awesome for a first game

animations are very good, but there aren't any sounds and some of the phantoms are impossible to shoot

PS: stezie's review isn't useless!

Not bad...

A surprisingly good game for a first attempt. Its very simple in design (no bad thing) and perfect for wasting minutes during lunch-break.

I thought the graphics were effective and liked the glowing eyes of the player. The game could be improved with some power-ups, maybe randomising the speed of enemies (and or size) and some more sound. Otherwise a worthy first effort.

For a first, this is much better than I expected!

Seeing all the crap on NG, along with all the horrible first flashes, I have kept amazingly low expectations for all firsts, but this is one of the few exceptions I have come across. Congratulations.

The Good:
Graphics - By all means, your art is not the best I have seen; every single component on its own is rather amateurish. What I love, though, is the union of all these elements, especially when coupled with your apparent skill in animation. However, the font color choice in the instructions menu probably wasn't the best choice as the blue was a little hard to read over the dark background. Changing it to the blue in the credits page would be easier on the eye. Another thing I picked up is the lack of an icon which would be the real hook point for a new artist like you; where your name can't help, but the icon graphic may be enough to pull in a few more players.

Animation -Even though there wasn't much of it, I found your animation very nice indeed. In-game, I first noticed that the phantom's wriggling wasn't actually that smooth; what I liked about them, though, was their exploding animation which was simple but easily conveyed the message that it was exploding. Also, I really liked the animation for loss of that beam/ray.

My Criticisms
Gameplay - Honestly, after being wowed by the graphics, I thought the gameplay would lack severely, which it did. This is obviously understandable being only <40kbs and being your first. Something else I noticed was that sometimes, the phantoms could spawn just outside of the window on the far right, which obviously created an impossibility. What I did like about the gameplay was the fact that the beam was not exploitable (which I thought it would be); that kept me on my toes, although a refillable "ammo" bar would be a little more appropriate. Finally, I found that the health bar was not necessary as the "damage" done would always be the same. Lives would have done the exact same thing, and you could have drawn something cool for them too.

Music - Or dare I say, lack of. Music is a defining aspect of almost every flash as it sets the atmosphere of the game along with the graphics and the lack of music removes much of the whole feel of the game. Might I add; use music that completely suits the atmosphere of the game, not some random techno on the NG Audio Portal. I would describe this game as being fun, unsophisticated with occult/dark undertones; so the music should have those characteristics too.

Sound - The only places that I find need sound effects are firing the beam and exploding the phantoms. Just make sure when selecting sound effects that they do not convolute the music.

Story - An unnecessary addition to a first, but an addition needed for any second. If you do choose to make another game along these lines, please do explain the following: the "weirdvil's" need to destroy phantoms and the phantom's need to destroy the "weirdvil". Also, adding a storyline could easily make for level based gameplay which would be a great addition.

Overall
This is a fantastic start; where many fail and get blammed, only to give up, I hope that you continue to make flash. Your art style is great, your animation suits; all you need is to clean it up a little and continue making flashes. Welcome and good luck; enjoy your stay in the flash world.

nothing original at all

I understand this is your first, but the idea of shooting things before they pass you is a little overdone. However, that can be overlooked if you have some fun/new element to it, which this doesn't.

This is good for a first game.

It's got a unique feel to it, even though variations of the gameplay have been done before. If the game had sound effects it would help with the atmosphere a lot, but this is a great start.