nice game!
But I would have prefered mouse aiming, I guess the controller-days are bit long gone ;)
Reviews for "Earth Taken"
SeethingSwarm responds:
You might be right. I am well aware that most people prefer mouse for aiming and shooting, but I created this game for the minority who don't like using the mouse, including me. Sorry this caused frustration :/
Glad you liked the game, and thanks for voting fairly :)
Great game, but I never got past chapter 11 because of the ship, I ended up wasting an hour shooting at the sky and running out of ammo.
SeethingSwarm responds:
Thanks! Sorry that the UFO was a bit too hard for you. A fully upgraded flamethrower works best against it! There's also a full walkthrough video on my facebook page, revealing all the secret rooms as well as how to defeat the UFO while saving both survivors. I really should have added a health bar though and I apologize for the frustration caused. But thanks for letting me know! This helps me to improve as a game designer and I appreciate all useful feedback! Thanks for the nice score and I'm glad you liked the game!
I'd like to start by saying that this is definitely an excellent game. The art style fits the genre perfectly. The world was well developed and intriguing. Finding survivors gave the setting a sense of realism and continuity. The upgrades were balanced and well spaced. And using the health-giving item as a form of currency was an ingenious concept that really gave it that "survival" feel.
All flattery set aside, this game does have a few issues:
- The aiming system was incredibly unintuitive. It was jumpy and difficult to control. That said, I went through the entire game the first time without aiming at all, so I suppose it wasn't too big of an issue.
- I'm aware that others have already pointed this out, but the AI has the IQ of a ham sandwich. I'll admit, their incompetence wasn't obvious during the first few levels. They were very helpful in the beginning, but rapidly became kamikaze suicide-bombers.
-The controls themselves were a bit difficult to master. Too many times I found myself jumping instead of shooting, and that cost me the mission. Or eating a ration instead of reloading, which was more of an inconvenience than anything.
- Picking up ammo for weapons I don't have, therefore cannot benefit from. While it does add to the realism of the game, nothing was more irksome than running out of pistol ammo and having nearly 50 Flamethrower ammo during the first mission.
Suggestions for Sequel:
- More intuitive controls. Maybe I just lack any fine motor skills, but the control setup was very difficult for me to wrap my fingers around. If you use a WASD system for movement, then Q E + R would be more natural for other options. And you can use 1 2 + 3 for Team Commands (see below). P, while the classic pause button, is out in the boonies from all of the other controls. TAB maybe?
- A better aiming system. If you don't choose to use the mouse to aim in the sequel (as has been suggested in other comments), perhaps allow the up and down arrow keys to cycle through possible targets.
- Team commands. This would help with the AI problem, so you can tell the other survivors to hang back while you scout ahead. Or tell them to go ahead and blow everything to pieces while you stay safe.
- More guns, or gun specialization (or both). The more upgrades you put into a gun, that gun's ammo turns up more frequently. That said, more upgrades would also be nice.
- More missions. Simply because I really enjoyed the game, and I was sad when it was over. It would also smooth out the balance of my other suggestions. What would be the point of having an upgrade that you'll never realistically get in a casual play-through?
- New Game +. While not necessary, this would be a fun idea to play around with. After a good grind, some of us like to play God: with fully upgraded everything and killing droves of worthless level 1 enemies with our level 90 guns. And/Or an endless Sandbox mode with periodic Trader Booths and Water Fountains. This is, of course, dreaming big. Something I'd love to see, but I won't be disappointed if it doesn't happen.
But seriously, great game. I really enjoyed myself. Keep up the good work. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for any of your new stuff.
SeethingSwarm responds:
Woah! What a review! Thanks for the feedback and suggestions! I appreciate it and I'm glad you enjoyed the game :)
Oh and it seems you are unaware that there is actually a WASD control setup. You can change the controls to WASD from the options tab in the main menu or pause menu. And speaking of pausing, you can also press ESC to pause the game. I thought this was a common and natural thing for games by now. It is mentioned within the game though as well as in the author's comments section on the game's page here on Newgrounds.
I don't understand why a lot of people find the aiming so difficult, but I am very aware that most people prefer mouse for aiming and shooting. I just don't. I would love to please everyone, but unfortunately it's not possible. Luckily there are about a million games like this out there that use the mouse in order to satisfy the masses. I catered this game for my own preferences as well as the minority of people who prefer using keyboard to aim. Sorry this aspect of the game frustrated you. I would love to make an option for people who prefer the mouse. That would require me to make a second gameplay system which would require a lot of work and time. Since this game is free to play and I do not have all the time in the world, this was sadly not possible.
The survivors can be quite stupid at times and I apologize :D ...this was the first time I've made dynamic companions in a game and even though I'm pretty damn proud of them, I have to admit that they can be very frustrating at times. I know exactly how to play with them and how they think, but I created them, so that doesn't count really. I'm going to try my best to improve their brains for the sequel.
Anyway, thanks for all the constructive criticism, the feedback and kind words as well as the very nice score! I really appreciate it :)
It was a really good game, really good, but i didn't like the control style, there should be an option to customize it.
SeethingSwarm responds:
Thank you! :)
This was a pretty amazing game you made here. The gameplay while a jumpy and sensitive at times is unique and has room to improve. My main complaints came from the terrible AI of your fellow survivors. Too often do they get themselves killed by jumping the gun. A greater variety of enemies, guns, and missions would help a great deal. Also for a more personal gameplay favorite of mine, I'd think it would be neat to include morality choices during missions. Save the survivor or don't etc. Aside from a few minor nitpicks this was a great game and I look forward to the next episode! :D
SeethingSwarm responds:
Thanks so much!