BillMcDonagh's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Desolation]

Nice

I didn't find it very scary, beyond the initial jump scare, and the directional controls had me confused for most of the way through. It was really fun to play, though, and I love that you put details into it like different wounds on the zombies for each weapon.

[Escape from Crystal Lake]

Awesome

Excellent puzzles, especially the one on the computer. When I worked out what the phrase was, I chickened out and tried to get further without completing it, because I knew what was going to happen - but alas, that was not to be. :P Loved solving the riddles for the hidden messages, too. And the music is wonderfully atmospheric. My only complaint is that the fights felt a little too long.

Enjoyed reading the game's background in the easter egg, too. You guys really put a lot of work into this. Believe me, it paid off. :D

[The Unfair Platformer]

Holy crap.

This game is evil and I love it.

[Agent Scarecrow #1]

Fun and good looking.

Very stylish game, I love the art - although sometimes the stylisation made it difficult to see what things were, for example the sink (or possibly bath). I like that there are several different paths you can take - most of the games I've played on this site were fairly linear. My main reason for marking down is the intro movie: it's really, re-e-eally long and it needs a skip button or something stat. Other than that, a great game. Can't wait for the next part. :D

[Arrival In Hell]

Well, that was interesting...

Interesting idea, and in practice it was pretty fun. I liked the interface and the fact that you could choose how to interact with things. The environments look great - a lot of work and detail's obviously gone into them.

The size of the grey text and the way it covered everything / ran off the side of the screen was kind of annoying, though, and it needed a lot of proofreading. The voice acting was a bit flat, too, and it was jarring how the art style kept changing during conversations.

I love that the main character sounds disgusted at the idea of cleaning the hand in his sink, and then runs happily across to clean it in the piss-stained toilet instead... XD

[Asylum]

Nice gimmick, but not a great game.

I'll give you a few points, because the idea of using surround sound to avoid the monsters is pretty original, and I like the imaginative way of killing the boss. Overall, though, it isn't a very good game - the intro is too long (skip button, please?), the level design is extremely bland, and the fact that meeting a zombie is an instadeath makes the game very predictable. It might be more fun if there were items to collect which protect you from zombies or allow you to fight them.

[Gretel and Hansel]

Brilliant game.

Beautiful game, and I especially loved the various deaths. :D

[Alice is Dead - Ep 1]

Weird and awesome

First thing that I noticed about this game is how damned beautiful it is. I mean, seriously. If that's all your own art, then... man, you should be a professional or something, I just don't know what to say. Especially with stuff like the staircase in the trunk, you've got the surreality of Wonderland down pat.

I like that you've taken the time to write reactions for a tonne of combinations between objects and the environment, instead of just using the generic "you can't use that here". I love the premise, too, though I found the final puzzle really frustrating and I confess I had to use the walkthrough a couple of times.

What on earth is that song about the boogeyman that was coming from the trunk/stairway forever and ever? I think I need that song on my iPod.

[Bars of Black and White]

A thing of beauty.

This captivated me from the beginning - I was reminded a little at first of Silent Hill: The Room, but while that game mainly confused me, this one intrigued me. I love the barcodes' messages so so very much, especially the ones that seem to be part of a resistance - I'm a sucker for that kind of implied conspiracy/storyline. Details like the wind outside just being a sound effect were really cool.

I found the puzzles pretty easy, but still satisfying; I always had an idea of what to do to get to the next area, and that suits me fine. I always felt like there was something new and exciting to discover.

The minimalistic art style was perfect, and I enjoyed little touches like the photographs of trees. I'm glad you decided to leave out on-screen characters and dialogue; the environment speaks for itself and anything more would have felt like an intrusion.

Original, good-looking, intriguing and fun. This game more than deserves a ten.

[-ESCAPE-]

Flawed but fun

I am so confused by this trilogy's plot. How can he kill her if she's taken the immortality potion? Why is there a card renewal machine in a prison cell? The Bible stuff seemed shoehorned in, too - I think it would have been cool if the passages displayed gave a hint for a puzzle or something, so that they had relevence.

I loved some of the puzzles, though - especially the one at the beginning with the sink and the mat and so forth. The last room was really frustrating, though. I enjoyed the heck out of the shooting part, even though it took me a couple tries to beat.

The animation has a lot of rough edges, but for one person making an independent flash game it's really impressive, and the work you've put into the visuals pays off - kudos on that.

Overall, the plot reached a Matrix Reloaded level of confusing and the puzzles ranged between fun and annoying, but overall I enjoyed it.