Teeworlds (free game): faster than firefox!

[suiraclaw]

Second attempt at a review... I have been playing this game for about 2 weeks now, so I'm not an expert (nor a fanboy).

I advise everybody to get the game now, that way it'll be installed before you finish this text.

http://www.teeworlds.com/

Teeworlds is a fast-paced 2d sidescrolling multiplayer-only shooter played on a computer. The game features cartoon-themed graphics and physics, and relies heavily on classic shooter weaponry and gameplay. In the game, you roleplay a Tee, a cute ball who carries around various weaponry and a hook, allowing some Spiderman like movement. Teeworlds is open source and runs on all major operating systems.

Teeworlds gameplay can, despite it's small size, compete with bigger and expensive productions in terms of fun and innovation. What sets Teeworld apart from other sidescrollers game is it's huge focus on mobility, it's innovative use of the grappling hook and it's weaponry. The instant respawn is also well implemented.

You start the game with only a hammer and a long range pistol (and the hook), but there are other weapons lying around (on most maps they're everywhere). So ammunition isn't too much of an issue. The weapons are varied and better players will learn to switch weapons quickly as they each have their own, very specific, situations.

Having weapons and clicking fast isn't everything in this game: due to the ammo being relatively slow and the liberty the grappling hook offers evading bullets can be done. In a fight between more experienced players, the Tees will usually move at a speed that makes hitting the opponent a matter of good timing and prediction. Sadly, it's pretty hard to find the better players.

One of the biggest goals of the Teeworlds crew is to make their game very casual friendly, or in other words, to attract casual gamers. According to my chronometer they did that pretty well: 15 seconds from launching the game to firing a gun (after picking a decent server). Compare that to the +20 seconds a cold launch of firefox takes (cold launch = first launch after the computer started) you can see why Teeworlds can concurrent with the casual friendly flash games. This test also explains my subtitle.

Besides (Team) Deatmatch and CTF with normal weaponry, there are plenty of modded servers featuring other types of weaponry. Plus, you can participate in a race.

While it can't concurrent with top games like TF2 and L4D (nor tries to), Teeworlds has it's place as a fast, fun game that is perfect for when you want to get some distraction in little time. Fans of the 2d sidescroller shooter genre should certainly try this game.

Hope this get's more reactions then my last review...

edit: made corrections (thanks to NewClassic)

 

[R0DZ]

Haha it's a pretty good game, I just downloaded it. It's pretty much Soldat, I personally believe. It's like Soldat for kids. It's not bad though. Not great but it's killing some time. Pretty good review even though there wasn't much to review.

 

[Fruitloops89]

Looks interesting, I might have to check it out this weekend.

 

[suiraclaw]

Never heard of Soldat. Read a description of it on wikipedia, it does sound similar on paper (I heard in the first beta the Tees had a jetpack as well, but it wasn't fun/innovative/free enough).

It's like Soldat for kids

It's true that there's little gore (if at all) nor ragdoll physics but as an adult I don't find the gameplay childish .

I started to love the mCTF gametype now (in which your only weapon is some sort of an instant kill teleportation device) as it's all about expectation (guess where the enemy will be) and timing.

edit: just watched a few gameplay videos of Soldat. Not only are the graphics completely different but the gameplay of the 2 can't be compared either, on the looks of it. Soldat is a lot closer to the FPS genre (bullets can't be evaded), while Teeworlds plays more like Metroid and Super Mario (more focus on jumping, slower bullets, more types of weapons).
Just first impression though.

 

[suiraclaw]

I could use more feedback...

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

Second attempt at a review... I'm am have been playing this game for about 2 weeks now, so I'm not an expert (or a fanboy).

I advise everybody to get the game now, that way it'll be installed before you finish this text.

http://www.teeworlds.com/

Teeworlds is a fast-paced 2d sidescrolling multiplayer-only shoot 'em up (Shoot 'em Up is a different genre, usually applied to games like Gradius or Ikargua. This would be a Multiplayer-Only Sidescrolling Shooter.) computer game. The game features cartoon-themed graphics and physics, and relies heavily on classic shooter weaponry and gameplay. In the game, you roleplay a Tee, a cute ball who carries around various weaponry and a hook, allowing some Spiderman-like movement. Teeworlds is open-source and runs on all major operating systems.

Teeworlds' gameplay can, despite it's small size, compete with bigger and expensive productions in terms of fun and innovation. What sets Teeworld apart from other sidescrollers game is it's huge focus on mobility, it's innovative use of the grappling hook and it's variety of weaponry. The instant respawn is also well implemented. (I agree, but why and how? What other games do instant-respawn not as well? Do you believe this can be improved in some way? Forced line break.)

You start the game with only a hammer and a long range pistol (and the hook), but there are other weapons lying around. (On most maps they're litteraly everywhere.) and So ammunition isn't too much of an issue. The weapons are truly different (Consider "varied" instead of "different") and better players will learn to switch weapons fast quickly as they each have their own very specific situations. (Forced line break.)

Having weapons and clicking fast isn't everything in this game: due to the ammo's being relatively slow and the liberty the grappling hook offers evading bullets can be done. In a fight between more experienced players, the Tees will usually move at a speed that makes hitting the opponent a matter of good timing and prediction. Sadly, it's pretty hard to find the better players.

One of the biggest goals of the Teeworlds crew is to make their game very casual friendly, or in other words, to attract casual gamers. According to my chronometer they did that pretty well: 15 seconds from launching the game to firing a gun (after picking a decent server). Compare that to the +20 seconds a cold launch of firefox takes (cold launch = first launch after the computer started) you can see why Teeworlds can concurrent with the casual friendly flash games. This test also explains my subtitle.

Besides (Team) Deatmatch and CTF with normal weaponry, there are plenty of modded servers featuring other types of weaponry. Plus, you can participate in a race.

While it can't concurrent with top games like TF2 and L4D (nor tries to), Teeworlds has it's place as a fast, fun game that is perfect for when you want to get some distraction in little time. Fans of the 2d sidescroller shooter 'em up computer genre should certainly try this game.

Hope this get's more reactions then my last review...

The review is simple to read, and really carries itself well because of that. There's something about simplicity that makes if a quick and engaging read. The only problem is that it tends to be difficult for the reader to really understand the depth of the whole experience. Some things you could have touched on was the battle navigation (which is always an important part of Multiplayer-Only titles), the sound, the lack of music, and how the game feels to be played.

Otherwise, the strength really is in the simplicity. It's a strong review that doesn't try to be something it's not, just lacks a tiny amount of depth to really make it go the distance.

 

[suiraclaw]

Looks like I made it too obvious that English isn't my mother tongue. Thanks a lot of the critique and correction, I edited my original post to fix the typo's. I didn't add anything big, but will keep your advice (about telling more about the game experience) in mind when I make another review.
Just don't expect me to tell something about music/sound, since I always play muted (in every game).

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

Looks like I made it too obvious that English isn't my mother tongue. Thanks a lot of the critique and correction, I edited my original post to fix the typo's. I didn't add anything big, but will keep your advice (about telling more about the game experience) in mind when I make another review.
Just don't expect me to tell something about music/sound, since I always play muted (in every game).

It's perfectly alright that English isn't your native, just figured I would help. Grammar's a really delicate thing to learn, even when it's your first language. I know many people who make many mistakes despite English being the only language they know. Since I've never tried to write anything with any amount of fluency in a language that isn't my native, I'm not sure, but I believe it gets easier over time.

So no worries, I think it actually makes your review stronger for the simplicity of the language. It's actually very refreshing to see, honestly. I'm quite surprised you haven't gotten more comments. (Which I'm going to blame on the freeware bit. Freeware/old games usually don't get the same kinda replies big blockbuster and new release titles get.)

And it's fine about the music and sound, but I will harp for it, mostly because it's something I like to read in reviews and think no good review could do without. I'd suggest experimenting with sound on for an hour, just to see what it's like. Although it really is up to you.

Glad I could help, and I look forward to your next review.