The Spice...
I must confess, when I find a game on the front page of Newgrounds entitled, "Discount Mayonnaise," I'm not entirely sure what to expect. So, when I find out that the same game is a fast-paced action-based platforming adventure with zero accountability for the sanity of it's gamers and a giant Dune-styled sandworm in every level, I nod my head slowly, and try my best. While the idea may seem half-baked and there is no actual plot to the game, Discount Mayonnaise still delivers with riveting action, customization, and some rarely well-programmed gameplay. The addition of customizing your characters with different clothing and weaponry, depending on the type of skill level you want your character to have, is rarely done well in flash games, but this time, I can feel the difference in my running speed, and the height of my jumps. A medal system is a smart route, adding new levels of difficulty for the player to match that of the perfect difficulty that has been encrypted into the flash, itself with difficult jumps and intelligent enemies that follow you around. I will say that while the infinite lives are very much helpful and the difficulty is well where it should be, some of the jumps that are to be performed feel tedious and with somewhat stiff and rigid controls in the beginning of the game, it'll prove difficult to maintain an audience. I also found many glitches when I first started playing; My character wouldn't move when I started up the game for the first time, and there appears to be a lag here-and-there. Music consists of intense techno beats that change with each world change, and the artwork is rather fantastic(in that Meatboy sort of way). In the long-run, this game proves more than sufficient. With a few patches to cover those glitches, this could quite possibly be the best game of 2011. But, even if you keep it as it is, it'll still have my vote as one of the greatest games this year, by far. It's not every day we get to play a game as compelling and personal as this one. Check this one out, you won't regret it.
9/10
