 |
|
Smashing Bottles (PC) by jp (May 30th, 2026 at 18:16:28) |
Heard about this one recently and got stuck playing the demo on itch (though it's also available on Steam) for a few hours until I got to the final (demo) ending!
It's an incremental game with some interesting things going on - you have a bat and smash bottles, but you have a limited time to do so (in seconds, like max 25 or so after all the upgrades?). When time runs out you can go again or go to the shop to buy upgrades. As expected you want to get more money from smashing bottles and there's ways to do that - spawn golden bottles, champagne bottles (when they smash the corks fly out and can smash other things), and even molotov cocktails (that explode, smashing other things).
There's a few things I thought where nice/clever:
a. The game has two distinct phases (once you unlock molotovs, everything changes, really) - the "you smash" and the "maximize money in the time allowed". In the latter, the game mostly plays itself as the molotovs keep everything getting smashed.
b. The "you smash" has rotating bottles, and since the smashing can take a few hits, there's some interest in smashing champagne such that the cork flies in a certain direction for more damage.
c. The champagne corks are pretty clever - since it gives you a reason to, in the short time you have to smash, choose what to smash a little more carefully. Go for golden or champagne hoping for a productive chain reaction?
Of course there's also a prestige/reset mechanic - from which you can lock a separate bat that smashes.
I'm curious how far things will go once the full game is out - and what the nature of the upgrades will be. I'm really hoping for more variety in the experience beyond the simple "number go up" - in that sense the molotovs seem like they're capping the experience in a detrimental way (even as they were super fun to smash when I first unlocked them.
read all entries for this GameLog  - read comments (1) 
- add a comment 
|
|
Donkey Kong Bananza (NSW2) by jp (May 30th, 2026 at 18:07:32) |
Still playing!
It has an interesting structure in terms of its levels and such - the core metaphor is that you're going deeper into the planet with each level, and they're both thematic and numbered. I got to a point where there's a bifurcation - go right into what I thought was "jungle land" or left into "snow land". I went right did a few more levels, cleared the boss (it was plant/poison land) and in order to continue going deeper I was then told to go back to "snow land"! There's a fast travel/teleport system involving giant worms that can move your around, so it was easy enough to do this, but I was surprised to learn that the fork was just a "choose what order to do these" situation... and also, the entire "fork" makes little sense thematically so I'm curious to see how it's explained and communicated in the interface - will it look like a fork in the "hole" going into the planet's core?
The titular ability (bananza mode!) was a bit underwhelming - you turn into a bigger DK and can now punch things you couldn't before - it lasts a limited amount of time. But, I've since unlocked a new one - DK-bird - where you can glide around (and after paying to unlock) and drop an egg on enemies. The gilding around was important/necessary in the plant/poison levels, and I'm expecting it to be similarly required in the snowy ones. We'll see!
read all entries for this GameLog
- add a comment
|
|
Hollow Knight: Silksong (PC) by dkirschner (May 13th, 2026 at 14:58:07) |
Kicking myself for not writing an entry when I was playing this 6 months ago. I am cleaning up my wishlist, backlog, and etc., and the FEELING I get when I see Silksong "in progress" is anxiety. I had jotted a few notes in December, as follows:
"It’s true, Silksong is hard. Like, really, frustratingly hard. Like punishingly difficult. I hit a wall at the end of Act 1 trying to beat the Last Judge. The game likes to place benches far away from boss fights, such that retrying boss fights involves slogging back through tough platforming and other sections of the map."
I did kill the Last Judge and complete Act 1. I remember that took a very long time, and that after the Last Judge, I died a few more times and, probably, with shaking hands and rapid heartbeat, said, "I can't do this anymore." Actually, it may have been in one of those rooms with waves of enemies. This innovation is new and unwelcome to Silksong, rooms that lock upon entering and spill several waves of challenging enemies at you. Yeah, I think that is what got me, just being pummeled over and over in one of those rooms, getting tired of exploring the maze-like map, tired of dying, tired of corpse runs, just exhausted. The game became a chore.
Besides that, I loved it, haha. I was definitely into it for a while. It was sublime until it wasn't.
read all entries for this GameLog
- add a comment
|
|
Turnip Boy Robs a Bank (PC) by dkirschner (May 12th, 2026 at 17:20:35) |
I meant to quickly beat this back in April so I could have a "completion" for the month, but I got really busy after spending barely an hour one afternoon with Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, a bizarre little twin-stick shooter about a turnip...who robs a bank. The game builds off previous games in the series, which I have never played, in which Turnip Boy commits tax evasion and, according to this game at least, seems to have started a war. Work has slowed down for the first time in nearly two months, and while I wait for my next contract to begin, I figured I'd knock this out.
The whole game is silly. The world is populated by sentient fruits and vegetables. You are employed by a pickle / mafia gang leader to rob a bank of a garlic bulb / bad guy / killed your dad. You have a base, where you can get new weapon loadouts by bringing weapons from the bank (always try to return with something new or high-powered!), purchase progression items from the "dark web," and upgrade stuff at another vendor. You go on "runs" to the bank, which are timed (starts at 2 or 3 minutes, goes up to 5 or 6 with upgrades). Runs are over when you die or when you exit the bank. Die and you lose half the cash you accumulated in the run. Survive and you are handsomely rewarded. Upgrade stuff. Go back to the bank. It's a roguelite too.
The bank has a specific layout of rooms, but you'll encounter some randomized areas too, and enemies and treasure are somewhat randomized. Throughout the bank are tons of NPCs with little fetch quests that usually reward you with pictures (fun/ny to look at) or hats (fun/ny to equip). A blueberry might want you to find its wedding ring, a lime wants you to get divorce papers from her lemon husband, a scientist pineapple wants you to find a philosopher mango and ask it an ethical question about experimenting on fruits, etc. I had some good laughs.
In each corner of the bank is a boss. Boss fights were fun, but the most challenging were early on. Once you start upgrading stats, the game becomes easy. It definitely ends up being an "upgrade everything and go nuts on all the enemies!" type game, experience being overpowered.
I haven't played a twin-stick shooter in a while, and while this wasn't revolutionary or anything, it was fun and scratched the itch. I gotta get back to Divinity: Original Sin 2. I might have some extra time till my next gig, so maybe I can boot it up, remember what I was doing, and make some progress this week.
read all entries for this GameLog
- add a comment
|
|
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS) by jp (Apr 27th, 2026 at 22:04:52) |
I got to that point where I hit a monster/boss that just wasn't that much fun, and then I got a bit lost in terms of where to continue making progress, and the backtracking started to get a bit tiresome...as I explored and searched for different paths. So, time to bail!
read all entries for this GameLog
- add a comment
|
|
|
|
|
GameLog hopes to be a site where gamers such as yourself keep track of the games that
they are currently playing. A GameLog is basically a record of a game you started playing. If it's open,
you still consider yourself to be playing the game. If it's closed, you finished playing the game. (it doesn't matter
if you got bored, frustrated,etc.) You can also attach short comments to each of your games or even maintain a diary (with more detailed entries)
for that game. Call it a weblog of game playing activity if you will.
[latest site fixes and updates]
[read more]
|
view feed xml
|
 |
|
2323 registered gamers and 3358 games. 7895 GameLogs with 13390 journal entries. 5126 games are currently being played.
More stats
|
 |
|
NFL Blitz (N64) by awoodrin |
| Excellent |
|
most recent entry: Wednesday 5 March, 2008
|
GAMELOG ENTRY #1:
SUMMARY-
NFL Blitz 2000 for the Nintendo 64 console is an arcade style sports game that redefines the rules of football. It is a football game that removes the foul aspect of gameplay and allows the player to be more aggressive during the game. The objective of the game is to score more points than your opponent within the alloted time. Through offensive and defensive play, the player must limit the other team's points, while scoring as many touchdowns and fieldgoals as possible. You beat the game by defeating various teams throughout the course of the season and playoffs until you reach the superbowl. Here you face the best team in the league and must outscore them to triumph as a true champion.
GAMEPLAY FIRST SESSION-
During the first session of gameplay I started the campaign option of a regular season. The game allows you to select a team from a list of the NFL teams that exist in real life. It lists every teams' overall offensive, defensive and special teams score out of 100. This allows the player to gage how good his team will perform against other teams in the league. The best teams have a leg up in speed, performance and strength and are naturally the hardest to beat. The option of choosing your team is a great feature because the player can elect either an outstanding statistical team, or a hometown team. Since most players of football games also watch football, this option instantly develops a commradery and investment of the player's emotions in the game's outcome. This was true for me too. Being from San Francisco, I picked the 49ers. My emotional state while playing the game was energetic and aggressivly excited. What led to this was the fact that conflict is established in the game through performance. I had to outscore the other team in order to win. My emotional investment in the 49ers in real life also added to the gameplay because I wanted to lead my team to an artificial victory as well. Another thing that led to my aggressive emotional state was the fact that in NFL Blitz, the standard rules of football have been tweeked. There are no penalties or late hits, so the player is able to knock down and tackle opponents during and after the play. This restriction with penalties in real life leads to the satisfaction of illegally hitting another player in the gameworld. With no consequence, the player is able to do any late hit or dirty move that is prohibited in the real NFL. Football players and fans can live vicariously through the success of their artificial team as they try and capture the superbowl trophy.
The characters in the game are well designed and fun to play with. This is because the designers created all of the characters to be big, muscular bohemiths. Regardless of what position they play, most characters are about the same size and speed and can certaintly hit just as hard. This removes an element of strategy in the game because there are very few player mis-matches on the field for a coach, "or player" to take advantage of. This is one way that the gameplay differs from the traditional Madden style football games. There is nothing too unique about individual players in the game and it is primarily the names and teams that certain gamers will develop attachments to because of real-life affinities. The game's progression and narrative story are simple, easy to follow and effective. The game does not get caught up in any off the field issues or injury reports. It strictly sticks to the game on the field. The player must win as many games as possible to emmerge as the best team within his division. If you win the division, you make it to the playoffs and can fight your way to the superbowl. The game follows the structure of the NFL season in real-life and therefore, many of the rules for narrative progress are implicit amongst football fans and gamers. The gameplay is sensational and very fun to play because of the way that NFL Blitz re-defines the flow and style of a football game. The game is not concerned with running plays for a few yards and field position, but rather designed for big-play action. This means that running plays typically go for huge gains and hail-mary passes down the field often result in touchdowns. The high scoring outcomes of most games keeps players interested because it is easy for even a beginner to score a touchdown. As well, the turnover margin is about three times as often as a real NFL game. This means that the ball changes possession and the rate of scoring are extraordinarily high. There is never a dull momment because of this and games are frequently very close.
The lack of penalties really helps to establish the flow of this arcade style game. There are few pauses in the game, so time moves very quickly. The camera angle only changes when a turnover occurs and gets behind the team with the ball. The lack of a panoramic view adds to the de-enfasis that the game places in the background and aesthetic visuals. The game is all about the game itself that is being played. In addition, there are cut-angle images that pop up on the screen between quarters. Here a scandelously dressed cheerleader offers tips for special "juke" moves in the game and then the box closes immediately for the game to resume. The cheerleader is a nice character touch because it contributes to the game's animalistic and primal tendency for violence and competition within the gameplay. The game is catered to men and the cheerleader is effective for that reason. Flow is also established by the rules of the game. The rules for penalties are altered, but the rules of scoring in football remain the same. This maintains the objective of the game by giving the player no reason to feel confused while playing. The interactions that the player has with other individuals is highly competitive and interactive. The tendency for big plays to occur in the game keeps players and spectators on the edge of their seats. The natural hatred that some people have for certain teams keeps the atmosphere competitive and full of appropriate trash talking.
GAMELOG ENTRY #2:
GAMEPLAY SECOND SESSION-
For the second game session I invited a friend over and tried the multiplayer feature. This became very frustrating after a short while because the game is not designed well for the two player option. One player controls the quarterback while the other controls the receiver of the football. The result was a lot of mixed signals, busted plays and yelling at one another. The gameplay during this second session was much more enjoyable, however because the character became easier to manipulate as the controller became more familiar. I could now get the character to juke, spin, accelerate, jump and stiff arm. This is tremendously significant in the game because of the arcade format. Each team in the game has the same playbook, so you are working with the same offensive and defensive schemes for any team. This downplays the significance of strategy in the game and makes the execution of a pass or run dependent on the player's skills, not the strategy used. The acquisition of proficient "juke" skills becomes the main difference in the game. The outcome of a match is therefore, more dependent on a player's skills than any random outcome or play selection. The knowledge of defensive sets and play-calling is not very important in the game, which is an innovative feature that sets NFL Blitz apart from other sport games such as Madden football.
My emotional state while playing the game changed when playing against another person. The computer intelligence of the game makes the opponent rarely miss tackles or give up big plays. Against a friend, I was more excited when playing because the potential for making touchdowns increased. The games are typically offensively driven and often more than 40 or 50 points are recorded. One thing that disappointed me was the lack of character development within the game. The lack of injuries and fines/suspensions in the game made it really feel like a videogame and at times removed me from the magic circle. This can make some teams virtually unstopable because their rating is too high for most any player to overcome. The game was interesting and fun to play because every match is different. There are no two games that are played identically. Each new play involves different approaches to tackling and running and keeps the matches fresh. And of course, the late hits make it fun to play regardless of what the score is. The social interactions between me and my friend were highly competitive with a lot of trash talking. This is due to the high level of skill that it takes to beat another player, since you are both playing with the same strategy and playbook.
DESIGN-
The design of this game is certaintly unique for a football sports game and is the source of the games greatest strengths and weaknesses. The main innovative element of the game is the alteration that NFL Blitz makes to the gamerules. The lack of penalties and fouls in the game is a unique feature that differentiates the game from the Madden football series. The alteration from the standard rules of football is an innovative element because it allows for more freedom and aggression during gameplay. The lack of penalty assessment removes the restriction that most football games impose on the players that demonstrate "unsportsman like conduct." It is innovative because it allows for freedom within a structured set of rules. The ability to succeed within these guidelines and have the freedom to foul at will is a large part of the game's success. Another innovative element is the icon, slot-machine-like wheel at the bottom of the screen that allows the player to unlock cheats before each game. Dirt fields, big heads, fog, etc are some examples of avatar variations and environmental changes that the player can introduce into the gameplay. Another innovative feature is the "on fire" option that is unlocked after a certain number of sacks or completed passes. It gives the muscular avatar even greater speed and strength and makes the character super-human for a short period of time. It contributes to the arcade style flow of the game by making it less realistic and more fantastic.
The lack of character development and level variation is an example of an overlooked design element in the gameplay. All of the characters look identical in the game as large muscular avatars. The flaw to this is that they all have the same speed, catching and tackling abilities. The rating of the team at the beginning of a match is the rating that each character has, so there is no individuality for specific avatars on each team. There is no real "play maker" on offense or defense because all of the members of a team are equally skilled. This creates a degree of separation between the player and his avatar because he can not target and lock onto a specific character that he loves from real life. Jerry Rice is just another avatar in the game and no more special than any other receiver. This fact makes the game less realistic and less enjoyable for a campaign season where the player can not set records. The fields that appear in the game are all identical with the exception of whose name i written in the endzone. The stadiums have nothing original about them and the concept of home-field advantage does not exist because of this.
Something that I would change about the game would be the lack of individuality that players have. I would make the faster players appear leaner and give them greater speed. Another thing I would change would be the computer's recognition of a lop-sided game. When one team is winning by too much, the computer forces the other team to turn the ball over, which makes every game close. The down side of this is that too many forced turnovers can cause the player to lose a game he should have won because of the computer intelligence. Other than this, the game is truly fun to play because of its innovative elements and is distinctly different from all other football sports games.
[read this GameLog]
|
|
|
