Review #05: Soda Game I'm Reviewing Today Is Called Soda Jerk

Soda Jerk is a game created by autumnwinter

WOW, has it been a long time since I've reviewed a game! Almost forgot how to do it, lol. Merry Christmas, though. The timing of this review couldn't be better! So welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to my fifth review on a game made by a Sploder user who's been around on this site for a couple of years now - Autumnwinter! He's known for several of his physics puzzle maker stunts, the largest of them being Entoxia, the most popular game on his page as of right now. There's also his continuation of my PixelPalace series, and then finally this game. This member has generally received positive reviews (comments) on his games, so I've decided to take on one of the bigger projects, Soda Jerk! He DID say it took him a month, so let's just see how far that month of game designing will take him into the review, eh?

Introduction

Hmm, I'm feeling kinda hungry; how 'bout you? Seems like we're in luck, because we get to go...Wait, this restaurant only serves soda? And WE'RE the waiters?...That's right. The McAutumn restaurant serves as the setting for this deceptively simplistic game. You first start off as a waiter merely dishing sodas out to his customers...but wait! There's a skull button in the middle of the restaurant floor! Just press it to restart the level, or, in other words, DIE. It has a skull on it; what did you expect? So, as you avoid the skull, grab the glasses of soda and start serving those customers! They're pretty cranky, and they'll disappear after a set time limit, but this is only a theory as I've never had the customers disappear on me in the first level of the game.

Gameplay

The game consists of you moving around as a player getting to customers under a set time limit. The first few levels are actually very easy, as the only change in difficulty manifests in the amount of waiters the player must control. Each waiter is color-coded to match a specific customer, so keep that in mind as you maneuver your characters among tables. Later on, new elements in the game, such as progressively decreasing time limits or waiters suddenly deciding they want to kill you instead of doing their job, make completing each level more difficult. For instance, I only discovered the game had a time limit after I almost ran out of time in level 5. No seriously, the clock had to start beeping before I noticed it.

Level Design

There was an evident effort to provide variety between levels. While the first few batches of challenges were fairly similar in the fact that they simulated a casual, top-down restaurant layout, the following levels abandoned that concept. From a massive maze through which the waiters must navigate to a peaceful garden with a rotating swastika-like object (What was up with its shape, anyway?), the environments were easily creative and unique. I appreciated the change in layout as well as the increase in difficulty. Here I was thinking the game was going to be a cakewalk after blowing through the first three levels, only to encounter several real challenges later down the road. Overall, I consider the game's difficulty increase to be a job well done, with nice (albeit not jaw-dropping) environments to boot.

Visuals and Scenery

Yes, I hinted at the game's scenery in the end of the last section, and yes, that was totally on purpose. I mentioned before that the game was as diverse in its setting selection as it was its level design. Unfortunately, unique environments don't always imply that they're beautiful or detailed, and this game falls into that category. The scenery in this game was merely competent, though the title screen featuring what I'm guessing are the yellow and purple waiters was really cute. Anyway, back to the level environments. They were detailed enough to give a good idea of the world the player was in, but they did not stand out or blow the mind. I usually prefer to have my mind blown, and this game did not do it for me. In fact, prefabs are featured in some of the background graphics, and while using premade textures generally isn't a bad idea, there is always a better alternative. But like I said, the background was competent and functioned as it was expected to.

Feature Worthy

I'm going to cut right to the chase and say that this game is in fact feature worthy. Though the simple goal may remain the same each level, there is enough variety in level design, gameplay, and difficulty to satisfy the player. The increase in difficulty was virtually perfect, and the game made me put down my slice of pizza to beat it. Most games don't make me put down my slice of pizza to beat them. You should check this game out, as I think it's certainly an interesting experience, to say the least.

Ratings

Gameplay: 6/10

Level Design: 8/10

Visuals and Scenery: 5/10

Overall Rating: 6.3/10

Final Words

This game may not be Pizza Hut, but it sure left me feeling satisfied! (That was the weirdest sentence I have ever written and will ever write) JunieTennie7 out (darn Shelly's nicknames)!