MiniGame Mania Review

Minigames have long been a recurring notion on ROBLOX; it all started in the classics of ROBLOX, with Multi Minigames, then Ripull adapted the minigame genre to make Ripull Minigames, and now Team K's rendition of a mini game mania. But within the first few minutes of playing MiniGame Mania, the typical minigame feeling immediately dissipates. After being stranded on a house in an island, it is your mission to complete minigames to earn Research Stars and coins.

For the most part, the minigames rely on the typical dodging of bombs, or the popping of balloons. These minigames are usually quite easy to get the hang of, provided that they have a guide to what you need to do in the minigame. Each minigame have a sense of difficulty in them, as you're jumping out of danger, or colliding into other players whilst trying to avoid mines.

MiniGame Mania's vibrant feeling is helped by the lobby and the theme.

And while the minigames themselves are entertaining to play, they are too similar, objective-wise. This, ultimately, feels like I'm playing the same minigame over and over again; the only difference is that they use different objects. Such problems aren't big, thankfully, but it would be nice to have a nice variety of minigames to compete in, in the end.
For winning every round, you earn one Research Star, and you can use that for boasting powers, as you squeal in success that you're in the Global Leaderboard. The Global Leaderboard is updated quite regularly, so it helps with a sense of winning rounds every minigame you partake in. The Global Leaderboard features three distinct columns, in which you can try to earn a spot in; the Most Number of Research Stars, the Highest Level, and the Most Coins collected.

MiniGame Mania, however, comes with a few twists. For starters, it takes four players to join a server to start the game. This detracts from the player experience overall, specifically for when ROBLOX's servers are much quieter than it normally is. This means that players tend to wait hours upon hours of extreme tedious-ness to start earning those spots on the Global Leaderboards. At most, the minimum amount of players should be two players.

In the end, MiniGame Mania is a decent game with a nice touch of content, that's not boring, but not enjoyable for a long period of time. It's a vibrant mix of originality, and using the genre of minigames to successfully form a fun game. There's no denying that what MiniGame Mania does, it does well; typically, the amount of minimum players needed to start a game is rather absurd for something that one could play for an hour or so.

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Silence Review

• 
   8.5SUPERB
  
  

Posted by Sxerks3 on January 14, 2015

Silence delivers outstanding gameplay and backstory to create one of the finest games in the ROBLOX community.

The Good

• Great story and execution  
• Phenomenal dialog  
• Great audio cues
 
• Combat is very effective at conveying a sense of desperation

The Bad

• Combat is an acquired taste
 
• An option for a multiplayer version could have made the game more interesting and engaging

The ROBLOX community might not have delivered many psychological and survival horror classics, but the next best thing might just be Silence. This deep first-person survival horror–adventure game sparked the community with its great design, impeccable audio cues and hand-crafted dialog has made Silence one of the finest games by ROBLOX developer, Venvious. Although there isn't much here for action-based fans, a few noticeable omissions, and a few repetitive combat sequences, a constant sense of peril and vulnerability mean that you're in deep water.

Silence starts off with a cutscene involving the lead character, a detective working alongside Hubris Hauteur, receiving a voice call to meet him at his HQ. They apparently have met before, and would state that the two would meet again when they're older, and so Hauteur's wish has come true. We do not know much about the setting, nor the characters involved, and at first, we would have no clue as to why the detective was called in. While these questions would soon be answered by gameplay and dialog, the vagueness gives the setting an early foreshadowing for the history of the place. Most of the action comes within the fabricated simulation drawn between reality and fantasy, which heightens both the weirdness and the sense of being detached from the real world.

Yet at the same time, this horror–adventure is down to earth in many different ways. Interacting with fellow workers of the facility is used to draw the story and connect them together as well as change the story to go off in a different route, but end up in the same line. The destruction of the fabricated simulation is also complex, there aren't just exploding blocks everywhere, but malfunctioning elevators as well as the system itself glitching out from time to time creates a sense of mass malfunction from the simulator. This gives you the feeling of helplessness as well, as you're inside without any armed machinery. The developer hasn't added too much detail that you can't bear, but enough to amaze you as well as not turn you away from any combat experienced, which is a plus from the developer.

In Silence, you have small missions for every chapter.

Visuals appear sparse, but are effective. Even though the visuals may appear rough, the backdrop and environment supplies enough for a dark and gloomy atmosphere and further enhances that you're in a nightmare of destruction. If the visuals and graphics appeared more realistic, the creepy factor wouldn't be nearly as strong. This game may have been made on the cheap, but the developer didn't cut corners when it came to dialog. The dialogs everyone says does a great job of capturing the fear and sometimes captured insane moments the detective had. The game had stellar audio cues. The audio adds chills, with pianos and drumbeats underlining discoveries and the approach of dronebots.

The game's combat is a bit iffy. It works much like any other first-person shooters, and as such, doesn't make for unique fights. The game's fights are also so frenetic that it's often likely you're going to back up onto a wall, or lose sight of any dronebots when reloading or regenerating health. Upon dying, the game lacked any realistic blood loss or loss of consciousness which made the realistic factor slowly disappointing. However, this is only a minor complaint.

Even with these eccentricities, Silence remains as one of the better horror–adventure games on ROBLOX. The interesting gameplay, the unremittingly grim and bizarre storyline, and the fact that you can be killed at almost any moment by some creature lurching out of the darkness really get into your head. Play it for yourself for the full experience.

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Risky Strats Review

Posted by Sxerks3 on January 14, 2015

Risky Strats is an enjoyable defense game that is a must play for any tower defense devotees.

The Good

• Interesting and unique gameplay  
• Addicting and lots of replayability  
• Different users' strategies require tactical thinking

The Bad

• Aesthetics look bland and eye-straining at first

An army awaits at your need just beyond the "play" button, but you are ready! You must do everything you can to conquer your area and protect it from oncoming armies supplied by other users of your server. A map full of a color is your vision, and you must make that happen! And if all else fails, you've always got that command "/forfeit" which can be used when your army is weak. Risky Strats puts a twist on the modern defense genre. This multi-player strategy game has some unnoticeable omissions, but what it does offer is easily accessible and immediately enjoyable.

As one must defend, they must also attack the army of both, the stronger and weaker armies, to attain victory, to conquer at least 70% of the map. If you let too many pass the barrier, you'll have a hard time catching up to the rest of the users online. Of course, you have special towers that allow you to turn from defeat to victory. Artilleries, forts, capitols, and more are your main brothers against the attacks of other armies. If you use them well and strategically, they'll do the bulk of the army destruction for you.

Of course, sometimes, your best plans will come crashing down. That's when you go to the defensive side and protect as much of your area as possible before finding your opponents' weakness, thus, using it to your advantage. Sometimes it's just better to go defensive at some point before finding your way back to the top of the charts. Your defensive plans is just as effective as your offensive plans, and by planning your steps out first is a big step towards victory when it comes to Risky Strats. After all, it's about the planning and execution of said plan.

Colored areas simplifies and eases visualization, however, it is often eye-straining to watch at times in Risky Strats.

Your army can also be upgraded by using your "brothers" of the game, the artillery and the fort. The more frequently you use your brothers, the more likely you'll become stronger and be able to fend as well as destroy armies, which in turn, can lead to area capture. The artillery, for example, will intensify your offensive rate which, ultimately, makes your army stronger when attacking others. The fort, on the other hand, will further elaborate your defensive rate which makes your army a lot more defensive and a lot stronger when defending certain points around the territory. These are the winning factors of the game, as the more you upgrade them, the stronger and harder they become.

Even at its most chaotic, Risky Strats makes it easy to keep track of what's happening onscreen. There may be one or more different types of upgrades that people are using at a time, but the simplicity of its visualization lacks any unnecessary flair and keeps visual noise to a minimum. This, however, can be eye-straining after constant plays. The way the game is set out appears too "colorful" and can be caused by unmatching colors onscreen at a time. Because of the simplicity of its design, Risky Strats' color-coded area domination can lead to unnecessary watery eyes after a certain period of time. Purple, yellow and blue onscreen at a time isn't a good combination for game designing.

Risky Strats introduces itself with sheer simplicity. Every element in Risky Strats has a distinct purpose–from the different upgrades to the critical analysis–and you're never bogged down with unnecessary chores. It's a focused game, whose main fault is what any tower defense-type games lack. If critical thinking and strategic games is your style, give this a try.

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Confined Review

• 
   8GREAT
  
  

Posted by Sxerks3 on January 12, 2015

One of the most frightening experiences hits you like a sledgehammer with great gameplay, audio and aesthetics.

The Good

• Creepy eerie atmosphere  
• Great use of audio and dialog  Flawless level design
• Makes you feel vulnerable, which furthers the tension

The Bad

• Overused story

From the moment you click play and is drawn into the relaxing '90s house of Brandon's older brother's, it's evident that you're in for a different experience. This is not the game you would see in the front page before and even after Confined was made. Developers, tyridge77, Stroudie and Legoman654, has reinvented the slow recovery of the survival horror genre with the production of Confined. Regardless of how you feel about horror games on ROBLOX, Confined is a fresh new beginning that's good for a scare.

When Luke hears Brandon's cry, he immediately questions his parents' presence and why they would "go out in this time of day." Moments after watching Brandon, Luke is horrified to see a ghostly figure by the lamp of the room, and sets off seeking help. As he traverses through his own home, Luke is shocked to see the state of his parents, and attempts to jump off the unsealed window to safety.

Luke must run and jump his way out as he's being chased by ghostly figures of a once-fine establishment. They are many and cannot be harmed, so Luke has no choice other than to run for his life. The amazing dialog and narrative acting makes Luke more frightened, making a more "realistic" feel to the game, as opposed to just text on-screen.

Though these nightmares represent the only times you actually feel threatened, you're constantly staying vigilante, mainly thanks to the fantastic and chilling atmosphere of everywhere of your haunted house, from the beginning to the end. Because you are weapon-less, you feel vulnerable to attacks by these nightmares, it produces a terrifying experience people would not want to experience in real life.

Ghostly figures appear to haunt the hallways of Luke's house in Confined.

Confined is very dark and moody, and from its impressive use of lighting and shadows to the creepy, real-time freezing effects of the nightmares, the titular house is at its finest--except when pushing the bed. For some reason, sometimes the bed freezes and acts as if it was anchored, even if it wasn't "lag" as people would expect. It's not a game-ruining experience, but it further affects your immersive feel for the game in a negative way. The story has also been overused a lot, especially with the "story" revolving around spectres and ghosts haunting a house. Luckily, this is only a minor setback from one of the most intriguing and greatest ROBLOX horror games.

Throughout the years, the survival horror genre has gradually lost their way in the ROBLOX community. Confined is a fantastic return to the core concept of personal fear, and though its developers made some unorthodox decisions--such as removing combat entirely--those decisions have paid off handsomely. Despite a few issues, including its unsurprising brevity, Confined is a great game for anyone looking for a scare, whether you've been to the haunted house before or not.

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Hotel Review

• 
   7GOOD
  
  

Posted by Sxerks3 on January 12, 2015

Hotel's creepy atmosphere, great aesthetics and great ambience is something that many other games on ROBLOX do not.

The Good

• Creepy atmosphere  
• Great aesthetics
 
• Creepy atmosphere  
• Good use of audio

The Bad

• Nonsensical and clichéd story and forgettable characters
  
 
• Rushed gameplay

Hotel is not a game that solely relies on its jumpscares. In fact, it's the complete opposite. The slow, driven and foreshadowing backstory sets your mind racing at every step. Much of this is helped by the great use of audio and impeccable atmosphere throughout the game, so gloomy. If it wasn't for the overused story, forgettable character names, and the rushed gameplay the game comprises of, Hotel could've been something truly remarkable. What it leaves is a rushed and clichéd, but captivating game.

The center of it all is Martin, an "old friend" of an unseen and unheard of character who enjoys their time writing notes to his friend. Called up to meet at their "special place", the game revolves around the seek for vengeance and the act of terror to Martin. The brief introduction leading up to this is all the calm Hotel can muster, because from thereon Martin is being sent into a collision of catastrophe, and somewhat clear story of vengeance.

It's not the best story for a survival horror game. It lacks backstory, nor any traces of that friend. What is the most disappointing is that it is a rushed game, which loses its charm early on. We don't know much about the past of the location, nor the characters and how each character acts. The only time we have any interaction between the main character and that "old friend" is through pieces of paper being scattered around the facility.

So the facility lacks story and context, but it doesn't lack aesthetics. Hotel is built upon an outstanding foundation–the chilling use of light and shadow, the creepy, menacing audio flushes–that merely traversing its environments is enough to make your heart skip a few beats. Whether it makes you explore the bloodied "special place", searching for resources, or entering the weathered setting, the creepy hospital, Hotel transports you through a diverse assortment of rooms that will make you sweat.

The lighting creates the spooky atmosphere of Hotel.

Hotel is a game that has its blunders, but also seems to recover from it. What it does at its core it does so well that all those issues floating on the periphery eventually fade away to reveal a satisfying if slightly blemished return to classic survival horror.

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RED44_SATYR44 Review

• 
   8GREAT
  
  

Posted by Sxerks3 on January 12, 2015

Your only options are to run and hide or to die.

The Good

• Phenomenal atmosphere  
• Great use of fear and "dread"  
• Makes you feel grounded in the environment and extremely vulnerable

The Bad

• Tension disappears when you repeat your sequences

It turns out RED44_SATYR44 is not a game on skills, and in-game it makes a lot of sense. You're not a superhero, nor a cop. You're merely a programmer. As a programmer, you don't possess many skills that helps to fend off monsters such as AI's haunting Chimera AI Innovation. You can't shoot them, you can't hit them, you just have to run and hide from them. If that was hard enough as it is, you have a time limit rested onto your arm to know when you're in grave danger and that's when you're in most vulnerability, RED44_SATYR44 is one of the few genuinely horrific games in the ROBLOX community. However, the repetition stumbles throughout the game and stops RED44_SATYR44 from cruising forward, but these are minor setbacks on what is one of the most horrifying games ROBLOX developers have experienced.

Drawn by the malfunctioning AI's in Chimera AI Innovation, you are given the task to investigate said claims that the company's employees and police department have gone missing over the last couple visits. You are forced inside the building as you watch a fellow officer close the gate on you. Chimera AI Innovation was created for the purpose of creating a better future, with the creation of AI's. You'll soon see why you were picked to do this. A programmer is the only way to solve this. As you venture through the darkness, you come to your senses that something, indeed, has gone horribly wrong.

Chimera AI Innovation's crumbling walls and bloodstained floors create the tension that your very own "enemies" are out to kill any humans in sight. Upon discovering the dead bodies scattered around the facility, you'll want to never have agreed to it. You might occasionally venture off to find any resources in sight, but you won't get far; the resources are limited and the notes, scattered along the facility, makes your experience a whole lot scarier.

RED44_SATYR44 is not your everyday game.

However, RED44_SATYR44 comes into a bit of a problem. Your encounters with the AI's are terrifying because of your vulnerability and lack of weapons that you can equip. Your hiding places may vary, but the concept is awfully repetitive which dissipates the tension the game builds off, as if you are repeating the same game and know when they are going to strike. When your gameplay rolls on repetition, RED44_SATYR44's gameplay takes a turn of hide-and-seek.

In the end, though, RED44_SATYR44's few feeble moments is highly outweighed by the ampleness with which it so often gets inside your head and scares the hell out of you. You sometimes end up feeling like you're just going through the motions the game requires you to go through, but when the ride is as well designed as this, the best thing to do is just get in and hold on tight.

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A Lucid Dream Review

• 
   8GREAT
  
  

Posted by Sxerks3 on January 7, 2015

A Lucid Dream's great environment and amazing scores makes it a memorable game.

The Good

• Beautiful and diverse soundtrack  
• Great use of 2.5D platforming  
Great environment

The Bad

• Some gameplay tend to flounder

A Lucid Dream relies on a single premise. As the name suggests, you are reeled into the world of your dreams. It then uses that premise to create a great 2.5D platformer that will not be forgotten in a long time. The lack of story in this game is balanced out with the great score and amazing environment.

In A Lucid Dream, you take control of a character placed in his own dream. The game is about him and his dream, trying to get out of his dream. To do so, however, he will need to avoid obstacles the character has placed around his own fantasy.

It's only a dream.

From this science-fiction premise evolves one of the most authentic and imaginative stories told in a game in some time. And even this premise starts with a provocative and universal question: "What if I could alter my dream?" From there, the nameless character worm his way into his dream, starting with the uncertainty of where he is. With each leap, the character encounters life-threatening obstacles he's placed around his own fantasy world.

If you lament the state of scores in games, A Lucid Dream is a game you must play. It's available for play, and is subjected to be only 5-10 minutes long. Those 5-10 minutes pack a real punch, inviting you to consider just how a single event can change your destiny. For now, you should take control of your own destiny and play A Lucid Dream. You'll be glad you did.

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BLOXikins: The Revival

Hello BLOXikins readers,
I am Sxerks3, the founder of BLOXikins. I will be updating the blog regularly, and will be up and running smoothly. Sorry for the long wait, I have been really busy with real life situations, so I'm glad to finally be spending time reviewing games etc.

Once again, sorry!

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