I call it unprofessionalism. My earlier post: I thought this review gave the game high praise and it was a good review--your comments MADFINGER were uncalled for and showed a lack of professionalism. This review pointed out the highs (of which there were a LOT) and the lows (of which there were only a few). There is no perfect game, even the best console titles have flaws pointed out. What you should do is take suggestions made and--if you think they are viable--use the criticism to make Samurai 3 an even better game. The review even ended "this is everything a great sequel should be". What more do you want? Lies? For what it's worth, although it has managed my expectations, this review HAS convinced me to buy the game because I trust this reviewer's honest and unbiased opinion.
But you have to compare this review to other recent TA reviews/articles and the game to the quality level in the app store. Then you see, that it's still underrated. Gladly, there are other review sites out there, mostly rewarding the quality of this game with the praise it truly deserves. But yes, you can't make everyone happy. Counts for both sides.
Oh my, something tells me that this outburst by Madfinger is not going to go over very well. It's unfortunate because I really do enjoy the Samurai series, but rants like that really do a lot of damage to a reputation. Imagine going to McDonald's and getting berated by the manager because you complained that the fries are cold. This is no different. In the end, we are the customer and the developer is the provider of a service. In this case, the service is a game, but no matter what the goods or how the goods are delivered, in the end, the customer is always right. If the customer says that the game is too repetitive, then the game is too repetitive. If they say that they prefer the original control scheme used in Samurai 1, as opposed to the rather blasé style used in Samurai 2 and countless other mobile FPS and TPS titles, then they are entitled to that opinion and should not be told that their opinion is wrong. The developer then has the responsibility of taking this criticism and making a better product. End of story. No childish rants. No pointing fingers. This is the cost of doing business. In the end, I would expect that the TA reviewers will remain professional and we may even see a future Madfinger Games game reviewed here again. Hopefully Madfinger has gotten it out of his system and he can now focus on taking the criticism that has been provided here and on the App Store to make the game even better. For the record, you can put me in the group that much prefers the original, innovative swipe controls that made Samurai 1 stand out from the crowd. I would love to see the control method added as an option in Samurai 2. Secondly, if Madfinger says that the game is being given away at $2.99, then raise the price. Simple as that. It's your game. You picked that price point. If you chose a price that was too low for the quality of product that you have provided, then that's on you, not us. Don't take it out on us, your valuable customers. Pirates are going to pirate, no matter what the cost. If the game cost $0.99, pirates would still steal it. It's their nature. There are, however, ways to combat this issue. Take the Tilt to Live HD marketing strategy, for example. Make the game free to download, then offer in-app purchases to unlock most of the content. Pirates are less likely to steal free games because, well, they are free. And, it's been proven that in-app DLC is much harder to steal, still possible, I understand, but a lot more work. Obviously this is food-for-thought for future releases and not something you could implement now, but still valuable information if you care to use it. Anyway, enough about this. I like Samurai 2, but I like Samurai 1 even more. If Samurai 2 had the swipe control scheme, I would consider it the better game, but as it is, it's a decent sequel and an inferior game to the original IMO. However, I'll enjoy it either way.
Out of curiosity MadFinger. Can't you set it up so all versions of a game is released simultaneously at the same time? Luckily I had hw to do and time flied by and I bought it. And pro tip: Never ever bash a review for your own game. I find it pretty surprising because out of all the reviews I read, this game seems to be scoring surprisingly high (pocketgamer gave it a 8!!!!), so unless all reviews were unjustifiably low, I see almost no reason to be rage posting on the review's comment section. To be fair, I think most of your rage towards the review is probably spewing from the rage towards warez. But keep that off the review comments and put it here =)
Disappointingly, the game does not run at 60 fps on iPad. That actually seems rather strange to me as the iPad is running the game at only a slightly higher resolution and features very similar hardware. Perhaps this is done to keep the game running smoothly? If they display idle enemies in addition to those you are fighting, it could have prevented them from hitting their 60 fps target.
You can set day, but we have timezones So in the NZ game calendar day starting first.. As about ranting.. I know what you mean, we as developers are supposed to be quiet, but...
hmm. You can also release an approved app manually whenever you wish I think. Quite a few devs do that.
I won't comment on Madfinger's response to TA's review other than to say it's now obvious the "Mad finger" in question is the one he apparently types with. I love this game. I bought all 3 of the big releases Wednesday night. I've hardly touched RR and I don't think i've even bothered to launch Angry Birds: Halloween yet. I've been just playing this so much. I got the first Samurai game for free way back when Blacksmith Games was doing the Appvent Calendar last year and I've always regarded that as the equivalent of finding a shiny treasure on the beach. I thought it was fantastic and it turned me into a permanent fan of Madfinger Games. When Bloody X-Mas came out I snatched it up and loved every second of it. So of course, Samurai II was a insta-buy for me! It totally surpasses the first game in almost every way! Like some others here, I do wish an update would come adding back in the option to have the original "swipe" control scheme, just because it made the game so unique. But that's splitting hairs, and I think the control pad and buttons are super. All in all, great job Madfinger! I wish you much success and I can't wait to see what you guys do next!
I quite enjoy seeing your comments, to be honest. I'm curious as to what's up with the iPad performance, though. As noted above, it is a near rock solid 60 fps on iPhone4, but nowhere near that on iPad. The difference in performance was significant and striking.
I've played this on iPod touch 3G and ipad and didnt really notice slower rates on ipad. The beta even had a live frame rate display and it never went below 55 for me on both the iPad and iPod.
I for one like the fact that Madfinger games expressed himself(herself) about how they feel in regard to their game. It shows passion and how close this game is to their hearts. They put some serious blood sweat and tears for months into this game getting it right. It shows me that they care very much about the product that they put out. I for one have had a great time with your game and look forward to future releases.
Um...no. Edit: Aww...now this post makes no sense. There was a multiple windows open fail by one of the mods here that will remain nameless.
Drama, drama, drama. I support both sides here. I support Hodapp and value his opinions. I feel like he wrote a fair and honest review with valid points both positive and negative. I also support Madfinger for passionately defending their creation that they obviously put a lot of love into. I also have to imagine that the language barrier may have played into some of the harshness (although I don't know if I only read an edited post. The dev implied that he toned down his original post...) I value this site, especially in their support of devs and stance regarding piracy and I'm sure Hodapp would be the first one to decry the ridiculous amount of punks who steal a 3 dollar game. As to the game itself, count me as one who GREATLY prefers the new controls, even though I grant that it takes away some of the unique quality of the original. I think people need to take a breath, relax, and realize that differing opinions are a good thing, not a bad thing.
Pocket Gamer Silver Award http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Various/Samurai+II%3A+Vengeance/review.asp?c=24456 Congrats !
I noticed a difference in framerate on my iPad -- till I restarted it. I think the issue is the available RAM (256 vs 512 on the iPhone 4).
I restarted it, same slowdown in the same place (first chapter, the area with the three windmills and the inverted D immediately after that). As I said, the game stays playable, but it's still noticeable.
Correction: Dev's should be happy about criticism. That allows them to see how your product is viewed from a consumer's perspective. If you deny all criticisms and comments about your product, that means you've reached your limitations and can't improve and make better products in the future.
I was about to wait for a sale before pushing the buy button but, somehow, Madfinger Games' reply to TA's review decided me to buy it now. It's time to support good developpers if we don't want to be left with only free flash games
