Postby Imaynotbehere4long » Fri Feb 06, 2015 7:34 am
My review of Abandoned Desert Temple:
Wow, this is a really good level. Not only is the block placement well done, but NPCs are also varied and placed well. The level design has a small amount of variation and the enemies are placed so that the player has to think about how to proceed, especially the Venus Fire Traps in Section 5. The position of the first Ace coin makes the player think about how to get it. On the other hand, the Ace coin in Section 4 is unintuitive because the player won't think to intentionally sink down into a quicksand pit, especially since you have a sign earlier in the level basically tell the player not to do that. I recommend having a small coin arrow (~6 coins) instead of the coin floor that you have now. Also, the fourth frame of the Ace coins is inaccurate.
Speaking of the signs in the level, they're both pointless. The one that says the player can't swim in quicksand is pointless because the player can jump into the quicksand safely, and the one that says that the door is heavily protected is pointless because the player can easily see that (plus, it lies and says that the player has "quite a way to go" before unlocking the door). Even the message box in Section 6 is pointless since the player can easily figure out that he/she has to kill the enemies in the next section to proceed (plus, it asks if the player wants "to seek salvation for granted," which doesn't make sense).
Speaking of Section 7, that part was quite a let down. Even without the message block, the challenge in Section 5 and the emptiness in Section 6 makes it seem like there's going to be some kind of boss fight in the next section, but no, it's just a Hammer Bro. and a giant Piranha Plant that can both easily be taken out by staying by the entrance and throwing blocks at them from afar. When they're defeated and the quicksand lowers, the level again implies that there's going to be a boss fight, but all that's beyond the final door is the level's end. On one hand, not all levels need to have a boss, especially since most bosses are lazy or poorly made. On the other hand, the level seems incomplete, especially after the message box's buildup.
Also, like 8bitmushroom mentioned earlier, the bottom tile of the Bullet Bill launchers looks awkward and doesn't really fit with the rest of the level. I recommend replacing it with the standard Bullet Bill launcher vertical tile.
Summary:
GOOD:
-Graphic choices aren't terrible.
-Music fits the level well.
-Block placement and NPC placement are well done.
-The way the player is supposed to get the first Ace coin is clever.
-The Venus Fire Traps in Section 5.
BAD:
-Block-37 doesn't really fit with the rest of the level (and it's rarely used, anyway).
-Block-76 looks awkward.
-Pointless messages.
-The warp to Section 4 is unintuitive.
-The end of the level had decent buildup, but then it just ended.
In conclusion:
Although this level has some minor flaws, it's still a really good level. I'd say it deserves a...7.5/10.
