CHRIS:
DJB really shows a lot of promise. It's a platformer of sorts, with a minimalist graphical style that's actually quite reminiscent of the PSP game LocoRoco. The game is impressively programmed and quite fun to play too. However that said there are a few fiddly moments that let the game down - most notably on the second level where Santa jumps on moving snowmen to bounce - but the snowmen tend to change direction randomly and it can be pretty irritating. What's clever though about DJB is that Santa will slide down slopes, gaining speed and momentum. It's a very clever feat of technical programming that many people may find hard to adjust to. Fortunately the author has included a tutorial level to get you into the swing of things. Downhill Jam Buttocks is a good game, definitely one of the best in the competition in my eyes. But it's not a great game, and I can't quite put my finger on why that is.

FLAVA:
This was an entry that pleasantly surprised me. While the graphics are nothing special, the thing that impressed me was the gameplay. As the player, you can slide down slopes and jump up, using your parachute to slow down your decent to the ground. This alone allows for some interesting level design - most of which I enjoyed. However towards the later levels the game got annoying as I found it a chore trying to jump from slope to slope. The other disappointing thing is probably that there are only around four levels in the whole game - which is probably due to the time deadline of the competition. A few more levels would have been nice however. At first the game was rather fun and it was nice to see something different and innovative (to some extent). Overall however, the levels just feel a bit messy and waiting for the camera to move back to the start position, after dying, became quite annoying.

ASSAULT ANDY:
When I first opened this game I thought it was going to be really fun. However I soon realized that the gameplay was limited. One thing I really like about this game is the menu. I like the way that you select options, with the description looking as though its one , as does the moving background. The audio isn't bad, with a few different Christmas themed tracks. This engine really has potential. I think that if the author didn't have the time constraints of the competition then the engine could have been refined and many more levels (with more graphics) could have been added. It feels like Sonic mixed with Mario. The running animation could have been a bit better. If you hold both left and right at the same time then he faces left but moves right. I think that having to hold control to run is a bit unnecessary. It's just another button, and you want to run most of the time to get anywhere. The jumping on the snowmen is quite annoying to do because you have to wait until they walk into the right position before you jump onto their heads. I found the level design a little bit hit and miss with many of the levels consisting of you choosing which direction to fall down and hoping for the best. Training is a bit confusing, the signs have too much information on them. Maybe some sort of walk through tutorial would have been nicer. It just seemed like it was information overload. I had a friend at my house and when he played the game he got confused about one of the instructions and just went "huh" (That was the instruction about going downhill and using the parachute.) Overall I see this as a game with a lot of potential but which had a few too many flaws. I hope the author takes my comments to heart and redevelops the game.