Why is it that everyone who doesn't give it a 4 or 5 says he's giving it a 1? For example: Codyeo -- "Isn't really as great as most say. 1/5." Not as great...1/5? There's a middle ground, people. It's not a simple pass/fail vote, here. And using the lack of badges as justification for a low vote? This is only the fourth day the game's been on here. The Kong staff has to assess the full game to decide how many points to assign to what accomplishments. Be patient. And there are several great games on here than for one reason or another don't have badges. Try some.
Sponge -- You wanted the factors that make it uniques modified exactly how? A super Gem that rides a rainbow unicorn across the map decapitating monsters along the way? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. You want a game that doesn't improve on the older version? I'm calling out Sonny 2.
I probably enjoy TD games more than I should. I'll admit that. Gemcraft, however, is head-and-shoulders above the field of TD games in my opinion. It's unique, and in both graphics and engrossing gameplay no other TD comes close. I would be disappointed if they had changed more than they did. They added traps, special weapon towers, beacons, infected buildings, monster summoning...hardly identical to the first game. My favorite new feature, however, is the new skills system. I haven't played far enough into the game right now to truthfully assess how the different skills affect gameplay, but to be able to subtract points from a skill without resetting your entire skill set? That's a perfect example of a minor improvement that greatly improves the experience, like making the inventory easier to access in a RPG.
4 of the top 5 are NOT TD games. Right now the two "Gemcrafts" are the only TD games in the top 5, along with both "Sonny" games and "Learning to Fly". TD games are 4 of the top 10 and 5 of the top 15. The five you see on the right side of the page right now are NOT the Top five games. And while we're on the topic of exclusive content let's remember that Sonny 2 has a third character class only playable at ArmorGames. That's a much more substantial portion of the game that's missing than with Gemcraft Ch. 0.
For developers to earn the full amount from Kong: "To qualify for an additional 15% of your game’s ad revenue, the game cannot be hosted on any website beyond Kongregate.com, with the exception of your own personal site."
Avery site like this or Armorgames has its own little requirements. Learn to deal.
Jokergod, that "pile of crap" web site has the#3 and #4 rated games on Kong. If you count gameinabottle's games along with it, it becomes the top 4 games. And between the two there's probably about a dozen games in the top 125 or so. You want armorgames to pull all its games because of the exclusive content? Kong's overall game quality is going to suffer.
Rune, that's like saying my bank "forces" me to pay my mortgage. I don't have to do it, but that's the contract I agreed to when I bought my house. If the developers who actually create the games don't want to do that, they can find somewhere else to host their games. Gameinabottle obviously feels that ArmorGames, at least for the time being, is ideal.
FWIW, I found Kongregate through Protector, which I first found on Armorgames.com. Now Kong is my site of choice.
I think we all can agree that exclusive content sucks. That said, why spend so much time complaining about it? It's a fact of life. It's like with movies -- if you want to watch the director's cut, you're going to have to pay for the DVD. HBO's probably not going to air it. Gameinabottle obviously has a deal with ArmorGames. If you get mad at one, you have to get mad at the other, and I'd like to remind you that the two are the source of some of the best, most professional games on Kong. If it's that big a deal, stop playing them, but quit griping about it on the comments section. Take it to the forums.
Just a few levels in, but I'm liking it. Big kudos for the improved/expanded skills system. It's far easier to redistribute skill points than in the first game. Traps are a nice touch, as are the charged towers.
How exactly are you supposed to destroy 40 objects on the final level? Are there even 40 objects to destroy? Hitting bananas don't count, apparently, which means the only things left are the sawhorse-like things. Are there even 40 total? And how is it possible to hit them all?
 "GemCraft chapter 0"){kind=icon}
 "Alpha Bounty"){kind=icon}
 "Crush the Castle"){kind=icon}
 "Music Catch 2"){kind=icon}
 "Neverending Light"){kind=icon}
 "Space Mutants FROM SPACE!"){kind=icon}
 "Teliscope"){kind=icon}
 "Drift Runners"){kind=icon}