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    1) Sword of Jade: Parallel Dreams reviewed by JSH357
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    4) Tightfloss Maiden reviewed by yhposolihP
    5) A Blank Mind reviewed by Dorumagesu
I Made Dis vs. Uncommon
I Made Dis This picture makes me believe that Elvis really would have killed zombies if he had only been given the chance.
Rolling Stone
Download: 169 KB
V.S.
Uncommon
Play Time: 0 hours and 7 minutes
Review # 20 for Uncommon This picture makes me believe that Elvis really would have killed zombies if he had only been given the chance.
Them's Fightin' Words
    I've been going through the old O:OHR reviews lately, especially since I've been localizing them to CP, and one thing always stands out: the review of I Made Dis I wrote almost three years ago. The scores are fair for a game as fabulous as it is, but the comments never fail to embarrass me. I suppose it's mostly having to remember what a little wanker I was back then that makes it hard to read.

Whatever it was, I firmly believe that I Made Dis deserves better.


The year was 2001. The 48 hour contest was well-underway, and everyone was rushing to realise their plans before the deadline came in. Everyone but one man. Gilbert Smith wasn't a particularly big name at the time. On the old Zantetsuken RPGBoard, a few people might've been familiar with a few screenshots he posted for Bandit Revolver, or his association with the then-famous MR. FANCYTALKALOTDOPE, but, otherwise, Gilbert was just another piece of the mosaic, another face in the crowd, until that fateful day.

We all saw it. How could you miss it? When a 48 hour game is released before the end of the first day, it gets people talking. And when it's something like this, it's hard to ignore it. Even if the game's placement in the contest was less than it deserved, it got the community's attention, and it never let go. Gilbert became a household name. He was set apart, destined for greatness. He was a celebrity. And all because he didn't hesitate to yell those three wonderful words: "I MADE DIS!"


Graphics
    I can't say enough, but I won't say a lot. The graphics are nice, super-nice, even. The walkabouts were highly detailed, and the shading was absolutely beautiful. Battle graphics, too, were fricking spectacular. It was this game, and especially the Batman sprite, that made Gilbert one of my favorite pixelists on OHR.

And his talent never ended with pixels alone. The pencil drawings are beyond awesome, even if they look a little sloppy from being imported. The gritty feel to them is great, too. The King of Rock and Roll never looked better, outside of real life.

'Course, we can't always be super-fantastic winners. Maptiles have an awful grid to them, and look heavily airbrushed. Sure, I've seen worse; we've all seen worse, but we know that Gilbert is better than this. Even so, they're not bad for being done in less than twenty hours. We'll give him that much.


 
Storyline
    He'd finally done it. They never doubted that he would. In fact, most of them were rather certain that he was already a total loon. But now, there wasn't any room for doubt. They couldn't wait any longer. He had to be taken out. The Batman would have to be retired.
They'd been getting along rather well without him. Even when the Joker got out, they didn't worry. They could handle him. It was Bruce that they worried about. Would the Joker's re-emergence awaken him again?

A lot of it is more implied than stated, which makes it all the more powerful. The above is, by no means, what actually takes place in the game, but it's the thought that it inspires in you. When you're thrown in the middle of this Batman "parody", you're told next to nothing directly about what's happened between the famous relationship between the Masked Manhunter and Gotham's finest, but Gordon's attitude tells it all.
The dialogue is great, and will likely put a smile on your face shortly after it starts. The Caped Crusader talks just like you'd expect to hear from the campy '60s television show starring Adam West, but with a greater undertone of madness that is highly exquisite. For the first 3 and a half minutes, you'll be enthralled with Gilbert's storytelling...

...Then Elvis comes and kills zombies.


 
Gameplay
    Elvis Presley, Zombie Hunter. They say he wanders the halls of empty buildings, the only thing between us and the our prospective undead rulers. With his trusty handgun and a few legends of Rock and Roll at his disposable, them zombies couldn't ever stand a chance.
It's a little pointless, yeah, but it's very entertaining.


 
  Battle
    Elvis is the man. When he Blamos, zombies die. One hit is all it takes. And those zombies can't even touch him.
Presley's got his friends, too. He can always summon Buddy Holly for some effect that isn't readily discernible, or, the other Elvis of the game, Costello, who is about as effective as Elvis' gun.
The game hasn't aged well, unfortunately. Belonging to the June 11, 2001 version, it's got a few version conflicts. In particular, the random battles have a tendency to not end, forcing you to run away. The boss battle ends well enough, though. Must have something to do with the guitar guys (presumable Holly and/or Costello).


 
  Map Design
    So, the map design isn't all that grand, but not too bad. Gordon's office is seriously empty, but the street scene resembles a real street. These maps don't matter too much, since you won't be walking around on them, though. The real one is Elvis' map, which is a little repetitive, just zig-zagging from the bottom to the top. Battle frequency's a bit high, too, like Gilbert was trying to load in more gameplay by getting in more battles.


 
  Balance
    Tends toward the "highly and unmistakably easy" end of the spectrum. Elvis kills enemies with one hit. Enemies always miss Elvis. Sound like the scales might be tipped in a particular direction to you?


 
Music
    Led Zeppelin. The Beatles. George S. Clinton's "Mortal Kombat Theme". All placed efficiently and effectively. Could you possibly ask for more?


 
Enjoyment
    Presentation. That's what makes this game a winner. The thing is so aesthetic, from Batman's sprite, to Mortal Kombat, to the guitar guys that fly away at the end of each battle. It all fits together, like pieces of a puzzle, like a game should be. Hell, like anything should be. This is art. You may play it once or twice and just say, "What?" but when you get into it, you'll see how well-designed this game really is.

If I had one complaint, it would be the textboxes. All of them were maximum-size and transparent. They looked sloppy. They distracted from the action. They detracted from the experience. That is the only thing that really hindered this game.


 
Final Blows
    It's been three years, and Gilbert still hasn't lost the momentum this game gave him. He's shown us that making fun games doesn't have to be time-consuming or tedious. This game won't take you more than ten minutes. Ever. I've written prolly twice as many words as it contains. His work is inspiring. That's the bottom line. And as he moves into film-making, we know that he can only keep going up. The sky's the limit, Gil.
You made it.


He talks like Adam West, but he looks more like the Batman Frank Miller or Denny O'Neil loved to write.

He talks like Adam West, but he looks more like the Batman Frank Miller or Denny O'Neil loved to write.
Final Scores
Graphics: 9/10.0
Batman. That is all I need to say.
Storyline: 8.5/10.0
Short, but whoever said that has to be a bad thing? This thing is POWERFUL, if you can only recognize it.
Gameplay: 7/10.0
Yeah. It's pointless. And it's really, really, easy. But it's FUN.
Music: 9.5/10.0
Back in the day, if music wasn't written or commisioned by the author, we used to mark it down. In retrospect, that was really silly. Excellent choices, excellent placement.
Enjoyment: 9.5/10.0
With a game this short, this powerful, this aesthetic, you have no excuse to NOT play it over and over again.
Overall Grade: A
Final Thoughts
    This game is a classic. Even with the Director's Cut, this game has high historic value. This is the game that transformed Gilbert's community image. This is the game that introduced us to the artist. And this game will always be one of my favorites.  


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