Score: 7

"Great idea, yet could be better"

submission: How to Raise a Dragon

date: August 6, 2009

I loved the concept, and the dragon dynamics were well implimented - but something didn't make it really great for me, and I don't know why as it's a shame.

I also hope I wasn't playing the game wrong, because I always seemed to have my dragon evolve to either the green or red variety, never the blue one.

Score: 9

"Remarkably like the real thing"

submission: Governor of Poker

date: August 6, 2009

GOP is the sort of game it's hard to do: a poker game that isn't too easy, too complicated, or nigh-on impossible. Which is always a great start.

It's easy to get into and does let you use your instincts far more than a lot of poker games, and does have the touch of realism where you can go from winning to a loser on the last card - yet is fair, as you can also win hands in the same way. Heck, it's even realistic in how one player can amass a large stash quickly, and your job is chipping it away in order to win.

Occasionally great, occasionally infuriating - all of which is to do with how you played your hand, and nothing more.

Score: 8

"Seriously addictive, seriously good"

submission: Youda Sushi Chef

date: August 6, 2009

I'm still undecided: is it a good thing or a bad thing that thinking "I'll give it five minutes" about any game, before playing it for the best part of an hour without noticing?

There's a lot of similar games to this around, but this one rises above them with its polish, and instinctive (and addictive) gameplay. Shame it's not all free, because that would've granted it top marks from me.

Score: 9

"And I though Rome Puzzle was addictive..."

submission: The Rise of Atlantis

date: August 12, 2007

Like all the best puzzle games, you sit down and think you'll have five minutes on Rise of Atlantis. Three hours later, on the other hand...

The game brings you in with simple, concise controls and offers plenty of help, and the difficulty curve is fair - by the third age (Egypt) it is obviously tougher than the Phoenician and Babylonian stages, yet there isn't a brutal hike in difficulty, so you won't hit a wall and stop dead out of irritation.

The only probelm seems to be a lack of being able to start where you left off, but that's a minor quibble with such a good puzzle game.

Score: 9

"Scarily addictive."

submission: Rome Puzzle

date: June 30, 2007

There may be a few games along the same lines of Rome Puzzle on NG, but they all have one thing in common: you sit down for five minutes play, and before you know it you've been at it for well over and hour.

Also, unlike most of the similar games, there's the added dimension of the city managment, so how you do at the game affects what you can add, and if you perform well you get bonuses to help you run your city a lot quicker.

It's simple, addictive, and will steal your time. Enjoy!

Score: 9

"Dark, moody, stylish..."

submission: Lilium

date: June 15, 2005

It's been a while since we had a piece of work like this, with dark tone and darker shading, which makes it stick out and slap the users for attention all the more.

A very well constructed and presented movie that looks fantastic and keeps with the mood throughout and never slacks in any area. The sort of thing that Slave Labor should be looking at more often, since it fits in with their very best work. That's a massive compliment, by the way...

Score: 8

"WARNING: Very Fucking Addictive"

submission: Motherload

date: April 21, 2005

Having played this game incessantly for the past few weeks, I can say that it is easy to pick up from the first play, and you'll be coming back to it time and again for weeks afterwards - even though it isn't the full version. In fact, you'll want to download the full version if your PC isn't as big a hunk of junk as mine.

Well worth that one game. For the basic reason it'll be several more than that before you know it.

Score: 9

"Where did my afternoon go?"

submission: Quibble Race

date: November 5, 2004

On the face of it, Quibble Race shouldn't be this good. After all, we all remember how irritating chocobo facing in FFVII was, right?

Well, you know what they say about preconceived expectations, right? They're never right. Instead we have an easy to pick up, impossible to put down kind of game that gets you into the competitive spirit - knobbling rival birds or not.

The concept is simple - bet on the bird you think will win, and win (or lose) cash. Of course, then there's the way to fix the race, with steroids, drugs, shackles or good old fashioned leg breaking, so you can win more. And, of course, you can sponsor your own Quibble to get more money.

Simple elements like this make the game so good, just as the races themselves are quick (although the music gets on your nerves remarkably quickly, I found), so you can carry on. Of course, it will get you worked up if you lose all your money as someone drugged the bird you bet on, but that adds to the effect. As do the variables, such as murdered racers and chemical spillages doping all of them, adding randomness to proceedings. In other words, try and win a bit more, eh?

Score: 9

"Slick, moody, classy."

submission: Fallen Angel: Teaser

date: November 5, 2004

I can' believe I forgot to review this for so long...

Anyway, normally if there's a trailer on NG, it's basically short and unrewarding - in other words, "VOTE 2!!!" sort of deal, if that. However, here we have a trailer that outstrips most full movies, and is fully deserving of being on the front page and a place near the top of the all-time list.

Everything works in its favour. From the inspired use of Deftones at the very beginning, to the bleak visuals, and the high octane action (with plenty of ultraviolence), it just...WORKS. Nothing is contrived or shoehorned in, overdone or left out. Which also bodes well for any eventual Fallen Angel movie that appears.

In other words, watch and learn something about how to construct a tight flash. Actually, screw flash, moviemaking in general.

Score: 9

"Gorgeous graphics, if you didn't notice..."

submission: Prowlies at the River

date: August 28, 2004

On the whole, the graphics on Flash tend to look pretty flat or static. Not here - not only do they look lush and well defined, but there are certain aspects - especially the water effects - that are so far above the usual standard the benchmark has been raised.

Not only that, but there's a simple story well told, with lashings of humour, that means the movie is more than a few pretty pictures. The music also adds to the slickness of the package, creating a fantastic little world that deserves to be discovered and explored time and again.