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matricx re-hacked vs. Pictoyaya
matricx re-hacked Heh... ^_^
byako
Download: 1002 KB
V.S.
Pictoyaya
Play Time: 0 hours and Aprox. 20 minutes
Review # 1 for Pictoyaya Heh... ^_^
Them's Fightin' Words
    The Matrix... when the sequel was released, a fad in a community would maybe start. I remember the Agent Smith avatars and fight scene animations. It seems Byako had some inspiration to create a parody with the OHR. I heared from Wiz he was demanding some critiscism, so I'll use it for my first review on CP.
Graphics
    I notice the strongest aspect of this game's graphics is Byako's maptiles. If anyone in the community has trouble drawing maptiles, this is a style I would suggest to start learning. What interested me was the castle walls. I don't see this concept in a majority of OHR games, but there are various tiles with the shadows and light on them, reflecting from objects like pillers and staircases (you'll even see a shadow of the castle gate reflecting onto the floor). A lot of the tiles are colored in this lovely yellow green, which will remind you of the original movies. It has the similar effect that gives you the cryptic aspect of the background, if anything. Though a few things lack detail: the phone box looks 1-dimensional and uses little shading, and the color depth is low (a few other maptiles lack a bit of color depth too. The thrones inside the castle, despite being one of my favorite tiles, would look nicer if the color depth was improved). And I suggest to give the water outside the castle at least 1 or 2 more colors of blue. ^_^

The game also features animated scenes. The introduction has a rolling field of numbers and letters, similar to the original movie, which was a good concept to introduce. Some references in the backgrounds were ripped. The scene where Zero confronts Agent Orange uses character screenshots from the Matrix, but edited, and nicely. Agent Orange's appearance is an Agent Smith edited to look like Frankenstein, and I thought it was interesting to look at the bolts and scars on his head. I couldn't suggest to improve on these since they are rips and intentional rips (oh, aside from those brown marks on Zero's face in the screenshot I am using), but it would had been also nice to see original comic book drawings in their place.

The battle graphics for the hero's least satisfied me. The style is original, though their ankles and arms want to look less stiff. Zero lacks a neck. Though at least their stances are not boring. They are stanced to look ready to fight. It's proportioned with character. I'll use the same criticism for the walkabouts, but I wanted to say that those are out of proportion (comparing the proportion Zero is in compared to the one Morphine is in... his legs are a pixel higher).
 
Storyline
    Byako stated this was a parody of parodies. It parodies not the Matrix but other references too (a majority I didn't notice. I am guessing they could of been TV shows, and I never watch television...). I'll define the plot, which has potential. Simply Zero, a parody of Neo, is looking for somebody inside a castle called the Spectacle (a parody of the Oracle) to answer his questions. I won't spoil as far as I know. Since it's a parody, it's humourous. I would of laughed (and maybe hard), but for some reason I couldn't (maybe because it's 2AM I am writing this...). The dialogue is interesting to read. When I met the Spectacle, I wanted to read more too. Though you'll notice it's all written in lowercase. Either it's intentional or not, it was a bit difficult to read. The character's aren't well developed to seem real, but they are developed to say or do anything funny. It was my sense of humor, espcielly the scene where Zero and Agent Orange are interupted by somebody in particular...
 
Gameplay
    I wanted to play a short game that insisted you talked to people to move on. Though I was dissapointed that aspect didn't last long as I expected. There is also a mini game attempting to simulate a stereotypical Matrix fight scene. Press buttons P and J (I think) to hit and punch. It would of been fun to see more features to use instead of generally kicking and punching. If Byako could guarantee it, I wouldn't mind to see a new version where this was expanded upon... unless I missed something out. :/
 
  Battle
    There are 2 battles (unbalanced). Though you can only attack, as far as I know. There are no weapons, but your defaults. And no items to use. The battles are intentionally comical and don't really propose a challenge.
 
  Map Design
    The map design interested me. To describe, the castle is really a symetrical place (excluding the left and right rooms at the entrance). There a few maps (2, I think). I was dissapointed I was limited to a few rooms inside the castle.
 
  Balance
    Battles are unbalanced. Since it's comical, I will say again it proposes no challenge. Zero and Agent Orange are at level 50 by default and have 3000+ HP. There isn't a lot of difficulty, but I think this could be improved if there were more characters to talk to with expected requirements (like the guy inside the castle who has an eccentric speech pattern).
 
Music
    I can't hear BAM, so I can't give criticism. : (
 
Enjoyment
    I enjoyed this game a lot. It cheered me up with it's sense of humor and interesting graphics. I enjoyed talking to the characters and the mini game emulating a fight scene, but I was dissapointed to see 'The End?'. If it lasted longer then aprox. 20 minutes, it would of been great. ^_^
 
Final Blows
    I don't have a lot to critisize here, aside from to say that if I haven't missed anything out, I wouldn't mind to see a new version that was expanded upon in the areas I asked to improve.
The font is good, though that 'V' seems longer then the other lowercase letters.

The font is good, though that 'V' seems longer then the other lowercase letters.
Final Scores
Graphics: 9/10.0
Everything has an interesting stance, and the maptiles are one of the nicest I have seen on the OHR. Despite the low color depth on some of them, the yellow green is lovely.
Storyline: 7.5/10.0
Some of the characters are parodies of the original, and their dialogue is interesting. I wanted to read more when I got into the castle. If only I could of laughed at it's humor when I wanted to...
Gameplay: 5/10.0
I guarantee I would of gave the game a higher grade if the gameplay was expanded upon. For example, give Zero a nicer variety of moves in the mini game.
Music: 1/10.0
Again, I can't hear BAM. So...:/
Enjoyment: 6.5/10.0
I enjoyed it a lot. This game guarantee's enjoyment, though it will maybe dissapoint you that the gameplay is short.
Overall Grade: C-
Final Thoughts
    Any Final Thoughts?

Byako did a great parody, and I encourage him to make others with this attitude. Thankyou for making it.
 


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