A brand new game from varStudios, the creators of Neon and Neon 2, has recently graced the Web: Abstract Sea. Using simple but stylish visuals and a nice electronica soundtrack, the game puts you in control of an armed ship at sea fending off enemy attacks. The game has a very visceral feel to it with screen-shaking explosions and a few power-ups floating atop the deep blue sea.
The only goal in Abstract Sea is to rack up a high score. Well, staying alive is also a goal, but you stay alive to get a better score, so they're one in the same. Your gun pivots 360 degrees and is controlled by the mouse while you move your ship with the [WASD] or [arrow] keys. The split controls are a bit like GridWars and offer a wide range of tactics and more precise gameplay, though it may take some time to get used to.
Enemies in the game range from rather benign missiles to heavily armored battleships. Each has its own attack and defense rating, so try and take out the bigger fish first and save the little guys for when the coast is relatively clear. Power-ups appear from time to time that refill your health, give you points or upgrade your gun.
While the visual and aural presentation in Abstract Sea is superb, the gameplay does suffer from a bit of redundancy. Time-limited gun upgrades make the game more difficult after you've stayed alive for some time, but I found myself feeling more helpless than challenged. Big battleships are not easy to take down with a tiny weapon. And apart from avoiding the few enemies and hunting down a couple of power-ups, there isn't much going on. The lack of gameplay variety doesn't detract from game, however. Abstract Sea is perfect to spend a few minutes with here and there, especially if you're interested in pegging your name at the top of the online high score board. Click.
Gets boring after a while. My high score is ~69000
I have a request.
Would it be possible to keep these entries strictly in order of when they are posted?
In general, this is a very good and useful site, and all of the games it recommends are excellent.
But at the moment I'm missing some new entries (such as this one) because the Contest vote page keeps getting moved to the top.
I realise that you want to draw attention to the contest to get more votes from it, but I think there are better ways of doing so.
Either way, thanks for making and maintaining such a great site.
Thanks for your feedback, Albert.
> "I think there are better ways of doing so."
So, what are they? You stopped short of offering any alternatives to the way we are handling it. Yes, we do want to keep the Audience prize entry at the top to show its importance, but I also understand your concern.
When we do hold things up from their normal chronological flow, it's generally for good reason and not for long. It's probably time to let things go about now anyways.
Why don't you put up a counter for the amount voted on the right side? I the left side is quite cluttered, and it would draw attention being the only advert on the right side. Along with the amount voted, have a vote now link to where the voters can be led to the ballot and paypal. Just an idea
just a humble suggestion-- another way of doing so would to make the "replay" bulletin found on the top of every screen a reminder that voting is going on.
thus, games could still be reviewed, and at the same time, keep the competition voting a priority
(I believe this is possible because you once metnioned that you put the 2nd competition on a higher probability of being picked for replay. Thus, just make the voting a 100% probability to be seen for replay).
Thanks for the site
(formerly maddog-->OfficiallyHaphazard).
Good suggestions. That is something I can do. I'll try to get that done Tuesday. cheers! =)
Thanks for another great review Jay =). Your comments always help us improve our work which is our main goal. We agree that the gameplay needs a little bit extra, we will try and get it just right in the next one which will be a completely different play style. This game is the first in what we hope will be a trilogy of shooters done in this style. The twist is that each will be a different genre of shooter, so the gameplay in each game will always be pretty different. We hope to add more variety to the next one to keep the players attention for longer.
P.s. started early work on a game I like to call 'Neon 3' yesterday ;)
I like the action of the game, but what irritates me is that my mouse pointer keeps leaving the game window. Fast action games such as this one need to have a different approach to the controls so that the gameplay is uninterrupted.
It is also hard to use with a mousepad, in my opinion, but nice nevertheless...
btw, nicely done for the replay audience voting, looks nice =)
I really didn't like the movement in this game. It seemed so stiff and lacking of physics. It sort of ruined the game for me.
Abstract Sea is a very fun game and var studios is a very talented group. My only problem, not really with the game, is that this just seems to be a Neon re-make/clone.
VarStudios, you guys do great work. Lets see something different!
I wouldn't really compare this to Neon; if anything, the decoupling of movement and firing reminds me of Kenta Cho's "Gunroar" more than anything else.
this would be a much more fun and interesting game if it took the naval theme more seriously
at the moment, it may as well just be another spaceship themed game.
there's nothing in the gameplay which really suggests the naval theme.
Yea, this game is based off Kenta Cho's gunroar. The lack of physics was a design choice to increase control.
blourke - not sure what else I could do, the game is abstract, so its only supposed to 'represent' a sea theme. There are boats, what more do you want! :P
Thanks a lot for the comments guys, we will keep working to increase the quality of our games.
hey jay, i dont know if you've noticed or not, but when viewing highscores, number 2 of all time, the name says
"you rock jay thnx f"
I'm not sure who posted this, but just thought you might like to know
By the way, I love the set up of your site. I think the all the games are great, but the fact that you have author reviews, discussions and walkthroughs really tops it off
my hat's off to you
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