💎CYAN REVIEWS💎 - Manipulation

Manipulation is a game created by shadoq

Introduction

How is everyone doing? Thanks for stopping by to read another one of my reviews. Today I will be tackling Manipulation, a game created by Shadoq using the ship shooter creator. Shadoq came out of the blue 11 months ago with his first game titled �Desire� (Which featured a blue colour scheme�). Shadoq has mastered the classic shooter creator in a short amount of time, and has already made an appearance on the featured page, shortly after releasing his first title. The classic shooter creator doesn�t get as much attention as it used to, so it is truly astonishing how fast Shadoq managed to pick up the creator and learn the ropes within the time span of about a month. He has shown to be very familiar with how the creator works and has already managed to get his hands on 2 featured games. From these features he has shown his understanding of puzzles and action within the creator, and has demonstrated his ability to merge the two genres together. Due to my knowledge of the brief history he has had with the creator, I am excited to see what he has in store for us with his slightly newer game, Manipulation.

Review

Based off of the style of Shadoq�s other games, I figured it was safe to assume that Manipulation would be another action puzzle ship shooter. The thumbnail is very appealing and manages to capture a good portion of the game within the limited frame size. From looking at the thumbnail I can see that the game�s layout consists of narrow paths and tight action sequences. Two of the three possible spider bosses can be seen in the thumbnail, this shows that the game is densely compacted and could make for quite a short play through. Puzzle shooters are my personal favourite genre of games on sploder, so I was glad to see a few puzzles present in the thumbnail of Manipulation. The word Manipulation is used for the title of this game, it is a word which is often associated with something sly or evil. The colour scheme chosen is very fitting for the title as the colour red can also be associated with evil.

As soon as the game starts it is evident that Manipulation is a fast paced action shooter, this is also obvious due to the time limit set for the player to beat it. Similar to most action puzzle shooter games, including Shadoq�s previous titles, the player finds themselves trapped in a small enclosed area fighting to survive and continue their progression through the level. Although the turret is one of the simpler enemies in the ship shooter creator, Shadoq makes great use of it on the outset of the game. He takes advantage of the na�ve assumption of the turret being weak and uses it to slowly dwindle the health of the player. However at first you may struggle to survive the start of the game, I believe that just about any player, no matter how new they are to the shooter creator, can find a strategy to lose as little health as possible. This is our first sign of the action puzzle genre being present in this game, and it has only been 5 seconds.

The start of Manipulation really sets the stage for what is to come from the rest of the game. The brief adrenalin rush provided by the start of the game is a distinct clue to the player as to what is to be expected from the game as a whole. This adjoined with the 6 minute time limit makes it clear that this is a 5-6 minute action shooter. For a game that is intended to be played for over 5 minutes, it has a very small footprint in comparison. I later found out what made it this long. Like most games, it is not intended that you beat it on your first play-through, you are required to look ahead and pay attention to what is going on in the game. This is made easier by placing all of the sequences quite close together. If you want to have any chance at beating it, you must play it multiple times to learn the layout and the best way to manage your resources within the game, and to learn the positioning of enemies and objects throughout the level.

What I like most about Manipulation is that there are many opportunities where the player can save on a lot of health and some resources, if you play it smart. This brings in a strategic element and makes for a game which can practised and perfected, making for a great speed run. Games which focus on losing as little health as possible throughout, while saving on resources which can be used in a more efficient way later on are really difficult to make, and take a lot of time to perfect. The time limit on this game was great, I often died right before collecting the crystal during my first few runs and I was forced to think differently in order to save on time. This gives the game a lot of replay-ability which is perfect for speed running and is what I really liked about Manipulation.

Rating

Conclusion

Manipulation is a fun and enjoyable action game made using the classic shooter creator. Whether you�re into the shooter creator or not, I would highly recommend that you play this game in your spare time. Obviously this is not for everyone as it does require some knowledge of the shooter creator, however, you won�t know if it is the game for you unless you try it. With all of that being said, in my opinion this game definitely deserves a spot on the featured page, it is clear that a lot of time and effort was put into producing Manipulation, and I found it to be was extremely fun to play. I believe Shadoq is deserving of another feature and I�m sure he has more feature worthy games in the pipeline soon to come.