The Avatar
23-03-2006, 04:11 PM
When I first downloaded this game, I put it into my "stuff to try later" directory and promptly forgot about it. 6 months passed by and as I was backing up my computers in preparation for the annual format, I found the game again. And as usual, when faced between the choice of backing up my hard-drive or playing a game, I decided to give the game a go.
3 hours later, I decided that I was an idiot for not trying this game earlier. Warning Forever is a highly original concept game that is executed to a professional degree by the freelance programmer Hikoza.T.Ohkubo.
The game centers around a boss enemy. At level one he is easy to kill and provides little challenge. Once you destroy him, you go onto the next level with the same boss, but a slightly more evolved version of the original boss. As you progress through the levels he evolves more and more becomming bigger, stronger with new weapons systems and attack patterns.
One of the most facsinating parts of this game is the boss's evolution and how different it is each time you play the game. If you destroy the boss from behind at each level he will evolve more armor and weapon systems in the rear to compensate for the weaknesses. If you destroy him from the front, then he will evolve along a totally different path.
What this means, is that by level 10, you are confronted with a completely different boss each time.
Another great aspect of the game is the playing method. You can change the way the game is played in the options. From the standard version where you get 3 lives and fight till you die, to a time attack version where you will only die when your time runs out, to a custom level build you can define yourself.
This game is a must have for the shooter fan. You will get hours of gaming fun out of this title, and will re-visit this game all the time. Its not the sort of game you can ever finish and leave be because there is always a new way you can "grow" your boss.
GRAPHICS Score:95%
The graphics of this game are not the most flashiest or advanced as other games. But then again, this title doesnt require it to be so. The graphics are sleek and very well made, the background goes very well with the game and weapon system are very pretty to watch when activated(especially the beam weapons).
While this title doesnt have the best graphics, its does have a great graphical design and layout. It looks professional for a freeware title, and you can see that the author did put in the time to make this game look good.
SOUND/MUSIC Score:82%
The sound effects for the game are okay. They dont stand out as anything great, but they dont have to. Rudimentary sound effects are all that were needed in this game.
There is no in game music though, the author has decided to allow the user to customise his selection of music by coding in a nifty mp3 player that will play songs that the user selects by placing into a specified directory.
Thus, he has avoided the need to create a specific theme music to the game. This can be a good and a bad thing. I would have preferred to have at least a title theme to the game, but there is nothing except what you select.
MULTIPLAYER Score:N/A
There is no multiplayer component so the section cannot be rated. Even though there could have been some sort of on-line highscore table as many freeware games are making these days. Its not that hard to add a score to a text file on the net and have that text file process either within the game or within a php process. But alas, this wasn't even explored in the game.
So unfortunatelyit does loose some of its overall marks here.
(RE)PLAYABILITY Score:96%
This game will always be replayed once you play it. Even if its for just a few minutes every month, you will always go back to this title to see if you can discover a new ways to "evolve" the boss.
The different game modes also help this title's lifespan. But the addition of an online highscore table really would have helped this game with its lifespan as you could always compete then, not just with the boss and your surrounding friends/family, but also with the rest of the world.
CONTROLS Score:100%
The controls for this game are very simple to pick up and easy to use. With the addition of the aiming button you can dodge around the screen while also aiming your weapons in whatever direction and angle you like. This little feature is a bit tricky to master, but once you have mastered it the game is so much easier to play.
Joystick and gamepad support has been enabled for this game, and it is recommended that you do play the game with a gamepad as the keys are rather crappy to use.
ATMOSPHERE Score:85%
No real storyline here. But then again for a quick shooter you dont really need a storyline. But Hikoza didnt even attempt to create a storyline for the game(at least not that I know of). Just the basic's of whats going on and everything you need to know to get started.
WEB INTERGRATION Score:75%
The internet could have been utilized much more then it was for this game. But there is a webpage for the game, a hosted download area, screen shots and updates. Also contact information is provided on the site. The site is very well layed out and nicely designed.
So the basics for web distribution for this game were planned for and done well.
OVERALL Score:93%
Overall this game score very highly and is a must have for the shooters fan collection. Its a small download so you wont have trouble getting a hold of it. This game is fun, addictive, and very enjoyable. Best played with a gamepad for maximum enjoyment.
3 hours later, I decided that I was an idiot for not trying this game earlier. Warning Forever is a highly original concept game that is executed to a professional degree by the freelance programmer Hikoza.T.Ohkubo.
The game centers around a boss enemy. At level one he is easy to kill and provides little challenge. Once you destroy him, you go onto the next level with the same boss, but a slightly more evolved version of the original boss. As you progress through the levels he evolves more and more becomming bigger, stronger with new weapons systems and attack patterns.
One of the most facsinating parts of this game is the boss's evolution and how different it is each time you play the game. If you destroy the boss from behind at each level he will evolve more armor and weapon systems in the rear to compensate for the weaknesses. If you destroy him from the front, then he will evolve along a totally different path.
What this means, is that by level 10, you are confronted with a completely different boss each time.
Another great aspect of the game is the playing method. You can change the way the game is played in the options. From the standard version where you get 3 lives and fight till you die, to a time attack version where you will only die when your time runs out, to a custom level build you can define yourself.
This game is a must have for the shooter fan. You will get hours of gaming fun out of this title, and will re-visit this game all the time. Its not the sort of game you can ever finish and leave be because there is always a new way you can "grow" your boss.
GRAPHICS Score:95%
The graphics of this game are not the most flashiest or advanced as other games. But then again, this title doesnt require it to be so. The graphics are sleek and very well made, the background goes very well with the game and weapon system are very pretty to watch when activated(especially the beam weapons).
While this title doesnt have the best graphics, its does have a great graphical design and layout. It looks professional for a freeware title, and you can see that the author did put in the time to make this game look good.
SOUND/MUSIC Score:82%
The sound effects for the game are okay. They dont stand out as anything great, but they dont have to. Rudimentary sound effects are all that were needed in this game.
There is no in game music though, the author has decided to allow the user to customise his selection of music by coding in a nifty mp3 player that will play songs that the user selects by placing into a specified directory.
Thus, he has avoided the need to create a specific theme music to the game. This can be a good and a bad thing. I would have preferred to have at least a title theme to the game, but there is nothing except what you select.
MULTIPLAYER Score:N/A
There is no multiplayer component so the section cannot be rated. Even though there could have been some sort of on-line highscore table as many freeware games are making these days. Its not that hard to add a score to a text file on the net and have that text file process either within the game or within a php process. But alas, this wasn't even explored in the game.
So unfortunatelyit does loose some of its overall marks here.
(RE)PLAYABILITY Score:96%
This game will always be replayed once you play it. Even if its for just a few minutes every month, you will always go back to this title to see if you can discover a new ways to "evolve" the boss.
The different game modes also help this title's lifespan. But the addition of an online highscore table really would have helped this game with its lifespan as you could always compete then, not just with the boss and your surrounding friends/family, but also with the rest of the world.
CONTROLS Score:100%
The controls for this game are very simple to pick up and easy to use. With the addition of the aiming button you can dodge around the screen while also aiming your weapons in whatever direction and angle you like. This little feature is a bit tricky to master, but once you have mastered it the game is so much easier to play.
Joystick and gamepad support has been enabled for this game, and it is recommended that you do play the game with a gamepad as the keys are rather crappy to use.
ATMOSPHERE Score:85%
No real storyline here. But then again for a quick shooter you dont really need a storyline. But Hikoza didnt even attempt to create a storyline for the game(at least not that I know of). Just the basic's of whats going on and everything you need to know to get started.
WEB INTERGRATION Score:75%
The internet could have been utilized much more then it was for this game. But there is a webpage for the game, a hosted download area, screen shots and updates. Also contact information is provided on the site. The site is very well layed out and nicely designed.
So the basics for web distribution for this game were planned for and done well.
OVERALL Score:93%
Overall this game score very highly and is a must have for the shooters fan collection. Its a small download so you wont have trouble getting a hold of it. This game is fun, addictive, and very enjoyable. Best played with a gamepad for maximum enjoyment.