Man, I have been waiting for this one for a while now. I've only known you since 2012, so I never got to experience the "old" Missleman games besides Spy Strike 2. I always wanted to see him back into action. Did you notice him in Alexander High 2 in the fourth level? If not, that's okay. Anyway, I really wanted to play this game and see how much you've improved from previous endeavors.
Also, this review addresses Ryan. So, if that's who the you's are refferring to.
MECHANICS: (4.5/5)
It's obvious you used Zach's old platforming engine, the same for Dynamite Alex. That's not a bad thing, really, as it was a decent engine. You seemed to use it the way it was designed. I did notice some bugs, but there weren't many. The only real issue I can find in this field is shooting while on a wall. While it seems like you can't, you actually can. The bullet is destroyed by the wall. What I'd do is have him shoot the oposite direction from the wall, like Mega Man X.
USER INTERFACE: (4/5)
I immedietly noticed that this game ran at 60 fps (or at least felt that way), and that is a feat that I have not been too successful at, so pat yourself on the back for beating me to that. The controls felt great and were complimented by the smooth framerate. I did notice a drop in frame rate from time to time though, but it mostly stayed persistant. What I didn't like, however, was that there wasn't an indicater for stuff to happen (ex: the end of a screen). It was designed assuming a player knew a bottomless pit at the end of a level or a space at the end of the room was actually a good thing, rather than instant death. But the thing is, sometimes those DO lead to instant death. For example, if you jump into the boundaries of a room, sometimes there is an invisible wall there, other times there isn't and you die. Try to keep boundaries consistant throughout the whole game.
STORY: (4/5)
I was unsatisfied with Dynamite Alex and Blitz Action Assassin's storys. They were too cookie-cutter and non-intresting. This game, however, is an improvement. I was interested in this game's story and always wondered what would await the blue (and yellow) bomber. I do wish that what happens at the end of the game is hinted at more throughout the game, as it just kinda happens unexpectedly. It would have more an impact on the player if perhaps there was more foreshadowing. While the narrative is pretty good, it does sometimes intrude on the pacing of the game, and it is especially aparent with the transitional dialog with Missleman's thoughts. Giving the player a big wall of text to read tends to turn them off unless they really are interested, but you must first earn their intrest through telling the story through gameplay. My earlier games had that issue and I am still trying to perfect the art of storytelling and pacing.
WORLD: (4.5/5)
Somebody's been taking notes from Alexander High and Westlouia! (although that game wasn't perfect at that.) The characters in MO were creative, unique, and always made me want to talk to them. My favorite was the "I WILL DESTROY THE HUMAN RACE" guy. Totally relatable. I also like how they consider Missleman a "bootleg" of Mega Man. He's a parody, but not a bootleg, but I'm sure you know that. I do wish you incorperated more worldbuilding into the actual levels rather than just the hub area. It would make your levels much more interesting.
GRAPHICS: (3.5/5)
The graphics were pretty good. If I remember right, and please correct me if I'm wrong, you're an art major. So, I should expect for the game to look good. The graphical style fits the tone of the game. There are some areas (especially the color palace) where there's too much contrasting colors and it's kinda distracting. Colors are effective for showing a level's mood, something I think you should've done this more. I did not like your random use of Sonic level maps. They just don't work well as backgrounds. The backgrounds you made for other levels were great! Again, be consistent throughout the whole game.
AUDIO: (3/5)
None of the sounds were unpleasant and overly sharp, which is good. I do notice you took some assets from other games, which is fine when you keep it to a minimum. If you want to create more original retro-styled sounds, I'd highly reccomend BFXR. The music on the other hand, is meh. A lot of it is generic and doesn't harmonize with the fast-paced gameplay. The big component of good game music is all in the melody. I'd reccomend you study music theory, as that'll shed some light into producing (or effectivly using) game music. I also noticed that the victory theme was too quiet, which was a shame because it had a good melody.
LEVEL DESIGN: (2/5)
While improved from Dynamite Alex and certainly Blitz Action Assassin, it is still the weak point of this game. The levels still seem to be designed with your skill set in mind rather than the player's. I designed my old games' levels around the same mentality, and people did not like them. A theme I've noticed is that the player is forced to rely on instinct and patterns from previous games, but is later punished for it, ESPECIALLY in the color palace level. If you approach the color button in the way that the level design clearly leads you into, you will be shocked to discover it leads you to your death. When you design your levels, please please please think of the player and their mindset.
ENEMY/BOSS DESIGN: (4/5)
The enemies in MO are a lot better than they were in previous games. They have a lot more variety in not only appearance but movement. Were those beer bottles some of them were shooting out? If so, was that a reference to those thug enemies from my old games who threw beer bottles? Maybe not. My only big gripe is the boss battles. There's much more focus on them this time around, but they become monotonous very quickly because of how much health they're given. I think they only should've been given enough health to be defeated after a couple patterns. This especially hindered the Guffbot battle(s), as his pattern was so simple that most of the time was spent just mindlessly pelting him.
OVERALL (3.75/5)
It is very obvious you have improved, and I love seeing that! Your beloved mascot has really come a long way. However, there is still much to be improved. It seems hinted that you want to make this into a series. Go for it! Just be sure to consider my critiques/suggestions. I will also be willing to assist in any way possible.
TO POTENTIAL PLAYERS:
To anyone who enjoys fast-paced 2D platformers, I'd reccomend this one. Don't let my nitpicks prevent you from experiencing this game. It's only $2, but that two bucks'll be worth it.
