This level is absolutely incredible. I'm really excited to review this!
Just a note, since this is a different type of level, the judging system will be a bit different this time. Because of this, there may be minor inaccuracies.
Level: Aerial Ace
Creator: zDrift (
Drift )
ID: 35100708
Difficulty: Normal 3*
Song: Target Locked (8-bit) by flaminglog
www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/485815Video (Provided):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHkYXZMZIZAGameplay:
Gameplay in this level is surprisingly bugless! Usually when you have levels like these, the hitboxes get screwed up and you get faced with loads of bugs, however, this level did not seem to have any! Now, I'm sure there are a couple parts with iffy hitboxes, but I did not seem to run into any, this was extremely well done! The gameplay in general is pretty fun as well. I enjoyed the level a lot and I'd play it again anytime. There are some issues, though. One issue is the very long intro. The first 36% of the level has no required gameplay, at least require the player to move during that time. I like how you required the player to shoot at least one of the fighters in the last section, though. I also like how you put two of the cois in both of those sections as well, at least there is something to do and motivation to play. This long intro isn't much of a problem for such an easy level, but it is still an issue, and must be addressed. Another issue is the screen where you look at the missiles. This is an amazing concept and makes the gameplay enjoyable, but it sort of distracts from the amazing design. I suggest maybe adding an option to project the screen to the top so the player can both see where the missiles are, but they can also admire the design of it. Also, it doesn't specifically tell you that's where you need to look until you die, that caused confusion for me on my first attempt, might want to make a note about that.
Overall: Stunning, enjoyable, flawless gameplay when you know what you're doing. The long into can be boring, but you added a coin to it so people can at least do something. 16/20, -3 for the long intro, less of a deduction die to the coin. -1 due to the issues stated with the screen.
Design:
Design is absolutely amazing in this level. The artwork is fantastic, you used rotation very well. Many things move smoothly, like when the fighter plane glides in front of you at the beginning of the missile section. One thing, however, around halfway through the level, the control yoke (I hope thats the correct term) bugs out and disappears whenever it is stationary. This is only a minor graphical bug, but it can cause some confusion to the player. Might want to fix this. You certainly have a great attention to detail, primarily with the screens at the bottom, great job! Even with being in the same aircraft the whole time, you found ways to mix up the design. You had the missles and balloons in different sections, and then the back and side views of the aircrafts were in different section. Nice variation! Another note, I reccommend you add clouds in the sky as well. This will add more detail and make it even cooler!
Overall: Amazing work overall! The art is incredible and it still amazes me even as I watch it over and over again. 19.5/20, half a point reduction due to the minor graphical bug I mentioned.
Concept:
This concept is absolutely amazing! You used the rotation trigger in a brilliant way and it's clear this took a whole ton of effort. Not only did you have avoiding the missiles, but you had a section where you had to pop the balloons for a coin, and shoot the fighter aircrafts for a coin.
Overall: 5/5, the 3D concept is amazing, and I've only ever seen it done once, and that time it wasn't as nearly as good as this.
Sync: +1
(Sync is based off of how much you synced/didn't sync in the level, this is taken and then is used to either award points or deduct points to/from the average of the other three scores.)
Now, due to the whole concept of the level, there isn't much sync to this level. I did not make sync a full category due to the fact that it's supposed to be like one of those pilot video games. However, I did notice some syncing in the level. I like how once the melody started, you start the actual level and I noticed how sections of the song went with different sections of the level. On top of that, I noticed quite a bit of the missiles got shot to the beat. And most of the ones that didn't sync, were close to syncing. I'm not sure if you intended this or not, but it worked very well!
Originality: 1.2x
This level is very original! I've seen a level once use 3D platforming, but this goes a lot farther than that! They're hardly comparable. I liked how you used the screen to show where the missiles are. Another original concept on top of an already original level. Great job!
Overall: 22.8/20 (114%) Feature Worthy/Level Picks
This level is just beautiful, the originality brought it up insanely high, despite the issues with the gameplay. This review may be inaccurate, due to the fact it's a whole different level than usual, which required me to use a different system, however, this level was still stunning otherwise. It definitely deserves it!
This level will be the first to go in my level picks, once I create a thread for it!
I'll also probably be recording this tomorrow!
Edit: Just checked back on the level, it got featured! Great job!
