Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=565https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3081 GAMEPLAY Before playing the game, I looked at a few reviews to see if it was something I would like. One thing every review I read said was that the combat was sub-par. However, I disagree with the reviews completely. The combat was really fun and entertaining. It wasn't really deep, but it definately does some things right. You do combos by pushing square and x, and then finish off enemies by snapping their heads off with triangle. If an enemy tries to do a special, you can counter it with triangle to do a really stylistic move on the enemy to counter it. I could see it getting tiresome over time, but in the two hours I played it was really fun. One thing they could have done to improve upon it, however, is change up the types of counters you can do and have multiple combos, not just random button mashing. The graphics for the game really amaze me. The visuals in the game are on par with your average Playstation 2 game which I find amazing. I found myself really drawn to the story and I was really hooked on finding out what would happen next. Dead Head Fred is the first video game to be recognized by the WGA (Writers Guild of America) which is the reason I chose to play it. This game could have easily gotten away with a sub par plot since its style is so over the top, but they really didn't slack off when it came to the story. DESIGN I really like the idea of changing heads to get different abilities. This could have turned out really terrible if executed poorly, but they really made it work. Each head has strengths and weaknesses which keeps you switching between them constantly. When you take on a new head, your character changes his stance and even walks differently. This game creates conflict through waves of enemies, puzzles, and trying to figure out where to go. The game is linear for the most part, but there are times in which there are multiple paths and you have to correctly choose which way to go. The game has a really dark tone. The color palette perfectly blends bright colors found in cartoons with a more dark palette more common with action and horror games. I think more games should try and blend these two tones together because I think they blend together perfectly. One major problem I've had with other PSP games is that they are extremely unforgiving when it comes to save points and continue points, like in Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters. Ratchet and Clank was a fun game, but the respawn points were so few and far between that it made the game completely unenjoyable at times and I'd have to replay areas over and over to get back to a challenging part, just to die again. Dead Head Fred, on the other hand, really handles save points and respawn points right. Everytime you enter a room, a respawn point is created and you can save your progress in whatever room you wish. It made the game far more enjoyable and a whole lot less tedious. I think frequent respawn points, especially in portable games in which you might only play for a couple minutes at a time, are an essential element in game design. They are overlooked far too often. Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:37:34 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3081&iddiary=5832https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3081SUMMARY Dead Head Fred is a 3rd person action adventure game. You play as Fred Neuman, an investigator who somehow lost his head during one of his missions. A mad scientist resurrects you and give you the ability to switch between different heads, each giving you different abilities. GAMEPLAY The first thing I noticed while playing the game was how interesting all of the characters are. The voice acting is superb, and the voices all fit the characters perfectly. The main character Fred Neuman is original and refreshing. Most games either have a total "badass" character or a cartoony "kiddy" character. I think Fred Neuman falls directly between these two categories. He is really "cartoony" in his actions, but he swears constantly. The next thing I noticed was the unique art style of the game. It is drawn with a cartoon style with big heads, animated features on people, and slapstick violence, however it has a very mature tone to it. The dark comedy of the plot really carries over into the art design. Everything you see and all of the levels perfectly fit the story. The game was really fun to play. After playing other 3rd person games on the psp like Daxter and Ratchet, I can say this is the best controlling in terms of running around the world. I always felt like Daxter and Ratchet moved too slow. Fred, on the other hand, is just the right speed and his movements are really fluid.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:15:14 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3081&iddiary=5813https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2863GAMEPLAY After playing a bit more, I really started to wish there was more story within the levels. Although telling the player the story before each level was acceptable back when Goldeneye came out, it wouldn't work too well in a first person shooter today. If I were to make this game any different, I'd have important plot points and scripted events happen durring the game to keep the player engaged. Scripted events, especially with enemies, would help remind the player that they are people too, not just things you point at and push a button to make dissapear. I also played the mutiplayer with a few other people. It was pretty fun. When Goldeneye was released, it was praised for its robust multiplayer options. You can customize which weapons you play with, how long you want to play, and more. Trying matches with different weapons added a lot of replayability. The most fun came out of trash-talking my opponents. Theres something about Goldeneye that makes people go crazy with trash-talking. It was a lot of fun to shoot my friend then gloat about it until he did the same back to me. DESIGN As I said earlier, the game has an amazing sense of flow. The level design is superb. For example, the first level is pretty linear, but there are also some sidepaths in case the player wishes to explore a bit. I honestly think at least some linearity in first person shooters is a good thing. Pacing in a first person game is key; it needs to almost have a rythhm to it. If you give the player too many options on where to be go, they will go through the game cautiously. They won't be thinking about what is ahead of them, they will be thinking about what could possibly be on the other 3 paths they did not go on. I know that Goldeneye was good for its time, but it's easy to see what would it would need to improve on if it had come out today. The AI, while impressive back then, would sporadically not attack me, even when I was right in front of it. I really like what Rare did with the levels regarding game space. The N64 isn't that powerful, and not many things can be drawn at the screen at once. This causes a problem for levels that need to be outside. Rare approached this by placing the level in a place in which emptiness would seem normal. For example, in the first level, you are surrounded by water. It makes sense that this area would be virtually empty, since it's just a lake. It also helps to make the player feel he is in a larger world that he/she is actually in. It is truly a win win situation. Goldeneye was an inspirational first person shooter who's innovative design inspired many of the well-loved first person shooters today. It might not hold up amazingly today, but it is easy to see why it was so revolutionary.Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:39:32 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2863&iddiary=5337https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2863SUMMARY In Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo 64, you play as James Bond. This game is a first person shooter based off of the movie with the same name. You go from level to level completing the objectives given to you. It's a pretty standard first person shooter. GAMEPLAY The story for the game is presented to the player at the beginning of each level in a folder as if it were a briefing for an actual mission James Bond would go on. Rare effectively used the weaknesses of the Nintendo 64 here, because not having a video saves space and actually helps you feel like James Bond in this instance. The story is pretty good, as it is mostly the same as the James Bond movie. Since Goldeneye is a really old game, I thought it was going to be close to unplayable. First person shooters of today have really spoiled people because they control a whole lot better than FPSes of the past. The controls aren't great, but they work really well and I can easily see how it revolutionized FPS gaming on home consoles. There is no straffing, and you just move your character with the analog stick. There is an auto-aim so you can just run and gun, but you can also stop, press R, and aim by yourself for a more precise shot. It seems archaic to toady's standards, but it isn't terrible. Another thing that suprised me was how it was able to suck me in. After just a few minutes of playing, I was really addicted. The game has excellent flow. Enemies are at the right spots and the levels just seem to be put together in a logical way.Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:39:12 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2863&iddiary=5335https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2410GAMEPLAY Even with everything Beats does wrong, it still manages to be an amazing game. As I played for another hour, I really got addicted to trying out random songs in my collection. It was fun experimenting to see which types of music worked best for it and which types it didn't. This experimentation is truly where the fun of the game is found. The note map generator is extremely impressive. It was able to make a pretty good map for about 70% of the songs I put on the game. Even when I played songs with odd time signatures and random starts and stops like The Dillinger Escape Plan and Protest the Hero, it kept with the beat of the songs and it actually fit the songs very well. The mixture of playing a game with your very own music collection and the sense of experimentation lead this to be an extremely addictive game that I'm having a really hard putting down. It might not map the notes out perfectly all the time, but the fact that it works some of the time makes it extremely addicting and adds a sense of discovery that most games today lack. DESIGN From a design aspect, Beats truly is an amazing; from the design of the actual game to the way it is being marketed. One of the problems of music games such as Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero is that they have a finite set of songs, and once you finish those songs it is really easy to get bored with the game. When you want more songs, you have to shell out another 50 dollars or so for the next iteration. Beats, however, completely avoids this problem by having a never-ending set of songs; as long as mp3 files exist, this game will never have an end. It is one of the few games that can claim to have virtually zero game exhaustion. The user interface for the game is amazing. All of the menus are flashy and have a unique art style. On top of that, there are about 20 or so different styles you can choose between to change the whole look of the game. There are also around 30 or so different visualization types to play int he background along with the songs you play. This level of customization and art direction is almost unheard of for a bargain-bin game. Furthermore, since it has no licensed songs, Sony was able to produce this game on a small budget. On top of this, they opted out of making it a UMD game, skipping the cost of the UMD itself, the case, shipping, etc. These points may seem pointless to your average consumer, but when you go to buy the game you see why it makes such a big difference. The full game of Beats will only cost you 5 dollars, around 35 dollars less than your average psp game. I honestly feel that Beats represents the future of game design. It's revolutionary way of using user-generated content to create a game that is virtually endless is something we are going to see a lot more of really soon. I feel that most games in about 5 years will have at least some form of user-generated content in the game. I think games like this will sell well, especially considering the myspace/youtube generation most game companies go after. Also, I think more and more companies will choose to make their games downloadable instead of on UMD. This was a great choice by Sony, because it really makes piracy of the game extremely hard. The PSP is notorious for how easy it is to pirate games on, and once companies see that releasing their games through the playstation store only makes this process more difficult, I think they will do the same. So, not only does it make the game cheaper to produce, but it makes it harder to steal. I honestly really hope this game sells well, not only because it is one of my favorite psp games, but it represents most of what I believe in when it comes to game design. If you have a psp and five dollars to spare, you owe it to yourself to give this a shot.Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:44:09 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2410&iddiary=4631https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2410SUMMARY Beats is a music rhythm game for the PSP. It is one of the first titles to be released as a download only on the Playstation Store. It's just like every other music rhythm game; you push buttons in time with the music when an icon passes over a certain point on the screen. If you get a certain number in a row, you get a mulitplier. It grades you on how well you stay in time with the music. GAMEPLAY If you look at Beats on the surface, its really hard to see what sets it apart from other music games. It doesn't have any crazy peripherals like guitar hero and dance dance revolution, a rarity in music games today. The gameplay is overly simplistic also. You push the X, square, circle, and triangle buttons along with a button on the directional pad depending on where the beat is coming from. The music that Beats provides for you are a few sub-par non-licensed songs, another rarity in music games today. The songs really aren't that good, and aren't even that fun to play. One really cool feature, however, is jamming. You can pick apart the songs provided in the game and choose which instruments you want to play, change them up on the fly, and even record your remixes of the songs to share with friends. This was a cool feature, but it didn't keep my attention for too long. The main thing that sets this game apart from other music games and makes it one of the best handheld games I've played is the ability to add your own mp3s into the game. Yes, thats right, any mp3 file can work with the game. All you have to do is add as many mp3 files as you want onto your memory stick and the game will make a note map for them, enabling you to play them. The most fun I got out of this game was putting ten songs on my memory stick at a time and seeing how well they translated into the game. During my first hour, most of the songs I threw at the game worked pretty well. There were a few songs that it didn't map the song as I would have wanted, but there were just as many times where it did it perfectly. When songs would work perfectly, it really made me love this game. It was like experiencing some of my favorite songs on a completely new level. I was taking an active role in the songs I was listening to, not a passive one like usual. (This entry has been edited2 times. It was last edited on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:00:43.)Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:50:43 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2410&iddiary=4572https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2107GAMEPLAY: After playing for another hour, it really hit me how innovative this game really is. I'm really surprised that it has held up this long without feeling gimmicky. There have been countless times while playing where I spend a lot of time just messing around with the gravity pulls of different planets. The storybook elements are pretty interesting. After beating certain levels, you unlocks pages in a storybook that tells the story of Lumas and the mysterious Rosalina. While the story isn't amazing, it does add a much needed layer of depth to Mario. I still think the next Mario game is going to need a completely different story however. This just seems like putting a band-aid on a much larger problem. One of the problems I had with Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine is that it really didn't feel like a Mario game like Super Mario World. It felt like a platforming game with Mario thrown on. Somehow, they were able to fix this with Mario Galaxy. Every once in a while, the camera shifts to 2D and it turns into a complete throwback to older Mario games, while keeping the innovative feel of Mario Galaxy. DESIGN: One design element that has been a staple in 3d mario games is that you must collect 120 stars to beat the game and save the princess. Now that this is the third mario game with this goal, it is starting to get a little overused. I think this game could have benefited by having a different ultimate goal, something new and original. Also, when you go to play certain galaxies sometimes, it forces you to do a certain challenge, like a speed run of a Star. There were a few times I tried to go into a galaxy to show a friend a cool level, but I couldn't access it. Not the biggest problem, but small little problems like these are easy to fix and can greatly enhance the appeal of a game. The designers of this game really did the unthinkable. When they asked Miyamoto what to put in the next Mario game, all he said to them is he wanted there to be spherical worlds. They took this vague and simplistic idea, and successfully crafted an entire game around it. When Mario Galaxy was announced, I really wasn't looking forward too it. I thought it looked really gimmicky, and that the whole space concept was going to be tacked on. What really made this idea work is the incredible level design. Although very linear, the pacing is perfect. They do a good job in tricking you into thinking that you are in a much larger world, but there is usually only one way to truly go. I was also incredibly impressed with the graphical effects they were able to pull on on wii. There are some amazing particle effects, textures, and more that I thought were not possible on the Wii. At points, it looks like an Xbox360 launch game, which is quite impressive. Overall, I think it's my favorite Mario game, and probably my favorite Wii game at the moment. I never thought Nintendo could truly deliver a spiritual sequel to Mario 64, but I think they have succeeded here.Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:24:54 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2107&iddiary=4067https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2107SUMMARY: In the long awaited return of Mario to the 3D realm, Peach, yet again, has been kidnapped by Bowser and Mario goes on a quest to save her. The twist this time is that he must travel through space to find her. You go through many intuitive levels and complete goals to collect stars. GAMEPLAY: Anyone who has played a 3D Mario game before will be familiar with how Mario Galaxy plays, with a few exceptions. Your standard Mario moves such as the triple-jump and the long jump are back, with a few twists however. Right when I got to the first galaxy, I started to realize how different this actually was from, say, Mario 64. As you blast around through space, you land on spherical worlds, each with their own gravity. This might seem like a simple gimmick at first, but it really innovates the Mario experience and brings it to a whole new level. The story is extremely familiar. If you have played any mario game, there will be no surprises here. It seems that Miyamoto and Nintendo are a little scared to change the story of Mario drastically, which I think is really hindering this game from what it really could be. I think I would be drawn to the game a whole lot more if it had a new story, not the same rehashed Mario saves the princess story with a new coat of paint just thrown on. The game is extremely interesting to play. The levels are really varied, which I was surprised about. I thought the small spherical worlds would get old after time, but they held up extremely well and every galaxy introduced a new idea that kept the game fresh. For the first time in a Mario game, a full orchestra is playing the score. The soundtrack is amazing, and the death of the low-budget midi songs really enhance the experience. The soundtrack makes you happy, and has a really epic feel that perfectly fits the game, especially when Mario is flying through space. From the first time I put the game in, one overwhelming emotion hit me; happiness. This is an emotion missing from most games today. Games are so focused on scaring people and being overly violent that happiness often gets left out. I dare you to try and play this game and not smile the whole time while playing it; I'd say its near impossible.Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:38:12 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2107&iddiary=4054https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1713GAMEPLAY The story still seems very weak. It turns out elebits around the world are acting strange. When Kai calls his dad, his dad tells him of this, and then tells him to use his ray gun for safety. I find it hard to believe that a parent would tell a kid to use a gun to protect himself instead of just coming home to protect him. It is really obvious that they did not take the time to fully flesh out the story like they should have. The more I play, the more addicted I become. As you progress in the levels, you are able to pick up bigger and bigger objects which is really fun. I love playing with the physics engine in the game and just throwing stuff to see what happens. Not much really changed on my second play through, and I still feel the same way about the gameplay as I did my first time. There seems to be a lot more to do as you move on, which is making it more fun. DESIGN In my last post, I talked about "Launch Title Syndrome". When a new console comes out, companies rush to make sure they have a game out on the shelves, regardless of quality. Elebits was one of the best launch titles for Wii, but it is far from perfect. The graphics are overly simplistic and are missing the polish of other Wii games out today such as Resident Evil 4 and Super Mario Galaxy. Some may say that it is meant to be simplistic and abstract, but this completely conflicts with the art style in the story segments, which are colorful and detailed. The first batch of Wii games all have something in common: the developers were given the challenge to create a game using a brand-new type of controller that the public has not used. Therefore, its no surprised that most of these games are hard to control. Elebits is no different. The first person controls are definately not as refined as, say, Metroid Prime 3, and it takes a good amount of time to turn around. Also, some of the twisting motions and controls where you need to move the controller forward or backward were a bit wonky. Sometimes they didn't work or I couldn't do what I was trying to do. What really makes the game is the physics engine, even though the physics seem a bit floaty. Half the fun is just throwing stuff around the room and seeing what happens. You have no idea how fun throwing a bed across a room is until you have played Elebits. The levels are designed pretty well, with lots of objects strewn about for you to play with. The only problem I have is that some of the environments repeat themselves, but this is only a minor gripe. When they do repeat, there is something fresh and new for you to do there so it keeps your interest. The only things I would change about the game are the the subpar story and the controls. These elements make Elebits seem more like a tech demo than a full-fledged game. If rumblings of a Elebits 2 are true, and they fix these two elements, it could end up being an amazing game. Mon, 14 Jan 2008 02:26:02 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1713&iddiary=3526https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1713 For my first gamelog, I decided to play Elebits, a game I have been interested in ever since the Wii was released. Summary: In the world of Elebits, all electronic devices are powered by small creatures called elebits. You play as a young boy Kai who is trying to watch TV during a lightning storm. All of the power goes out in his house, and he goes on a quest to collect as many elebits as he can so he can restore power using his handy ray gun. Gameplay: Right when the game started, the first thing I noticed was the horrible voice acting. The story is told with a series of still images and voice overs, but the voice overs completely detract from the experience. I cringed every time someone would speak. The images have a really unique art style, however, so I never skipped these cutscenes. I just put my TV on mute and I was fine. The story seems really tacked on. Crafting a story that immerses the player is no easy feat, and I think the Elebits team missed the boat here. It's as if they made a really awesome Wii tech demo, then tacked on the story at the last minute and put it on the market. For example, the whole motivation behind finding the Elebits is to restore power to the TV so Kai can continue watching his favorite TV show. However, during one of the levels I restored power to the TV and nothing happened. The game seemed to neglect the fact that I accomplished its main goal, and I went on to the next level to collect more Elebits for no reason. Once I got past the rubbish story, I started to really get addicted to the game. I kinda felt bad while playing this game. The main character Kai goes and steals his dads ray gun, then proceeds to throw around everything in the house hunting for elebits. At the end of one of the levels, my dresser was on top of my computer, there were boxes thrown everywhere, and I had just thrown my TV across the room. The game tries to make you be careful throwing things around by punishing you for breaking objects, however it never clearly marks which items you can throw around and which items you can't. For example, I can throw my TV across a room and not be punished, but if I throw a vase it punishes me. Hopefully the story doesn't completely neglect the fact that I'm tearing this house apart. The gameplay is really addicting. Each level requires you to collect a certain amount of elebits to pass. When you first start out, you can barely pick up anything in the room. As you collect elebits, you are able to turn on items throughout the house depending on how many you have. When you turn these items on, yellow elebits jump out. These yellow elebits power your ray gun, enabling you to pick up heavier objects. As you move these heavier objects, Elebits are uncovered. This creates an interesting dynamic between the two types of elebits; you need more yellow Elebits to power your gun, and you need more regular Elebits to force these yellow Elebits out of hiding. It forces the player to balance between finding more elebits and powering up items throughout the house in order to complete the objective. I had a lot of fun leveling up my gun to see what objects I could pick up next. There were many times where I had enough Elebits to move on to the next level, but I stayed just to throw stuff around in the room for a couple of minutes more. Leveling up your gun is extremely rewarding, and it kept me hooked for a good amount of time. The game seems to be plagued by what I call "Launch title syndrome", which I will touch up a bit more on during my second entry since it falls more into the design aspect of the game. I'll write more after I play for another hour or so. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:33:53.)Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:32:57 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1713&iddiary=3435