At last! We are in May and I've finally found a couple of minutes to finish my review of the MSXdev'06 contest. It took a bit of time and I had to find that little extra motivation to really do it after having spent days and nights playing all the games, testing them, reporting my gradings to the MSXdev team, all while working like a mad to get Passion MSX bilingual. I hope this review will encourage you to discover the latest new games released on the MSX system and maybe motivate you to enter any future MSXdev contests. Check out the the official website to download all the games and to find out about current contests!
My special thanks go to the full MSXdev Team (past & present) for having initiated this contest a couple of years ago and for having made it so successful. Thanks also for having invited me to be part of the jury in 2006.
The reviews below reflect my personal opinion only and contributed to 1/3 of the final ranking. The grades were assigned according to a vote sheet that each member of the jury had to complete:
* Graphics/Visuals: This category involves all things about game visuals, from graphics to special visual effects
* Musics/SFX: All audio capabilities of the game are judged here.
* Gameplay: Is the game catchy? Do the game controls are fine? Is it easy to get into the game? Is it playable?
* Originality: All aspects of the game that are originally created by the author/s, gameplay, gfx, musics, addons (if it is a conversion), etc
* Polish: This category covers all things that make the game more "complete", such as password systems, ingame instructions, ending, intros, etc
Whatever my praises or 'critics', all participants deserved to be winners to my opinion and all the games released are really worth to be downloaded and played at. Well done everybody.
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OPERATION WOLF (Toybox)
 Graphics & Visuals 
Musics & SFX: 
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 19/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 10th
My personal review:
The all-time classic Operation Wolf on MSX, that sounds good! Not being a big fan of this type of games I must admit the port was well made though of course you cannot expect to have the same sensations as the arcade version released by Taito in 1989. However considering the limitations of the MSX1, it remains nice to play at though it's difficult considering the amount of ennemies to kill and the random appearance of tanks and helicopters. The first mission is already very hard, even more when you play with a keyboard... Nice attention to sounds, good graphics but not 100% smooth.
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TRAFFIC JAM (Imanok)
 Graphics & Visuals 
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality: 
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 21/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 3rd ex-aequo
My personal review:
One of the top games of this contest, really entertaining and no glitches. In Traffic Jam you are assigned to clear a parking lot jammed with cars and trucks. Imagine this in real life! You'd not only have to think about how you're going to do this, but you'd also have some sport to do by changing vehicles hundreds of times to move them just a few meters. Headaches guaranteed in the higher levels but always fun to play. Good graphics and nice but repetitive musics. Just a pity there are no much add-ons and if Traffic Jam MSX was a real original concept, it might have challenged Monster Hunter...
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PENGUIN CAFE (MSX Café)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 17/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 11th ex-aequo
My personal review:
Ever wanted to start a carreer as a barman? Ever wanted to have MSX game characters as your customers? Then Penguin Café has the perfect job for you! But wait, they are extremely thirsty and get easily upset if you don't serve them fast enough! And what's the problem with beers you would ask? Once you drink one, you want more, more and more! A cute little game with a fun concept that is good to play from time to time. On the minus side Penguin Café is just a one-screen action with very average sounds and music. There's room to improve and develop further the game. Nothing alike on MSX, the nice customisation with known MSX characters give it a good atmosphere.
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LOS JARDINES DE ZEE WANG ZU (Jos'B)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX: 
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 21/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 7th
My personal review:
Already the name makes me curious... Obviously it comes from Spain but the setting takes place somewhere in the far far east... okay, LJDZWZ being at the first appearance yet another simple snake clone, what is there so exciting about it? Well it's probably not the originality... but it's the combination of good gameplay with good graphics and a really good accompanying music that makes it a cool game. Only key responsiveness could have been slightly better. Final conclusion: One of the greatest Snake clones ever made on MSX. I'm addict.
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I.N.E.R.T.I.A. (Andrea Rossetti)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 16/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 13th
My personal review:
The only "2-player only" game of the contest. Find first a friend, otherwise you'll be screwed up... I.N.E.R.T.I.A. is a good one to one customisable shooting game with a simple objective: Kill your mate! No crazyness in graphics or sounds, this game is rewarded for its good gameplay and polished instructions and label.
Also, Andrea Rossetti made the sources of this game available on his website with some explantions on how he made it. If you feel like twisting the code, get it here.
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SUDOKU (dvik & joyrex)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 19/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 3rd ex-aequo
My personal review:
I don't think I have to explain the rules as this is a good and functional adaptation of Sudoku on the MSX. I still have a preference to play printed Sudoku grids but dvik and joyrex did a good job. My only advices: turn off the music for maximum concentration and forget to use a joystick!
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SKATE AIR (Yermani Soft)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 15/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 6th
My personal review:
Not my cup of tea but this was not the judgement of the two other members of the jury who probably enjoyed the game more than me! This arcade skating game makes you fly and jump on the roads of a small country road where your challenge is to pick up flags while avoiding slow vehicles and various obstacles. The difficulty being to grab all flags within the time limit and manage your energy level to make the most adequate jumps... fortunately some help is provided when grabbing options that appear from time to time on the road. Let's say the idea is kind of funny (but not new) ... the only problem being the awful colours used and annoying gameplay (it irritates me to go faster on skates than cars or motorbykes) that dissuades me to put on my special skates! Fortunately, the music is rather good.
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BEEPERTRON (Dioniso)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 17/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 16th
My personal review:
Indeed a real no brain synth! Listen to the played notes and repeat the correct sequence on the synth. Small kids will have some fun with it - though it is advisable to have the instructions printed to know which keys correspond to which notes. Easy in Easy mode, Impossible in Hard mode unless you are Beethoven...!
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NIGHT CITY (Yermani Soft)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay: 
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 13/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 19th
My personal review:
Usas? Hey it looks like Cles starts a new adventure! Poor little boy has to return home before 3am and has to avoid all sorts of ennemies (rats, Ghosts....) to find his way back. With his gun and kung-fu skills he can defend himself! At least you can help him but you'll need to be very patient to succeed. Night City could have been an entertaining game but playability and gameplay make it horrendous to play, not to mention the poor map structure that I still not understand. Stay away! (this is not true, get the game and tell me by posting a comment on how you understand Night City, I might have missed something essential?).
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MONSTER HUNTER (Nerlaska Studio)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 25/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: WINNER
My personal review:
Praises! Applauses! Acclamations! Encensements! Exaltations! Glory! Honors! Cheerings! Clamours! Hourray! Ovation! Triumph! Compliments! Success! Master stroke! Prowess! Exploit! Trophy for the best MSXdev'06 game! Yup, Monster Hunter is an extremelly well-made RPG game that deserved the first prize. I am not a big fan of this type of games, but I have to admit it ranks very high on every single aspect. Get it now!
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BEEZ (Darkstone)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 18/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 14th
My personal review:
What's the Beez about it? Buzz around the flying BumbleBee to forage as many flowers according to a given sequence to follow. Unfortunately, you only have 90 seconds to achieve this though you can get 5 extra seconds each time you complete a sequence! Unless you can forage flowers within speed-light, a BeeZ game won't last very long... so if you have 5 minutes, that's enough to try the game to its full extent! Amusing for kids, but too limited for older people.
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MALAIKA PREHISTORIC QUEST (Karoshi Corporation)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 24/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 2nd
My personal review:
Yes! Cool! Great! No, I'm not going to make a full-list of keywords with praises like for Monster Hunter, although... Malaika is my favourite entry of MSXdev'06! It did not win the contest and I didn't rank it as the best game either, but still it is the one I like(d) playing the most. Just because I love platform games and this one is close to perfection. A lot of attention is given to details and gameplay is 'almost' endless with 6 beautiful stages, nice worlds, a lot of coins to collect, nice ennemies and nice end-of-stage bosses.
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MECHA TAISEN ON PLANET OLDSKOOL (DamageX)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 20/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 15th
My personal review:
A good turn-based strategy wargame with quite some options to defend, counter attack or even escape from enemy attacks. Though it should be all about strategy, I felt it was more a matter of having strong ships to win. Being a wargame (not many on MSX), expect to play it for hours once you start playing. Graphics and sounds are just above average and can get a bit boring after a while. A pity there's no keyboard support and that the playing instructions are very minimal.
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WORD INVADERS (SapphiRe Soft)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 15/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 9th
My personal review:
How a very simple concept can turn into a very original, simple and entertaining game? In Word Invaders you are assigned to kill MSX words that randomly fall from top by typing their caracters before they reach the bottom line. Simple, euh? Yes in theory but you have to be fast! A very good typing excercise as well.
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GRID WARDS (Emma Six)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 16/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 17th
My personal review:
I for sure like Grid Wars but yup I can also understand there's nothing really original, nor too much exquisite graphics and sounds in it. However, this is a damn lousy game that you can't stop playing at 'cause it's the typical frustrating arcade game that you have and have to play over again to better your high-score. The rules are simple: pilot your ship and avoid enemy shoots from the sides of the grid, while collecting all gems on screen to reach the next level. That's all, but enough.
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DAEDALIAN OPUS (Karoshi Corporation)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 19/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 11th ex-aequo
My personal review:
Born Dead. Daedalian Opus is a brain-killing puzzle game that has no future with me. It just drove me crazy and I hate pulling my hair off. In fact either you LOVE it or HATE it. Unfortunately I'm in that second group. I hope the Karoshi folks won't shout at me because they made a beautiful game with nice sprites, good in-between levels, a nice board, thought of a password function (thanks god!) but Daedalian Opus explodes my nerves since I just don't have the patience for it... needless to say, if you like (difficult) puzzle games, then this is a VERY good one!
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POINTLESS PLATFORM (TNI)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 12/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 18th
My personal review:
Pointless game that is so pointless to make an extended review about it. Just to note that if you don't have anything to do, then Pointless Platform is a pointless time-waster to spend time with. Enjoy!
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RNFF, RUNNING NAKED IN A FIELD OF FLOWERS (Infinite)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 19/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 5th
My personal review:
Allright! This is a total MSX madness experience. Colourful graphics, swinging music, hallucinating gameplay (those pills didn't work well on me) and storyline and finally a delirious introduction. It's not really about the game itself that is average but it's all about the funny storyline. Original, that's the word!
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POINTLESS SHOOTING (TNI)
 Graphics & Visuals
Musics & SFX:
Gameplay:
Originality:
Polish:
MY OVERALL SCORE: 14/30
FINAL MSXDEV'06 RANKING: 8th
My personal review:
Pointless Shooting is less pointless than Pointless Platform, and is the best of the 2 pointless MSXdev'06 games. Here there's some fun: Shoot as much as you can, in all directions, but avoiding to hit the dots that will increasingly invade your screen. Miss them all and score a lot! Oh no! You can't die! You can loose points! My advise: reach your high-score before level 20 or it will become mission impossible to increase your points!
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I hope you enjoyed reading this review and that your next step is going to try out these games. And if you can tell me what there's so special about Night City, please feel free to let me know!
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