Well done! Nothing to add, just super cool! The graphics are professional like :)
Author Comments
Hey.
This is second Flash game, Laser Stryker.
(First game is Blast Force, at http://www.newgrounds.com /portal/view/467283)
Updates
================
03-01-09
Bug Fix 1
During the training session, if Guardian escaped, the game would not proceed.
Update 1
Default controls for torpedoes and shields have been changed from keys 1 and 2 to keys Z and X, respectively. Various feedback from other sources tend to prefer these keys, since they are closer to the default laser fire key (Spacebar).
Update 2
Allowed auto-fire when firing your laser. Note however, that your ship can still only fire one laser at a time, until you reach Grid level 8.
================
It is a space shooter game that test your reflexes, especially in the later levels. It starts out easy, but doesn't stay that way for too long.
As the pilot of the LS-2912 Fighter spacecraft, you are defending your region of space, called the Laser Grid, from an invading alien force. Your ship is equipped with a laser blaster, photon torpedoes, and deflector shields.
It is modeled after the ColecoVision port of Beamrider, and it contains 21 levels (grids) for you to defend, as well as it's own merits system. High scoring is also included, and several leaderboards track various stats other than scoring.
All the sound effects and songs in the game were made. Please excuse the quality of MP3s, I wish Abode would at least allow Ogg Vorbis, or maybe some lossless compression codec for Flash applications.
This game and Blast Force use the same engine, yet they are entirely different genres. ;-)
I hope you enjoy it!
_______________
- Zir0 out.
Beamrider brought to the modern age!
I remember Beamrider. It was one of my Colecovision favorites. It was damn hard, too: no lasso upgrades, only 3 torpedoes. And all the high-level enemies were as frustrating, if not more so, than the ones here.
Laser Stryker is surprisingly faithful to the original Beamrider, even down to fine enemy ship movement patterns and similar sound effects.
My only criticism is that for a game like this, having explosions with a lot of particles makes it hard to see the dangers around the explosion's periphery. Not a huge complaint, since most spaceship shooters seem to have that problem. But you get only 5 lanes to maneuver in a game like this, so anything that clouds your judgment can have deadly consequences.
It's a piece of work. Keep 'em coming.
Zir0 responds:
Hey.
Thanks for the review, man.
I also had the Colecovision port of Beamrider. It was the only one that introduced the two new enemies (I-Tinker and Magnetic Mine). And you're right, it was harder: no upgrades or shields, and only three torpedoes. Another thing I added was that when you die, your next ships starts right in-game, instead of having to restart from the launch screen. Plus, I toned it down a bit: your upgraded weapon can kill most enemies that could previously only be destroyed by torpedoes (and you get points for it - which you didn't get points for destroying them in the original).
Yeah, I tried to keep a lot of original detail. The AI of all the enemies was pretty easy to emulate, except for the regular ships. I had to improvise there, but they all follow various preset patterns. I love those Chirper sounds. (:
Regarding your concern: thanks for mentioning that, however, I'd say that many shooters suffer from not having enough eye candy. Perhaps if I ever worked in this again, I could add an option to turn those off, although that takes away some of the selling points of the game.
Thanks again for your review, soldier. Most appreciated.
* salutes *
________________________
- Ziro out.
Retro game + amazing modern day polish
GRAPHICS AND INTERFACE.
You've taken the concept for a retro game, and made full use of modern hardware capabilities to add in amazing sounds, graphics and particle effects.
Everything from the menus, to the design of the ships and dreaded magnetic mines fit in well with the space theme.
As mentioned by other reviewers the explosions and missles are just spectacular, Please tell me where you learnt to do that...
:)
GLITCHES (only found one):
-You programmed this incredibly well, but I did find one glitch:
If the player can't submit the score (e.g. due to a temporary internet connection), the server just gives up and refuses to allow them to try again.
I.e. (The yes button doesn't work) even after the connection is restored later.
[GAMEPLAY]:
The gameplay was generally well balanced, with upgrades being gradually introduced to reward the progressing player, and a cool variety of enemy
A.I. to match.
It was quite challenging to maintain a balance between spending power on shields and missiles, all whilst fending off waves of alien attacks:
Making for an awesome frag fest where split second reflexes determined whether you lived or died.
Having said all that, it would be nice if some of your energy regenerated after they died. Thus rewarding, rather than punishing players who take risks such as firing the super missle, rather than leaving them vulnerable to attack.
One thing that really Annoyed me (like salt rubbed into a plasma wound):
was that the extra lives exploded if you shoot them.
I would often lose two lives (particularly on the later grids), because I was trying to shoot a chirper, or blast my way through a swarm of enemies, when a life appears out of nowhere, in the same lane I happen to be in.
[SUGGESTIONS FOR NEW FEATURES]:
I know that after 2 years, you'll have probably moved onto bigger projects/busy with other work, but please consider the following list, if you ever make a sequel/expansion to your game.
1. No exploding extra lives (see [Gameplay])
2. A fraction of your power regenerates once the player respawns to reimburse players who take risks, such as utilizing super missles.
3. Fix score board glitch (see above).
4. Practice Mode for each grid, that the player has completed, so players can experiment with different tactics, without having to play through from the start
[SUMMING UP]
Depite the incredibly high level of challenge on the later grids I just kept coming back for more.
I reached Grid 20, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the game
(Though I ended up banging my head against the monitor when I failed to defeat the final of 5 guardians in that level, dieing just before a chirper appeared onscreen).
Visual effects, particles, polished pixel art: 10/10
Storyline: 6/10
Appropriate sound and music: 9/10
Gameplay, level design and replay value: 27/30
Overall score: 52/60
RATED: 5/5
Voting Power:5.13
[Favourited]
From a member of the:
[Review Request Club]
Zir0 responds:
Hey.
Wow, didn't expect to get any more reviews on this game, let alone especially nice detailed ones. Thanks! (:
Regarding the particles and explosions: They're powered by a particle system I wrote myself, and made the sprites used for the particles as well (using Paint.NET). I got the inspiration from a company called wondertouch (http://www.wondertouch.com/), who has some AMAZING particle effects. Man, I saw some of their stuff, and I was all, "DAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNG". O_O
If you'd would like to see a demo of some more particles I made, please let me know. (:
Regarding thanks glitch: Thanks for the report. Obviously didn't catch them all. Thanks for noticing that.
Regarding the gameplay:
- The exploding of extra lives was a design from the original Beamrider game, and I wanted to preserve that. You can look on YouTube of people recording their sessions of playing the original BR games, and you'll see them shooting their lives, and some comments telling them not to shoot those. :)
- Actually, some of your power already regenerates when your next ship spawns after dying.
- Practice mode sounds interesting, perhaps somehow integrating that into the tutorial.
Yeah, I've moved on to freelancing, and haven't had much time to add to this. I'd like to get back to it one day, though.
Glad to hear you made it to the end of the game. I have a question for you (please PM when you get a chance if you read this). You're a member of the Review Request Club, which is awesome. How did you find this game? I'm just curious.
Thanks again for the elaborate game review, soldier.
* salutes *
_______________________
- Ziro out,
Good Game
good work, vere polished game, and the best: the explosions :P
Zir0 responds:
Hey.
Thank you.
Cool!
This game was great, even though it somehow seemed so simple.
i really liked the way the player wasnt able to move freely, but had to move on lines instead. This made the game more challenging and fun.
9/10 =D
Zir0 responds:
Hey.
Thank you.
The movement was based on Beamrider.
Simple? Wow. (-:
I though it would get hard, especially in the later levels.
__________________
-Ziro out.
Credits & Info
- Views
- 13,941
- Faves:
- 26
- Votes
- 20
- Score
-
3.36 / 5.00
- Uploaded
- Feb 25, 2009
- 9:19 PM EST
- Genre
- Action - Shooter - Fixed