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The Seventh Day vs. junahu
The Seventh Day Wow a GCSE standard Biology lesson! It’s positively funducational!
Shadowiii
Download: 630 KB
V.S.
junahu
Play Time: 1 hours and 0 minutes
Review # 3 for junahu Wow a GCSE standard Biology lesson! It’s positively funducational!
Them's Fightin' Words
    2 days, 48 hours, 2,880 minutes, 172,800 seconds.

However you put it, 2 days is a very short period of time. Enter ‘The 7th day’, probably the best 48 hour game I have had the pleasure of playing
Graphics
    As we are all well aware, graphics are not usually significant in 48-hour games. Thus, it is surprising just how good the seventh day looks. The map tiles are quite detailed (For example, in the black and white cinema there is an actual image projected onto the cinema screen) and the walkabouts ooze with character just like in all of Shadowiii’s other games. The graphics aren’t perfect though. Most of the walkabouts look flat or skewed and they don’t animate as well as they should. These are insignificant negative points however when you consider the tight time constraint.
 
Storyline
    In general, Shadowiii’s games are never masterpieces when it comes to plot. Surprisingly though, The 7th day weaves a yarn that will actually grab your attention. Faith Vs Science is the running theme, a simple yet controversial issue you’d expect to learn about in religious studies. You’ll fall for the story’s simple charms if you can bear the dialogue

But that’s a BIG ‘if’, the dialogue tends to be cringe worthy. For example, the forensics guy is contradictory in the way he knows nothing and yet everything about the fleshy puddles of liquid. His vocabulary is coarse and bears absolutely none of the lingo a forensics scientist would normally have. Even the main character, Elly, is as eloquent in speech as a boar. Like Lewis in Purgatory, Elly annoying rambles to herself at inopportune times (like before a boss. Ugh!). And I’ve yet to mention Seraphim, the condescending, audience informing man on wings.

Shrug off the hammy acting and you’ll love the plot to bits.

 
Gameplay
    In only two days, Shadowiii has produced over 1 hour of concentrated entertainment.
He has successfully married together the freedom of a shooting game and the random encounters of an rpg into a sumptuous blend. But without the battles it would be just a simple A-B adventure, so I guess you need to like the battling to enjoy this game fully.

Glitches: More script buffer overloads than you can shake a stick at. Exiting the NYPD is an absolute pain in the ass as well. But nothing that can screw you over completely.

 
  Battle
    This is the main reason I find this game so darn good. Periodically in your meanderings, the screen turns greyscale and enemies appear. You must fight the enemies in order to continue. If you run out of ammo, which is very likely, you can switch to your taser which is weaker but you can use it as much as you want. There is an impressive array of creatures to fight, with individual stats, and even a boss battle to signify the end of each 'day'

Unfortunately the battles eventually lose their pizzazz but by the time that happens, the story’s hidden charms will have taken hold and you’ll want to play it through to the end.

 
  Map Design
    Most of the maps are simply point A to point B affairs, which is exceptionally linear and pretty dull. However, this is actually the perfect map structure for the game since this makes it impossible to get lost. The majority of maps are also small which means the game moves at a surprisingly brisk pace.

So…
Aesthetically, the map design is bad
In terms of gameplay, the map design is brilliant

 
  Balance
    *Rather than balance, I will review plotscripting in this section*

The sheer volume of scripts that shadowii makes for any game is overwhelming and this is no exception. Part and parcel of this phenomenon is how Shadowiii refuses to use autonumbered scripts to reduce the number of lines he has to copy and paste over and over and OVER again.

Basically what happens is that instead of a random enemy encounter...

The script sets up all the values and loose ends necessary for the real time battle to take place (e.g. placing invisible npcs at the edges of the screen so you cannot escape, turning on the ability to shoot etc).

During battle if you are touched by an enemy, a script runs that reduces your health by a value that differs between enemies.

When you press s or f, the shooting section of the keypress script runs and a shot fires.

Every time a bullet moves a tile the script checks whether it has hit an enemy or ran out of range. The appropriate chunk of script is run whenever one of these conditions are met.

The scripts all work well enough but there is an overwhelming amount of script buffer overflow problems caused by Shadowiii enabling multiple instances of scripts to be run Simultaneously.

For anyone who want to know more about how gun firing works in games, look at the plotscripts for Deer Hunter Extreme or Elenia and Squid as well as this game

 
Music
    Personally, I love the music in the seventh day. It suits the general mood of the game exceedingly well and is also quite addictive. There is a lot of music in the game, which is good since hearing the same music over and over would become horribly repetitive. Generally speaking though, if you didn’t like the music in Shadowiii’s other games, don’t play this with the speakers on.
 
Enjoyment
    This is the definition of enjoyable. It may be linear, it may have ‘Script buffer overflow’ in every other text box, it may be cynical and contrived and have no scientific backing whatsoever but I had a ton fun shooting mutants and that’s all that matters in the end

 
Final Blows
    On the 2nd day, Shadowiii created another classic. If you liked Shadowiii’s previous games (i.e. If you are a human being) then you’ll love this.
Towards the end of the game, locations tend to become bland

Towards the end of the game, locations tend to become bland
Final Scores
Graphics: 7/10.0
Brilliant for a 48 hour contest entry. But the walkabouts need some work to bring out the full Shadowiii charm.
Storyline: 7.5/10.0
Bad dialogue occasionally spoils what would otherwise be a rich and endearing plot.
Gameplay: 8/10.0
If you can stand script buffer overflow messages, then you'll love this game
Music: 8/10.0
If you dislike Shadowiii's choice in music, then don't listen to it. For everyone else, turn up the volume on your speakers.
Enjoyment: 7.5/10.0
Script problems may hinder a perfect gaming experience, but not much.
Overall Grade: A-
Final Thoughts
    In an Religious Studies exam, this would be worth 4 marks. To the OHR this is worth a lot more.  


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