[Reviewer Application] Squashawut: Rise Of The Bottles

Review by textlabel on Tuesday, February 24th 2015
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Hey everybody! It is indeed I, Textlabel, applying for Reviewer on another fine day. I couldn't think of a pun for the title but then again, that's probably a good thing. Don't fear! The review itself will make up for it. As you can see, I'll be reviewing a game created for Gamefest 2014 - "Squashawut: Rise of the Bottles"! It's a fabulous Physics Puzzle game by the one and only Shadross, a successful PPG maker. Gamefest is a competition where game makers compete to create the best game. The results are not out yet, but do I think that this game could be promising? There's only one way to find out; read on!


Squashawut is a strategic game where your main goal is to defend the tribes of squids. Bottles come flying at you, some faster than others, some with higher health. Each bottle type has its own stats that try to attack. There are four tribes of different coloured squids; red, blue, green and purple, each with a different attack. Of course, a strategy game wouldn't be strategic without difficulty. You start off with a fairly easy level with one type of squid so you can understand its attack. Shortly after, you'll be launched into levels that make you want to smash the keyboard. Unfortunately, squids that are not the same colour can kill each other. This can be very annoying on levels near the end where the squid's attack follows the mouse. However, there is a good side to it which makes the level difficult. Basically you're spacing out squids so that the tribes can remain unharmed.


I think that this game was successful because of its originality. I've seen games that are similar to Plants Versus Zombies and Tower Defense, which many of you have played, but this game was quite unlike it. You've got to focus on where you're placing your squids - one wrong move and you're out. You have three chances to screw up on each level. My favorite level is probably the final boss level. It was very fun and you've got to be extra strategic. It's a demon squid that, as the story line says, has fallen into a bottle. Not only do you fight the boss itself, it has many minions that try and attack your squids. Some squids are required to complete the level, so you need to be on top of the game at all times.


Not only was the game-play exciting, the visual appearance was of a high quality too! The graphics had been made expertly. The squids actually looked like squids and the bottles looked like bottles. Of course, not every game can be perfect. There are some downfalls to this game -� fortunately, not too many. One thing I got really annoyed with is at the start of the level. You've got bottles coming at you from the second you click play and you've got no time to set up your army of squids. I also didn't like the bottles with shields. There was no way to kill them other than to lose one of your men. I lost Jimmy like this. Rest in pieces, son. Another fault is that I don't feel involved much. Once you've set up your squids, on a lot of levels, you don't need to move them much. You're kind of just staring at a timer waiting for two minutes to pass.


Let us move on to the scoring!


Addictiveness: ____.5 / _____
 
Game-play: ____.5 / _____
 
Visual appearance: ____ / _____
 
Challenge: ____ / _____
 

Pros:

- Visual appearance

- Addictive

- Fun game-play


Cons:

- Squids killing one another

- Player doesn't feel involved enough

- Shielded enemies are sooooo annoying



Overall, I think this game is just under the feature worthy standard. But who knows? The Gamefest results aren't out yet and this game does look promising! I wish Shad luck and we'll see how it goes! Hope you enjoyed yet another one of my 'fabulatastic' reviews!


- Textlabel