SkillZombie's Reviews

[Bunnykill 5 Part 1]

My, how far this series has come

From the first time I was ever exposed to the first Bunnykill, I was very interested in the concept but saw it as more of a one-shot sort of flash movie. However, it was when I saw the second movie that I was definitely enthralled by it. The smoothed animations and the rather complex fighting scenes were the staple attractions for this series for its later installations and continued to amaze me with each and every single scene as well occasionally made me smile with the personalities of the hapless grunts as they each fell to Snowball's blade. These elements and more are further exemplified and refined in Bunnykill 5 Part 1, like a blade that has been sharpened to its sharpest edge.

From the moment the first scene of the movie, one could see that Mottis has really pulled out all of the stops in refining his style and animation. The movements of the characters carries a flow unlike other animations and they are exemplified further with the fight scenes. They are quick and concise, building a lot of tension in the action and capturing the familiarity of the Bunnykill series with each slice, break and gunshot deflection. While it carries the feeling of the style of samurai action flicks, the urban environments present a rather enticing contrast to these settings, creating a location of its own within each frame of action animation. Snowball easily glides through his opponents like never before, further highlighting the increase in skill that the animator has experienced over the years working on this series.

On an atmospheric standpoint, I do like the tenseness of the action and its settings. The turmoil beneath the skyscrapers ads to the feeling of emergency throughout and slight foreboding feeling to what is to come for the rest of the animation. The same with usage of color in the scenes reflects a more complete and sharper style on the animator's part, creating a familiar yet different feel to the environments and characters. What's still in full effect has to be the subtle humor within the animation, from references to Metal Gear and the clumsiness of the guards and Snowball's ease of dispatching his opponents, it all ads that extra little dose of the animator's personality and sense of humor to keep it from feeling too action packed or even serious.

Everything that you've come to expect from Bunnykill is here in Bunnykill 5 part 1, but its all been brought forth like you've never seen before. The stylization of the location, characters and actions still carries that enjoyable feeling from scene to scene and the tenseness of combat still makes you stare and beg for more. A definitely great animation for any and all who are fans of action, or even animation in itself to enjoy.

Good work Mottis, and here's to Part 2 blowing off the doors next time!

Mottis responds:

Wow. that was really well written. Thanks <3

[Derpcraft]

Nicely done

A well animated, and well composed animation about reactions to a game people don't seem to get at first, yet cannot stop playing.

Good work, RubberNinja.

[Luminiscense]

A captivating opening to a great story.

Love in many ways can be considered a fleeting element of human companionship that changes as surely as the tides. However, when true love is realized among two people, a boundless and unbreakable chain is formed that would last beyond the tests of time. Unfortunately, while this love may seem as if it would last forever, there is always something dark on the horizon that will test such love and even threaten to end it...once and for all. Luminescence, created by flash animator/digital artist keepwalking and featuring the voices of Chris Niosi (Kirbopher) and Jessi Nowack (Nowacking) present us with a scene of true love between two people, only to watch their happiness become torn asunder by an unforeseen catastrophe.

Keepwalking's animation style resonates forth to the viewer and perfectly immortalizes the serene atmosphere that this animation presents so well. Many who are fans of his artwork can see how his knowledge of shading and lighting really add a lot of personality to the piece and breathes a lot of life into it as well as establishing a clearly strong emotional attachment to the viewer. The animation, while at times appearing a bit choppy, still manages to stand up perfectly for the majority of the film and still manages to impress its viewers and give them more than enough to look forward to. The environments keep the viewers immersed into the film and makes one feel as though they have been inserted into the landscape watching from afar as the scenario unfolds. I must also commend on the voice actors who provided their talents for this piece. Both Kirbopher and Jessi Nowack have given both characters so much personality and even depth within their voices with so few words that it almost resonates within the minds and hearts of the viewers further strengthening the emotional attachments to the characters and even the setting itself.

From beginning to end, the animation gives one to think about if one that you care about above all others would suddenly disappear, and there doesn't seem to be anything that you can do about it. Luminescence gives us all of these questions and leaves us begging for even more answer. This is truly a genuine piece of art and poetry in motion that will never fail to impress any viewers and engrosses you into its world. With a sleek animation style, colorful and emotional characters and a foreboding threat to one another, this is definitely something that you wouldn't want to miss. Congratulations on all who worked on this piece, and here's to seeing more. :)

keepwalking responds:

Such an impressive review man. I trully appreciate it :)

[Super Sonic Pinball]

Ok, but a bit uninspired.

Pinball games have always been one of my favorite arcade games. This one is actually pretty fun when you get it started, however the overall presentation will make you feel like something's missing.

First of all, I have to give some credit for using all the classic sonic pinball sounds. From the bumpers to the pads, it make me reminisce of Casino Nights. To be honest, there really isn't anything wrong with the game, but it could use a few additional options. The game itself is just pinball with a sonic theme. A good start but maybe adding some other elements could make it even better:

1. Giving the board a little more depth in the design. What you have so far is OK, but maybe adding a few more zones. Adding a top area to the board with a few other classic pinball elements that could make it that much more enticing to the player.

2. As much as I like the design of the board, an option to change the skin of the board would be cool. Perhaps making the background like the classic Casino Nights stage or even Sonic Spinball.

Other than these suggestions, the game itself is still a rather enjoyable standalone. Although feeling somewhat stripped, this could be just what you need when you have nothing planned for a day.

[REDDER]

Very interesting

A great game shrouded in mystery and atmosphere. Despite it having a familiar style of old-school Metroid, the game carries a completely different atmosphere and immersion. Definitely worth a play through.

[The Scale of the Universe]

Awe-Inspiring as well as informative

The first thing I was impressed by was you overall attention to detail ranging virtually every single object by size comparison in the universe. At first glance you don't really notice that much about how big the universe truly is until it is shown in front of you. From the ridiculously minuscule quantum foam, to the mind-bending large size of the estimate-able size of the universe it truly is a great spectacle to view.

Great job for all of the time it took to compilation the vast amount of information about the estimated sizes of each object as well as small yet detailed notes for each object displayed in the slide.

All in all, its a great piece and a welcome addition to the ever-growing library of Newgrounds.

[Elk's Deathwing]

An engrossing view of an ancient evil.

Burning death; that's exactly what one would smell when under the myasmic scent of this realm. From its bottomless pools of scorching magma to its dark and poweful creatures, there are countless ways for one to meet their death. However, with all of these hazards and risks, when one looks above, the greatest threats mean nothing when compared to what lurks in the skies. Staring upon its magmatic perch, the glaring shadow of the Deathwing sits. Forged in hatred and powered by darkness, it surveys its smoldering realm for unsuspecting visitors and prey. Its sulfuric breath scorches the air; smelling of burning bodies and crackling like the screaming victims of its hellish flames. Eventually the creature begins to spread its wicked wings as if to curse the skies itself during this flight. With each and every flap of its gargantuan wings, the flooded pools of magma begin to ripple violently from their shock wave force of the wings. For it knows that soon, the Cataclysm will fall under all too weak to resist its darkened grip of death.

For starters I have to praise this artist for their excellent use of detailing in this piece. The detail that you have laid upon this piece with each and every methodical pixel placement is staggering and a true show of artistic dedication. Every scorched scale upon the Deathwing's form, each magmatic crack in the surface of the realm all oozes both personality and style from its appearance on the image. Vivid uses of reds and yellows beautiful catch the viewer's attention and draw them into this dark world of death and flames The emulation of natural lighting of the magma lakes below really add quite a bit to the dark and foreboding atmosphere that shrouds over this piece like the mighty wings of the Deathwing. Each and every one of the compositional elements of this piece work perfectly together and the quality shows; as it really brings out quite a bit of the detail and artistic personality within the piece itself.

While there is so very much working out well for this piece, there are still a few small things that could be touched up on this piece to take it from great to outstanding. Something I noticed near the bottom left corner, a few of the magma spires appear a little less refined in detail and really distracts from the overall quality and beauty of the piece in itself. One final, tiny suggestion would be that now that its complete, its time for you to try and take it to the next level. Add more to the background elements (add building ruins, perhaps a few magma pillars), just some extra compositional elements that could bring out the best in this piece.

Regardless of the small nitpicks pointed out, that still does not distract this from the overall outstanding quality that is being displayed in this piece. From the color to the atmosphere, it all screams out artistic personality as well as true talent and dedication to an artist's craft. Excellent work ElkDarkshire!

[Trip 1]

An enticing color pallet that grasp attention

Colors. The ver building block of sight and visual art. Without color, there would be no artwork, or anything tangible for that matter. Usage of coloring can truly make a piece shine brighter than any star in the universe, or darker than the largest black hole. Some do not require much coloring and can make do with a rather simplistic, minimalist pallette. Other pieces on the other hand, utilize a plethora of colors nad shade variations that generate an equisite feast for the visual senses and provoke the imagination to run wild with ideas and colorful daydreams. Trip 1, created by torithefox, displays the very essense of coloring in artwork and delivers a very imaginative and creative piece shrouded in the beauty of what colors can bring to artwork.

Starting off from the very first thing that I see, I still cannot stretch the various elements brought to life with these color pallets. The characters and backgrounds just pop off of the screen and straight into the minds and eyes of the viewers. One can almost picture the seemingly statuesque characters fully animated in their strange and colorful world, granting passage to all those willing to admire it. The design useage has a very out of contol and chaotic feeling to it, with many curving elements as well as the style granted to the characters and background components, while at the same time has a rather self-controlled feel to it. I guess the best way to describe this attribute would be "Concise Chaos", or a chaotic style that still manages to carry its own tempo, so to speak. The piece carries the same surreal and imaginative atmosphere that the cult classic game "Psychonauts," a game that granted the player a sight at the same surrealist design style and visual creativity as this image.

The piece could still use a bit of modification and refinement to better improve its visual appeal. For one, the artist should try to branch out the setting a bit and add a few more details to the background and foreground elements in the piece. Feel free to add minscule details in all of the compositional elements in the piece to help it flourish before both yourself and the viewer. Secondly, some parts feel a little flat and could use a bit more personality to them. Add more detail in the primary subjects clothing (wrinkles, tears, pockets, etc.) the piece stand out even further than it could before.

With relatively small flaws and a lot of potential, Trip 1 delivers an enticing color palett that grasps the attention of the viewer and never let's it go.

[Double Bluff]

Good depiction of an almost alien world

The deep, dark depths of our oceans can appear to many as an almost otherworldly and alien plain of existence that has been hidden from us for as long as we can remember. With pressures so great that they could crush bones into dust and darkness so dense that light cannot even pierce it, a place such as this does not seem appropriate for live to exist let alone even thrive. Contrary to our first perceptions of this strange land, there are indigenous creatures here; however they are not your average marine wildlife. There are creatures at these depths that appear straight from a horror movie, and none of them are exactly friendly toward anyone...even one another. In this world, there is no top predator when anything can kill you at any time. Double Bluff, created by adamkav, shows us exactly how unbalanced life can be for these creatures when even top predators find themselves as unwary prey for a larger predator.

When I first saw this piece, I was immediately drawn in by not only the style that the artist used but also the ironic humor used in the image itself. As I had mentioned before, there are really no top predators in the dark zone or abyssal plains of the ocean, so when I saw a picture of a deep sea anglerfish, a known predator, being lured into the maw of a larger angler, I found it rather humorous.

Each and every single malformed and grotesque detail of these fish are on display and the look great. The various fleshy growths, the many rows of jagged, dagger-like teeth that protrude from the mouths of the creatures and the ominous bio-luminescent glow of the lure used by the smaller angler really gives this piece an atmosphere as dense and dark as the water that its surrounding the fish. It really does look good and one can almost imagine the tense silence as both deep sea creatures move silently toward each other, locked in the titular "Double Bluff" to see who would fall for who's trap and would would either be the predator or the prey.

One thing I could suggest to improve upon this image is to add a bit more to the piece that could truly simulate the deep sea atmosphere. Even though its almost black at such depths, bio-luminescent creatures reveal small bubble from lower depths, various particles from dead and decaying creatures or general creature waste, even faint lights from other creatures in the dark distances. Also, a slight darkening in contrast could add even further atmospheric tension to the piece and would make the glow of the light more pronounced and the silhouette of the larger fish that much more meanacing. My suggestion is to perhaps study some real world pictures to give you an even better grasp on your concept in order for you to refine this piece and take it from good to great.

With slight flaws, good looking art style, atmospheric tension and a rather interesting concept, this is one piece that newgrounds members and art enthusiasts should not pass up. Good work Adamkav.