wrong with it, and the reason it has terrible things wrong with it, is to draw attention to all of the terrible things people do wrongly on their own level. So taken from the perspective of teaching all of the terrible things wrong with levels is it good? In that case, YES, IT IS VERY GOOD. In fact it's so good that coming out of it, I was like "man this level is just too good to bring attention to all of the bad." But it's been a few weeks since then and seeing as how I STILL remember most of it, I can say with confidence that at least for me, it got the point across.

Of course telling people what they did wrong is usually a double-ended sword. (Yes Double-Ended not Double-Edged. Like Darth Maul.) On one end you're going to be prodding a lot of people, but they're going to end up prodding you right back. If there's one thing I've noticed, it's that "The less confident people are in their work, the more likely they are to get defensive about it." This is a particularly hard case for me, due to cyclothymia, so just bear in mind that if you try and tell people to do stuff, there's going to be a whiny handful that are going to get really angry. Personally, I am not angry, as I enjoyed myself, learned quite a bit, and got to remember just how much Esmerelda frightens me.

[u]TLDR:

Navigation ? Layout is friendly. I had a nice easy time figuring out where to go, except for the parts where, obviously, the layout is intentionally confusing and mangled. Aside from these parts I had an easy time getting around.

Visual ? Contrasting materials, stickers, and objects create a chaotic and poorly optimized visual appeal. 10/10. Though you ought to have used the basic wood material everywhere. I've found that the worst levels really like that default wood material.

Sound ? I'm not much of a music genius, so I really couldn't tell you how good/bad of a choice it was. I think there's only been two levels where the music really bothered me, so this was fine. And of course, excellent voice acting by SLS10 as always.

Gadgetry ? Simple, but functional gadgets. Nothing really oversteps the boundaries. That is, until I saw the Memorizer in action with banana collecting. I really don't know how you guys get that gizmo to work. I have gone through the Memorizer tutorial so many times, and I still can't get it to work for me. So kudos for that impossible thing.

Glitches - The level is rife with apparent glitches exploited to draw attention to their presence.

Story ? I think the level title tells you the story pretty much.

Notes ? It's a good thing there's no Kato Teaches Level Design because the entire level would consist of a single checkpoint, and a hugely long ceiling grab section.

2014-07-06 16:49:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

I'd appreciate it if you reviewed Esmerelda's Comprehensive Guide To Homeowning:
http://lbp.me/v/qrdvf3s

2014-07-06 19:01:00

Author:
Unknown User

Hey, when you're not busy, could you give this level a review?

http://lbp.me/v/qp3f0zc

2014-07-07 20:22:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

Hey Kato

I would love a review on my last lbp 2 level Smurfy's Hidden Objects Road Trip.
http://lbp.me/v/kwj7q4
I just saw your review on my Green Ash level. I wrote back on the thread. I agreed with everything you said

2014-07-08 06:40:00

Author:
Greensmurfy

Posts: 300

Esmerelda's Comprehensive Guide To Homeowning
by coasterfreak1235
Link: http://lbp.me/v/qrdvf3s

http://i2.lbp.me/img/ft/de2c145d9e8f374af76705b0935f9bdb3fbebdf5.jpg

Maybe I'm just dumb. That's probably it. Dumb, slow, and impatient. Maybe I'm just starting to get old. One thing I've learned is that this Esmerelda label is quickly becoming a LBP troll-culture icon, and I'm not sure I like what it stands for. ECGTH is a level in the Esmerelda vein, touting itself as a maze. when in truth, it is a private circle of hell. So the positive points are, it functions very well. It's a first person perspective dungeon crawler in a controlinator so you can move forwards or turn left/right, and turn down one of the few hallways you'll find. The atmosphere is bleak and monotonous. It reminds me a lot of this indie-game called "The Stairwell" or "SCP-087B".

The difference between this labyrinth and The Stairwell, is that in the Stairwell, you have a sense of progress despite the monotony. In this level, you do not. As you journey through this maze, walls WILL change on you. More often than not I would enter a room, and find that my point of entry had vanished. Also in each room you'll find portraits of Esmerelda on the floor in varying colors and facing various directions. I am 90% certain these panels change color and direction.

My first run through, I got myself hopelessly lost, but I figured I'd try again, this time more methodically. My second try I wound up going in a circle over and over, and discovered the changing walls. Finally on my third try, I drew a map, and that failed horribly, so I wandered aimlessly for an hour and still never made any progress.

After exiting out of the level I did poke around at its statistics, and based on the fact that people have been getting scores, it means there IS a scoreboard somewhere. I don't have the patience to try again. If there's a trick to this level, and there probably is, It's not one I know about. I though at first maybe you're supposed to follow whichever direction the Esmerelda panels were facing. When that didn't work, I thought maybe be colors of each panel were a clue. That didn't work either. In the end I ended up just getting bored because nothing was happening at all.

If I had to give a suggestion, it would be that you need a more obvious hint to people going through, because right now it just feels like a big inside joke so you can have a laugh at people not in your circle of friends. That's probably not the case, as there's a considerable amount of logic work done on this level; too much for it to just be there for a giggle. But the bland sterility of the environment, even if it means to evoke hopelessness, just gets boring after you've wandered a while. I'd say at the end of the day, the best way to master this maze is just not to play.

TLDR:

Navigation – Confusing and monotonous layout with changing walls and no indication of progress.

Visual – There is no decor aside from a the occasional floor panel. Everything else is just white.

Sound – Environmental ambience contrasts between spooky noises, clown honks, and canned laughter. It got a bit annoying.

Gadgetry – Logic work is well done to get the functions of the maze to work.

Glitches - I didn't notice any distinct problems here.

Story – N/A

Notes – Honestly, I don't think I'd recommend this level based the lack of visual appeal, and the fact that finding a clue to help you get through is really not very obvious. I even tried popping myself to see if that would make a difference, but it just ended the level. The fact that nothing at all happens on your journey doesn't make the trip very exciting or rewarding.

-------------------------------------------

Music for Short Attention Spans
by Kalawishis
Link: http://lbp.me/v/qp3f0zc

I think you might be asking the wrong person to review this, as I am the most musically stunted person you'll ever find. As a kid I played piano for about six months, then trombone for a year in high school. After that I've done nothing musical aside from singing in the shower on occasion. I have the absolute worst voice for singing. It's high and REALLY nerdy sounding, and grates on your ears. In fact growing up the first thing people made fun of me for was the way I sounded. So from my position, anything that doesn't sound like me sounds good. Another reason I have a hard time commenting is because this is a gallery level, so there's no real navigating, or story, and the only visual element consists of the menu screen. I suppose I'll have to start with that.

First of all, the logo is nice, but those buttons on the left seem very lazy to me. You've taken the time to put your symbol on there, why not take the time to cut out your own button symbols and text? Just pasting in the default seems a bit insincere on a level like this. If you haven't taken pains on the look of the layout who's to say you've taken pains on the music? Presentation is important, even on a music gallery.

A second thing I noticed was all of the little sound effects while playing tracks. They're a bit distracting, though their intention is important. Maybe just a short beep instead of the shrill HUD FX would be a better choice? You might consider adding some kind of visualization as well. It doesn't need to be complicated, but the background is plain black and white, and nothing moves until you select a track and it has to thought-bubble into playing.

So the music..... Deer in headlights here.... I am just NOT a musician. It sounded great to me, but I'm not a connoisseur by any means. I did like how several tracks had differing sound-themes. Like how some would be retro video game music, and some would be easy listening. I was a bit sad there was no fast-paced action-y music, as most of the time when I'm out looking for sequencers, It's because I need something for a boss battle. I was pleased however to see some tracks from Sackdroid and Happening World, though I think my favorite had to be Fantasyesque.

TLDR:

Navigation – A simple layout, but no complicated navigation aside from pressing buttons for music.

Visual – With no moving visual element, it's a bit unenthusiastic looking.

Sound – Music is lovely. Much better than I've ever done, but I am hardly an expert.

Gadgetry – Gadgetry works on the selector just fine. I didn't run into any issues.

Glitches - N/A

Story – N/A

Notes – I need to start bribing some of you musical folk for a remix of the Praxion and Mr. Monochrome musics. XD

-------------------------------------------

NP Greensmurfy. I'll do that one next, and see about getting a review up tomorrow morning.

2014-07-08 14:49:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

I'm probably going to play God Hand before finishing my new level so do you want to check out this http://lbp.me/v/qrqs5p9 ? It is more Esmerelda. The next thing I'm making is a serious platformer, but it also involves Esmerelda so hopefully it won't become too trolly, lol.

2014-07-09 20:46:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

Sure, no problem.

Is this going to be your first time playing God Hand? That's an amazing game. A very difficult game, but also very fun.

Card gone wild, JOKER!
One hard gangsta, DIAMOND
You can find me at the CLUB!
Have your pet neutered or SPADE!
Ow ow ow ow hurts... I mean.. HEARTS!
Together we are the MAD MIDGET FIVE!

2014-07-09 21:20:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Yes, and I was getting my **** handed to me at first but I managed to reach Elvis between now and when I started playing 50 minutes ago. It's so much fun so far.

2014-07-09 22:07:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

Thanks for the review! Shame you aren't musical, though.

2014-07-09 23:27:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

Smurfy's Hidden Objects (Road Trip Edition)
by Greensmurfy
Link: http://lbp.me/v/kwj7q4

http://i4.lbp.me/img/ft/92459b818c130f7a924f154f2af9735b782d67b8.jpg

Having played, and reviewed, Smurfy's Old West Hidden objects, I can now say with confidence, "Wow. That's definitely an improvement." While The concept is the same, hunting through scenes to click on concealed stickers, variations to the formula have arisen to mix things up. I want to commend you on the first noticeable improvement being on the first level on the list, as it is likely the first place people are going to go. In this case, it's a mini-game to shoot all of the pink sailboats within a time-limit. I'm being unfair. I guess the FIRST REAL noticeable improvement is that it's all controlinator-based now, instead of some jumping around as a sackperson at the beginning and end. The style reminds me a lot of cut-out picture books like The Hungry Caterpillar.

Lessons learned it seems, the scenes now occasionally have gimmicks aside from mini-games, such as displaying icons for only a few moments, or switching a scene from summer to winter. In one scene even, the stickers moved around, and you had to time yourself to click the right Loch Ness Monster. The point is there's a lot of polish this time around, and many scenes look a lot better than the Old-West edition, preferring stickers that are more appropriate to the region. That comes with a 'But" though....

But (there it is), some scenes are still ordinary click-em-ups with some icons that just look tacked on. New Mexico I thought was the biggest culprit of this. It was also the only scene that gave me any trouble due to one item being "Mask" and there being several mask-like items on screen. The correct solution was a small yellow Lucha mask stuck to a small yellow statue so it was a bit confusing. Some scenes had questionable context, such as Los Angeles being primarily a Pirates of the Caribbean stage, though It didn't bother me too much in the long run I suppose.

The question I ask myself now, is if the level is good. I tentatively say yes, and then wonder why I feel reluctant to say so. I lay out my thoughts then to see where the hold up is, and why reluctance accompanies approval. Graphically, it's got strong presence, and most scenes have genuinely been created with sweat and tears. The visual presentation I felt was strongest in New Orleans and New York, even if New York did happen to have the Batmobile on the ROOF of a skyscraper. (I GUESS It could happen.) The sound tracks were unique to each level, and the stickers were well hidden. Each level was unique, vivid, and animated, and some had mini-games. So where's the disconnect. Well, I found it.

The thing is, there's just not much replay value, even though I'd heartily recommend a play. Each time you go in the stickers are always going to be in the same places, and they're always going to function the same way. There isn't an over-arching story or much dialogue, so it's more a diversionary level, sort of like Candy Crush Saga or Angry Birds if you only had the first handful of levels unlocked and nothing else. It's a lot of fun to play, but once you've done it, it's doubtful you will again. Still, it's my hope that this Hidden Gem of Hidden Objects not remain a lost treasure, and that it get the recognition it deserved. Frankly, it looks like it took an irresponsible amount of labor to build, and if Smurfy had a cat, I imagine it pawing at Smurfy's leg since it hasn't been fed in a week.

So play Smurfy's Hidden Objects (Road Trip Edition)! Play it so poor starving Smurfycat's suffering won't be in vain!

TLDR:

Navigation ? An easy to do objective and layout, all controlinator based now. Works well!

Visual ? Scenes now much more intricate, and more on the artistic side rather than the random Where'd Waldo side and look great. Many include gimmicks and animation to keep things interesting.

Sound ? Sound switches by scene. Is that the 'No Capers' music in New York? (Darn, it sounds cool!) Music is well chosen for each scene.

Gadgetry ? I don't even want to THINK about how many wires are running everywhere here.

Glitches - None that I found.

Story ? N/A

Notes ? Really great level. A huge improvement from the last one. Removal of the timer offers a much more casual and comfortable experience. Definitely would recommend.

-------------------

I want to play Snack Shack a few more times and get a little further before I A+ stamp it. XD

2014-07-10 21:45:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Sounds exciting! Prepare to die a lot and hate me for it.

If I had to give a suggestion, it would be that you need a more obvious hint to people going through, because right now it just feels like a big inside joke so you can have a laugh at people not in your circle of friends. That's probably not the case, as there's a considerable amount of logic work done on this level; too much for it to just be there for a giggle.

For what it's worth, coaster will not let any of us know the secret of the puzzle despite asking really politely.

2014-07-10 22:51:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

Thanks for the review Kato

That's how I should advertise my level, "Smurfys cat won't be in vain." At first glance, it looks like a crazy amount of work, but it was spaced out over a year. I worked on New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco at the same time and finished those over a year ago. I remember because I worked on those scenes on a really small tv lol and then a year ago I got a very good size hd tv

It's definitely been a long time in the making.

Great review. I really appreciate the time you put into it. New Mexico is by far my least favorite. If I wasn't tired of working on the level, I would fix that scene up lol. Los Angeles is pirates themed because that's the front of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride in Disneyland. The building in the background was where Walt Disney stayed.

You are really great at writing reviews, so thank you. Let me know if you have a new game coming out.

Edit - That is the No Capers soundtrack. Love that song.

2014-07-10 23:16:00

Author:
Greensmurfy

Posts: 300

If your not busy can you review my level? http://lbp.me/v/qscd4e8

2014-07-12 02:52:00

Author:
Jonarrthan

Posts: 310

Hey, I just published SackDroid - Part 2. Could you give it a review please?

https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=89852-SackDroid-Part-2-Search-and-Rescue-(and-Lasers)

2014-07-20 04:26:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

Sorry for my sudden silence. XD I was on vacation last week, so I was unavailable.

In my current queue for review:
[DVLC2] Esmerelda's Snack Shack: Prepare to Dine - Played it, want to play it again a bit more.
Danto Saga 17: Unstoppable force - I'm only going to review this level, not the entire series. 17 is a very high number. @_@
SackDroid - Part 2: Search and Rescue (and Lasers) - Super excited for this. Let me replay the others again first, and then I'll get to this one.

2014-07-21 14:15:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Looking forward to the reviews.

2014-07-21 20:32:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

[DVLC2] Esmerelda's Snack Shack: Prepare to Dine
by bonner123
Link: https://lbp.me/v/qrqs5p9

http://i4.lbp.me/img/ft/414daec5a37f0b62811f3485dd48740325693195.jpg

One of my favorite LBP levels has to be The Cube (https://lbp.me/v/cxw5te) by actio1_618. It's got great music, and a cool design. Plus it helps that I'm still in the top 10 for highscores to this day. The reason which strikes me as the best reason for it though, is that it is challenging, without being unfair. Not to pick out specific names or levels, but I played one a while back that was super challenging, and it just wasn't fun. There were ceiling grab sections with ceiling grab 'jumps' you had to make over power-up removers, and it was just an unhappy mess. It wasn't fun. "But Kato," you ask, "if you hate ceiling grabs so much, why did you enjoy The Cube?" Ah. That, my young padawan, is because the sections were short, the penalties were less significant, and there was always a respawn waiting close by.

Then we get to Snack Shack which is none of those things. The goal is to complete the entire level without dying, so the section is all of it, the penalty is death, and there are no respawns only replays. Being essentially the antithesis of The Cube, I was concerned at first, because it seemed like this was going to be a nightmarish face-desker. Right as I first got the info at the start I wanted to turn to Bonner and say "The whole level in one run with no respawns?" And I feel like I would just see Bonner with a completely serious expression say to me "Yes." So I shrugged, and tightened my belt buckles, and I died.

Oh, I died so very much.

Even from the first time through however, I couldn't dislike the level. It would be like getting mad at a Plasma Factory level for having plasma, or an ocean level having water. It's an Esmerelda level, so you can't get mad for dying on it. It even has a cheerful little counter to tell you just how many times you died. I had to stop at 27, but despite that, I still felt accomplished. I felt accomplished because with every life I got a little bit further. The picture I've included above is as far as I've ever made it. I'm not sure how close it is to the end, but when I get to that point, my reflexes shoot themselves, and I become a quick meal. But I kept going at it, and with consistent progress after every life, I never really felt discouraged.

I know I have stated again and again how I am not a musically inclined person, so I hope you know how important it is that I notice this now, but the music on this level was just perfect. It's a custom track made for the level, and man is it the best. I think this level wouldn't be nearly as much fun with more intense music. It's mostly just happy piano pings, and it's decidedly cheerful despite the grim environment, and it makes you want to keep going.

One of the things I like most about this level, is how tight it is. The camera is nice and close, I didn't see any layer glitches being used, and it just behaves like it should. Yeah, let me just say that again, the camera is nice and close. Getting a nice big panoramic view of things is fine and all, but I hate it when there's fast platforming involved, and I have to maneuver a speck onto another speck. I've done this myself unintentionally, because levels I design are for 1 player, and when you put more than one in there, the cameras are not always set to compensate. Yeah so... note to creators, always test with someone else, and check your cameras.

There's really so much I could say about this level, honestly. It's fun to get around, even if it is hectic due to the hungry Esmerelda chasing you, because every obstacle has a clear way of getting by, and the same way works every time. I think I died on literally every obstacle at least once, but I never found any 'prickly' parts where I would consistently get mangled over and over.The bounce-back pads was my stopping point, but I'm positive with more tries and practice (which I intend to do) I'll overcome that.

Overall, I see that a good level has a well-deserved pick, and though I'm sure most everyone on LBP Central has done so already, it really is worth playing. And dying. And dying. And dying.

TLDR:

Navigation – Obstacles were well balanced and consistent to avoid. If ever I got lost, it was due to dim lighting and oppressive shadows which are surprisingly good at concealing the path while you're running away. Then once you've walked the mile, you can repeat as necessary with ease.

Visual – Scenes are detailed, but not exhausting, and the great camera work keeps things nice and intimate between you and Esmerelda. Candlelight dinner for two? She doesn't mind if she do! Err... does!

Sound – Yeah. Has to be just the best music choice for this level. It's simple and catchy, but more importantly, it caught my attention.

Gadgetry – It's great to see some properly working memorizer tech in the form of a lives counter, and a "You Died Here Last Time" indicator that gives you 'leftover' points.

Glitches - Takes care not to abuse any noticeable glitches. Obstacles are more player skill oriented than luck oriented, which is great.

Story – Get in her belly.

Notes – Frustrating, Fun, Funny. So far there's no extreme, revolutionary, new platforming challenges, but obstacles are always fresh and not repeated, so it moves at a good pace even without painful digestion. And can I just say, and this is really an odd compliment, but I REALLY like the swinging lantern at the scoreboard. It gives me something to do while the scoring jazz is doing its thing.

2014-07-22 15:31:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

I'd love a review of my new train showcase: https://lbp.me/v/qspyjv0

Hint: Every door is a different train

2014-07-26 01:06:00

Author:
theIronHorse

Posts: 279

hi kato,
i saw your thread and was amazed from the nice reviews you did!

since my level is in the cool level section now, not many people review it anymore, but i changed a lot stuff in my level, and i mean i changed a lot (http://www.littlebignetwork.com/index.php?/topic/25447-v36-skunk-bunny-adventures-2-stomp-vore-dragon-attack/ my last post has a change log (so you dont need to scroll down the lbpc thread) and i wonder how those changes made the level different, easier to understand and if there are still problems i need to look into.

you can see my level in my signature. its the first one with the "2"
also my level can take up to a half hour to compleat i leave that here just as a request well knowing that you might not do it and thats fine :3
but thank you a lot if you do!

greetings
~forces

2014-07-28 15:22:00

Author:
ForcesWerwolf

Posts: 475

Jonarrthan - I cannot supply a full, objective review for your level. This level is a cutscene level, from a long line of cutscene levels. It did not grab my attention, and I do not have the time to sit through sixteen prior movies. From what I saw, I was tremendously confused by what was going on, and I felt the dialogue was overly-cliche. The "do you feel lucky punk" quote has been used billions upon billions of times before, and it only served to pad out an already long scene. The actions of the sackbots weren't very interesting as they were either standing in one place staring vacantly at the screen, or being forced along with a follower in a way that looked awkward and unnatural. None of the vehicles really felt like vehicles. They just seemed to be large static set pieces rather than dynamic objects that could move, and turn, and bow. If you play through the DC comics pack, you'll notice the jet used in that had a nice level of sway to it, to keep it active and believable. One last comment, directly setting things aflame is a bad idea as it looks awful, unless you've got burning wood planks. Consider building a hologram or sticker material piece and setting THAT alight so you have the fire without the material texture.

---------------------------------------------------

Project Mighty Eagle - The Engines of the Mighty Eagle Railroad
by Matthaniel
Link: https://lbp.me/v/qspyjv0

My thoughts after playing this were 'should-a, could-a, why didn't ya?'. The first of these being the opening hub area. While the region looks nice, and believable, seeing it over and over should-a been a choice not a requirement. I know you're probably not keen on the Memorizer, I myself can't even get it to work, but in a situation like this it seems backwards to spawn the player outside everytime given the hub structure. You could-a just asked around the forums for a simple explanation about how to activate a memorized checkpoint inside the building. So why didn't ya?

The trains themselves are well crafted, which is good because aside from slight visual differences, they're all exactly the same. They have bells and whistles, they look the way they should wall moving, they make the right sounds, but you should-a mixed up the formula a bit more each time. Not everyone is a train enthusiast, myself definitely not, so as a creator it's your job to make me care about your work. Right now There's not much to care about because this is a situation that boils down to 'if you've seen one, you've seen them all.' You could-a mixed up the formula each time. Done a really super old-timey steampunk clunker, and then something a bit modern, and then something futuristic. Even just mixing up the colors a bit more would help. So why didn't ya?

My biggest complaint has to be the way each train is accessed. A separate hub level for every train is a bad bad bad idea. Not only is it a waste of level space, but each room is beyond boring, and there's not nearly enough space to drive in. This also bothered me but, why are they not on train tracks at the very least? You should-a put all of the trains in the same hub level via emitters rather than by sub-levels. You coulda set up a labeled-tag/destroyer system for each train. Just place a big block of hologram larger than the engine in the level covering every layer. Put a destroyer on it set to YES for rigid connections hooked into a tag sensor for a tag with the label "train" or something. Then, in the hub room, add a player sensor that turns on the train tag, so every time they reach the house the train gets erased, and set each door to a different emitter for a different train. So why didn't ya?

Like I said, this is a level by train enthusiasts, for train enthusiasts, about trains they enthuse over. The public at large isn't really going to go ape considering there's no reason you would want to mess around with the engines. It's like you're getting a stuffed dog as a pet. Yes it looks good, and you can pet it, but I want a dog so I can play frisbee, teach it tricks, and take walks. Why can I not take these train-dogs out for a walk? Why are they stuffed animals instead of REAL machines?

I'm only harsh because I know what you can do when you feel like it. I get the impression you just sort of got lazy this time. XD

TLDR:

Navigation – Re-navigating the hub every time is a pain every time considering the brevity of the train rooms.

Visual – Trains looks and feel great, but there's little variation between many of them. Train rooms were incredibly boring to look at. Wooden planks into an endless void? I know you can do better than that.

Sound – Sound was adequate, but not really attention grabbing.

Gadgetry – Consider adding an emitter/destroyer system for each train to keep them on the same level. Trains otherwise fork fine.

Glitches - I'm not exactly sure why Train 4 is at the end of a hallway. O_o? But it didn't bother me.

Story – N/A

Notes – My sackboy put on sunglasses for this level.

---------------------------------------------------

ForcesWerwolf - I cannot supply a full objective review for your level.

---------------------------------------------------

Kalawishis - Sackdroid tonight hopefully.

---------------------------------------------------

EDIT TO MAIN POST

What I WILL NOT Review
- Movie Levels: Like it says. No more movie levels, because what's the point? If I can't do anything, I can't really review navigation, glitches, or gadgets can I?

- Music Gallery Levels: No more music levels because I am so tremendously bad at creating music ANYTHING is going to sound good to me.

- Offensive/Questionable Content: If the level contains something I find personally objectionable, I won't play it. Just as an example, I won't play baby seal clubbing levels because that's cruelty to animals.

- Object Showrooms: Object showrooms I MIGHT review if the level surrounding the objects is solid enough. If it's just a blank area with some prize bubbles, then no.

- Levels I Hate: There's only been a couple of these ever, and no I won't tell you which ones. It takes a lot for me to rage-quit, so if I end up doing so, it's probably because a section of a level is overly-frustrating, overly difficult, or poorly designed.

- Incomplete/BETA levels. If your level is partially-finished, I will not review it. This includes teasers/trailers.

2014-07-29 14:29:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

I've said it before, I admire when people give me harsh tips. It helps me make things better. Thanks for the review, and yeah, I've been trying to think of how I can do something like what you said, the only thing is that every train uses a mass amount of stickers and so does the level hub, so getting them to agree with each other was my main problem. And yes, I kinda got lazy with the showcase levels

No excuses lol

2014-07-29 17:49:00

Author:
theIronHorse

Posts: 279

Kalawishis - Sackdroid tonight hopefully.

yesyesyesyesyesYES

2014-07-30 11:28:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

My PS3 kept crashing last night as I was trying to play SackDroid. Bear with me. I'll have to try again later.

2014-07-31 13:47:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

It's fine.

2014-07-31 20:48:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

Duuuuude! You should review my level Musty Mill! https://lbp.me/v/qq1dr-f

2014-08-01 21:43:00

Author:
TheMonkeyBlade

Posts: 687

Musty Mill
by TheMonkeyBlade
Link: https://lbp.me/v/qq1dr-f

http://i7.lbp.me/img/ft/2c78158591a0d7032d6881c1822b11d665b4308c.jpg

So I'm still working on finishing Sackdroid, but I'd rather get this one out of the way since I finished it, and MonkeyBlade is waiting. Plus I've somehow gotten myself playing the Vindictus MMO, and me playing MMO's is always a bad idea. (US West Server, Channel 10, Hurk: Cytosphere, or Lann: Erasur) If I don't do it now, I WILL forget. Anyway, I'm liking Sackdroid a lot so far despite a couple of glitches I've found that I'll cover in my full review. But today we review Musty Mill! A blood-stained descent into madness and death.

Okay, so I know the level is not really supposed to be a horror level, but let's be honest. It looks like a torture dungeon for an insane cult. Red stained walls, a muggy claustrophobic atmosphere, blood red candles, all it needs is a few sawblades and a pentagram. And you just KNOW that cat is behind it all. It stares wistfully out the window appearing to be innocuous and complacent all the while plotting villainous torments that await you as you descend. It really doesn't help that the elevator is a massive cage, and that the floor is laden with spikes. Speaking of spikes, you should consider buying the DC comics pack, because there's a Dangerous Object in it called "Wooden Spikes" which would have fit this level well.

Design wise it's solid, if a bit bland. (The bland part reminds me a bit of my levels actually. I focus on the story rather than the visual appeal.) I get the impression that your tools are limited, which in a way is an advantage. Without a thousand gimmicks to clog up the thermo, you can focus strictly on the platforming elements. To me it distinctly felt like it could have been created in LBP1. I don't want you to think of any of that as in insult. I liked the direction it was taking. It was quaint and unobtrusive.

The platforming challenges, though each is mixed up in various ways, all boil down to grabbing and swinging on bolted sponges. While this is better than what I usually end up doing, I feel the decision to do so, and indeed do so throughout the entire level, was an unimaginative decision. They all work yes. They're all fun and comfortable. But they're just safe. Not safe as in 'not dangerous' but safe as in "tried and tested by the community at large over a million times". You can't go wrong with what you have, but it's not going to excel.

The hugest complaint I have is the ending. When the soured earth spat forth the befouled mill-demons, and the Lumberpocalypse was nigh. Oh wait, that didn't happen? Right. It didn't happen. And that's because the level was over before it got a chance. But mill-demons would've been great, right? It would have been neat to have seen the mill change into a world-destroyer and begun a terrible rampage. What I'm trying to say is, the level was over too quickly. Just when it looked like it was about to get good, it was over. I was really starting to enjoy myself and then was disappointed to find the scoreboard. Thermo, right? It's those spikes. All of those hundreds of bloodstained ritual spikes.

TLDR:

Navigation – A very tight and comfortable layout. Never had any troubles getting through, but you might consider double-life checkpoints. At least near the end.

Visual – Visual design is juxtaposed to the content of the level. Looks very scary even though it is a simple platformer.

Sound – With the visual design, I thought the music would be a lot more nerve wracking.

Gadgetry – The bolted-spong-swing-bouncers worked fine. It's just there was little else.

Glitches - I DID take a photo of this but didn't upload. I briefly got the sponge stuck on top of the spiked post at the level's end.

Story – N/A

Notes – Rivers run red with cedar sawdust.

2014-08-07 15:17:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Oh dear, SackDroid has bugs...

But that was a good review.

2014-08-07 16:21:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

SackDroid - Part 2: Search and Rescue (and Lasers)
by Kalawishis
Link: https://lbp.me/v/qsk5b9b

http://i7.lbp.me/img/ft/88774216a7dea3e70a20d9729ae2e596364dd420.jpg

Sackdroid, for me, got off to a rocky start. Of course, everyone has a rocky start due to beginning the level in the wreckage of a train pod, but mine was particularly rocky from three unsuccessful attempts that each ended in Disaster and Failure (and Stuck Objects). I remind that I try to give honest reviews, even if they veer on the positive side due to an overly optimistic world view. So with all honesty, Sackdroid Pt. 2 is great fun, but needs fixins'. I have gotten the bounce pad stuck on a shelf, I have lost the key and grabinators under debris, and I have had to pop myself way more times than I should have.

Most of this trouble applies to the first scene. You may consider re-working it, to move the decor to the back layer in this front area, so that all of the debris is away from the foot path, and any flipping objects will not flip themselves onto key items. Maybe put some invisible material in place or 0% brightness plasmafied hologram to keep the player from getting stuck on... literally anything. Particularly the grabinators. The Key only got stuck once. The grabinators got stuck almost every time.

I did finally reach an exit and was able to continue with the level. Things ran smoothly for the most part. Let me just say, the staircase in the military complex deserves some kind of staircase trophy. It was just so comfortable and easy to get up and down, and it looked neat too. I was a little confused by the "super weapon" as its design looks like an upside down pair of boots. Until it was relocated I had no idea what it was. Maybe that's the point, but you might consider making it a bit more fancy so it looks like an actual separate object rather than just a big glowing background shape.

The elevator technician's majestic return was great. XD

I sincerely hope you have a keyboard, because typing out all of this level's dialogue with the PS3's keypad would probably have killed me. This is especially noticeable with the Boardroom scene where they carry on a detailed discussion before it gets into a randomized sequence. In this scene, you might consider putting an X on the floor where the box falls, because it missed me several times. You should also consider a checkpoint past the boardroom scene so I don't have to repeat it if I accidentally die in the prison.

I'm very glad I replayed SackDroid 1 again because the improvements between 1 and 2 are outstanding. The visual design in general is much better, the dialogue is more hilarious and outrageous, and the puzzles are much more fun when they require less back tracking. I'm somewhat reminded of Maniac Mansion and Grim Fandango, as SackDroid is slowly becoming less and less of a platformer, less and less of an RPG, all the while more and more of an adventure game. I I do love me some adventure games.

Also, hearing music in context (in level) brings it new importance, and I really enjoyed the snappy tune after you first take control of PJ. I enjoyed getting to play as him for a day, and I'm wondering if there is soon to be a third playable character in SackDroid #: The Overly-Intricate Flashback, where we get to see what became of the hooded spy that's been secretly tailing Yassen. (Yassen who was sadly absent this chapter aside from a little voice-over at the start.)

It also helps having played the previous level and the intro so you can get a full grasp of the world. In my Creator World for instance, nobody has any self-awareness about being sack-folk, excepting one recurring character. I also couldn't help but think of the Lego Movie, since it sort of has the same global realization of what they are and what they can do, with a strong lean on the humor aspects. (But no Batman.)

Overall, this was an exciting and well constructed story, and a great continuation to what you've got going. It was still quite long, but most of that time was spent solving puzzles. Most importantly, it was a lot of fun, and the characters are easily likable. I feel it could use a few touch-ups here and there, but what level is perfect anyway? But most importantly, it's not just a barebones platformer, but an adventure game. And any adventure game is good in my book.

TLDR:

Navigation – Some hallways seemed a bit large and long, but were necessary to facilitate the camera work. Some objects (like the super weapon) could stand a design update so you'll know what can be interacted with. Most of all, the first scene needs an overhaul to prevent story items and players from getting stuck on the scenery.

Visual – Some of the material choices were unusual, but I guess they worked given the nature of the place. I thought the Robot Arm scanner was really neat looking

Sound – One of the early tracks was really catchy, and I was amused to hear "I Have Changed" while inside the box.

Gadgetry – Some neat and thoughtful logic work. I was glad to see the scientists respond to the plastic spray, and the boardroom conversations were great!

Glitches - Difficult navigation at the start with some easy ways to trap yourself and story items. Consider a checkpoint in the prison.

Story – The story is starting to get very exciting now! Part 3's going to be great.

Notes – I felt an opportunity was missed in the boardroom scene to have various members copy player costumes.

2014-08-08 15:25:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Thanks for the long-anticipated review!

Sorry about the first part giving you so much trouble. I never seemed to have much trouble with it, but I'll try to fix things right away. That is, I'll glue stuff and make traversing things easier.

Secondly, how did you get the plastic sprayer to fall off the top? Did he fall off by himself?

And last, but not least, Part 3 will most likely be entirely cutscenes, which should be good for everybody, since I don't know of a single person who didn't play any gameplay section of SackDroid and not get frustrated.

2014-08-08 20:29:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

Oh, that's just a picture I grabbed that someone else took. I'm not sure how it happened. He was in the right place when I was there.

2014-08-08 22:16:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

I finished that level I was talking about. A review would be much appreciated.

https://lbp.me/v/qsxgyv5

2014-08-10 22:41:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

Esmerelda Teaches Typing (1P)
by bonner123
Link: https://lbp.me/v/qsxgyv5

http://i6.lbp.me/img/ft/4b667ee79c11413fe77dd2584b49dac3f1d52d85.jpg

http://i3.lbp.me/img/ft/7f328fc4a4a0b70d4afc3f90d07a23c21ead162c.jpg

So let's get the negative part of this review out of the way first. The Level Icon is pretty lousy, as it doesn't give a very enthralling image as to what the level contains.

That is literally the only truly negative criticism I could come up with.

I'm really not sure how long you've been working on this level, but since the DC comics pack came out at least. Which isn't all that long ago. Since the arrival of the wall jump and hero cape, it seems like every level and every level's mother since then has used it in some capacity. And can you blame them? Wall jumping like MegaMan X is fun. This is science facts. I myself am working on a level which will involve wall panels, and I am very sorry to say that since it is not yet complete, I am going to be blatantly stealing several ideas from this level, because after playing Esmerelda Teaches Typing, I'm not sure there are any creative ideas left. Bonner123 took them from us! All of them!

I am of course referring to some really ingenious wall jump solutions that have never been seen before. I can't say that they WOULDN'T ever be seen, but this is at least the first place I've encountered a wall jump grab, or a mechanism to change your layer mid-flight onto the next panel. Plus the panels that move when you hit them, getting you to slide to the next one was really fun. And it's long, but satisfyingly so. I remember about 1/4 of the way in I kept seeing score bubbles outside of the level, and thinking "I want to go there." And eventually you do. So, YAY.

This makes me think it's an alternate version of HAUS, except with Esmerelda. You go from platforming segment to platforming segment, and meet Esmerelda in between to offer you advice or insults. I recall in HAUS though, we were controlling a sackbot of ourselves to use the right-stick. In this level it is not so, and indeed, probably could not fit. There's just so much crowded in, that it can seem a bit overwhelming at times. It includes a linked level too, and I can't help but suspect that it might have been better to keep it all contained into one thermo for length reasons alone. But then I think back to all of the things that would have been missed, and ultimately silence my query.

Mind you, I am the biggest culprit when it comes to level links, and I still don't know how other players avoid them. But then again, I always end up making things with really complex shapes, and then duplicating them five thousand times over.

The level heavily relies on the use of the DC comics materials as one would suspect, but I'm not sure that's the best idea. It makes me think of the time when the Cross Controller pack came out. Suddenly every level had the same materials, and portals. Personally I own the Cross Controller pack, but without a Vita, I will never see those materials, or play those levels. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, I can spot Cross Controller materials and gimmicks with my eyes closed. Figuratively. The same goes with the DC pack. Now that its out, the LBP community has seen a sharp rise in the number of Ancient Jungle Lava Temple levels, and Colorful Wall-Jumpy Space Station levels. (And probably Ice levels too, but I haven't seen any recently.)

It strikes me as a small letdown truth be told, because the level is **** good, and it looks really great. Facts are, I know there are also about fifty other Comic Book space station levels out there that are utter crud , and falling in line with their theme doesn't seem to be the best way to assemble a level that really, and truly, is original. Just as an example, and somewhat harsh example, it's like you've created a brilliant Mona Lisa that's also Naruto fanart. And in case nobody know this about me, I think Naruto is just about the worst anime to ever exist. But that, as I said, is a harsh example, because Batman and the Justice League are infinitely better than Naruto. And yes, I am aware this is not a Justice League level, but it still uses the same materials, and has a similar look and feel to the Watchtower Hub.

I guess falling in line with the theme is the wrong phrase to use. They're new materials, and they look good and work well together. It's logical. I forgive it on the principle that it is done so well, but I still feel obligated to share. And at least it is not an Ancient Lava Temple. Then I'd REALLY call you out on it.

As an extra note, I liked getting the prize bubbles. Actually, I may be one of the few people who really does like prizes. I doubt I'll ever use them, but I do sometimes dump them in a level to mess around. Somewhat recently I got some free dinosaur collectibles for example, and proceeded to do what any twelve year old boy at heart would do. In this level the collectibles include the infamous Esmerelda, and several music tracks. Number one on my list is call like "Courtney Sack" or something. It's really good. I don't specifically remember the title, but it had a Courtney in it. You might consider putting together an "Esmerelda's Top of the Pops" level to showcase all of your tracks.

As I understand it, this may be the last Bonner level for a while, but it's definitely a good way to take a break. (Because once LBP3 comes out, there can be a 16 layer Esmerelda!) It's definitely worth playing. And though I am no judge on criteria for Picks, it seems like it could meet them.

TLDR:

Navigation – Navigates itself all over the place, and I never got lost. Solutions were simple to discover, and some were difficult to master. Though stupid people are going to hate this level. And I mean that in the sense that some puzzles require a bit of critical thinking, and some people... well... let's just say that the Punishment Room is how they would get their jollies.

Visual – Excellent visual design with many details that may go unnoticed, including small bits of text and signs that would otherwise be missed. However, uses a lot of the standard DC materials, and evokes a similar feel.

Sound – Fun custom music, especially the Courtney track.

Gadgetry – Wall jump puzzles were all original and creative, with some very clever new ideas. Some are quite challenging, but there is always a checkpoint close by.

Glitches - MIGHT be a glitch, but near the start Esmerelda spawns a typewriter that tells you to press X (jump) and this has no effect. The ending led me to believe there were hidden collectible secrets, but I found none.

Story – Hilarious as always, with some bizarre, but not unwelcome gimmicks. Fantastic voice acting as expected.

Notes – I just need to get you to build MY levels for me, so they're less boring. XD (Or maybe I COULD just keep practicing. Whichever.)

2014-08-12 18:07:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

The music was actually created my friends. Specifically, SLS10 covered Courtney Gears, Breezy-The-Pro covered Sex Bomb and Always (Erasure), Giant_Robot77 sequenced Life on Other Plants, and squid2723 sequenced I'm Dead, So What and Space Seizure.

Thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked it. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the new tools. I will try to make a less terrible badge (it was even worse before!). I'm going to totally take an out-of-context quote and put it in the thread.

2014-08-12 23:15:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

Can you review this level for me https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=90830-Kingdom-of-ice-olation

2014-08-20 01:23:00

Author:
Jonarrthan

Posts: 310

That I CAN do.

I'll play it tomorrow. <3

2014-08-20 04:43:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

review my level please!
its very hard. You might die several times
https://lbp.me/v/jjqr0r

2014-08-21 00:36:00

Author:
Stitch

Posts: 20

Kingdom of ice-olation
by Jonarrthan
Link: https://lbp.me/v/qs08ptq

http://i2.lbp.me/img/ft/592cb303ac7f35f84c3bba4abdc3a3207c5dd8a0.jpg

You start of right on a mountain at night
Frozen igloo, empty can
It's Kingdom of ice-olation
And it's made by Jonnarthan

And with the right stick you can
Shoot out ice or flame
Had some little flaws,
But I do not blame.

You dimmed the lights I could not see
Did you really need that, honestly?
Don't seal, reveal where I must go.
Well, now you know....

Let it go!
Let it go!
Frozen really wasn't all that great
Let it go!
Let it go!
But for you it's not too late.
I can see what you tried to say
In the level's name
The pun doesn't bother me anyway.

It's funny how the level
Had a sack bot of a bear
Though it could have been a frost wolf
It wasn't really clear
The bright red text upon the wall
And all the signs so you won't fall
It's good you had them nice and bright
No light

Let it go!
Let it go!
Going blind will not help the mood
I would die
On the spikes
Then give up and grab some food
Here I'll stand
And here I'll say
That I still had fun

The parts I could see were a treat upon my eyes
I like the concept of the ice and fire you supplied
But one part had me wond'ring how you made it work
The droplets moved so free
I shot them like a jerk!

Let it go!
Let it go!
The ending had a lot of lag
Let it go!
Let it go!
It made my system drag
I still think
That it's worth a play
It was pretty fun!
The pun doesn't bother me anyway.

TLDR:

Navigation – Navi was fun, but the dim lighting made it very difficult to see where I was going or what I wan interacting with. The sticker panels helped, but they could stand to be a bit more.... subtle.

Visual – I liked the look of the environment, but a few parts lagged a bit (mainly the end).

Sound – Sounds were fine.

Gadgetry – Gadgetry was fun. There's a timer until you freeze to death, and you can toss flares/matches or snowballs/liquid nitrogen to freeze or melt certain items. I was also pleased with the layer-changing giant snowball near the start.

Glitches - No major glitches aside from it being uncomfortable dim. I know it's appropriate to the environment, but it's still difficult to play in.

Story – N/A

Notes – I wasn't trying to be mean by lyricizing the review. Just silly! It was a nice fun little level.

-------------------------------

I'll play yours tonight, Stitch.

2014-08-21 15:02:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

You just made my day with that review. I literally found let it go and sang the review to it so I could understand your viewpoint.

2014-08-21 16:56:00

Author:
theIronHorse

Posts: 279

I was more confused about then anything and when I realized what you were doing I had a good laugh from it. It is actually the were wolf costume. Also what part were you wondering how i made it work?

2014-08-21 17:01:00

Author:
Jonarrthan

Posts: 310

I regret nothing!

And I thought it was unusual and neat how you got the droplets to bounce and change direction without splatting. It was sort of towards the end, and you had to freeze the water to make pathways.

2014-08-21 17:12:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

When Aliens Attack
by Stitch / kingco09
Link: https://lbp.me/v/jjqr0r

http://ia.lbp.me/img/ft/d2a74caa42bb802a3218760ea668c83bb86f5ed8.jpg

When I review a level, my goal is to give constructive feedback based on personal observations. I'm a pretty optimistic person, so I keep them cordial while being fair and honest. I say this to lead into how I felt about this level. It's not good enough to be good, but not bad enough to be bad. It's in this anomalous zone of "okay-ness" where I can't really get excited about it, but there's nothing offensive here either. What you have here are some solid ideas, with poor execution. For every like I also have a dislike. So consider, it is not as bad as some, but it's not as great as it could be, and I don't want you to be discouraged.

There's some good work with the sackbots here, but an over-reliance on them. They've all got fair animations and spiffy attacks, but they're all instantly deadly, and not fun to look at. None of the alien designs felt alien. They felt more like Sackboys without any sense of style. Like for your aliens you just used the random button in the popit for their costume, and called it good. Their animations are fun, but you have no restraints on them. I kept getting trapped as soon as I spawned, because the bad guys were right there at the checkpoint, and I would die immediately. There were also segments where you fought blue enemies against a blue background, and red enemies against a red background. That's not good.

Efforts were made to make the platforming interesting. Though simple, there is potential. But then you have lots of cheap-death obstacles too. When making a level, you need to ask yourself a question: "Can I ACE my own level?" If the answer is no, then you need to re-work the trouble spots. I have been able to Ace most of my levels at least once (excepting a few of my older ones) and that is how you gauge difficulty. This level was not what I'd call a hard level, just a very long one. And there is also a difference between difficult and cheap. Difficult is requiring precise timing, and fast reflexes to bypass an obstacle. Cheap is not accommodating the player as much as possible for those obstacles.

One of my biggest pet peeves is camera work. I don't understand why, but people somehow like building MASSIVE STRUCTURES and then zooming the camera out as far as possible so you can see it. Cam distance should NEVER go beyond 60%. 60% should be the absolute max zoom-out. Ideally you want the camera up close, and obstacles should accommodate the zoom. If you're electrifying the walls, floor, ceiling, and pretty much everything except a tiny bounce pad sitting on the floor, then zooming the camera out to where I have difficulty tracking my tiny dot of a sackboy towards the bounce pad is bad.

Speaking of bounce pads, for a lot of people it's considered bad taste to simply drop them in the player's path without ceremony. Some would even go so far as to insist you need to use some kind of a glitch to make them totally invisible. (That's wrong.) However, I do agree that bouncers need to be worked into the environment a bit. It's okay to see them. You WANT to see them. What you don't want is random pads, alone, sitting in the middle of the floor like a cat vomited on your carpet. You do not have to get ultra fancy. A trough to hold the pads can sometimes be good enough.

The last stop on our tour of "WHY?!" is the decor. That spaceship material? The black one with the glowing bright lights you seem fond of. Do not use this material so expansively. It's a good accent material like for city scapes or computers, but using it all over? It really hurts. The terrain was also pretty poorly varied. Spend some time completing, 100%ing and Acing the story levels to bolster your material choices if you haven't already. That said the over-abuse of sackbots is probably wrecking your thermo, and you probably don't have space for any materials.. I'm sorry for that. That's why I rarely use them. You'll also find almost any surface in LBP will look better if you use the slice/dice tool to cut a trim around a platform's borders, and change the material of the trim.

To conclude, it's not a travesty, but it's not a prize. You've got potential to be a great creator, so don't feel discouraged. You'll end up with better results if you continually ask yourselves questions as you build. Where are the aliens from? Why do they all look different? Why is there lava on their ship? And then, with that in mind, coming up with reasonable answers. If you can't find a reasonable answer, you have to change something. If there is no reason to have lava on a ship, then take it off. If the lava is there because the ship runs on geothermal energy, then make the lava parts look like an engine room. Ask yourself "Is this too hard?" or "Is this too easy". "Can I easily see where I'm going?" "Can I ace this level?" and never accept "Because it's cool" or "Because I feel like it" as an answer. I would sit on a recliner and eat ice cream all day because I felt like it, but that's a terrible idea. It'd make me fat, inactive, and comparable to a Jabba the Hut.

TLDR:

Navigation – Some obstacles were cheap, and the level abuses sackbots too much. Never too difficult, but successive death-areas should be reworked. Also check some of your controlinators to make them auto-enter.

Visual – Some design choices were pretty bad. Red enemies on Red backgrounds was bad. Spaceship material everywhere was bad. Some parts were better though. So keep questioning your materials. The visual design got a lot better as it got closer to the end.

Sound – Sounds were all right for all parts except one. You're outside the ship, hopping on floating boulders, and ELEVATOR MUSIC IS PLAYING.

Gadgetry – Gadgetry was the level's strong suit. You've got some good Sackbot AI and animations, but their attacks are way too fierce and difficult to avoid. Actually, gadgetry seems to be your thing in general. Keep at it. The logic was very good.

Glitches - Nothing too huge, but a word of advice. The 3D glitched layers, while they can be used for great good, can also be used for great evil. The worst of these sins is to use 3D material in such a way that the players has no idea what to stand on. If you put glitched material in the background, make it LOOK like a background. Please be mindful of this, as many levels I've played, some of them even Mm Picks, will do this.

Story – You kinda forgot about the story 10 seconds after the intro ended and went into "Mario World Mode".

Notes – Okay so the VERY ending was pretty rad. Getting congratulated by Sonic, Mario, Megaman, and Santa Claus? That was cool. That made me very happy.

2014-08-26 16:01:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Lmao I laughed so hard reading you review. Yeah, I'm better at making sackbots and working with logic than designing levels. I have a lot of materials since I aced story mode, got every prize on story mode, and have a lot of DLC, but I struggle on using them well in my levels. I'd spend a ton of time making sackbots, but I'd never come up with a good level idea. Lol my bro asked me the same question,"Can you even ace your own level?" Back in LBP1, I couldn't even beat the levels I made. Maybe you could give me a few pointers on making sweet visuals? Haha, I'm just kidding. Also, could you point out some of the parts that I had flaws in (like the bounce pads, the electrifying everything except the tiny bounce pad, cheap death obstacles)? The way you descriptively pointed out the flaws in my level must mean that your levels must be visually stunning, like crack for your eyes lol.

Thanks for the review!

2014-08-26 18:33:00

Author:
Stitch

Posts: 20

You're welcome.

Three cheap-death parts come to mind in particular. One where you're escorting sackbots, and there's these circuitboard material platforms you have to grab the underside of to pull down. Then, below you, is more electrified circuit boards with small bounce pads you have to hit, to bounce back up and pull down the next platform. I died after pulling down every platform. EVERY platform. The bounce pad was hard to hit, and it launched you too fast. You could make the pad bigger and put it in a little trough, and then lower its impact a bit. It would also help to zoom in the camera a bit at that point.

The second cheap death came shortly after with these enemy minion turrets that have rotating batteries with brains on them. They shoot two electric shots, then a fireball. Their rate of fire makes them very difficult to approach.

The third one that comes to mind is the last boss's first form. He spawn camped the checkpoint for about two minutes, and I couldn't get back into the fight.

2014-08-26 19:49:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

I didn't think the first one was hard. I think a little score bubble path would fix that bit. I agree with the other two though. Thanks again

2014-08-27 05:55:00

Author:
Stitch

Posts: 20

Hey, I would be really grateful if you reviewed my level. http://lbp.me/v/qs5wqpc
Thanks in advance! (:

2014-08-31 04:00:00

Author:
DawnBreaker_23

Posts: 568

Hey, could you review my level Arcadia - https://lbp.me/v/qs43efz

Love what your doing by the way

2014-08-31 12:59:00

Author:
dyna

Posts: 260

I'd love to review these two, but as they are entries for DV's contest at present, I don't think it would be fair to all contestants if I prejudge levels before the contest concludes. Would you guys mind if I held onto these two and reviewed them after the contest ends?

2014-08-31 15:42:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

No not one bit. Review them whenever you want! (:

2014-08-31 16:43:00

Author:
DawnBreaker_23

Posts: 568

Hey boy, could you review my newest level?
http://lbp.me/v/qt737n6

Apparently you reviewed my old level like a year ago. It's on page three. Reading it seriously made me laugh and smile and everything, hoha. If you could review my newest one that'd be neat. I made an even more disturbing beaver person.

2014-09-03 19:13:00

Author:
morris6267

Posts: 144

I made an even more disturbing beaver person.

http://www.demon-heart.com/random/mcullyNO.jpg

I'll review it next, since the other two in the Queue I'm waiting for the contest they're in to finish up.

2014-09-03 19:35:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Neato! I look forward to it.

2014-09-03 19:45:00

Author:
morris6267

Posts: 144

Johan
by morris6267
Link: https://lbp.me/v/qt737n6

http://i8.lbp.me/img/ft/db8973d28fd6406f72ff09b8c8b1b81c40c66973.jpg

I'm going to mill about a bit before I get to the point. Do you like the Muppets? I like the Muppets. They have a wacky sense of non-sequitur humor that isn't afraid to not take itself too seriously. I'm not going to do a whole lyrical tap dance, but I just want to put the image of the Muppets in your head. The most recent Muppets in fact. They're doing a sequel. That's what they do in Hollywood. And everybody knows that the sequel's never quite as good. And that song (We're Doing a Sequel) was playing in my head the duration of this level.

Don't get me wrong, it's still a fun level. The logic works, the obstacles are unique, and there's Mr. Heart Attack Beaver, who is much less disturbing this time around. However, I found myself reading the dialogue where there's typos, and run-ons, and the words "Lol I don't care" everywhere. And when I read this, all I can think is "How am I supposed to care if the creator doesn't." Maybe it's supposed to be a joke, but I just got the impression that you had no desire to make this level, but did anyway out of boredom. But you obviously care enough about the level to ask for a review, so I'm left with a mixed opinion.

First off though, thanks for touching up that first obstacle. It needed the sign less than it needed the ceiling. When the ceiling wasn't there I was able to hop platforms in a way not intended. Now that that method has been blocked off, I was forced to think of an alternate solution. So instead of "this obstacle is too difficult" it became "I'm not approaching this obstacle correctly." Past that one though, I had no trouble with anything else.

Like the first time around with the Battery Hunt, I'm still left with a dual impression. The level and the cutscenes are not comfortably married, and the length/quantity of the cutscenes is a bit excessive. Only recently have I discovered that some players are completely anti-cutscene. (I'm not naming names.) I am NOT anti-cutscene. I think they add a good amount of flavor and story, and I prefer levels with a little song and dance as a reward for my actions. This time I got my reward, as pictured above. Mr. Beaver. Tuxedo. Top Hat. Bad shoes. If I had a big enough home and a nice enough health care plan and life insurance policy, I would TAKE HIM HOME. So I like the schtick you've got going. It's reliably funny, but it felt like you were trying too hard, and putting in too many band and song references. It personalizes your level, but we, the players, don't care. We want platforming not New Slaves.

Speaking of platforming, I want to say again, that it's still great, and creative. It's fun, its polished (mostly), and best of all, none of it required wall jumps or hero capes. And best best of all you aren't aping the style of the DC pack, so it's not an ice cavern, jungle temple, or space station. ((Where's the Laugh Factory levels, folks?! Why does Joker get no love?!)) One of my pet peeves is when something new comes out, and instead of using the new thing to enhance the old, people use the new things to make copies of the new things, rather than making newer things with newer ideas by combining all that is new and all that is good into one. Basically, a forest. A+. Also A++ You have sensibly placed checkpoints, so that when I'd die, I wouldn't have a needless run to get back to where I was, or repeat old obstacles.

Second verse, not as good as the first, but still worth two thumbs up. It's a little toned down on the dementia, mostly because you're trying too hard to make it demented. Saying you're going to murder someone once is creepy. Saying again and again, and yeah we heard you the first time. But I like Mr. Beaver, even if the talks as much as I do, and doesn't give a shipt about anything. But I still love you Heart Attack. I love you from the top of your dapper cap, to the bottom of your Jakeinator shoes.

TLDR:

Navigation – That early obstacle was a bit rough at first, but blocking it off helped, and I breezed through everything else. Not a level you could easily ace, but the checkpoints were reliably well-placed, and the obstacles were neat.

Visual – Probably the weakest link in the chain. It felt a bit bland, but it suited the level, and style. I mean, you clearly intended Mr. Beaver to look like a cardboard cutout.

Sound – Mr. Beaver's voice made me want to kill myself after a while, but the rest was fine.

Gadgetry – Some neat ideas with the Paintinator! Glad to see it used for the level, and not just for shooting monsters in the face.

Glitches - You fixed the one I found, so GOOD JORRRRRRB.

Story – Less distressing, and not quite as funny as the first, but still plenty of laughs, and plenty of demented beaver.

Notes – Ultimately I do want to hear New Slaves now....

2014-09-05 17:02:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Thanks for the top shelf review! Yes, the not-caring of the dialog was my idea of a joke, but I suppose I took it too far. I get what you mean with the song references and all. I think there are like four songs referenced in there. (If anyone got the Eminem reference you are a hero) I blame the fact that Yeezus was probably my most listened to album while making this level, especially New Slaves. I love that song so much.

Really though, I never even bought that pack. It came out at a time when I stopped playing lbp. But I get what you mean. I try to be original with my levels. There were a couple that were just half assed filler, but most of them I tried to make New Stuff. (I'm not clever) It's why the level is so short. I couldn't think of anything else worth making. ;I

Ahhh I guess. See, I thought the fact that he convinced himself he was gonna be betrayed based on his own assumptions was him showing his true messed up colors, but I guess not.

Mr. Beaver's voice made me want to kill myself after a while, but the rest was fine.
This is hilarious. I love using that donkey sound for dialog.

Also, telling people to "listen to New Slaves" it's a stupid inside joke of mine. I don't actually expect people to do it, it's just a thing I say. (Yes I know it's stupid lol) But if you actually listened to it, that'd be neat.

So, thanks for the review and all. I guess my plan is to cut out some dialog. And yes I love both those muppet movies, and I did think the first was better.

2014-09-05 18:19:00

Author:
morris6267

Posts: 144

Gophers Stole Our Bombs!
by DawnBreaker_23
Link: https://lbp.me/v/qs5wqpc

http://id.lbp.me/img/ft/3fda71186460065618c1ec71f7bacf02ef194875.jpg
(I'll upload the pics I took myself later when I remember!)

I see you like that gopher emoticon. But like that emoticon, it is best when in coherent context. If w

just

it wh

r w

l lik

it, it b

com

s a nuisanc

.

I was in all honesty less enthralled than I thought I should be. The title alone suggests whimsy and humor, and the moments I found were awkward and a bit uncomfortable. Gophers? Getting bomb cannons installed in their chests? Yes that sounds quite amusing. But then you see one getting tortured in the process, and suddenly it's a lot less funny, even if the poor thing is rolling his eyes and acting like Winnie the Pooh. "Oh bother, this is excruciating, ha ha ha." THEN DON'T DO THAT, STUPID. Where was I going with this oh yes. Context.

I feel you. (not literally. I'm not a creeper.) I feel you in that you had a month or less to create this level, and for that it is worth the prize. But I'm not the contest judge, so taking that into consideration is second to all else. What you have here is a level without a lot of context, which leaves me with a big question mark over my head the whole time. Is this a Steampunk setting? There are dirigibles and top hats, which qualify. But then you have flying UFO gopher heads, and people making fun of Obama. I don't mind you making Obama jokes, but there was just no point. You added two sack bots to the level for the express purpose of an Obama joke that pretty much fell flat due to the awkward circumstance. It's like having a high class dinner party, and then a fat Liberace impersonator shows up to fart out the national anthem while accompanying himself on off-key bagpipes.

So platforming. Some good ideas for sure, but some were a bit more obnoxious than others. You seem to be under the impression that you only need copius checkpoints after deadly sections, instead of pretty much after every leg of progress. Your rotating wall jump panels were fun, but their placement after they've rotated made jumping from the lower one to the higher one prickly. Prickly meaning "I fell down a lot". And then after one of these, there was no checkpoint, and I died, and had to redo it. Checkpoints are rewards. Your reward is that once you've proven you can bypass an obstacle, you don't need to do so again. So add more of those.

And another thing! Less aggravating, and again, 1 month of build time. If I'm swinging on things, DON'T hide the next two sponges behind a big billboard. That's just like asking people to hate you. And steal your bombs.

So did I like it? Mmmmm. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Undecided. I like it on the principle that it is.....
A. Not a Lava Jungle Temple, Ice Base, or Space Station.
B. An original idea with some unique ideas and platforming challenges.
C. Of appropriate length and difficulty.
D.

But I did not like....
A. The out of context setting and atmosphere with sackbots that added very little except thermometer, and the random Hipster Glasses Rainbow Key.
B. The obscured obstacles or those with confusing solutions/alternates. "I have to pop myself if I get stuck? Yes? Obviously? Thanks?"
C. Some places need more checkpoints.

Overall I give it a

because that's about as vague as a positive sentiment I can give.

TLDR:

Navigation – This part was all right. I didn't get very lost, but some places the things you can stand on were very dark against a dark background, or obscured by signs.

Visual – Some amusing visuals with nice little nuances here and there, like gophers peeking around the edges of the walls, but there wasn't a cohesive theme. Also that rainbow barf giblets sticker was friggin' everywhere. Does the rainbow key have a tummy ache?

Sound – The pleasant music grated on me after a while. Maybe change tracks mid way through?

Gadgetry – Nothing too extraordinary, but still some fun things to do!

Glitches - I did find one, but I forgot where and what it was. It was deemed unimportant so I moved on.

Story – The title is literally the entire story. I would liked there to have been more of it.

Notes – Gophers stole our bombs, Beavers stole our clothing, what next... a squirrel stole our self-respect? A woodchuck stole my dignity?

-------------------------------------------------------------

Arcadia
by dynamokev77
Link: https://lbp.me/v/qs43efz

http://ia.lbp.me/img/ft/95ace59a18e966b0c24982eb64d7c8192607d1dd.jpg
(I'll upload the pics I took myself later when I remember!)

Arcadia is a journey. A journey of heartfelt storytelling, lost friendship, and rekindled feelings as told from they viewpoint of an 11 year old girl. Each of the finely detailed set pieces is a representation of the harsh middle school climate which confounds most sixth graders these days. While Arcadia begins her journey as a self-important and somewhat snobbish girl, through tears, failures, bullying, and a missed opportunity to join the pre-teen cheerleading team, she discovers the true meaning of kindness and respect by donkeybottoms what the hey.

So you notice how I start off a platformer review with something nice but completely irrelevant, and end with something that makes zero sense at all. And now you know how I felt about Arcadia. A running theme with me these days is that I just 'don't get' some of these levels. In response, players tell me "What's there to get?" but I feel this is a poor response. Some levels I can understand are created just to have a certain aesthetic appeal, and really get up in my gams with terribly designed obstacles built for some kind of elite spacefuture gamers who can co-op bullet-hell shooters with themselves blindfolded, and not lose a single life. Then there are some levels designed to a specific theme or environment, as long as that environment uses recently released materials and gadgets. Then there are awesome and fun storytelling levels which may not use the best or newest materials, or have the keenest look, but are mega fun because they have engaging characters, hilarious dialogue, and Yassen.

So what is Arcadia....

Well, it's trying to be the a little bit of each. It's designed around an aesthetic appeal, but takes place in a themed environment, and then moments before the scoreboard there's a 50 foot tall broad in a toga spouting something about a quest. Whoah whoah whoah, first things first lady. Where'd you come from, why are you here, and am I supposed to wall-jump up your legs to reach the next part of the stage? Does the next part of the stage involve me paintinating your house?

The level didn't really seem to have any relevance with the manner in which it was completed and ended with a scene that made zero sense at all. Those gams of mine.... something is really trying to get up in them.

Paint-gunning an ancient floating temple paradise aside however, the visuals were lovely, and some of the obstacles were so great I wanted to replay the level just to try them again. One part had you shoot slabs, causing them to swing around all the way, then a peg would appear to hold them in place. It was AWESOME. And then later on I had to shoot valves. Less awesome. Note of advice, add some... ANY kind of indication of where our paint bullets are supposed to go. A lighted panel. A glowing arrow. Something. Don't just throw in a stone object slightly differently shaped from some of the other stone objects around it, and expect us to know what to shoot at. At one part you had a bag dangling a ways away, and I shot the heck out of that bag. Then, one accidental shot to the rope and it fell. Oh really, bag? I see how it is. You just want to get up in my gams don't you, bag. DON'T YOU?! Well, my gams are private! VIP's only! So I'm going to paintball you some more.

It is a good think I changed my player color before playing this level. Usually I use orange, which makes paintinator things look like cheese spread.

Overall not a bad experience. Impressive to have been completed in a month! Didn't make much sense why I was paintballin' Valhalla, and ran into a giant greek lady, but I don't fault this level for that any more than I fault myself for having gams people can get up into when they want to bother me.

TLDR:

Navigation – Some targets were not obvious enough to shoot at, but it was a reasonable trek.

Visual – Unoffensive at least, but it didn't quite 'WOW' me. The rainbow vomit giblets painted on the walls looked out of place, and blocking off the level's death pits with a long line of white gas looks really bad.

Sound – A pleasant and comfortable music, and a surprising but appropriate choice.

Gadgetry – Some cool little mechanisms with physics here. Really enjoyed creating a path with paint bullets.

Glitches - I did not find any glaring ones, but it looks like there might have been at a time, if the bounce pads sitting out in the open are any indication.

Story – N/A- wait. there was that giant greek lady. (Artemis) That's quite a story there. My friends would never believe me though.

Notes – Gams.

2014-09-09 15:48:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Brings tears of joy to my face when I hear that someone was confused about my level (^:
Anyways, thanks a bunch! I'll try to fix a few things up.

2014-09-10 23:07:00

Author:
DawnBreaker_23

Posts: 568

I love reading your reviews so much that I will put some of squid's heavily miscarried babies on the chopping block (if you want to review them that is).

https://lbp.me/v/mqzmgk
https://lbp.me/v/qn-nddq

Also, my friend who does a lot of the voice acting (SLS10) makes some pretty great platformers (and multiplayer esports) on occasion. They don't need to be reviewed at all, but maybe you might be interested in playing them? https://lbp.me/u/SLS10

2014-09-10 23:15:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

Sorry for my delay on these. I'm on vacation starting tomorrow so the days leading up to it have been busy! I should be able to get to playing/reviewing these this weekend.

2014-09-19 14:25:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Can you review my level?

It is called "dream."

https://lbp.me/v/m89bn-

2014-11-17 19:14:00

Author:
Nickey211

Posts: 97

Can you review this level. Its called
Pogo Painter [VS/HIGHSCORE] [MINIGAME]. Thanks.

its best to play with multiple people.

https://lbp.me/v/h09cep

2014-11-22 14:30:00

Author:
Mean_Creek

Posts: 7

Sorry I've been getting behind on these reviews. Sims 4 was released recently, but it's been a big disappointment. Plus I've been going through a bit of a self-esteem crisis that's not appropriate to discuss here. XD

On my current list for reviews:
(LBPC11) The Dangerous Departure to Misery Marsh - by squid2723
(Tearaway Competition US) Demonic Fleshtemple - by squid2723 Double-Billed with above)
SLS10's Infinite Party - by SLS10
The Whyld West - by Matthaniel (It's already a Pick, but I got to play the in-progress, so I want to review the finished.)
dream. - by Nickey211
Pogo Painter - by Mean_Creek

In other new, I've got a PS4 on the way with LBP3, so I'll be able to review LBP 3 levels soon as well.

2014-11-25 18:49:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

(LBPC11) The Dangerous Departure to Misery Marsh and (Tearaway Competition US) Demonic Fleshtemple Double Bill
by squid2723
Link: https://lbp.me/v/mqzmgk and https://lbp.me/v/qn-nddq

http://i0.lbp.me/img/ft/8203fa4413623b9164ddcd6fe8cb557eebf8afdb.jpg

http://i0.lbp.me/img/ft/f00793962450f98fae170e67c58d09fd5f80222a.jpg

Jackson Pollock. An artist famous, or perhaps infamous, for taking cans of paint, hurling them at a canvas, and somehow making art. While some of his creations really are esthetically pleasing, mimic artists have ridiculed the technique, or created less successful versions of the same. In these cases, these "Pollockites" really are just throwing pigment at canvas and calling it a day. It's the same technique, with its own twist. And that is how I feel about the two Squid levels I played. They feel like splatter-paint versions of existing LBP levels.

Gameplay wise both levels are very short, simple, and easy. Both are platformers which contain a handful of simple obstacles made zany, such as dragging a demonic egg, exploding a grandma, and pressing gameplay buttons. There's the occasional jetpack sequence as well. All in all, I felt the obstacles could have been created in LBP1, which in my opinion is not a bad idea. If you use simple game physics rather than obsessive logic or emitters, you'll end up with a more entertaining ride as it were. This was more prevalent in the Demonic Fleshtemple, where you got to the end, then had to do the obstacles in reverse.

I wouldn't say either of these levels is particularly outstanding, and I wouldn't say either of them are going to appeal to a vast audience. But I would say that Squid sat down and decided he was going to make a level that he'd enjoy making, and continuity be darned. Jokes weren't done for shock value, and platforming was not done for your benefit. These levels are not for you. They are for the Squiddites.

I'm left with a contradiction that I didn't really like the levels, and I felt they were lazily constructed, but I still respect them because they were made by a creator who doesn't care that I didn't like them or that I felt they were lazily constructed. And making paint-splashed together levels with simple elements is just fluff here. The excessive characters and dialogue are what this level is about. And they're not there to make a point, or even much sense at all. If anything makes sense at all, it's because it has to be clear enough that other people can wade through the level.

The question you need to ask is: "Do you like Squid's other levels?" If you answered yes, then you probably have already played these two, and probably found them very entertaining. If not, then you will find some simple amusements, some decent visuals, incoherent babbling, and a yaranaika face on a cloud.

TLDR:

Navigation – Super easy navigation. There were only a handful of obstacles in both levels, and without the characters constantly chatting, the levels would have been criminally short.

Visual – A lot of grid-block objects. I don't hate on it. I am nothing if not an expert on grid-block levels. A very inorganic feel.

Sound – Custom tracks are always fun! So a plus for using those.

Gadgetry – Nothing particularly outstanding in the gameplay department. I don't hate on this either, because they at least worked, and didn't rely on funky physics.

Glitches - I did not find any glaring ones, but it looks like there might have been at a time, if the bounce pads sitting out in the open are any indication.

Story – In one you escort and condemn a demonic egg to a watery abyss. In the other you find new ways to redecorate a blood covered underworld without explosive bowel syndrome. I'm saying all that with a straight face.

Notes – I wish I could dream too.

2014-12-02 18:41:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

OMG! You're doing reviews again! Yes!

2014-12-07 18:10:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

Hello. I really enjoy your work, and was wondering if you could review a level of mine.

http://i4.lbp.me/img/bl/184059603d90c971854efe15a6b4ff423b863a1d.png (https://lbp.me/v/qtr7mtc)

Thank you for your time.

2014-12-08 02:12:00

Author:
xaeku

Posts: 2

Technically I never stopped doing reviews. XD Just the Sims 4 came out, and that game is the worst time waster to ever exist. I even missed out on the Halloween contest. But I'll have my entry done before Christmas at least, lol.

SLS10's Infinite Party (HARD)
by SLS10
Link: https://lbp.me/v/qr4kzn9

http://ic.lbp.me/img/ft/fec8c1735c4e9b524f18cb5307d33b57f4ef2c8e.jpg

SLS10's Infinite Party. Or as I like to call it, "that level which called me a numpty and forced me to finish because I don't like being proven wrong". If there's one thing I'm grateful for in life, it's my stubbornness. While it doesn't serve me well in conversations, particularly conversations with my equally stubborn mother, it does keep me a head above the water line in a drowning sea of rage-quit. And if patience is a virtue, I'm almost a saint. That said, if you notice in the level's title right away is the word HARD. And for once, the creator is not lying. It is hard, and not simply challenging, average, broken, or ceiling-grab heavy.

Actually, lately my ceiling grab woes are being tempered by the fact that players are only using them in short bursts and small supply. My whole hatred for the obstacle came from a level that was about 50% ceiling grabs, and it was awful. Hatred aside, this level had none, focusing instead on grappling hook puzzles and attract-o-gel disco dancers.

Once again, I fail to be a master musician, and for me, a rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with more than one instrument is a masterpiece. But this time I recognized the stage music as the Courtney Gears theme mp3 created by SLS10, which could potentially be from a Ratchet & Clank game if I recall correctly. It's a pretty sweet jam and it works for this level quite well. Plus the start of the actual stage is synced up to the music. And that's actually pretty hard to do sometimes. Point is, I still like the music, and it's a great choice for this level.

As far as platforming and style goes, it's more substance than visual appeal. It's a neat look, but it's dark, and fairly monochromatic favoring pinks/purples. You spend the level ascending a tower, one floor at a time. Each level has a challenge to the left, to the right, and sometimes in the middle area as well. The goal of each challenge is either to press a button, or stay within a circular range to trigger a timed player sensor. Often, you need to hit several ranges within a short span of time to finish the challenge, and I loved it. Oh, and I hated it too. Can I do that?

Hate is more of just player-rage rather than vehement accusation, as a number of challenges were quite challenging, since they require you to have at least a Moron's Degree in basic physics enough to know about inertia and velocity. But once you get into the flow of things, it's neat to fling yourself around an area. Also, call me a simpleton, but I actually liked seeing SLS10's avatar with its pompadour popping up every now and again to offer his thoughts with voice acting. So it wasn't a visually enthralling experience, but I had fun with it.

The part I did not like was the ending when you reach the top. Forgive me for saying so, but the payoff for the challenge is inadequate. Without wishing to spoil much, there is a small floating head at the apex which rambles for a while, then the level is over. Honestly, I would have preferred an open playroom area where I could faff around with harmless gravity and attract-o-dancers before settling in to complete the level. And hey, if I'm reviewing a level I'm allowed to whine.

My overall opinion is that it's a decent level with some good challenges, but I don't consider it a maximum achievment. There's fun stuff to do, but little replay value. And aside from moving grapple/attract points there is very little animation to the level making it a very un-lively party. I still think it's worth playing though, and only wallflowers should deny it a dance.

TLDR:

Navigation – Challenging, and requires some practice. Oddly enough, the part I had the most trouble with was a transition between floors where you have to grapple yourself off a single point to make vertical gains. In unrelated news, I finally discovered how to make vertical gains with the grappling hook.

Visual – I hope you like neon purple and pink. That intro movie really serves no point aside from Numptiness. And since the staring checkpoint is not infinite, you may see it several times.

Sound – Courtney Gears Theme FTW.

Gadgetry – Some fun physics puzzles, and attract-o-tweaked sackbots.

Glitches - None aside from the starting checkpoint, which you ought to replace with an infinite one.

Story – You climb the tower to talk to a floating head.

Notes – It also serves as a moisturizer.

2014-12-09 15:54:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

These are the most entertaining LBP reviews I've read for ages. Cheers!

2014-12-09 16:27:00

Author:
julesyjules

Posts: 1156

dream.
by Nickey211
Link: https://lbp.me/v/m89bn-

http://i3.lbp.me/img/ft/843bc29771e2df0dcc4ac2993757fa534054b63c.jpg

Warning: If your dreams involve giant rainbow giraffes in outer space that have their own gravitational pull, you are not dreaming, you are tripping. Either that or you need to seek serious psychotherapy. Or dream therapy. Or heck, just go find a native american shaman who can hook you up with a spirit animal to combat the evil, giant, space giraffes. It's not too late. You can save thousands! (Of brain cells.)

So dream. And yes, it is called dream. All lower case with a period at the end, therefore it can only be at the end of a sentence, dream. So last night I played dream. It's certainly not my dream. Last night I dreamt that Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman were all super old, and only Superman had the sense to say something about it. Also Batman was totally wearing a teal cowl and cape with white pajamas. It was great. But the one thing I don't dream about is prickly attract-o-tweaked, motionless sticker panels.

If I had to guess, the construction of this level came about because the author said "having attractable sticker material is cool and lets you fly" because the actual semblance to any sort of dream-like atmosphere is fleeting at best. A better name for this level would have been "Imagine" or "Empty Galaxy"or "Rainbow Giraffes of the Apocalypse (in Space)". Again, I like my reviews to be honest, so I'm going to honestly say this was either your first level, or that you need a bit of practice. (Don't kill me!)

Throughout the journey I discovered several cardinal sins, number one of which is the camera which has only a distant relationship with the player, and tries to stay as far away as possible, so the player can get a view of a few immobile objects or some spinning circles. Sackfolk are tiny little things, and if you zoom too far out, they become difficult to track. While playing a level, my focus is on my sackboy, and my sackboy alone, so if you want to add detail, you need to keep it within that small range of vision. The second cardinal sin, is the fact that there really isn't any detail. You created about 5-6 attractable objects, then copy/pasted them over and over. The entire second half of the level is the same blue circles sticker over and over, but because each one pulls you back right after it pulls your towards, you lose inertia quickly, which breaks flow.

And okay, this one I've done before too, so I'm not totally upset. But having bright red holo material rectangles bordering your level looks really bad. You know if you set hologram brightness to 0%, it will disappear, including plasma effects, or gas effects. If you're going to have a blob of gas, or plasma, fine. But don't use gas to mimic clouds, and don't use red holo-panel plasma to a make a "there is no level beyond this point" wall.

I could go into more notes, so I will! Space giraffes. Why? And why space? Why not like... space... and theme parks! When people dream, their minds don't just stay in one scenario. And while events in a dream don't often make sense, they still follow some semblance of logic. If you're going to have giraffes in space, make them aliens, or make a space zoo. And after the space zoo, transition into a jungle with an office complex. And from there a building that you scale vertically. It seems oddball, but there is a flow of logic. Space -> aliens -> giraffes look like aliens -> giraffes belong in a zoo -> space zoo -> zoo animals sometimes come from the jungle -> urban jungle -> like my office building -> I want to climb it.

It's not a hopeless level, and there's potential to improve, but more... well... dreaming may be required on this one.

TLDR:

Navigation – Little deviance to the left -> right formula. Attractable objects were obnoxious to navigate. The second half of the level is a copy/pasted marathon with no checkpoints.

Visual – Very empty, and not well animated. Nothing moved, and there wasn't enough color contrast to differentiate things.

Sound – Music was nice, but it was a drowsy tune. Oh, I get it. You want to make people sleep through the level.

Gadgetry – Nothing particularly enthralling. Seen one attractable spinning planetoid, you've seen em' all.

Glitches - The attractable circles in the second half, cannot be navigated like you'd hope.

Story – Giant evil alien giraffes from space are invading.

Notes – Naming it 'dream.' is less artsy than you'd think. Or it's a typo. At any rate, 'Dream' would be preferable.

---------------------------

Mean_Creek

I don't have a full review for your level, but I did play it. It's clearly intended to be multiplayer, but I'm just not a multi-player kind of guy! (I'm enormously introverted.) And the couple of people I do have on my friends list are LBP3ing XD.

- The concept of the level was fun, but the power up icons seemed cheap. Why not create your own?
- The logic worked well. Pogos are a bit slow.
- Tutorial needs a way to click through.
- Some of the materials used were not very fun choices. If you're using white, spruce it up with some colors too.

xaeku

I don't have a full review for your level either, because it is not a level, it is a hangout.

- The visuals are excellent, and there's a nice assortment of details.
- Evangelion posters? Seriously? If I were rich enough to afford that house, Evangelion is the LAST thing I would put in it. The word 'weaboo' comes to mind.
- Kudos for the pool with actual water.
- Why is a bedroom cabinet also a water slide? Not that I'm complaining.
- Did I miss out on a zombie invasion? Once it started getting dark, I was expecting a zombie or two.

2014-12-10 17:10:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Atraxy
by xaeku
Link: https://lbp.me/v/qtr7mtc

http://ia.lbp.me/img/ft/edab7dac4830fbe653f98f9cae6648a27af0abc7.jpg

Saying something gets better later is never a fun excuse. An illness gets better later, but only after coughing, sneezing, and fluids leaving your body like its monsoon season in your sinuses. Atraxy is a level like that. It gets better later, but honestly, it's not enough.

At first glance, Atraxy is a hangout. A modern, slighty-asian-in-design house with controlinators everywhere, so every other step you take makes a ping noise. It's very detailed, and it looks very nice. I'm not a fan of the anime posters everywhere, even though I am a fan of anime. Like massages, anime is enjoyable, but if someone followed me everywhere giving me massages, I'd end up sore, and cranky. If you can look past those though, or are an Evangelion fanatic, you'll find bathtubs that fill, toilets that flush, TV's that turn on, stereos, computers, beds, the works. But it's just a hang out. Sit in one chair, you've sat in them all.

Or so they'd have you believe....

Yes, believe it or not this hangout house comes pre-packaged with a demonic possession, just that you may not notice it at first. Or at all. The question is: can horror be too subtle? The answer: yes. And this is that example. Until I was specifically told, I had no idea anything was awry. I thought it got fairly dark at night, but all of the lights worked, so whatever. Little did I know those subtle scratching noises I didn't notice before were the work of evil entities, and not just shoddy speakers.

The story 'officially' begins once you reach the attic, and once you do you'll wish you hadn't. Not because of monsters, but because the attic stairs are about as unobtrusive as Jar Jar Binks in a clown costume at funeral for the world's least interesting accountant. Okay, fine, so attic steps work like that IRL too, but IRL you can return them to their upright and locked position, instead of battling them, a couch, a window, and a lightswitch to exit the room.

If there's one thing I give credit for, it's the fact that the scary aspects were actually scary. So much so, that I was able to look past the ridiculousness of my beef-sack in his spiky collar, wristbands, bright red hat, bright green eyes, and half-a-shirt. I was getting immersed in the story. I was noticing the subtle shapes moving outside the window. I actually locked myself in the bedroom at night. I hid under the covers. And before the sun set every night, I turned on every light in the house.

And then I died, and had to restart the level. (Accursed attic!) The events didn't change, it was the same hunt for paper scraps, I got to the end, and then confronted the evil presence, who called me a sack-thing, and I died again, restarted, did it, right, and got my prize: nothing.

Atraxy is a level which gets better later, then trips at the finish line. The massive blob of climatic speech bubble text demolishes your immersion. Then, if you didn't do everything right, you die, and have to do it all again from the start. And the reward for completing the story, is that you don't have to have anymore story. Yep. Once the story's over, the house is yours, and it upgrades from Awesome demonic possession house hangout with nice visuals, to just a hangout with nice visuals. If you're the type of player who can't get enough of chatting with friends while your sackperson is in a controlinator, you will have found Valhalla. In my case, when the story was done, I was done.

I'm griping a lot, because there was just so much greatness, and potential, alongside so much disappointment. It's like I was given a magical tupperware which at first glance does nothing. But if you shake it just right, it fills with chocolate truffles. They are delicious truffles, and their wrappers each have a letter on them. There's also a note attached which tells you to keep eating truffles, and collecting letters to spell out the awesome secret message and a prize! The letters together spell out "Ha ha, you suck!" and then the tupperware is forever empty.

TLDR:

Navigation – Blisteringly poor notifications that start your path, but once I finally found the road, the tightness of the house made it easy to get around, and I never got too lost.

Visual – The best hangout I've ever seen, but 99% of the time, visuals are all there is to a hangout.

Sound – Quality use of quiet whooshes, scratches, and other noises REALLY contribute to the atmosphere.

Gadgetry – Gadgets are very tight and intricate as well, but the abundance of controlinators became a nuisance.

Glitches - I didn't try very hard to break everything, but I'll be the thermo is in danger of spontaneous combustion.

Story – It was so good while it lasted. I was genuinely intrigued, excited, and joyous. Then it was over, and I was sad.

Notes – My sister had a dog like that. His name was Toby.

2014-12-12 15:35:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

These are great. I'm honestly compelled to just churn out a level to give something for you to review.

2014-12-13 04:19:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

Woot! Level review topic is ALIVE AGAIN!!!! Also, I can review LBP3 levels now.

2015-02-16 05:55:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Good news! Can you check this one out?

https://lbp.me/v/qvpmkc-/topreviews?p=1&l=12

2015-02-16 15:05:00

Author:
actio1_618

Posts: 81

http://i5.lbp.me/img/ft/315f0b1699c2d22c94df1451586b68b76f88c42e.jpg

Actio's Agility Abbey (1P) (https://lbp.me/v/qvpmkc-)
By: actio1_618

Halleloo! I say can I get a Halleloo! Blessings be to the saviors who restored our status quo and delivered us this kingly crown. In other words, church jokes incoming. You have been warned.

No but really, the level Actio's Agility Abbey is by no means a religious level, although you might be praying to your Lord for more. The concept of the level is that you have the ability to instantly switch between Boost Boots and Hook Hat at any given moment, lending some neat tricks required, such as boost-booting onto a high up rail, hooking over to some thorns, dropping down, and then boost-booting back up. Amazing!

Let me preach about how nice everything looks. No really, the painting tools were used to create several custom stickers for this level, such as the tree tops, which made the level look like a painting. If I may be honest, I was in a bit of a hurry to get out the door, so I didn't do nearly as much exploring as I should have, and the level lends itself to a bit more exploration than you'd suspect.

Now, I'm not going to pray for salvation all day on this level, because there was a small issue I had, which has become increasingly apparent with LBP3 levels. The Abbey, for all its divinity is inert. I don't know how else to describe it. It's just that you the player are the only thing moving at any time, and it makes the level feel eerily dead, and I don't get the impression that if I wait a few days it'll rise from the grave. (Too soon?)

And like I mentioned, there was a bit of exploration required for this level, but in some cases the blisteringly obvious path was not as blisteringly obvious as I would have liked. Looking back though, that small sin is forgiven because I was in a rush, and I've discovered I'm terrible at realizing things like 'layers matter'.

Still, this level is a blessing, and it does little to offend, and please don't consider this blasphemous, but it's better than some of the picks I've played lately. It's no Holy Grail like your LBP2 Cube level, but it's still exciting because all LBP3 platformers are still exciting since they have so many new and awesome tools to play around with.

One more thing of note however, and worth mention, is that there's apparently a lot going on behind the scenes of this level. The Lord works in mysterious ways, as does Actio, and it all gets presented through a very excellent stained glass window at the end. The meaning and purpose behind this logic remains a mystery, but I am told the window changes color depending on your level performance. There was also a race gate earlier in the level, but I did not find out how to access it. Again, I was in a bit of a hurry. Sometimes it's just like my life has the devil at its heels!

http://ic.lbp.me/img/ft/d3cbcd061286e66a30e67037ee5c696934234317.jpg

Navigation - Some fun motions switching between powerups, though there was the occasional "I'm lost!" moment with solutions that would probably have been more obvious to other players.

Visual - Very nice visuals with bright and vivid grass, and painted tree tops. I'm assuming this is a custom sticker. It looks super nice, as does the Window-Head at the end!

Sound - The descriptions promised Mozart, which would have been vastly preferable to the farty-seasiside tune currently in place.

Gadgets - The platforming contraptions were fun, but the hidden logic intrigues me more.

Story - N/A

P&A - Neat powerup switching gimmick.

Notes - TESTIFY!

2015-02-17 15:25:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Thanks a bunch! The mozart tune is only active with the race, but i'll definitely try to find another custom track for non racers. It is not easy to discover the race on first playthrough, but I felt like giving credit anyway, sorry that looked like an unkept promise! These reviews are pretty great, am also compelled to make more stuff for you to review!

2015-02-18 05:16:00

Author:
actio1_618

Posts: 81

I am pretty bummed out on LBP3 because of its... erm... mediocrity, but now I want to make something for you to review.

I don't think that's normal.

2015-02-19 02:20:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

@bonner123 & @actio1_618 Lol. Well make away. The levels you guys send my way are typically really good, and LBP3 could definitely stand to have more good things in it.

2015-02-19 13:15:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Ghost Ship
by Psyclownpath
https://lbp.me/v/qqpxeh-

http://i2.lbp.me/img/ft/7e24ecb952b456398b395ffd47ae468042cfc28f.jpg

A review that somebody didn't ask for *gasp*! I know it's normally not my tradition to just regurgitate reviews without prompting. I want people to ask for them, because it creates a contract. As some of you may realize the internet is an awful translator, and words type on my end turn into insults on the other. But if the words are asked for well... then it's not my fault.

So why am I doing THIS review of all things for a LBP2 level? Well, I'll tell you why. It's because I have a stick up my butt when it comes to horror levels. Don't misunderstand me, I think my own scary levels are a bit too colorful, and smacks of inexperience, but I'm not a logic guru, and I watch cartoons too much, so sue me. In this case however, I felt that Ghost Ship did everything I like about horror and horror levels correctly.

The story goes that there is a zombie-plague... STOP RIGHT THERE. Let me just restart with the one fault I found with the level; I doesn't properly describe itself. In fact, let me just restart this review from the top minus the intro junk.

Swikety-Awetastic Freight Ship of Giant Freaky Mutants
by Psyclownpath
https://lbp.me/v/qqpxeh-

The story goes that there is giant freaky mutant plague that turns people into hulking, blind and deaf monsters with telepathy, and a boat was sent out to sea to find a cure. The captain of this ship had a major case of the stupids as well, and brought the virus on board where it turned every shipmate and crewman into a bodybuilder with bad dentistry. You, somehow, escaped death by hiding in a box somewhere, and are now looking for a way out.

Well, for starters, it's already gotten a A+ by taking the zombie-thing and making it fun again. These are not just zombies, these are brutish mutants with shark-like jaws who are both very large and very fast. They're not just expendable humans with a craving for other expendable humans, and you can't just shoot them in the head and be done with it. And second, you have nothing useful in your pockets, except for a potential extra change of underpants because you might need it.

Another A+ is the fact that the level relies neither on gore nor jumpscares. If there was any blood around, I didn't notice it, and aside from my own failures there was nobody getting munched on. Trust me, there's nothing quite as immersion breaking as seeing a fluffy sackperson with a big tumorous head getting mauled during the scary bits.

Most of the level is in near darkness, so I did quite a bit of fumbling around. The bulk of the scary-scary however, comes from the second half where you need to shut off five switches while the creatures patrol the halls. Unfortunately for me, the creatures were NOT as stupid as I thought they'd be, and hiding one layer back did not save me. I did get by them however, and made it to the end where... AAA++++++++++ There. Was. A. Scoreboard.

Most horror levels are under the impression that, if you don't have a score, you don't need a scoreboard. This is one thing I hate. There's no closure that way. I need that board to tell me 'Thanks for playing, that's all for now.' It just rounds things out nicely, because the level isn't just ending abruptly making me wonder if I did something wrong.

I think a lot of horror-level makers need to try out Swikety-Awetastic Freight Ship of Giant Freaky Mutants and learn some stuff. This level has single-handedly put shame to my horror skepticism, and has come dangerously close to making me recant my 'Sackpeople are not scary' motto. It's an easy level, with great atmosphere, great tension, great ideas, and great visuals. GREAT! And it didn't ruin my immersion! And it had zombie-like things that weren't cliche's! And it had nothing to do with ghosts but I don't even care! Maybe it's a ghost plague or something...

Navigation - A bit of a maze due to the lighting, but that's part of the terror. I made it through without getting too lost/murdered.

Visual - Some nicely intricate details, particularly the full boat at the beginning. It looked well researched.

Sound - The sounds kept up with the creaky-metal of the ship blended in with the horror noises which was nicely done.

Gadgets - The puzzles were so simple I over-thought a couple, but that's even better! It's better because it means the ship was NOT designed by Umbrella Corp, and I don't need the three dragonfly keys to go to the bathroom or something.

Story - I liked how the story was more about you than the history. I was a bit sad it had to come to a close so quickly, and I'd love for our character to find a ventilation duct last-minute, for a part two!

P&A - Everything was really awesome. I was actually happy the disease was something you'd definitely want to stay away from, rather than the traditional zombie. Shenanigans. Becoming a zombie is inconvenient, but the mutants could do some downright terrible things with those chompers.

Notes - Next time I'm going to have to play this as a sackperson that is NOT brightly colored. XD

2015-02-20 20:05:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

I can review stuff here again....

Yessssssssss................

2015-07-25 20:04:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

I'm looking forward to your new reviews. Seriously, the stuff you write on here is some of the best stuff on this forum. I mean, you're no Faulkner, but still.

2015-07-27 07:48:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

I still don't like LBP3 that much but I've been meaning to put something together. That is the true power of these reviews.

...in other words, glad to see you're back.

Actually, if you're short on review requests, I have an older level that I wouldn't mind some feedback on - the thing I'm working on, while different mechanics wise, will be somewhat similarly structured. Warning, this is 2012 me so it might be rubbish. It should work in LBP3, but some sections may be weird because of compatibility reasons.

https://lbp.me/v/f8kz4j/topreviews?p=1&l=12

2015-07-28 00:29:00

Author:
bonner123

Posts: 1487

Esmerelda! 0: The Drowned Dungeon
by bonner123
https://lbp.me/v/f8kz4j

http://i7.lbp.me/img/ft/a27ed5f1d4e035112398a83a632fb721f514fdee.jpg

If you are looking for a challenge, then you are a wise person. When we are challenged we are encouraged to perform above our cloud of comfort, which expands our horizons. But there is no denying that some challenges can be frustrating. And frustration can cause people to go bald.... like Gutsman.... the boss of the old NES Mega Man from Capcom. Which brings me to the most important point of all. Gutsman platforms.

Okay, so important things first, I liked the piratey-theme going on in the level, and I really liked some of the material choices for objects. I thought the wooden clouds were an oddly nice touch. It also made me realize just how spoiled I've been having access to more than 3 layers, and the dephysicalize tool. The level is finely tweaked for many clever puzzles involving water and layer changing. Really, they're very great.

Some of them are particularly clever, like using the water level to slide a long tether on an angled track between two water wheels, so that when you get in the wheels you'll layer change and get launched to your destination. I thought that was pretty sweet. Imperfect, but sweet. There's a certain amount of chaos theory involved with physics, and sometimes it won't cooperate. One of the first, if not THE first, water wheel layer-change puzzles was a tremendous pain, You're supposed to use the wheel to gain enough velocity to slide down a plank and hit a bounce pad. It was much easier when I used the top of the wheel rather than the inside, but that wasn't what I was meant to do. Probably

So I still give the puzzles a good score though for cleverness. Let's say 8 out of ten. Because for every 8 puzzles that were ingenious, there were at least two where you had to pull switches, fat out in the open. Attempts were made to cleverly annoy you from switch pressing, by like, putting a maze of bounce pads under water, or having spikes just below the water's surface, and you have to launch out of the water dolphins tyle to get by, and I am the very worst at doing that.... I think what I'm trying to say is that the puzzles were mmmmmm.... inconsistent. Like some would be fast and easy, some would be fast and difficult, some would be slow and easy, some would be slow and ponderous, but they were all mixed up out of order, so while one minute you're struggling to launch yourself off a wheel, the moment after you're pressing a button with a spotlight shining on it. I think they'd be better placed in something like ascending order of difficulty.

And then I couldn't help but feel this was the thought process all along. Like puzzles were being built, and the thoughts went like... "This puzzle is great, I'm so clever. But wait, how do I get to this next one? I need some filler. Ah... oh well. Let's just add a button. But we'll make that button point out the irony of being a button!" And then now me playing it, my thoughts, "THIS IS SO META I CAN'T HANDLE IT WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL?!" And then the response is, "Please have this swashbuckling manatee." And then I died.

Getting to the point finally, I liked the puzzles, some were a bit slow, some were a bit weak, and some were super SUPER great. The Pirate Seals were funny. The orange was funny. The final tower made me want to punch my own mother in the face. Right, I need to address that.....

The final tower made me want to punch my own mother in the face.

I actually was glad for it, because the last part of the level needs to leave a lasting impression. Mission accomplished. It's just that the impression is on my coffee table, and it's shaped like my forehead. I'm so conflicted really. I thought the final climb was the best part of the level, and I hate it so much. I hate it so much that I want to set it on fire. Which is good. It's good fire. It's the fire of success. And ****ation. I think the very last Gutsman Platform puzzles would have been easier had it not existed, but since that can't happen, maybe making the starting bounce pad weaker, and the platforms a little slower would help, but it was still a great puzzle and I really liked it even though I wanted to die.

SPOILER: Seals though. Seals on jetpacks. With guns.

Navigation - Fun platforming. I only got lost on one puzzle because the In-Out Mover sticker was very small and it took me a while to understand the puzzle.

Visual - Enjoyable scenery which makes the most of its materials.

Sound - SLS10's voice acting as great as ever. The pirate tune grated on my nerves in direct proportion to the difficulty of the puzzle I was working on at the time. There might be a correlation. Also the music at the very end was great.

Gadgets - Clever gadgets, but they sometimes did not work as well as I'd hoped. I really liked seeing the interesting water puzzles.

Story - Nothing rhymes with orange. That's why he's so mad.

P&A - Liked the level overall, some parts were extra maddening, Great job!

Notes - My favorite part was probably unintentional, because after I lit the explosives, there were discarded limbs raining down, and I laughed. I laughed at their horrible deaths.

2015-08-03 15:41:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

Great review, Kato. I finished The Drowned Dungeon myself, and my thoughts were quite similar to yours.

2015-08-06 20:40:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

Okay, sorry to double post in this thread, but I have a somewhat unusual question for you, Kato. Do you review scripts? I have a large film project in LBP 3 that I'm considering producing, but I want to know if the script is any good before I start sinking in so much effort, if I do decide to take up the film. The script is a little on the long side, but it's not ridiculously long.

2015-08-07 21:51:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

Sorry, I didn't see your post until just now. XD I'll take a look-see if you'd like.

2015-08-12 19:02:00

Author:
Kato

Posts: 732

I'll send it to you in a PM, in a bit.

2015-08-15 06:08:00

Author:
Kalawishis

Posts: 928

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