Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=540https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3105Gameplay2: After another hour of Contra III: The Alien Wars, I realized something very peculiar; This game is very much like a space-shooter. The player implements quick thinking, fast reflexes, and pattern memorization to be successful. Also present is the infinite ammo, special items, bombs, and one-hit deaths. Contra is a walking shmup... a washmup. Also after and hour, Contra 3 is still amazingly hard. The third level returned us to the side-scrolling but heavily focused on hanging and climbing. While moving on a pole or a wall, a character cannot shoot thus emphasizing the importance of distance and timing. Jumping to grab another pole was also a challenge for the floor was absent. Being not as experienced with platforming, my teammate once again resorted to stealing my lives. The next level introduced yet another new style, shooting from the back of a motorcycle. We drove and shot at enemies at the same time. I wonder why we have weapons that can destroy these aliens in one hit but still don't have flying vehicles. Even future governments put too much funding into battle. These motorcycle levels are faster paced but focus more on dodging than shooting. The players must dodge incoming ground and aerial attacks from all sides. We got stuck on this level for this game is amazingly hard. We are considering lowering the difficulty but that feels like lowering our standards. Design: As I mentioned earlier, this game is very much like a space shooter. The character must dodge, shoot, and react in a similar speed and different types of enemies continually attack. One button is mapped to jumping, one to shooting, one to changing gun type, and one to bombs. I pretty much held the fire button down unless I was climbing, which requires two hands. These guys have insane arm strength by the way. The game itself slows down when too many bullets are on the screen at once, which can happen due to the spread shot gun. While some may argue that this destroys the pace, I say it adds to the suspense, when it is not too often that is. The game looks nice but enemies can get a little repetitive. I didn't really notice the soundtrack because I was so into the gameplay but that is probably best for this type of game. Something too abrasive would distract the players from the action, which demands high concentration.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:01:21 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3105&iddiary=5869https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3105Contra III: The Alien Wars Summary: For my this final gamelog assignment, I decided to play Konami's Contra III: The Alien Wars. This side-scrolling shooter pits the protagonists, Jimbo and Sully, against a full out alien invasion. The characters have and infinite supply of ammo but die upon being hit. Gameplay 1: As my friend and I turned on the game, we decided that in order to beat the game in as little time as possible, we should use the famous Konami code. So we grabbed our controllers, typed in the code (up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, START), and ... nothing happened. We tried again to find that once again the code had not worked. Konami decided to make gamers prove their worth by forcing them to prove themselves in a codeless game of Contra. So my friend and I took a deep breath and plunged into battle. One cutscene describes the whole story, Aliens are killing humans so kill them first, and then the play begins. Both characters start out with automatic guns so the players can just hold down the fire button instead of rapidly tapping. The game is very intense and frantic as bullets are flying in every direction and one hit means certain death. While it is fun to yell at the TV when both players die, a teammate will be more of a deadwieght if skills are not up to par. There is no friendly fire but the other player can nudge the screen in a certain direction, thus trapping on dooming his teammate. After beating the first level, the game spun into a totally different style of play. Jimbo and Sully are controlled in an over-head view and there is no longer a linear path to follow. Players instead choose a start point and search-and-destroy some specific targets. The shoulder buttons now control turning and the characters can no longer jump. I don't know why perspective of an outside element would change the skills of characters but all for the fun of the game, right? Sadly, these over-head parts are not too fun. While the side-scrolling levels have a distinct rhythm and flow to them, these levels just leave the player running in circles, literally. We are still trying to workout a plan of attack for this first over-head level and a way to keep my partner from stealing my lives. I thought staying alive would be a good plan but from the way he is playing, he doesn't seem to agree.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:30:59 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3105&iddiary=5829https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2754Gameplay 2: After all these years, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest is still amazing. Another hour of gameplay quickly turned into three more hours as my friend and I fought through level after level. I honestly did not want to stop but we needed to make sure we had ample time to write our gamelogs. As I noticed with Super Mario Bros. 3 earlier, cooperative games are an extremely enjoyable experience for me. Sure I love delving into an epic R.P.G. story and getting lost in the world but screaming and laughing as we both run into bees and fall off cliffs is just as fun. I truly love the art of this game but it seems that not everyone does. My friend's roommate felt the game had hit an uncanny valley between 2-d and 3-d that was asthetically unpleasing. So we told him to look the other way and went back to the game. Design: The platforming of this game is top notch. It is right up there with Mario in level design. All of the levels have bananas and secrets spread out as quick rewards. The secrets are a great treat for sometimes when I thought I died, a secret barrel saved my life and helped me get one more. The placement of enemies seems inversely proportionally to the platforming aspect. When there are really difficult jumps, enemies are scarce and vice versa. Well, at least for the first few worlds. There are checkpoints in the middle of all the levels for while not they are not too lengthy, death lurks around every corner. There is no life system so Diddy and Dixie both die upon being hit. Once Diddy (player 1) dies, Dixie (player 2) takes over. The players can also use their teammate as a projectile to help accomplish some puzzles. The sound design of the game is amazing. As I stated before, just the opening tune brought back all the great memories of the game. I wouldn't be surprised if people caught me whistling the themes for the next few days. The music sets a great tone for the game, for example, the snow levels have a very lonesome, frigid feel to them while the carnival levels seem horrifyingly energetic. The controls are strange when played on a Gamecube controller. They just feel unnatural. I think I will try to borrow a classic controller and try again with that. Being more SNES derived, I think the classic controller would be better suited. All in all the game is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. Forgive me, that was uncalled for. Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:05:50 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2754&iddiary=5241https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2754Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest Summary: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest is the second chapter in the platforming based Donkey Kong Country series. The player takes the roles of Diddy Kong and Dixie as they try to save Donkey Kong from King k. Rool. Similar to the predecessor, the game takes place over many very different landscapes. Gameplay: I asked my floormate to download DKC2 via the Wii's virtual console system so we could play it for our gamelogs. The game smartly allows a player to control both Diddy and Dixie or have a friend take the role of Dixie. As we fired up the game nostalgia hit me like an anchor. I played this game as a child and just that opening tune was enough to bring all the memories rushing back. I grabbed the first player controller and dove head-first into the game. We started off on the pirate ship that was the final level of Donkey Kong Country 1. A new theme in this second game was the pirate based enemies. The first game had just various deadly animals floating around but in DKC2 most of the enemies are dressed in pirate garb or lumber around on peg-legs. The reasoning behind this is not explained. If I remember correctly, the detailed story behind the game was included in the game's manual when it first made its debut on the SNES. After an hour of playing, my friend and I had completed the first world and were well on our way up the mountain to rescue D.K. The worlds are very different but the art everywhere is beautiful. Things have a psuedo-3-D look to them due to the rendered art. The animations are very smooth and the whole game moves very nicely. Playing with a Gamecube controller is a little strange though. The button layout just does not match up to the genius and intuitiveness of the magnificent SNES controller. Possibly after another hour of playing we will get the hang of it. Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:56:55 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2754&iddiary=5203https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2494Gameplay 2: My guess proved true as I entered battle right after continuation. The battles are very intense and satisfying. Though turn-based, the ability to let any character attack at any time within the player's turn allows for some amazing combos to be created. I am not fully sure how it works yet but it seem when the player strings an especially good combo, characters may preform a devastating finishing move. These finishers are over-the-top and amazing acting as a reward for great playing. The characters even yell out the name of their attack in true anime superfight fashion. My friend, who was bored by the story and cut scenes, rooted and jumped with excitement every time I used a super move to decimate/purify a zombie. The enemies are strange and I don't know why I am fighting them but they attack me without a second thought. A crystallizing move lets me skip over enemy fights but normal contact takes me to a battle screen. The transition between overworld and battle screen is a bit too long. The minutes before a battle always feeling the longest for soldiers and that seems to have carried over, but not in a good way. Sure the anticipation builds up but the wait gets annoying after a few times. The same pause is apparent in the switch to the menu. I don't like having to wait a few seconds just to check how much life my characters have. The story has not progressed much seeing as my second hour has been very battle filled. I even took the time to fully search the dungeon for hidden items before confronting the first boss. The boss battle was a good change because I could finally string long combos where minions would die halfway through. I do not understand the blocking system yet and while it was not necessary for this first boss, I assume it will become essential later on. So far, the game has been very interesting and I plan to continue. Design: Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, while an RPG game, has some very clever aspects to set it apart from the pack. First off, the art design in this game is simply amazing. To pack so much emotion into little sprites take genius. The characters yells, laugh, scream, cry, and express emotions that sprites rarely touch. The backgrounds are wonderful, using depth to create atmosphere and a full world beyond the linear path the player travels on. The CGI cutscenes, though infrequent, were well directed and brought more depth to Lenneth.I have never played a PSP game before but and am thoroughly impressed with the graphics. The music is similar to many RPG's so far but the voice acting is new. I was very surprised when I heard my sprites talking to me, which I shouldn't have been in this era of games, but the voice actors could have done a tighter job. The awkward spaces between sentences and the sometimes wrong inflections slightly tug me away from the magic circle. The music sets the atmosphere well but breaks no new ground so far. The level design is interesting is for there is a hidden platforming aspect to the game. While traversing through the dungeon, the player must dodge enemies and spikes to get the boss. If the player comes into contact with enemies they must fight and contact with spikes means a loss in health. I have not used the menu very much so far but I plan to fully customize my characters soon as I start playing again.Sat, 09 Feb 2008 02:08:59 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2494&iddiary=4830https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2494Summary: Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is a story-driven RPG by Square Enix that was remade for the PlayStation Portable. In this game the player takes the role of Lenneth, a goddess who hears the pain of humans near death and guides the souls of the dead. The game implements a turn-based battle system with individual characters mapped to different buttons. Gameplay: A few weeks back I played the RPG The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and though it shares the genre title, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is on the opposite side of the spectrum. While Oblivion threw right into the game with no story, I am one hour into Lenneth and have only fought one battle. This game is very heavily story based. The only times I had control of the characters were when I had to walk from one cutscene location to another cutscene location. That being said, the animations, CGI, and overall art is amazing. I sat in awe, enthralled by the beauty of this world presented to me, as the intro progressed. The voice acting is a little slow paced but helps match voices to the incredible character artwork. The stories of the characters themselves are very interesting but I'm positive there is much, much more I will learn. I have not found a character that I can connect with yet ( the swordsman is a bit to pugnacious and the girl too whiny and arrogant) but as Lenneth leads more to the land of the dead, my party shall grow and my favored character shall be discovered. Thankfully the story is interesting for I have been exposed to almost no gameplay. With a boring story, I would have turned this game off long ago. The Norse mythology with Japanese culture mix is interesting for a setting but may grow forced in time. The visit to the Japanese restaurant was funny, a main character screamed for the manager at her raw sashimi, but I'd rather see inclusion through samurai party members and weapons. As I have finally reached a save point, I assume some battle is to follow. I can't wait for this because the battle system seems very interesting so far.Sat, 09 Feb 2008 00:57:55 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2494&iddiary=4771https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2140Gameplay 2: Another hour has passed and my friend and I still have not beaten the game. We can't seem to get past the second to last level. Even though we are stuck, we are still having a blast. Usually single player games are a solitary experience, or at least not appealing to an audience. This game, on the other hand, was brought into the lounge of my building just so we could fit everyone who wanted to watch. More and more people would come and shriek in terror as Luigi barely dodges fireballs and bullet bills. From my room, I can hear the people in the lounge, waiting for me, singing the theme music from the game. Such memorable music stirs up happiness and memories with just one bar. The game is a very different experience having a huge crowd of people cheering for you after every death-defying jump. Sadly, even with the wishes of many friends behind me, we still have yet to pass the level. Being persistent, my friend and I plan to get right back into it as soon as I finish typing. Design: The impeccable level design and dedicated attention to detail in Super Mario Bros. 3 proves that it more than deserves the title as one of the greatest games of all time. Floating bricks may not make much sense in our world but by the time world eight comes around, a non-moving floating block is a safe-haven. The levels become so intricate that only through true mastery may one pass though. The art and music of the game changes to match the difficulty. The first few levels are very bright and happy-go-lucky. Smiling, my friend and I sang along to the tune as we rushed through level 1-1. The last world is covered in darkness, fire, and skulls. Ominous music intrigues the player but also strikes a chord of anticipation and worry. Though the levels became insanely hard, I would not change anything in the level design. Fun is sometimes defined as "One more variable than can be handled" and Super Mario Bros. 3 exclaims that. Dodging an onslaught of cannonballs is hard enough but once that is mastered the player must fight another army in the air. The game's controls are very simple to learn and thankfully too because absolute control over the Mario brothers' jumps is needed. The simplicity of the controls also have a strange enrapturing effect to them. I wanted to jump when Luigi jumped. I leaned forward when Luigi ran forward. Who is really controlling who?Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:44:17 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2140&iddiary=4129https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2140Super Mario Bros. 3 Summary: Super Mario Bros. 3 changes up the Mario formula by adding new aspects, such as suits and holdable items, and many, many secrets all the while keeping a strong platforming base. Gameplay: Even before I could turn on the game I was smiling. I grew up playing Super Mario Bros. 3 late into the night with my father so I have more than a few fond memories. That being said, I had not touched the game in over 10 years so it felt good to revisit my roots. I asked a friend to play with me and take the place as Mario. Even when I was little I would only play with Luigi. Mario's poor brother was always overshadowed so imagined winning as him would award some lime light for the lime plumber. So once my Mario found some time, we fired up the game and got to work saving the princess. That being said, this is an exemplary example of a pick up and play game. Very little story is given, as is with instructions. The game is very straight-forward and intuitive; the player just knows what to do within a minute. Though we hadn't played in a long time, we still knew where many of the exploitable secrets were. With the help of two flutes, we were in the eighth world in under five minutes. I always loved the way Nintendo packed hundreds of secrets into the game. Surprisingly, one was just discovered a week ago, eighteen years after the American release. The game is absolutely a blast to play and it really enraptures the players. My friend and I cheer when we win and cringe when we fail. One particularly hard level in world eight was awarded with ten high-fives when passed. Mario 3 has a really good difficulty flow. The first few levels are a breeze and great for beginners to get used to timing jumps while the last few levels are so hard that 45 minutes can pass and two experienced gamers can still be stuck on the same level.Fri, 25 Jan 2008 20:21:24 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2140&iddiary=4108https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=16752nd Play Gameplay: After leaving the dreary dungeon of the tutorial, the game has really picked up. The world is immense, beatiful, and is sucking me in more and more. I zoomed the camera out and play with a 3rd person view to get a Zelda-esque look. The freedom in this game knows no bounds and I am thoroughly enjoying that. The open environment lets me explore to my heart's content. The pacing of enemy appearance is good for it allows heated battle as well as exloration time on a regular basis. As fun as customization of the my Emily's weapons was for me, my roommate found himself getting quite bored watching me play. The story does not progress fast enough for others to be fully entertained. It much different watching someone fight a pack of goblins and fighting a pack of goblins; one is just more fun. Design: As I have said before, the customizaton and freedom of this game is a high point. I feel as if I can do whatever I want, thus allowing me to become my avatar. The Graphics are quite amazing and watching the sky in Oblivion is just as fun as watching the sky in real life. I think I need to play a bit more to fully appreciate the work put into the battle system but it is fun so far. The enemies seem to be at the perfect level. They are not so hard that I get frustrated and not so easy that I laugh them off. The game has a nice flow to it. The other characters in the game feel very real. Sure they still say the same thing every time you talk to them but each character has a specific style of speech to make them unique. The number of spells and weapons in the game is amazing, even just 2 hours into the game. The only complaint I have is that some symbols in the stats menu are confusing and I cant tell why and how to use some items. A help button in the menu would be nice.Mon, 14 Jan 2008 02:47:00 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1675&iddiary=3551https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1675Summary: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a Role Playing Game where the player completes quests and tasks, in a free-roaming environment, to power-up and customize their avatar. The player starts out as a prisoner but when an Emperor sees something special and is confided in, the quest begins. The game features real-time fighting, completely customizable characters, and enemies that vary in difficulty depending on your successes. Gameplay: Having played quite a few Japanese Role Playing games, I decided to try my hand at an American made one. Luckily enough, Oblivion for the XBox 360 was at the UCSC Library, so I checked it out and brought it home to play. Right off the bat it was apparent that this was an American made game because of all the good old American freedom. The player gets to create their own main character; race, class, age, height of the cheekbones, so much lays at the choice of the player and that sense of freedom did not deteriorate as the game progressed. After being created, the character wakes up in a dungeon with nothing but shackles and a shirt. So little information is given about the character. Reasons for imprisonment, family history, back story, all is unknown at this point in the game. Being an RPG, I understand that little story is revealed in the first few hours of the game but I knew nothing about my own character. I guess the memories you create with your character are what piece together the story. I was amazed by the amount of abilities and the leveling up process. Practice makes you perfect, which is definitely relayed in the game. By preforming an action, anything from running to swordplay, the character's respective stats go up. I became quite the acrobat by simply practicing jumping up and down some goblin-made steps. Though I knew so little about Emily, my avatar, I became attached to her more and more as I spent time leveling specific stats and customizing the well designed options menu. I wish there was a help menu at the stats screen though, for the meanings of some icons are not explained. All in all, I have recognized this game as very different from my Final Fantasy and my Dragon Quest but I am enjoying it. Mon, 14 Jan 2008 02:22:36 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1675&iddiary=3523