[Editor App] A Review On Code Br...Yes I'm Serious, This Is An Editor App. STOP LAUGHING!

Review by ethgamma on Thursday, September 18th 2014

Wassup readers and gamers, ethgamma here, and today I'm doing something crazy. I'm eating a quadruple-decker sandwich with extra nutella. That's right ladies, I also like to live dangerously.

Seriously though, today I'll be reviewing Code Breaker by the one and only blackhole2. He's an easy-going, long-time user of the site with a impressive count of features he's racked up in his time here (over triple my feature count), meaning he's not only a great game creator but he's a chill one too (there's a featured game based off of him he's that good!). I was excited to play Code Breaker and I honestly believe that it should be featured.

Before I begin, I'd just like to say I'm stoked to get the opportunity to apply for the Editor badge, and I am grateful to everyone who supported me in the voting thread. I feel Code Breaker is the perfect choice for a featured worthy game personally so I'm glad to present this review and editor app to you, the readers and the judges.

Gameplay

Code Breaker is a unique type of platformer, and not only because it's story-based as well as filled with various sequences of puzzles. Code Breaker is a game that continues on after you beat it, quite literally. The game revolves around the massive code hidden throughout the game, and the main idea that your (the player)'s father has hidden a code to the future within his secret laboratory, which all sounds very enticing for a puzzle-plat storyline (and any storyline in general actually). It is, quite obviously, a giant puzzle game where you have to try and crack the code hidden throughout the map. It still involves the classic 2-dimensional platforming of course, but it is a relatively new type of game style which I enjoy thoroughly. This is one of the main reasons why I believe Code Breaker should be featured, it's different from the typical puzzle plat and if a code-based puzzle plat like this been done before, Code Breaker has brought it back.

Hazards

The puzzles included were the real hazards of Code Breaker, there weren't a lot of hazards or anything to kill you in the game, besides a bit of lava and spikes and sequences which can make it impossible for you to continue. The fact that there were little to no enemies in Code Breaker makes it not only fun for me, but for the general public as well. The hazard count wasn't low to the point of Code Breaker being too easy and it wasn't overkill either. It was smack-bang in the middle, which, as stated, not only appeals to gamers like myself but general mainsite players too. That's who you're really trying to appeal to when looking for a featured/creating a feature-worthy game: the mainsite. Aside for that however, the real hazard of Code Breaker was the stealthy little ninja himself that you are trying to kill to beat the game, and honestly, it's a great concept that blackhole2 has created. You solve sequences of puzzles, using the ninja in many different ways to move on and figure out the rest of the code. It's one of the many reasons why Code Breaker should be featured, it's a simple idea executed greatly in my opinion.

Design

Code Breaker's design really fit the theme of the game itself, it was on a plain black background with simplistic block designs and background/foreground features, even going as far as to using the graphics feature (which you may not even notice at first). Don't even get me started on how unique the thumbnail is, it originally made me think it was a PPG it was that good!. As I have said many, many, many times before in my reviews, the design of a game is one of the things that appeals to me the most, aside from the gameplay. For a brief example, a game could have some of the greatest puzzles or sequences known to Sploder but if it isn't aesthetically pleasing then it's not going to attract an audience as quick as if it were designed to a better standard, and that's the truth. Let me tell you now that Code Breaker's design and theme was not only attractive, but it fit blackhole2's style of game. If you hadn't noticed yet, many of blackhole2's recent puzzle platformers are set "in the dark", which has honestly worked for him for the past few puzzle plats he's released.

Puzzles

I've said this many times before in this review, and I'll say it again, Code Breaker is without a doubt a (story-based) puzzle platformer. Not only is it a puzzle platformer but it's pretty original too, which makes it even that much greater. It is a fact though, that some of the puzzles/sequences in Code Breaker have been featured before, such as wall climbing with the whip and guiding enemies using the power gluv (hope I haven't given too much away), but the whole ninja sequence that carries out throughout the game is new; at least to me. It isn't entirely revolutionary but nonetheless blackhole2 has outdone himself with Code Breaker. Unlike some puzzle plats, the puzzles actually flow together; they blend in with one another and they're actually challenging in a fun way. To clarify this, you can sometimes find a game which requires ultimate brain thinking to the point of near-impossibility to complete (totally not any of my games, he he he) whereas Code Breaker does require thinking, but the game itself isn't too difficult once you get the hang of it. It covers many areas of puzzles discovered in the plat and I think that the puzzles included were executed well in Code Breaker.

Fun/Addictiveness

This is a key factor for a feature-worthy game, and Code Breaker definitely presents this. As I typed up into the previous paragraph, the puzzles included in Code Breaker are challenging, but they aren't challenging to the point of absolute rage-mode, which is sometimes common in puzzle plats. The puzzles in Code Breaker however are, as stated, challenging in a fun and enjoyable way. If you die during Code Breaker, which is entirely possible, I personally felt the urge to hit that retry button to see if I could work out what I did wrong and see if I could make it further. You really felt that sense of achievement after beating a sequence of puzzles and finally being able to explore the latter areas of Code Breaker, and it is really a fun concept to have the game based around figuring out a code, which originally has bee used for secrets/prizes creators hide in their games. Overall, Code Breaker is totally, 100%, a fun game to play and I guarantee you, as the readers, will enjoy Code Breaker too.

Pros/Cons

The goods n bads. The greats and not so greats. The ethgammas and the...let's move on.

Pros

Unique style of gameplay

Appealing to the mainsite

Aesthetically pleasing

A challenge for all gamers

Fun and enjoyable; replay factor

Attractive thumbnail that draws gamers in

Cons

Maybe a few already used puzzles? (this occurs in every game nowadays so not really a big issue)

Rating Time!

Badabing, badaboom, trusty computer calculator, you know what to do.

(If you didn't know, I'm also trying to be the next Dr. Suess, but that's another story)

GRAND TOTAL

And the final total isssssss....

4.6/5!!!!! W00T!!!!

Final Notes

Honestly, my rating system's gotta be screwed (sorry computer calculator, it's not me it's you), because Code Breaker is just beyond amazing. It definitely should be on that featured pages list soon and I hope I've done a good enough job in presenting that xD I know I'm usually deemed for making oddball and quirky games but I do have a serious side. 127% legit man.

In all seriousness though, thank you to the editor staff for giving me this opportunity and I look forward to hearing my results. For those not here because of the Editor App and are here to read my review (thanks mum), I hope you enjoyed reading and I'll see you next time, whenever that may be. ADIOS PEEPS.

~Ethy