Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=479https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2978GAMEPLAY I played on for another hour and a half expecting more but there isn't anything. It's totally possible that this game is nothing more than tactics and combat but I'm really surprised there isn't anything more than fighting and cut-scenes so far. Everything is getting old fast at this rate. I'm losing a lot to random circumstances and having to redo battles 2-4 times before either winning or getting tired of it and coming back later. The characters are very shallow and once in a rare while you can find a line that was written in Engrish. The storyline is all obvious and has no redeeming value to it. The scripted conversations spoken by characters during combat makes no sense usually and consists of little more than "I'm glad you're alive" and "Me too!". Combat is horribly rigged and the system doesn't allow for dead characters to be revived. This wouldn't be so much of an issue if they computer didn't intentionally gang up a (gameplay wise) unfair number of enemies against them. While they do usually make up for their weakness, they also don't survive a round of combat and thus are noted as useless. Seeing as how the core of this game is nothing but combat, you would think that it would work better. DESIGN The game has a few odd design traits that make it unique, but not all of them are necessarily good. First off is the way weapons break. Every weapon in the game, no matter how powerful, can only be used a limited number of times. This wouldn't be an issue and is often found in games like this except that the items cannot be repaired and often times vendors don't carry up-to-date weapons, leaving your characters with sub-par weaponry and unavoidable disadvantages. If that wasn't enough, the cost to purchase customizable weapons is insane based on the minor advantages they grant. Because of how the AI is built, tactics are of the utmost importance in this game. Many times I found myself trying to predict the computers next move (not really hard by any standards) and then coming up with complex counter attack measures. This seems to have been created by the computers obsession with attacking weaker allies. The game introduces extraordinarily tough characters into your team quite often. Normally I wouldn't gripe about this, especially since they're on par or better than the enemies thrown at you. The problem is that this leads to a high bias against characters you've started with. Not only did they start weak, but they tend to remain just behind the curve a majority of the time, making them liabilities on the battlefield. The things I have learned even before finishing this game is amazing and unfortunately they are mostly things that I will remember to avoid for the duration of my game production career. The items on this list include the introduction of powerful characters to the players team, the need for an uncomplicated battle system unless the game is designed for it's complexity, to never use items that break which can't be repaired, and that no game is good enough to be comprised of pure combat.Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:11:38 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2978&iddiary=5718https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2978SUMMARY In Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, you play as the characters of a raiding party known as the Radiant Dawn. After your country is destroyed by a war and its occupants thrown into work camps by the occupying army, a group of young adults attempts to free their country from the tyrannical grips of their oppressors. The object of the game is to win fights, upgrade your gear, and help save your country from its current fate. GAMEPLAY So far the game has been fairly straightforwards in orienting me to the combat system but not much else. Already an hour and a half into the game and, while I am playing on a difficulty level not recommended to people that have not played the series before, I've encountered a few fights that have proven very touchy. For instance, during the first four fights you cannot have any characters die or you lose the game. One character is a great magic user but weak physically (as is the usual stereotype) and many times she'll die from the first hit so I have to take many seemingly unnecessary tactics that keep her far from harm. The problem with this is that in order to get more powerful she needs to fight. The customization is fairly unique and allows many different forms of control schemes. The gameplay is also very interchangeable and the game can look vastly different during combat depending on the options you choose. The way in which no beginning tutorials is both a blessing and a curse. While it does save returning players the time of meaningless training, it thrusts new players into a game they are very unfamiliar with. Luckily, they have a number of demonstrations that can be accessed in-game (during combat even) that are very helpful and informative. The way in which they are sorted by Chapter is nice as well. Certain demonstrations aren't necessary to watch early on and can be passed and spread out over the duration of the game.Tue, 04 Mar 2008 03:21:34 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2978&iddiary=5599https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2632GAMEPLAY I played with more people this time and had a bit more fun than before. The baseball is just as maddening but both Tennis and Golf were significantly more fun with multiple people. The competition between players brought a few of the sports more life than they previously had. The game flowed much like last time as we flipped through from sport to sport. While they were fun, many sports were good for three to four plays before becoming boring. DESIGN The game has a few things that make it easily playable but not a lasting game. First off is the amazing controls. It's obvious that this game is meant to teach new Wii players how the Wiimote works. Because of this, they have spent a lot of time making it easy to control and forgiving at the same time. Many times I found myself marveling at how well the controls were picked up by the Wii. To keep the game interesting, Nintendo has developed a Skill system that slowly turns up the difficulty as your skill in the game increases. If it seems like they've made it too hard they will decrease your skill and the difficulty until you can easily play again and begin regaining skill. The levels aren't varied at all which heavily contributes to the fast game exhaustion. Many players who already have experience in this game will pass on the opportunity to play again. The game provides a few training levels which are fun in nature and allow the player to deviate from the normal rules of the sports as well as practice the movements that will help them later in the game. While not an amazing game, Wii Sports is definitely a good intro to the console and has some great aspects that make it worthwhile to play.Tue, 19 Feb 2008 13:55:23 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2632&iddiary=5023https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2632SUMMARY Wiisports is a "game" that allows you to play tennis, baseball, bowling, boxing, and golf using the Wiimote. It's the first game of its kind to use the Wiimote in such an interactive way. Sadly, that's all there seems to be. GAMEPLAY This game is simple in how it was designed. It's only purpose is to really acquaint the player with the Wiimote and Nunchuck. As the game that comes bundled with any retail purchased Wii, I wasn't really expecting much more than that and so far it seems really basic and forgiving. I am thinking the skill system will kick in soon and begin to present me with challenges now that I know what's going on. The game has a purpose. The playable characters are the Mii's you can create and there is absolutely no narrative or storyline to follow. It's purely an exercise in how the Wiimote works.Sun, 17 Feb 2008 04:23:23 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2632&iddiary=4992https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2338GAMEPLAY There's oh so much more. As you progress in the same money-making period followed by a short level and a boss fight, you begin to find some of the finer elements of this game. Once again I found myself with a few spectators from the noises made by both the fights and laughter. No More Heroes is definitely a game that progresses under the assumption that it's the most ridiculous game created (and to my knowledge, it is). As the game goes on and on it makes less and less sense yet you don't feel lost cause the player knows that in the end, the storyline matters very little. I was drawn in from the hundreds of other little changes that made this game so well designed. DESIGN The game is both linear and open at the same time. They railroad you along and expect the player to do things like earn money. The way in which the player earns the money is totally up to them and can range between such ridiculous jobs as mowing lawns to killing Pizza chain CEO's. The jobs seem to do nothing but get better and better as well. Consider that your first job is picking up coconuts while later on you end up collecting kittens and mowing lawns to make cash. Santa Destroy is an odd town but what they pay people to do is none of my business. I was in awe at the amazing gameplay elements you find deeper into the game. For instance, as you progress your beam katana becomes not only more powerful, but millions of times more flashy. An example to this point is how the third katana purchasable has not one but four blades of light on it. You're also allowed to customize your character and change the look of his shirt (or lack thereof), pants, jacket, belt, and sunglasses. The levels are bland but they do the job without confusing the player. They create nooks and other small places to hide enemies while keeping the path straight enough that you can easily follow it on your mini-map. Everything is labeled as well. When you come across a locked door the game will inform you as to why it is still locked at this point. With well tailored Wii specific controls, I have problems finding faults in this game. Most of the basic attacks are little more than simple button press to keep the player from getting fatigued but the more impressive moves definitely have their share of glory. From the sumo moves to slicing opponents clean in half, this game is a display of what many Wii games should be like. This game did something unique though and here's something that got my attention. As the game progresses more American pop culture references begin to show up until even Darth Vader seems to be on your screen. In order to further this effect the characters begin to talk about "the game" you're currently playing and even go so far as to mention how further delays might make get the game renamed to "No More Heroes Forever" (in reference to the seemingly permanently delayed game Duke Nukem Forever). In short, just by playing the game you feel like you're part of some enormous inside joke. There are always things to nit pick about and I found quite a few but their size is nothing compared to superior engineering that took place. For instance, when out in the game world of Santa Destroy, Travis seems to lack the ability to do more than push people around and he doesn't really even do that. The collisions are horrible and the retro-style pixelated map made it impossible for me to find anything on my small television. Another tiny issue was how the game would heavily punish the player for ambiguous reasons. Things that took 5-10 minutes would have to be repeated due to unannounced and sometimes unidentifiable attacks. Even at full health the player could be destroyed by a barrage of attacks that were unavoidable in nature and it was frustrating to have to redo boss fights for just that reason. Nevertheless, they allow you to restart very close to where you died so even these issues were easily ignored for the most part. Overall this is a great game and while I think it could have done without a majority of the cussing, the comic blood effects and general game art style mixed with the amazing gameplay bring a new life to not only this game but hopefully to the field of Wii games hitting the market. I am doing well to take note the things that make No More Heroes such an epic tale.Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:35:22 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2338&iddiary=4610https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2338SUMMARY No More Heroes is a Wii exclusive game that details the travels of Travis Touchdown and his ascendancy through the ranks of assassins. After he acquires a beam sword through an online auction, he makes a deal with an agent to become the number one assassin, which is only possible by taking them down one at a time. GAMEPLAY First off, this game is both stylized to the extreme and hilarious. Travis Touchdown is the perfect character for this job. He sets the mood with horrible yet amazing B Class movie lines and a very caring but destructive attitude. Not only is Travis great, but the villains do a good job of filling in the holes as well. With very Anime-like weapons (a beam sword and a machette with an electric edge), No More Heroes sets you up for a fun play experience. The gameplay is very open ended and lets you acquire money for the matches in various ways. You can take on part time jobs which pay handsomely for such menial tasks as collecting garbage, picking up coconuts, and mowing lawns. After completing those, you also have the option of doing shadier work which always includes your beam sword and killing. The rail-roading is both obvious but welcome at the same time. The way in which the game leads you around is at your own pace and while you can dally around and do non-story related things, you will ultimately need to continue the story line to progress further. Bystanders loved this game. I had a large number of people in my room each time a new boss fight started. Many times they would cheer and laugh at the antics of Travis and the villains. One such example was Destroyo Man, whose crotch laser and Destroyo Cannon had those watching in fits of laughter. In short, they loved it and I have a feeling I'll be asked multiple times if this game can be borrowed once I'm done. Finally, the game slowly works the player up, despite throwing them straight into the fray. The initial scene takes you into the mansion of the #10 ranked assassin. His guards attack and become your practice targets while you gain skill and are shown how the game works. Just when you think you understand what's going on they throw you into a boss fight. Before you know it, the crowd is cheering and you are a bit bloody but victorious. No More Heroes is definitely one of the best games for the Wii to hit the market so far.Wed, 06 Feb 2008 03:54:35 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2338&iddiary=4472https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1955GAMEPLAY I began this session expecting more of the same and I pretty much got what I was expecting. I admit that the levels varied somewhat with the addition of surfing and ball rolling but they still were as linear as ever. I played up to the halfway point before stopping to continue this and my discoveries were few but profound. The continuing use of small objects with huge gravitational forces is great but sometimes will wreck havoc on the camera and often makes the controls hard to use conceptually. For instance, after turning upside down I must then continue holding the control stick in the same direction for Mario to go the other way. The camera technically hasn't changed angle which leaves it correct but it's confusing to try and visualize it as a player. This time I added in a second player to "help" but many times accidents happened that would leave me flying off an edge or very close to doing so. The ability to make Mario jump would also throw me off as my second player randomly would poke Mario and make him spin or jump while I was trying something else. It was helpful at times but more often an aggravation. DESIGN There are many innovative new ideas to go with the ongoing cliche Mario theme. First off is their great use of the Wii's graphics. In order to make sure the player could see the objects placed against the black backdrop of space, Nintendo had rings of light cast around each object to make sure everything was in sight. During the third boss fight I saw some amazing graphic details such as Bowsers hair blowing in the wind (wait... wind in space?). The game has a very clear spacing between levels and the home base. Many times I'd find myself wishing I could go from level to level without dealing with the home base time. While I do understand that it's necessary when a storyline event happens, it's an minor inconvenience I can nitpick about. The multiplayer isn't very helpful and seemed like a reason to add a 2 to the back of the box instead of 1. Cutscenes are used very often as "in-between" states to introduce a new area, show a bit of the story line, or to give the player a sneak peek at the level they are about to enter. Personally I found the level sneak peeks most helpful in figuring out how I would approach each level, despite how linear each level was. It would give a very pulled back view to show the theme for the level as well which helped create a mood even before Mario enters the level and begins his adventure. A great element I saw that will probably be considered when creating my own game is the use of interactive tutorials to get the player used to new control schemes or game ideas. For instance, when Mario first learns to surf they hold you in place while you experiment with the controls and get used to how it works. While I admit that afterwards I still died many times learning the details of how it worked, I was that much wiser for having been shown such a helpful tutorial and probably saved myself a good amount of time. The music also gave me a lasting sense of nostalgia from the older games that I loved so dearly. It was nice to see a 3d version of this game and I was pleased with how this addition to the series continued. I would have liked to have seen Nintendo step outside the box with such an innovative concept but they still stayed within their "Mario template".Mon, 21 Jan 2008 22:58:38 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1955&iddiary=3861https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1955SUMMARY In Super Mario Galaxy you play the part of our always faithful plump plumber Mario. Even fans new to the genre will recognize the main villain, Bowser. It's easily becoming a very cliche game quickly. Bowser arrives and catches everyone partying, takes the princess and runs off to his own galaxy. Once again, it's up to our friend in red overalls to save the Princess. The only question in my head right now is, what was she gonna give him? GAMEPLAY In the first few scenes you're shown the most basic movement controls and the use of the star pointer on the screen. So far, this seems like every other Mario game in existance. The characters are all the same but now they're in space. Does this change this at all? Apparently not, as the vacuum of space doesn't really bother neither Peach, Bowser, or Mario. Suspending my belief from the game, it's very well built but unfortunately it feels like a mirror of every other Mario game I've played so far. The princess is captured and Mario is sent to save her. While the situation is slightly changed each time, we can assume that the basic principles of Mario are in effect here: 1) By taking the princess, Bowser has somehow damaged some third party group that proceeds to help Mario not only get the Princess back, but also restore their world. 2) We have to collect large amounts of something in order to get the Princess back. The gimmick this time is that Mario is collecting Star Bits which not only give him extra lives, but can act like treats for the little starlings (the third party that was disrupted by Bowser). This entire time Mr. I-Don't-Need-A-Spacesuit, seems to shoot from one galaxy to another, collecting the Star Bits and Coins in order to get his lady friend back. The game is interesting to a degree but even at this early stage the controls will sometimes glitch due to the camera angle and small size of the beginning planets. Hopefully this will be alleviated as I continue deeper but for now it's a minor annoyance every few minutes.Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:23:57 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1955&iddiary=3831https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1607I got stuck today. I'm locked in an area with an enemy (a regenerator) that requires a specific gun (the rifle) to kill, but the game made ZERO effort to make sure I had that gun when I entered the area, thus forcing me to hopelessly abandon this game for now. I'd rather not replay the whole thing just to finish it so I'm putting it down for now. Maybe someday I'll finish it but not now.Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:07:30 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1607&iddiary=3830https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1607A few more hours of attention were payed to Resident Evil 4 today and while it's not my can of soup, it's definitely got a bit of spring that keeps it from being a game I don't complete. GAMEPLAY The gameplay is easier now that I've played and reloaded the game a number of times so I can get a correct feel of the game. The characters are oddly obvious in their dialogue. Many times, things that the player can easily assume are voiced by both the main character and his government informant. Also, Leon is still acting irratically. Each gun he uses randomly performs extremely well and will go so far as to make the enemies head or torso explode in blood and gore. As far as other elements go, the story is still lacking in detail. I still don't have any clue as to why I'm being attacked. Also, scattered about this town are merchants who all look alike and sell me weaponry and supplies. Why aren't these people attacking me? They're never explained and it's very confusing to see them in a poorly hidden spot without villagers attacking them. DESIGN The game, while not great in terms of story, narrative, rhyme, or reason, manages to survive through a few new innovative design elements. First off, the villagers may be able to take an unearthly amount of damage (namely, 4-5 bullets to the face before dying) but they react extremely well when shot. They fall to one knee when shot in the leg, they grasp their arm or face when those are shot. Other than the random body part explosions I think the reactions are very realistic. The level design shows off the A.I. of the villagers and their ability to adapt to such things as ladders and distances to jump. While it seems very unrealistic that a small village would have such a large underground passageway or a secret entrance behind the waterfall, it all adds to the horror genre of this game. The game provides a few challenges which fall into both good and bad categories. The good challenges include a lack of ammunition and great boss design. While the main character seems to lack the ability to run like a normal human being and avoid enemy attacks, he still manages to have just enough ammunition to clear out boss fights. Bad challenges include the way in which you must sort and fit all the items you acquire into a bag of limited space. If it doesn't fit, you can't pick up the item. While that's realistic, it's also a horrible waste of time each time your inventory nearly gets full. Another thing I see that should've been avoided is the way in which villagers can take multiple bullet wounds without seeming to be effected by any adverse effects. So far I've found a villager that survived 2 grenades and a few shotgun shells to the chest. One of the bosses looked like a cave troll taken straight from Lord of the Rings, and more than once I've been subjected to Indiana Jones moments of being chased by a boulder and having to sprint and then dodge before it hits me. The reaction scenes are quick and will kill you a majority of the time if not obeyed quick enough. My final response to this game is the odd way they reward the player. The atrocious way they kill you without mercy is stupid, while the fact that shooting crows (which aren't enemies) yields random items such as bullets and wallets worth of money. A whole flock can be found carrying a small fortune along with a few boxes of bullets.Sat, 12 Jan 2008 22:09:16 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1607&iddiary=3354