[WR] A Typical Day In The Land Of Exploration

Open Ice is a game created by gallade265

Ohaidar! Haven't really made a Review in sometime so I decided to write one. This Review is my 33rd Review and is of Open Ice, which is by Gallade265 (Btw, I Reviewed this for my Editor Application. However, this is a different Review. In my usual format, instead of the one I had to use for the Editor Application) And if you want to play the Game but can't get very far. There's a lite Version which is easier :)

Pre-Thoughts

I've played quite a bit from Gallade265 in the Past, and have come to know him for being a talented Shooter member and a decent Friend. I noticed a Thread on the Forums for this Game in which he said this could be his best Game yet, and he had posted a Screenshot (Which I will NOT be talking about, all Requests I will ignore) and I decided to try it out. Judging by past Experiences with Gallade's Games, I was expecting some fast Paced Action and a decent Challenge. I was also hoping that when he said "Best" he meant "Best" because if he did, this is going to be one fantastic Game. But was it really his best?

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Yes, I do see what could be a very actin Packed introduction to Open Ice. Yet, I also see a Base. This means, destroy all Enemies. Personally, I don't find the destroy all Enemies Objective that great. Infact, I find that it can completely ruin a Game. The Backround also looks quite white which of course, makes you think of ice. Other then that Objective con it doesn't actually look that bad. It looks like there also could be a couple of Keys (Not bad, I just wanted to point that out) throughout the Game. But like it also could be quite small (Even though the Picture was large) So, I'm still expecting alot of Action but also a bit of lag as well.

Story

There was a Storyling with Open Ice, but I didn't really care about it. I had a quick read-through of it and just though "Meh! Alright I guess" It didn't really influence my expectations on the Game as much as I would've liked it to. Nor did it catch my attention that much, the Game kind of drowned out the Storyline, and while it's nice to see one, it wasn't exactly needed. And it also seems like Gallade forced himself to make a Storyline for Open Ice (You'd see what I mean if you read it) It just seems, so basic. Overall, the Storyline was average. From a Member with thrilling Games, this seemed dull. But then, it was better then stuff from slightly more Noobish Games (To prevent offending other Members I'm not going to give any examples) Anyway, time to actually start talking about the Game

Gameplay

I was expecting alot from the Gameplay of open ice. But did I get it? The answer, yes! The Game opens with a fantastic Battle, full of action, which is what I wanted. And luckily, little lag. The rest of the Game is pretty much exploring for Flags and bringing them back to base. After collecting a couple of Flags I was left hooked. And best of all, I still had 150 Enemies left to kill along with alot of Flags. The Game was also very large, and therefore was bound to deliver lag. And it did exactly that, in parts of the Game I was just like "Oh whatever" and almost gave up. But after 1 Minute of hell created by lag those parts were normally done and out of the way. But there was something unusual as well, the further you progressed through the game, the more, lag there was. For me though, there was so much lag that I eventually learnt to put up with it. The Game, was also hard. Towards the end of the Game though, I realised that I was missing Flags, and it was unclear of what I was doing. For me, this was another con. But a kind of puzzling one as well. Open Ice, was also supposedly challenging. Which is something that I was expecting. But, I just didn't see that challenge that I was hoping for in Open Ice. There were parts I struggled with, but I'm sure with a little practise I could do them. And of course, beat the Game. Other then that though, the Gameplay to Open Ice was addictive, and enjoyable.

Scenery

Scenery, wasn't great, but wasn't bad. There wasn't really anything original to the Scenery, along with nothing that really made me go "Wow! This is fantastic" Gallade put effort into the Game, but not so much effort into the Decoration. Everything looked like something I would've been expected to make during the "Warrior's Inn" Period (Of my Time, I'm sure there were more Trendier Games to play then, but it still Pwned) But then, I can forgive Gallade for lack of Decoration (Apart from Certain Areas) as he did manage to get away with it by using Trees and he also did a great job with the Actual Game (Apart from the Obvious issues with it) and if he had put too much work into it. I would've click on a different button seconds after experiencing the Frustration caused by too much Lag. So I can't say Scenery was good, but I can't say that it was bad either. So, this Paragraph was Pointless, but interesting :)

Placement

Enemies were placed fairly well. In places they made a decent Contribution to the Decoration of the Game. However, this still didn't make it perfect. The start provides you with an excellent example of the amazing Enemy Placement. It may be easy to do, but it's still decent. But, Enemy Choices was a major Con (As I've explained earlier on in the Review) to the Game. But anyway, enough about that. Everything else seemed to be placed fairly well, apart from a Couple of Rocks at the start, that frustrated me. Quite a bit. The Part where I failed at the Game was another Example of great Placement and challenge to Open Ice. You had to be so careful. This, also reminded me of my "Warrior's Inn" period. Which brings back so many good Memories. Gallade265 did a great job with Placement, and he deserves to be congratulated for it :)

Puzzles & Traps

Puzzles, tick! Traps, no tick! End of Paragraph, end of review. Thanks for reading. Just kidding, there are Puzzles. But not very many and they aren't really that hard. Firstly, there's the exploration concept. The fact that Gallade used keys made the Puzzle, a puzzle. It was the final ingredient to the cake, which sadly. You don't get to eat in this Game (That's a Con btw, every good Game has cake in it. Lol) And there was also a Puzzle towards the end where you're sliding across ice with some keys. Sadly, that Puzzle was too hard for me (I'm sure I'll eventually do it though) Sadly though, there were no Traps that I noticed in the Game. There was probably one or two but they just didn't get me and I didn't even notice that they were there. This, doesn't really change my opinion on the Game. But it would've been nice to see some. Anyway, time for the Ratings now

Pros

Remarkable Concept, Plenty of Action and decent Placement

Cons

Lag caused by too many Launchers and less of a challenge as expected

Review in Short (For Those Too Lazy to read the whole Review)

From Open Ice by Gallade265 I was expecting lots of Action and quite a challenge. While I got the Action, I just didn't see the Challenge. Ok, I didn't quite beat it. But, I was very close. The Game's concept was absolutely mind-blowing. And Gallade pulled it off Perfectly. However, there was a lot of lag, which for me ruined the Game. The Keys in the first of 2 Parts in the Game turned the Concept into a Puzzle itself. Which, is pretty cool. However, the Game lacked in Traps. Which, while it doesn't alter my Opinion, would've been a nice Extra. The Lag was worse when I was around launchers, which could've been removed. And the way the Game was Decorated was very simple. However, it's still enjoyable. Gallade clearly put a lot of effort into this Game and while it was different from what I expected it still made me go "Wow! This is epic." Good job Gallade265, keep it up!

Ratings

Action: 7/10

Addictiveness: 9/10

Awesomeness (Gameplay): 8/10

Difficulty: 7/10

Scenery: 8/10

Lag: 4/10

Time: 10/10

Placement: 8/10

Story: 5/10

Puzzles & Traps: 8/10

Yet another 8/10, as I said earlier on in the Review. Gallade took time with Open Ice. And it really paid off. Although there are Major cons in the game you get used to them. And once you've got used to them you really start to Admire what Open Ice has to offer. Gallade, you did a great job here with Open Ice, hope you keep up the fantastic work in the Future

Hope you enjoyed this Review! Feedback is always Welcome and I'd love to hear what you think of the Review :)