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vs. Shadowiii
In all honesty, Mr. Triangle, this isn't that bad a game to be in.
RedMaverickZero
Download: 22B
V.S.
Shadowiii
Play Time: 1-2 hours and -- minutes
Review # 20 for Shadowiii In all honesty, Mr. Triangle, this isn't that bad a game to be in.
Them's Fightin' Words
    Ah, non-RPG's on the OHR. Spots for things like this were usually reserved for RPG minigames, but now they have made quite an advance. A good quarter of OHR games now don't even use the same battle or item engine, and quite a few of these aren't RPG's at all. The OHRRPGCE is a versitle engine, allowing even a novice game designer to create a game that isn't an RPG.

Mr. Triangle's Maze Madness certainly stands above most of the other "puzzle" OHR games. The game is supurbly done and well balanced, the puzzles are fun and addictive, and overall the game is a great game to play.
Graphics
    Graphics are this game's major let down. The graphical quality is similar to that of the early Mr. Triangle games: tilemaps are griddy and ugly and NPC's are poorly animated. However, truth be told, the graphics work well for this game. Although it certinaly wouldn't hurt to give the tilemaps more distinct personality (for example, if it is a tilemap for a "factory", make it look like a factory), they do they job.

Tilemaps, as said before, are blocky and griddy. Quite a few are *gasp* solid colors (!?). The tilemaps are ugly, but they do the job. You know where a wall is. You know where water is. You know where different colored ground is. And that is all you really need to know to play this game. Though having the tilemaps look "Halloween Quest" good would be really spiffy, it isn't necessary.

NPC's are...just ok. Though there isn't anything really bad about them, but there is nothing really good either. The animation could be worked on for the Creator's "Up" sprites, and Mr. Triangle's overall motion is bland, but they work.
 
Storyline
    Uh...well, its basically the same storyline as most of the other MTSA games. Find the Creator, whip his butt. You'll find some friends from other MTSA games, but...yeah. That's about it.

My only complaint was the overuse of swearing. Honestly, the game didn't really need it to progresses. Of course, obsessive cussing is a Mr. Triangle trademark, so it probably should stay (unless RMZ decides to make an "Edited" version of all his games like he's mentioned he might).
 
Gameplay
    Ah, gameplay, where this game excells. The game is a puzzle game, put simply, that is very simple to learn but certainly difficult to master. The basic goal is to get through a maze to the exit. The trick is if you touch "Creator-Bots" then you'll have to restart the level. Sound simple enough? It gets better.

The game starts off in simple "tutorial" levels. There, you can talk to random question mark boxes that teach you how to play. You also encounter your first items. There are arrow blocks that will move you in the direction they are pointing. There are locked doors where you have to find the keys. There are special boots that let you walk across water. And there are boxes that you can push around to screw up the stupid Creator-Bot's minds. Sound simple enough? Heh, you just wait.

The game, which starts out simple, gradually gets more difficult. Between a certain number of levels, you have a chance to save, switch to a character you have saved, etc. Also, the background tiles change colors between levels, and the music changes too. And, of course, the puzzles get harder and harder. Green is easy, tutorial levels. Then you move on to red, which is mediumly difficult, then on to blue, which is a bit more difficult, and so on. There are also "boss" levels every 20 levels, where if you screw up that level you go all the way back to the save point.

The boss levels are my only grudge in gameplay. The concept is good, but it really isn't very pratical. Considering I usually purposefully "suicide" through a level to see it's contents, if I try this on a boss level then I get wasted. Of course, this might be a good thing, because then I have to really start thinking.

What amazed me about this game was how well pieced together and balanced it was. The puzzles became progressively harder, which consistancy is something not often seen in OHR puzzle games. You'll KNOW the next puzzle is harder then the previous one, but not too much harder. The balance between puzzles and the use of the various objects you can interact with is supurb. The game plays so well you'll swear it was professionally made.

What more can I say? The game is mindlessly addicting, long, and great fun. It is balanced with skill. Excellent work here, RMZ.
 
  Battle
    N/A  
  Map Design
    (See Gameplay Above)  
  Balance
    (See Gameplay Above)  
Music
    The music is all ripped from popular rock songs. I personally liked the Green Day song in the Green Level, heh. Overall the music is upbeat, and doens't conflict with your mind, which is supurb. Overall the music is a nice addition.

A neat thing to add would be the ability to actually select which song was playing at any given time (say, each song title in the items menu that would play the song on selection). That level of professionalism added to the game would be icing on the cake, but it would be a cool touch.

Overall, good selection choices.
 
Enjoyment
    I had a blast playing this game. It was addicting, intense, and upbeat. It also wasn't overlly difficult, so I had a fun time going from level to level. The overall feel was that of, well, fun. The game was addicting enough to keep you playing and keep you ENJOYING the game while you do it. You weren't looking for fulfillment, like in most OHR games, you were looking for fun, like you would in games like Tetris. I can assure you that if you like puzzle games, you'll certianly enjoy this game.  
Final Blows
    After playing through this game once, I was envious of RMZ becuase of how simple this game was, and yet how GOOD the game played. The game is skillfully done, more skillfully, in fact, then most "veteran" OHR games. The game's puzzles progress perfectly. They aren't overly difficult, but they aren't a walk in the park either. The tutorial perfectly matched my learning curve. The game plays like few OHR games do: professional grade.

This game certainly goes down as one of my favorite OHR games of all time. I'd recommed it to anyone. Now we just need RMZ to finish it!
Mr. Triangle Episode 2: Attack of the Clones!

Mr. Triangle Episode 2: Attack of the Clones!
Final Scores
Graphics: 2.5/10.0
Ugly, ugly, ugly. But graphics havn't, and never will, make a game great. And they certainly don't degrade from this game, so they have done their job.
Storyline: 1.5/10.0
What? Storyline? Who needs it? It's a puzzle game, for crying out loud. You don't expect Tetris Attack to have a story do you?
Gameplay: 10/10.0
Wow. It is just...wow. Simple concept, supurbly executed, excellent game. Finish this up, and it'll be perfect. What am I saying, it's already prefect so far! Professional grade, excellent work.
Music: 8/10.0
Upbeat BAM reditions of popular songs. Not too bad, to be honest. I appreciate the fact that there is no Final Fantasy music, and this certianly is a nice change. Being able to change the music at whim would be cool, but not necessary.
Enjoyment: 9.5/10.0
I really had a good time playing this game. Though it was a bit frustrating as it got harder (which is what it is supossed to do :P), the game was well balanced and well worked. And it was fun and addictive to boot. Keep up the good work, RMZ!
Overall Grade: A
Final Thoughts
    You'll swear this game was professionally made. Addicting, upbeat, balanced, and fun, this game rocks. Don't let the bad graphics turn you away, this game is by all means a keeper. Get it, and enjoy hours of fun.  


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