Worthy of Its Name

When Super Mega Awesome Dude popped up to top the Yoyogames charts, I wondered if such a game could live up to its high-praising name. And indeed, Super Mega Awesome Dude delivers no less then Super Mega Awesome fun. Time for the breakdown:

Graphics:
The game opens with a little slideshow of the maker pondering his next creation, and coming up with this "catchy" name on a piece of paper. Already I has a smile on my face as I entered the title screen, which is entirely based on paper and pencil drawings, as the entire game is. Really everything looks quite nice, with simplistic sprites that go a long way. Everything moves in a very cartoonish way, almost dancing to the music, which I will discuss next. Overall, nothing too eye-popping, but really consistent, polished, and professional.
***** 5/6

Music:
The background track is pleasant and a bit catchy, adding a nice atmosphere to the game while not getting to repetitive. However, the fact that there is only one track is noticeable, and some variety in tunes would have improved the game.
*** 3/6

Gameplay:
Ah, the gameplay. Unlike so many games out there today, the gameplay in Super Mega Awesome Dude is its strength. It takes what games like "Seven Minutes" fail at and make repetitive dying really fun. Unlike Seven Minutes, where most deaths are due to random blocks caving in, SMA Dude has a set goal at the start of each level and the deaths are due to the great skill it requires to reach these goals. For some reason, even though dying so many times is incredibly frustrating, SMA Dude makes it fun and has the player eager to retry the level. As the game progresses, so does its difficulty, and some of the levels are extremely tricky and require a multitude of deaths before completion. There is also the ability to create you own levels, save them, and share them with the world, a feature that definitely gives bonus points to the game. The only flaw in the gameplay is that there's not really anything unique about it, it’s just known platforming elements implemented well.
***** 5/6

Story:
There is no story :(
* 1/6

Interface:
The controls are easy and there is only one annoying glitch, which occurs sometimes when you try to fall through a single block of space--frequently your character will not fall and you have to keep readjusting his position until he finally falls through. The title screen as mentioned earlier is very nice, and the level editor works very well and is easy enough to use.
**** 4/6

Overall:
Usually I do not give great ratings unless all aspects of the game are terrific, but in the case of this one, all that really matters is the gameplay, and that's what is really good. The music doesn't get annoying, the graphics are nicely done, and the interface is more than solid. All that's left is the kick-ass gameplay and that gives this game its well-deserved five out of six stars. Kudos *Legendary*!
***** 5/6


If you liked this game, try:
-Seven Minutes