Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=362https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1451I only fully remembered how masterful the art for this game is when I played it again. By making the Colossus itself a puzzle, the designers are able to make this mythological being of flesh and stone and hair into creatures that react to your actions, but still in some places represent or resemble buildings. It's quite amazing. I spoke of the Colossi reacting, and they do. It's an interesting part of the game, but also a very sad one. At times, you can feel the panic of these creatures as they realize their fate, and more than once I felt terrible for being the one responsible for their deaths. I didn't recognize the language that the characters spoke, and I think it was all made up, which I both liked and disliked. I liked that the game created its own language, but I didn't like that it turned all the dialogue into subtitles. I also was not a huge fan of the controls on the horse. You can do all sorts of cool things, but they're very difficult. Also, I can't count the number of times I leapt over my horse instead of getting on. Having played for another short while after writing that part and continuously dying (not even near a colossus) because of the controls, I'm going to have to revise my statement to say the horse controls out and out suck. I loaded an old save game, and I realized that earlier I was incorrect. Your character does get stronger and better health as the game progresses, but it is so subtle that I didn't even notice until I loaded the last colossus after fighting the first. In a way, I think that is the charm of this game. It is very subtle in its changes, though the challenges may seem overt (colossi). I just realized while playing that every time you kill a colossus, a piller of light rises up into the sky from that location permanently.Fri, 23 Feb 2007 18:52:49 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1451&iddiary=3077https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1451This game blew me away. That much I just have to open with. The gameplay for this game is so much fun (when it isn't frustrating) that I almost can't explain it. The Game presents you with minimum story, but makes you fascinated by it nonetheless. Who is the girl? Can this nameless boy save her? What are the Colossi? The makers make it clear that they will answer this on their own time, and you'd best just sit back and enjoy. At first I was somewhat skeptical of this game. Then I played it. For being so simple, it is utterly magnificent. Solving the puzzles of how to defeat the colossi is gratifying in itself; it makes you feel so very clever. But the challenges are (usually) just hard enough to challenge you without infuriating you. There are no powerups, there are no special weapons, just a boy and his horse. And when you have slain a colossus, the reward is that you are closer to the end goal. And yet, this is the only reward you need in this game. Somehow, that is enough.Fri, 23 Feb 2007 17:59:28 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1451&iddiary=3060https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1272Playing more BFME2 has made me appreciate the relatively simple display system; there's almost no screen clutter. The only thing permanently on your screen is the minimap and a row of buttons showing what your current units can do. There's also a nice radial display on each building that allows you to select what you want that building to do, but again, sadly, your buildings are locked into only one thing at a time. I wish more games followed Homeworld's example and allowed multitasking. This game has very pretty graphics, and the neat ability to (occasionally) create secure locations within your walls, allowing gates to be constructed. It really is very cool to open your gate and let your cavalry charge out with the gate closing behind them. However, the aforementioned wall problem gets frustrating. Also, the computer likes to build siege weapons. This is annoying cause they mess up your walls and only by mounting catapaults on your walls can you do something about them without running out to smash them. However, as I've mentioned, the friendly AI is stupid, so it doesn't attack the siege weapons unless you explicitly tell it to. At that point your walls are either on fire or rubble.Fri, 09 Feb 2007 19:26:48 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1272&iddiary=2723https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1272I'm a fan of the RTS genre, even if not everyone else is, but I think that it above all other genres (except perhaps MMOs) is the one where you have to have an amazing game to merit buying it, like Dawn of War, or Warcraft, or Starcraft. Battle for Middle Earth 2 is not that game. My first dissappointment is that they did not get the actors from the film to do the voices. Then I played the game and I found it to be neat how the combat was very epic in the sense that you could wipe out entire battalions like nothing, I was also disappointed to discover that the friendly AI was programmed with the intelligence of a fish. You can set your units into stances, just like in most games. However, in this one, it doesn't affect anything. For example, I had several units of melee and several units of archers. I told the melee to attack only when enemies got close, and the archers to attack as soon as they saw anything. Regrettably, when I finished with the base modifications I was working on, I looked back at that troop to find that the archers were not firing at all, and the melee guys were mostly dead cause they'd moved from their earlier position. At other times I'll find melee units quite literally in the enemy base even though they weren't halfway across the map earlier. They just wandered in pursuing enemies or something. The level design is good, although I would really like to see some maps that afforded better natural protection. This game has the nice ability to build walls (unless you're Mordor. NEVER play as Mordor) however, you can't build walls more than a certain distance away from your fortress (for some reason no one bothers to explain. But that's OK, they never bother to tell you that rule anyway) so unless you're in a tight area, you have to make these goofy diamond patterns or something to form a wall around your base, which doesn't encompass much. And since your resource buildings all have to be built a certain distance away from each other, and from other obstacles (another stupid rule) you can't protect them with your walls anyway. This is one of those games that I keep playing, though I don't know why. It's addictive, even though it's not that good. It could be because of the few really neat elements.Fri, 09 Feb 2007 18:41:33 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1272&iddiary=2704https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1084An piece of advice for everyone out there in gameland, remember to stop playing the game in time to submit your log. I'd like to talk some more about the combat system in FFXII, especially the Espers. Summons are always an interesting part of Square games, and are often an important part (In FFX, playing your Aeons right is like pressing the "I win" button in combat). However, in FFXII, the Espers are frustratingly difficult to get (in the case of Chaos) nearly impossible to beat (Like Zodiark, though he just reflects the annoying near-broken enemy style that exists in most of the optional bosses) and in the end, virtually useless in combat. To use them, you use up one to three thirds of your total mana, and two of your party members go away. This is all to summon an entity over which you have no control, which has less than max hit points, and dies if your character dies (which often happens after summoning espers). This makes an entire element of the game and combat completely useless in boss fights, and frustrates a player who has spent a great deal of time trying to get these optional summons. An additional weakness in the game is its rewards system. This has two faults that I can see. 1) Often you are required to farm enemies hoping one will randomly drop something, or open random spawn chests, much like an MMO, and 2) And this was very disappointing, the game developers put in things that made it so you obviously had to purchase the strategy guide. For example, to get the ultimate weapon, the Zodiac Spear, there were 4 chests that you had to NOT open throughout the game. No dialogue or other hints are ever given that there are chests you should not open, and in fact many of these occur early in the game where you need ever chest you can get. The only place you could find out about this is in a strategy guide, and you'd have to read about the ultimate weapon *first* because some of these chests are literally less than 2 hours into the game. This is not a good rewards structure because it punishes players who do not want to use a strategy guide or FAQ. Also, to get many good weapons (particularly Excalibur) I had to repeatedly open the same chest. I spent an hour leaving and coming back to the random spawn chest that contained Excalibur until it finally had the sword. This disrupts gameplay and bores the players, making all but the hardcore "collect-em-all" gamers decide that it's just not worth it. To end on a good note, all the cutscenes were beautiful, as always happens in Final Fantasy games, and the world was rich and detailed. Music, while not being as good as when it was composed by Nobou Uematsu, was still fairly good, and was only bad in a few places (Like the abysmal music in Lowtown. I started muting my TV when I went in there). All in all, it's a good game, but it's not the greatest Final Fantasy.Wed, 31 Jan 2007 20:53:14 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1084&iddiary=2394https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1084I really liked this game overall, and was impressed with some of the narrative progression and writing style. I was very impressed with how the story is not, in fact, about the "main character", Vaan, at all. He is, in fact, a relatively minor character in the whole story, and yet, he is the first character introduced, and the character we see on screen in towns. In truth, however, the story is more about the three people who ended up being my party the whole time: Ashe, Basch, and Balthier. I liked this style of more or less telling the story from the perspective of a (relatively) unimportant bystander. The story itself is fairly good, but it never reaches the epic proportions of Final Fantasy VIII or X, in which the earthly problems plaguing the world are demonstrated to be relatively minor compared to the catastrophe at hand, in the case of Final Fantasy VIII, or the discovery that the young summoner in Final Fantasy X has not been given the full truth about her line of work and its history, and that the journey is not over when we thought it would be. This game didn't have that, and the immensely powerful Nethecite, being an inanimate object, did not instill some concern or great sense of danger in me, since it was a story object only, and until some time into the game, I didn't realize that it was, in fact, a major story object. I just didn't find that there was the twist in this game that I've come to love in Final Fantasy games. I still liked this game, but if someone's looking at this game or FFX, I'd say go with X. The combat was an interesting aspect. On one hand, it was fun to have the Active Dimension Battle, which gives the game the combat feel of an MMO and invites more tactics than other RPGs have in the past, such as the ability to keep your casters out of the way of harm while your fighters soak up the damage. However, it gave a significant advantage to regular attacks because no special actions (spells, etc) can be taken while certain spells are being cast. So, if I begin casting Scathe with Ashe, Balthier cannot heal anyone when the boss hits us during the animation. This is, naturally, very frustrating.Wed, 31 Jan 2007 18:53:33 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1084&iddiary=2369https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=922Further playing of this game continues to baffle me. I just played my first "around the town" style level. I rolled up a cow, and probably a good 15 people! I suspect they did not fare well in space... This game clearly does not take itself seriously. That's unusual, and I like it. The designers do not try to make anything make a great deal of sense. I rolled over a fiddler crab in someones garden but then crashed into a pack of animated watering cans. I've been hit by flying cheescake, and some mousetraps are baited with erasers. Because the designers know they're being ridiculous, they can make things much more fun. To elaborate on the rewards system, I did find one of the presents in a level, but it was so difficult to get I gave up. If your Katamari was too small, or too big, you wouldn't be able to get it, and finding the right size would take time I was not interested in spending, since I only had so long to get enough stuff. There're a series of cutscenes talking about this family, and they're silly, but I think the best cutscenes are when you make a new constellation and this little girl who looks like she's made of Legos exclaims "Oh! I feel it! I feel the cosmos!" And then proceeds to swirl through the galaxy for no discernable reason. The cutscenes are endlessly amusing, as this is even not the most funny thing I've seen so far.Sat, 27 Jan 2007 22:48:24 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=922&iddiary=2037https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=922When I started playing this game, the only thing I could think of was 'What the hell...?" But it grew on me. The controls are somewhat awkward for me; I've never been very good at a dual stick control scheme. The writing is funny, though I cannot tell if it was meant to be. The gameplay seems like it would be repetative, but in reality, it flows quite well. I think what really drives the game along is amusement. The idea that I might be rolling a giant ball of junk along and then scoop up a cat is quite funny, and makes me eager for the time when my Katamari is large enough to scoop up said cat, especially since the cat was problematic earlier. Essentially the game is a large time trial. There is very little conflict otherwise, and the fact that it doesn't feel too much like the player is fighting against the game is perhaps a boon. While there is no way to alter the story or build character, I find that the dialogue the King of All Cosmos says to be very funny, as he gives the prince grief for not being good enough at fixing the mess the KING made. The game has "presents" as a sort of reward that are randomly dropped into levels, but I have yet to find one and must admit that I have found myself caring very little. The greatest kind of reward thus far has been the ability to roll greater and greater stuff into a giant ball. I eagerly await rolling people up.Sat, 27 Jan 2007 21:30:43 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=922&iddiary=2032https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=909Often in games, one gets tired of combat as enemies spring up from nowhere and, in the case of some RPGs, a tedious and one-sided fight will ensue. This is not the case in Jade Empire, where I find myself actually longing for more combat. The design of combat is simple enough, with multiple styles to accomplish multiple goals, and the ability to combine said styles. However, while sometimes the combat feels quite epic with characters leaping and dodging and kicking, at other times, it feels rather, well, mundane or slow, and sometimes there's simply not enough of it. The progression of the story is definitely interesting, and it's the kind of story where I can (and have) stay up much too late at night playing just so I can find out this one next element of the story, only to have that element lead me to want to learn even more. It's very hard to roleplay a mean character for me, but this time through I decided to do just that, seeking out the most cruel and rude dialogue options and solutions to problems. This game makes sure you know that there are consequences for your actions. If you are rude to a student, or call them weak, they will dislike you and that will not change unless you do something to change it (which is not always an option). Also, if you do something bad, the immediate repercussions might not be the only things you experience. For example, early in the game there is another student with a wounded leg. The merchant in town sells the kinds of herbs you need to make a healing poultice, but the old medicine man warns you that one type will heal her, and another type will only make her feel better; she will still be weak. Of course, the obvious cruel choice here is to get her the stuff that doesn't actually heal her, give it to her, lie about the price so she gives you more money than you paid, and challenge her to a bout, where she will be further wounded. Oh, and if you're really mean, later you can tell her what you did and that she should get her *own* solutions in the future. All of these actions earn you "Closed Fist" points. But, if you do this, later, when your village is under attack, the attackers will easily kill her because of her wound, and at that point you will again get closed fist points. In my opinion, story is one of the top three most important aspects of gameplay. This game has an excellent story; the writing is incredible. Though some of the dialogue is a little campy, there are a number of very funny exchanges. However, the overarching story dwarfs everything else about this game and keeps one pretty engrossed the whole time. More than once while playing this game I would exclaim "I can't beleive that just happened! That was awesome!" or even better, I would just stare dumbfounded at the TV as something totally unexpected and awesome unfolded before me. The adaptability of substories to the character's actions, including love interests with followers, reputation in towns, etc, makes this game flow so well and have so much to do that I really can just go on and on about how great it is.Fri, 26 Jan 2007 22:36:45 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=909&iddiary=2017https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=909I thoroughly enjoy this game. It's a good kind of RPG in the fashion of Knights of the Old Republic, only it's set in an Asian type atmosphere. The ability to make moral decisions and have them affect the world is a great part of this kind of game. Instead of having "Good" and "Evil" as the two paths, there is "the way of the Open Palm" and "the way of the Closed Fist" and neither is ever proclaimed to be evil (though being a jerk is a great way to follow the closed fist). The first allied character, Dawn Star, is somewhat annoying, and I found myself skipping most of her dialogue after reading the subtitles, but later characters are excellent additions. Also, many have incredible names, like "Bladed Thesis". Combat is simple if you want it to be, but the rewards of making complex sequences are impressive and well worth it. The only gripe I could offer is that sometimes it feels like combat is moving slowly at the beginning of the game, but by the end you can be making lightning fast strikes to dazzle your enemies and onlookers alike. I recommend using "Thousand Cuts" or "Legendary Strike" styles, because they are faster, and, naturally, cooler. The game has a fairly standard RPG beginning, what with the whole "You are a student or learner and all of a sudden your world is upended", but the rest of the game becomes far more original and amazing.Fri, 26 Jan 2007 20:46:55 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=909&iddiary=2012