Ctrl+Tab: Draw-Play 3

[The Cheezy One]

There is now a Ctrl + Tab fan group [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Ctrl-Tab]! Again, I would like to thank everyone for your support, you people are great!

Draw-Play 3
[a href='http://www.kongregate.com/games/Eggy/draw-play-3']

[/a]

Ah, help me! On this, my 18th birthday, a wizard captured me and sent me to this weird world! Only you can help me escape!

Hmmm... What a strange world this is. It seems to resemble LineRider crossed with N+, but is more objective and mission based. It seems fairly basic as well, with simple clicks to select draw and erase tools, and clicking and dragging to use the tools to draw a path to get me to the exit flag. The doodle-like design of this world matches its simple, draw-and-erase gameplay, creating the feel of a kid drawing on the back of his maths paper. However, later on, it can get frustrating. But don't stop playing! Help me escape!

In terms of story, this game is lacking. If it weren't for the fact I am stuck here, I would say there was no incentive to get me to the exit, which is what can get you through the harder levels of games like Viricide. The soundtrack is fairly interesting, but with the constant loops, you may just end up turning your speakers off or muting it. I wish I could, but there isn't a mute button in this world, so I have to listen to this song constantly. Some of the levels seem too easy, with simple solutions. Especially on later levels, this gives the feel that the world is only half designed. However, this is equated by levels with a design that balances difficulty and simplicity.

Overall, this world is interesting with a few good ideas broken by small graphical problems, such as that time I got stuck on a small piece of path, and a fairly steep difficulty curve. However, the originality of the game can keep you coming back.

I hope you help me escape. Otherwise the next review might be here again. And then again.

 

[Da_Vane]

Hmm... First off, I must congratulate you on your effort for this game review, Cheezy One. However, I must state a few personal opinions up front which will make it hard for me to judge this review without a slight bias which might skew my views a bit.

The format of the review was different, but to be honest, I personally don't really care what said protagonist thinks of their game. I leave that kind of thing more to the likes of Samus Young and Stolen Pixels - particularly for games tht really don't have all that much of a story besides a game mechnanic premise. Nice try with the different tone, but this pretty much seemed to have missed for me. Of course, it might be easier to get used to if you decided to keep to one style and stick to it - it's good to experiment, and it is quite obvious that while you have talent, you don't quite have the confidence or appreciation for your own "voice" that seasoned reviewers such as Mr. Funk and Yahtzee have. This, of course, is both a blessing and a curse, so be sure to continue experimenting until you are comfortable with a "voice".

As for the game itself, this is not a genre that I particularly enjoy, because it usually requires a lot more hand-eye coordination than I generally possess and comfortably use. Plus, this title in particular is more action-orientated than the previous Draw-Play games, requiring faster reflexes which is also something I tend to lack. Thus I was unable to get particularly far into the game, and the absense of story totally failed to 'draw' me in. Because of this, I may have missed out on a great deal of content, but it is hard to say what is good about a game you have barely experienced.

These two things together make me wonder why this game was chosen as one of your games to review for Ctr+Tab. What was it about this game that stood out for you and made you want to play it, and made you feel that you had to tell others about it? It seems more the case that having reviewed a shooter (viricide), a casual game (higher), and what can be best described as a sim game (how to raise a dragon), you've felt somewhat compelled to go for a puzzle game of some description, although I can think of several better than this (in my opinion, obviously). Most importantly, because I am left wondering why this game was chosen, I can only say that this review has somehow seemed to miss the mark.

But never fear, when experimenting with new ideas and styles, not everything can be a hit on the first try, and not every review you will ever write will be solid gold. I hope you've learneed from this and look forward to the next installment.

 

[Straz]

Man, I'm glad that you made this group because I was dead set devastated when I noticed that alt+esc was cancelled.
Thank you for this.