So this year I decided I'm gonna skip giving my opinions on the animations as most will end with me saying the same thing: how they feel incomplete and have no ending (be it a punchline of a joke, something heartwarming, or the rare tearjerker). I don't know what happened, but JS really dropped the ball and had I known this was going to be the quality of the animations I would have preferred them making a pretty image. Once again, if they're hard up for ideas for Advent Calendar animations they could maybe hold a contest where users submit their ideas, the winners announced on the day their animation plays for. Or if JS insists on doing it themselves then maybe they need to pick a theme and stick with the theme because them just winging it results in what we got.
But I digress, instead I'm going to look over the gifts. Not all of them, just ones I feel I have something to say about. Yes, I will complain about some of them, but I'll also mention some that I like. So without further or do, my Advent Calendar 2018 gift review (credit to JN for the images because I'm too lazy to actually look up the Neopets URL for them):
Day 1: Ladder Bookshelf
Alright, though I'm confused about something: is this an actual ladder? If so, how are the books keeping on it, ladders aren't thick yet the books are sitting on it like the rungs and side of the ladder are a few inches out. It's like an optical illusion.
Day 3: Bright Red Nose
Okay, this got a chuckle out of me.
Sadly it sometimes either looks too small or not placed right.
Day 5: Cutie Patootie Mobile Toy
This seems like it could have been a wearable. *shrugs*
Day 7: Double Trouble Snow Angel & Cold and Frosty Window
*Coughs to clear throat* *Takes deep a breath* AAAAAHHHHHHHH! WHAT IS THAT?! A new Doctor Who villain? The flapping twin angels? Apparently this is a Toy. Yeah, maybe if you want the child to have nightmares for the rest of their lives its a toy...
Now this is neat how they implemented it. Instead of just something that "hangs" next to your Neopet its a full screen foreground, as if you're looking into it to see your Neopet. I can actually see some creative use with this during the holiday seasons.
Day 8: Haunted Trees Foreground & Glowing in the Dark Eyes
Oh my Fyora, would someone put that poor tree out of its misery? It looks so disturbed, like it wants to say it didn't ask for this.
Huh, interesting. Kind of reminds me of the artwork for the old Faerie Abilities. Guessing this is a Battle Magic item?... IT'S A TOY? Like, how? Are they lenses that makes your eyes glow? The item description doesn't help at all.
Day 9: Big Bad Club
Okay, now we get to a weapon... ANOTHER TOY? Are you sure? This looks like a weapon.
Day 11: Mud Ball
Don't we already have one of these? *Looks it up* Ah, we have the Snow Mudball. Okay, so what does it do... it's a Toy. Because of course it is, isn't it obvious?
Day 12: Large Victorian Window
Okay, a neat idea but implemented incorrectly. If our Neopets are suppose to look out of it the bottom the window should be blocking at least their feet. However it looks like your Neopet is floating in the middle of it and I don't think the perspective is supposed to be your looking at your Neopet through it.
Day 13: Spinning Snow Mound
Is... is this a weapon? Oh, it is! So what are the icons... not good. And its single use. Well, at least they're not introducing any more overpowered weapons though they don't seem to know where a good middle ground is. Not to mention there seems to be an issue with JS for some reason not being able to fix the Battledome right now... *sigh*
Day 14: Christmas Couch
... Look, I accepted JS don't want to do any more NeoHome Furniture as its time and effort for something not a lot of players use and I imagine other programming issues that JS's team don't want to mess with it. Fine. But can they stop or at least hold back on the number of items that would otherwise have been Furniture but they made wearable instead? And this isn't the last one, we also have two other chairs and a a couple of other items that could have been NeoHome Furniture. It's a bit ridiculous.
Day 16: Ice Skating Championship Finale Tickets
... What is this used for? It's classified as a Toy? JS, you couldn't think of any other item instead of an ambiguous ticket that is used for nothing?
Day 19: Mirage Xweetok Plushie
Hm, Mirage as a Colour, what would that be like? Well judging by the Plushie it would a blurry aura around your Neopet. Not quite sure if it works out.
Day 23: Wooden Holiday Mug
This is a Toy? Why isn't it a Drink?
Day 24: Manila Envelope with Glittering Mistletoe & Red-Nosed Chia Handheld Plushie
Okay, just like with the tickets, this item gives the appearance that it has another use. But it doesn't, it's just a Toy. Who are making these items where they think tickets and a mailing envelope is something you play with? And I didn't even mention the Wooden Foot Bath they also classified as a Toy...
Shouldn't this have been paired with the Bright Red Nose?
Day 28: Dinner Table Cutlery
Another weapon, but it ain't any good.
Finally, there was five interesting items: Gift Pouches. Well, would have been interesting, if they gave more then one item...
Green Gift Pouch (Day 3rd) gives one Ixi-based item or a Codestone.
White Gift Pouch (Day 10) gives one Illusen- or Jhudora-based item.
Red Gift Pouch (Day 18) gives one Usuki-based item.
Brown Gift Pouch (Day 29) gives either zero or one Petpet.
Purple Gift Pouch (Day 31) gives zero or one Nova- or Nerkmid-based item.
Now I like the idea of these items, just not the execution. No new unique items, no rare items, and the last two has a chance of giving you nothing opening them. Also the Days that gave them out feels random. Like it felt like they were meant to be given out every Monday, but Red was on a Tuesday and Brown was on a Saturday. I guess there was at least one a week (ignoring December 1st was on a Saturday so was it's own week).
So, yeah, I don't feel Advent Calendar 2018 will be a year to remember. But that was last year, here's hoping for a better in 2019!
Sadly it sometimes either looks too small or not placed right.