So, Vaxen2, I See You Have A Nice Boost Coin Challenge...

Review by ethgamma on Tuesday, September 9th 2014

Wassup readers and gamers, ethgamma here. So as you probably already know geoff has been updating our beloved website for the past while now, calling this transition the "Evolution of Sploder". The EoS has brought us many features, including new avatars, boost coins, game auctions and, the most recent, challenges. What does this have to do with Breach II? Well, vaxen2 had decided to put up a very generous offer for whoever could beat Breach II, and I thought, "yeah, I can do this".

I BARELY SURVIVED.

So, as I attempted to complete Breach II, I had the idea to review the game as well, seeing as I had a bunch of spare time (no procrastination over school work or anything...hehe). It was a seeming popular game among the mainsite, and I haven't reviewed a game in a while, so here I am. Let's begin.

Gameplay

So if you haven't played the previous Breach yet, you might want to have a go at before you tackle this game. And I literally mean tackle. Your character is a little red box with a star in the middle of it, attempting to "break the wall" at the end of the track it is moving along. As you move forward however, blocks shoot back at you, trying to push you backwards so you can't reach the goal. Oh, but that's not all. As you're moving along, a giant red bar is stalking you not far behind, so if you are bumped too far back, your game will end just like that. If vaxen2 was intending on making a rage-worthy game, well, CONGRATULATIONS. YOU SUCCEEDED.

As the levels progress, the gameplay gets harder and harder, making you think about your timing and also challenging you to remember the sequence of the spawning blocks. It's a very simple and effective game, however, I have to say the execution was a bit...poor. I'll get to that later.

Hazards

So if you hadn't quite gathered what the hazards were in the game yet, well, you're about to. As well as the propelled red bar trapping the exit behind you, there are various other hazards that come into play throughout the game, such as evil red blocks trying to attack you from the line of defence by the wall, white blocks spinning at you with no apparent AI (xD physics) as well as giant graphic blocks firing at you as well. What I found odd was that there was no consistency when it came to the hazards excluding the white blocks that featured in virtually every level. It went from a simple "dodge the red block" to "dodge the massive hexagon that may or may not shoot you back to the start of the level". What really surprised me was the final level itself. It came with a simple description: Touch red circles to unlock. I hit play and KABLAM! I get a wall of yellow blocks shooting at me, graphically enhanced hexagons and squares shooting off all at once. It's like Breach II suddenly turned into Black Friday and I was awkwardly preparing for a (somewhat) calm level XD I wasn't honestly sure how I was supposed to react; I wasn't entirely certain on what would and wouldn't kill me xD It went from a simple vertical track that stayed (I guess) consistent throughout the game to a boss arena that jumped me like Beetlejuice. I kind of wish the hazards were a little more progressive rather than completely randomized, but other than that, they were fine, fitting the game's overall theme it had adapted from it's predecessor.

Aesthetics

I can't honestly say that the design of Breach II was excellent. I didn't quite understand it, it was pure bordered boxes and shapes and then all of a sudden graphics appeared and I was like "Okay then". The backgrounds were very basic like the blocks and I didn't really understand the aesthetic theme of the game. Maybe the Breach series was going for the look of Jeff385's -exity series, I didn't know. The design didn't really appeal to me and I think that it could be improved. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

Puzzle

If I had to categorize Breach II game-wise, I would definitely put it under the puzzle/strategy area. The whole game was one massive puzzle of sequence and timing and coordination. I'm glad the scoreboard wasn't empty (like some of my games) otherwise I might have deemed it impossible! Not really though xD but nonetheless it's a fact, Breach II is most definitely that of a puzzle genre, and I'm glad that the puzzles weren't all completely different. Sure, as stated, the hazards and defence might've been wacky but at least the goal stayed - relatively - the same throughout: break the wall to win. It was a simple concept that, without a doubt, could've been improved on but still, it was an enjoyable game to play. As said before, level 9 was an absolute doozy and I'm shocked I was able to beat it, seeing all of the objects flying my way at once, lol.

Fun/Addictiveness

I can honestly say Breach II was fun, regardless of its flaws. I really did want to know what the next level had to offer, whether it be triangular ramps to try and stop me in my tracks or kicking it up a notch and having squares home in on me. It wasn't just the coins that were attracting me to the goal, it was pure addictiveness. There isn't really much to say, Breach II was, in a way, fun to play and it wasn't all bad. Just a little ;)

Pros/Cons

You're welcome, TL;DR people xD

Pros

Seemingly popular among the mainsite

Somewhat consistent puzzles

Fun and addictive (personally)

Cons

Not so great execution on some levels

A little random when it came to level progression

Not the most attractive game design out there

Rating Time

Trusty computer calculator, you know what to do:

GRAND TOTAL

(silence strikes the room)

3.3/5!

Final Notes

In the end I never won the challenge, I had to go for a while and someone beat me to the 1000 coins >.> What a cruel world we live in...just kidding.

Apologies vaxen2 if I seemed a little harsh during the review, I honestly liked the game but it's not exactly, "up there", you know what I'm saying? If you're planning on a threequel (not even a word but) I would suggest maybe a little more consistency throughout the levels and maybe a little more attractive when it comes to design. Overall not a bad game. Until next time, ADIOS PEEPS.

~ Ethy