[ROCK] The Donna On The Disco Floor

Review by rocketeer on Friday, July 5th 2013
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Click to play Exhilaration II

Exhilaration II is a game created by mat7772

Welcome folks to yet another review. Today we will be going through yet another game created by probably perhaps one of thee most well known member on sploder, a title that shall be garnered by none other than mat7772; a pretty pleasurable member to meet and know. Now I’ve known Mat for quite a long time on sploder, back before he earned his golden stripes so to speak and it has always been a pleasure playing his games, namely the early platformer ones that he used to make. They were just slick and splendid, a bit far more captivating to me than the games of today in which where everyone is in an arms race of building and crafting the most complex game of all time. The simpler times were just so much better to me; again a sign of aging, balding and senior citizenship. Perhaps it’s because I would rather just play a simple, neat, addicting and seducing game rather than solving a billion puzzles after doing my math homework. Anyways, Mat’s new game, Exhilaration II does just that. It’s a shooter; a genre of games which I’m not particularly too fond of and rarely play honestly, but this game is not one of those hectic chaotic puzzle shooters. It’s more of what I’ve always longed for, a simple, addicting, seducing, action packed shooter that just explodes into juicy watery flavors before my very eyes. Not too long, not too short. Just goldilocks.



The thumbnail is nothing to write home about really. Nothing fancy or flamboyant. Needs a little spice and some seasoning added to it; something that reaches out to your eyeballs and cries for attention. Remember the old times when games such as “SCH1z0 CAgE” and “Landscape II” had such mystical majestic thumbnails that seemingly just downright seduced you upon your first glance? (and for those who don’t know the games I’m referring to, just do yourself a favor and search them up). Yea, those games had such miraculously stunningly breathtaking thumbnails. It still blows my mind today that people manage to create castles for their thumbnails on the shooter creator. Cheerios to anyone who manages to do such a feat of engineering.


The opening is a bit perplexing so to speak. You are stuck in a small room with really only a few things in place. While this is quite common in many shooters, there isn't really much illustrated in the beginning. A rather dull sequence takes place in which the turret placed in the room is instantly killed by the red magma blocks that explode but then afterwards, the game really picks up on action, and that's when it gets rather 'exhilarating'. I mean, the moment that those blocks just blow up and wreck havoc on your energy bar, you know you are in for a deep thriller and that's what exhilaration brought straight to the table afterwards.



I hath stumbled upon an exhilarating and invigorating game, one cleverly wrapped and disguised as a gracious gift. Exhilaration is perhaps like riding a roller coaster, only this time with ballistic bullets whizzing and nudging you in the ear; its speed shattering the speed of sound. It’s like an ominous obstacle course; you are constantly racing down a pretty linear path with few diversions while multitasking to avoid the devils and demons that constantly keep you on edge. Exhilaration is heavily based off of pure action and adrenaline, keeping your heart racing and never missing a single beat. That is especially true when BugMeisters are constantly bombarding you with their icky green goo and when Moguras are threatening to swallow you up whole for a little snack. Not to mention a bazillion Tanks zapping you mercilessly. All of that in such a small area as well. It is inevitable that your health will slowly drain down the drain when bullets and projectiles are persistently pummeling your space craft. Luckily, and perhaps skillfully, just before your health inches cbleep to the abyss, a health pack will healthily come to save the day, and not once but twice. That is the tale, fable and motif of Exhilaration, and perhaps the reason why it is so successful as keeping the suspense whenever you are low on health. It executes everything perfectly; the constant puddles of action, the mind scathing suspense followed by a moment of security. It’s like eating a good bowl of chicken soup, without finding chicken feet at the bottom, of course. Still golden crisp in my eyes.



In conclusion, Exhilaration II offers pretty straightforward game-play that executes the amount of action and traps just plain brilliantly, although most of it had already been seen in many other games. It’s certainly not the longest and lengthiest game around nor is it the king of puzzles in the shooter genre but it has some of the best action of all recent shooters and manages to pull off each and every heart pounding moment into perfect use. Unlike most games, it isn’t outrageously unforgivable… that is if you have some decent motor skills in the shooter genre and know how to dodge some turrets and a variety of other obstacles. Besides, even if you do die once or twice, it’s like eating a bag of potato chips; you just keep eating and eating till you reach dead bottom. It’s exactly the same with Exhilaration, which is quite an ‘exhilarating’ game to be honest.


Game-play – 8/10

Fun Factor – 9/10

Addictiveness – 7/10

Action – 10/10

Creativity – 8/10



(Oh, and btw, I don’t judge creativity like so many others by how many unique stuff are in the game since almost everything nowadays has been used at least a couple times before. Creativity is judged by the amount of thought and how well the creator utilizes the shooter engine. All in all, Exhilaration is a pretty well executed game.)


Final Score – 42/50 (B) 84% Awesome


Judgment: It’s already featured. Sums it all up.