potentially great, restricted to merely 'OK'
I have to say, this is a pretty average game and with some important tweaks, this has the potential to go further as an enjoyable game. It’s just a shame about the fact that there is next to no challenge in this whatsoever; because unless you are half-asleep it is impossible to ever lose this game because of a silly little glitch, but then again, I guess you knew that already after all of the other reviews…..
First off, graphics. Probably one of the best aspect of this game because the game is presented decent enough graphically. I liked the ‘sewage’ theme of this game because it gave it a real sense of darkness to the game and a gloomier mood. Setting and environment plays an important role in any flash or game, though it is physically impossible, you need to try and make the viewer feel as if they are IN that little window with your flash in – this is, if you are setting the theme and feeling of the mood well enough. “Gutter cut” was overall presented very well at first, the title screen with the interesting font made the game look intriguing, and so did the ‘instructions’ screen; I liked the way the screen scrolled across and how the ‘Quick’ flashed in red and also the animation of the sewage water made me think this was going to be better than it actually was. It’s just a shame then, that graphically I felt a huge sense of disappointment because I felt you hadn’t gone as far as you could have. For example you had animating sewage water on the instructions screen, in the actual game however this was not presented and in instead we just got plain straight green water that looked no different to a concrete block, stiff and unemotional. You really need to emphasise on the fact that this is set in a sewer. You already intrigued us enough with that setting so take advantage of this – make the sewage water look interesting and slop about like filthy gunge. I also felt the background wasn’t as detailed as it could have been and this was a lack of graphical detail. For example you had photograph cut-out looking pipes coming up and out from the sewers, this did not look good and made the game look unbalanced even if they weren’t photos, simply because you cannot identify them enough as the same theme where this is set, draw the sewage pipes more cartoony and matching more to like the cat. We only really got a black screen with a few odd pipes and some sewage water here and there for the background, try to add in some more detail such as sewage pipes with water coming out of them in the background. This seems a shame because the animation was OK and all you really need to do there is make the cat’s legs stop moving once he jumps.
Next, sound. A slightly more positive aspect of the flash but you could still add in some more here. I genuinely liked the background music and had no problem with it, I also liked the way the cat meows in despair when you land into the water. The only thing I would suggest you add here is a happy cat sound when you collect the fish bones, and maybe a little noise for when you jump. Otherwise the action of the game feels a little ‘mute’.
Finally, game-play. A bit of a disappointment, and to be honest not very fun to play. This is because once you land in the sewage water you can just bounce right out of it again, you can bounce along without dying and thus it is impossible to lose the game. This is the main letdown of the game because it really does diminish the point and entertainment of it. I also didn’t like how the sewage pipes coming out from the top blocked you and pushed you backwards, and though I liked the scrolling screen style whenever you faced a position your cat would just slide along in that direction. Also, it was a little frustrating you didn’t add a ‘replay’ button. You can see what my suggestions are for this aspect of the game then.
Overall, one bog-standard game that could have easily been a great one if it weren’t for some important letdowns. I hope you make a sequel or another and improved version of this. Nevertheless, well done :)
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~T_C