Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=670https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3222(this gamelog is being written LATE) Gameplay: The gameplay continues to frustrate with the use of the License board and the awkward battle system. And another issue is beginning to come to light. This issue is more of a story issue, but for me, it greatly affects the gameplay. Final Fantasy games are classically known for having vast, world (and sometimes multiple planet) scoping evil plots. Sephiroth wanted to destroy the planet to return the planet energy to the life stream, Kuja wanted to destroy TWO planets to make sure nobody could be as powerful as him, Seymour wanted to end the cycle of death by simply killing everybody. As of where I am in the game (and through the entire game. I read through a strategy guide to see what was in store) there is no such plot. The plot that comes closest to this is by corrupt officials of Arcadia who want to take over their country and the others. There is no plot to kill everybody, or become supremely powerful, just a political desire to take over the world. While this seems pretty dastardly and evil, it is nothing compared to the usual evil FF plots. Design: I have sort of addressed the design problems in the previous entry under the gameplay section. The design of the battle system is far from perfect, either requiring the player to rely on crudely crafted Gambits to control other characters, or interrupt the real time battle feel to control each character individually. The leveling system is extremely lacking and annoying, making characters pay for use of items both with their hard earned Gil and equally hard earned License Points. There are some good design elements which I enjoy. The good side of the License Board system is that the character development feels much more like that of the Online Final Fantasy XI. Each character has the ability to use every weapon, and learn every spell. Meaning that You can take every character to the max and learn everything, or, the more prudent choice, take particular characters to specific places on the License Board and making them strong in certain areas, to create a well rounded fighting force. This is hard to do however, since you can only have three characters at once, and there are a total of 6 characters to use, which means some will have to overlap in abilities to be able to switch characters in and out during battle to make sure everybody gets experience points.Sun, 09 Mar 2008 15:19:54 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3222&iddiary=6062https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3222(this gamelog is being written LATE) Summary: In Final Fantasy XII, the main character is a young boy named Vaan. At first just a lonely street thief, he quickly becomes involved in larger issues when he steals a particularly valuable treasure also being sought by sky pirates Balthier and Fran. After refusing to give up his treasure to the pirates, his friend Penelo is kidnapped by mercenaries trying to capture Balthier, thinking that since he is spending so much time around Vaan trying to get the treasure back that Penelo must be someone Balthier cares about. After rescuing Penelo, it becomes clear that they are involved in much more. Vaan's country, Dalmasca, is caught between two larger warring nations, Arcadia and Rozarria. He, and his new friends met along the way must navigate themselves through this difficult political climate to try and prevent corrupt officials from Arcadia from getting their hands on dangerous Magicite. Gameplay: I am a die-hard fan of the Final Fantasy series. As such, I enjoy when the series comes up with new ideas. The battle system in XII is very different from other installments (however it is extremely similar to the battle system used in XI, the MMORPG Final Fantasy). The new battle system allows for a more frantic feel when battling, giving the player more control of movement. Instead of being transported to a "battlefield" when encountering a monster, the player fights the monster within the real world, meaning that it is much easier to avoid and run from enemies, however it also opens up the unfortunate instance of being bogged down by multiple enemies when only wanting to fight one. This style of battle also brings another problem. In previous installments, with a turn based and (my favorite) the Active Time Battle system, you could give commands to each character in turn and wait for them to carry out orders. however, in a real time battle, it is almost impossible to give each character instructions individually. To compensate for this, XII has two solutions. The first is that you can pause the battle, and switch control to other characters to give them instructions. This is preferable to most hard core FF players, however it does make the real time battles seem very halting and tedious. The second compensation is the "Gambit" system. You can acquire (in treasure chests or by purchasing them) Gambits, which are vague instructions which you can give to characters. As characters unlock more gambit spots, you can continue to give them more commands. These consist of things like "Cure", "Use potion", "Attack", etc. combined with "Target Gambits" which are things like "Closest enemy", "allies with >70% health", "self", etc. This can create effectively computer controlled characters, however, it is somewhat finicky and often creates problems where a character will always be trying to cure them self or others when they do not need it. Another problem is when characters have the gambit "Attack" "nearest enemy", avoiding enemies is hard because your party members will immediately attack, however without this gambit, when entering battle, you must manually pause and tell each character to attack. Another problem is the leveling up system used. In addition to leveling up regularly, characters earn "License Points" or LP from battles. these LP are used on the "License board" to unlock the ability to use specific weapons and spells. So, in addition to having to purchase a weapon or a spell, you must also use LP to unlock the license to use it. The problem with this is that each character must individually unlock things on their own license boards. With this system, I cannot escape the feeling of paying for everything numerous times. Fortunately, you only have to buy spells once, and then as long as a character has the license they can use it. However, for weapons, I have to buy weapons for each character, and then (sort of) buy them again to be able to actually use them. It does allow for creative character creation, as you don't have to unlock EVERYTHING for everybody. You can take certain characters through certain paths on the license board to unlock, for example, all the swords and shields, and make another character unlock all guns or bows. The problem is that, an effective character should know most (if not all) the spells, and have the ability to equip multiple type of weapons to avoid having a character become underpowered later in the game.Sun, 09 Mar 2008 15:10:31 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3222&iddiary=6061https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3221(this gamelog is being written LATE) Gameplay: Continuing to play Shadow of the Colossus has not brought up many new gameplay elements. I have found that if you find a fruit tree, shooting the fruit off and eating it can increase your health bar, and finding lizards (only the ones with white tails) and shotting them and eating them causes your stamina to increase, meaning that you can hold on to ledges and/or colossi much longer than normal, which is essential for later battles where holding on for long periods of time is a must. Mostly, I have just enjoyed finding more and more stunning scenery to find and explore. Design: The design of Shadow of the Colossus is very interesting when compared to most "similar" adventure games because at this time there really are no truly similar adventure games. there are no regular enemies, or mini-bosses. The only fights are with colossi. This makes the game move slightly less and seem less tedious without the constant killing small minion-type enemies. Each boss is such a different fight from the last, that the game never seems tired or boring. Another creative design element for this type of game is making sure that the main character's abilities are completely realistic. He can't run extremely fast or jump very high, or (at the beginning) hold on to a ledge for very long. he turns at a normal speed and for the most part is exemplary of very average human abilities. With the exception of his skill with a bow. he is extremely accurate with his bow and arrow. His word skills, even, are very basic. The only real thing he knows how to do (and the only thing he really has need for really) is the ability to stab while he is holding on to a colossus. The graphics are not extremely impressive. The character is somewhat roughly animated, however, the colossi and the environment are beautiful. absolutely stunning. This is a game almost more like watching a movie (except being responsible for whether or not the main character succeeds or fails). This creates a very unique cinematic experience and makes the game enjoyable to play even when not fighting a colossus. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:46:41.)Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:31:15 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3221&iddiary=6060https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3221(this gamelog is being written LATE) Summary: In Shadow of the Collosus, you take control of "Wander" a young man hoping to restore the soul of a woman, "Mono". He makes a deal with a mysterious voice, "Dormin" who tells him he must destroy the 16 idols inside the mysterious temple they are in. However, to do this, he must defeat the corresponding colossi, giant mosters which roam different territories outside of the temple. Wander must ride his horse, "Agro" to each colossi and defeat them by climbing on them and attacking weak spots. The colossi are giant conglomerates of stone, earth and some seemingly man-made architectural elements. Each one has portions of hair, which Wander must grab onto to stab weak spots after scaling the colossus, using the stone parts to climb on it. Each colossus has a different mode of attacking, and range from humanoid shapes to being more like large birds or serpents. Some are aggressive and attack on seeing Wander, while others will simply meander around their area and must be chased and hunted. (SPOILER) In the end, it turns out that Dormin's reason for helping Wander was that in addition to returning Mono's soul, his essence is restored and he is able to posses Wander, just as a band of warriors chasing Wander enter the scene. The leader of the warriors throws the magical sword used by Wander to kill the colossi into a pool and both Wander and Dormin are sucked in, as the bridge out of the sacred lands is destroyed (after the warriors escape on it). Mono wakes up and finds a small baby in the pool and takes the baby and follows Agro up to a secret garden, and so ends the story of the game. Gameplay: The gameplay in Shadow of the Colossus is very different from most games of today. A large portion of the gameplay is simply getting to the colossi on horseback. The scenery is breathtaking and one of the great joys of playing the game is just exploring the world and finding new and interesting places to enjoy. Fighting the colossi is often challenging and is sort of a modern version of a puzzle game. One must first figure out where the weak spots are on the current colossus (by shining sunlight from the magic sword on the colossus, which reveals its weak points), then one must find a way to reach those weak points. This often involves climbing up onto the colossus (as it tries to attack you), or jumping onto it from a higher point. On several occasions, the player must stay on Agro because the colossus is too fast to outrun or catch on foot. Control can sometimes seem clunky, however this is only because Wander is not the most agile adventure game character. He runs at an awkward and slow pace, and can't turn very fast. However, this simply lends more strategy to battles, as you must figure out how to overcome these deficiencies to fight the colossi using your sword and bow.Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:30:03 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3221&iddiary=6059https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3118Gameplay: After playing the game more, I have realized several elements which make this game infinitely fun to play. First of all, the underground ruins scattered around the island are all connected through convoluted tunnels (some open from the beginning, others requiring special access or weapons to destroy walls). This leads to prolonged exploring sessions to truly explore all of the ruins. The second infinitely fun part of the game is the city. The city is a hilarious place to run rampant. You can't use weapons inside the city (unfortunately) however, cars and trucks drive around the roads, and it is endless fun to jump on cars and ride them around, or be hit by the cars. Rumor has it, there is a way to become "Bad Mega Man" by carrying out a series of events which I have not unlocked yet. In theory, this would allow the use of weapons in the city and the strange ability to be able to kick the dogs that wander around the city. Design: This game is interesting from a design standpoint, as it is the first foray by the Mega Man series into 3D. As mentioned in the previous entry, controls are somewhat awkward, and this extends to the camera as well. The camera remains behind the character at all times, however, sometimes this is not entirely beneficial, as during a prolonged firefight with a boss, it is prudent to be able to quickly look around to find the enemy. This game does include a particular amount of detail when it comes to the facial expressions of characters. however crudely animated the characters themselves are (lots of polygonal type characters and definitely no smooth edges), their faces are extremely expressive due to an almost anime style of faces. overly large eyes and mouths allow for great expression by characters, lending a unique sense of connection to the characters. The game is designed in such a way to be easy to pick up and play by younger kids (and it is definitely animated in a bright and colorful way as many kids games are. The Pirates' lackeys are basically little Lego people), while keeping a storyline which is (again) simple enough for younger kids, but contains many sophisticated and circuitous elements for older people playing the game. The game play as well, has many elements hidden in it to please older players. the initial game play is simple enough to pick up, but the finer points of Buster gun and special weapon enhancement as well as item development will appeal to an older crowd more accustomed to RPG style games.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:27:05 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3118&iddiary=5826https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3118Summary: Mega Man Legends follows the well known Mega Man on another series of adventures. This time, he and his friends Roll, Professor Barrel, and Data crash land on Kattelox Island and become involved in a plot by Pirates to steal the legendary treasure buried there. Throughout the game, Mega Man faces off against the Bonnes; a legendary group of Pirates led by Teisel Bonne, Tron Bonne, and Bon Bonne. The Bonnes continuously try different tactics to unearth the treasure of Kattelox Island. Game play: The game play of Mega Man legends differs greatly from the traditional Mega Man games. Usually following a 2D side scrolling shooter style of play, Legends goes in a different direction with a 3D adventure shooter style of play, at times bordering almost on RPG styles of play. The character must complete various quests and missions usually involving thwarting a plan by the Pirates to steal treasure. The player collects items from exploring underground ruins and can transform them (with the help of Roll) into special items and weapons. Mega Man's main weapon, his buster gun, can be enhanced by adding buster parts to it. these can be found around the ruins or created from other items found in the ruins. The buster gun is a reliable weapon consisting of several attributes such as: Attack power, Range, Energy (how many shots can be fired at once, starting at three, and at max, a never ending stream of shots)and Rapid (how fast the shots are fired). Special weapons range in use, from the basic Mine laying weapon, to the super powerful Active Buster, a powerful homing missile shooter. All are made from regular items found in the ruins and all can be enhanced for varying amounts of money (weaker weapons take less to upgrade, more powerful ones take tremendous amounts of money). Controls are somewhat awkward, but this can be explained by the simple fact that the game was released before the widespread use of the dual control stick style of controls. The player uses the D-pad to control forward, backward, and strafing movements, and the R1 and L1 buttons to actually turn the character. While holding the R2 button, the D-pad controls the camera instead of movement. This makes movement and battle awkward at first, but I have found that after some time, the system becomes easier to manage.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:16:08 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3118&iddiary=5815https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2536Gameplay: After playing the game more, I have greatly enjoyed the complexity of the battle system and become more frustrated by the occasional jumping puzzle. The jumping puzzles are usually simple enough to complete, simply posing as a faux-challenge, however I have come across several which were extremely easy to fail at, with hard to see gaps between platforms and occasionally (the camera is usually controlled by the player) badly implemented camera angles. I have also become completely immersed in the story. I am much further along than I had ever gotten before, yet am still on the first disc. I'm now extremely curious to see how Citan will figure into the story (as he continues to appear in small cutscenes with seemingly god-like characters in alternate dimensions and characters (including enemies) who mention him by another name. In addition to this, more and more other nations (several of whom live in the sky) keep appearing on the scene. Design: Xenogears has several distinct design features which differentiate it from the myriad of other RPGs released around the same time. The in game animation of characters is almost two dimensional. Depending on which way the camera is, the character is represented two dimensionally according to it. The environments are entirely three dimensional lending an interesting feel to moving around. The cutscene sequences are entirely hand-drawn anime (which is not exactly a design element) however I feel it works well with the feel of the game presented by the 2D characters in a 3D environment. The other design element which makes it very interesting is the way the battle system is implemented with its system of skill points and combos. Other than these design elements, the others are fairly normal, however, they are well done which makes the game completely well rounded and makes up for the occasionally frustrating jump puzzles. Great game, absolutely worth the time to play!Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:45:26 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2536&iddiary=4807https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2536I'd played Xenogears in the past, but I had never taken the time to truly appreciate the unique properties it brings to the table. Summary: The story so far (I'm still on Disc 1 of 2) consists of the main character, Fei accidentally destroying the village he has come to call home after piloting a "Gear" (large, Gundam-style machine) which had crash landed near the village. After being drummed out of the village, he leaves hoping to find another way to make his life work and to make peace with what he had done. His long time friend Citan follows him from the village and begins to help him understand his destiny and how it is intertwined with the Gear he piloted. It soon becomes clear that there is more going on behind the scenes and that Citan is quite possibly involved. As more characters are added throughout the story, they help Fei understand who he is and who he must become to fulfill his destiny. Gameplay: The gameplay at first seems very straightforward RPG style. Run around, talk to people, follow people's instructions on where to go and what to do. The gameplay is linear, however it is in the small differences that the game shows its true value. The battle system is (or rather was) revolutionary for RPGs. Instead of simply choosing between "Attack", "Magic", "Item" etc... (although technically you still do that) once you choose to attack, you choose a combination of strong, medium, and weak attacks. Each attack uses a different amount of skill points (which increase with level). 3 for Strong, 2 for medium, and 1 for weak. Certain combinations of those create special moves which do more damage. skill points can be saved up (by using moves which equal less than the amount of available skill points). they become AP and can be used to execute chains of the special attacks without putting in button combos. Another well planned out portion of the game is that there are battles on foot and battles in Gears. Each character has their own custom Gear that they use in those battles, and each one has specific strengths and weaknesses. The battle system in Gears is similar, except instead of skill points, different attacks use different amounts of Fuel (30, 20, 10 respectively for strong, medium, and weak). however, only one attack can be used per turn. however, for each turn which you attack, your "attack level" increases allowing use of combos. The game also features a tiny bit of a platform element in that when you are running around on the map, you have the ability to jump and the game takes advantage of this by placing small (usually simple) jumping puzzles in places around the maps.Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:14:49 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2536&iddiary=4785https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1948Gameplay Continuing to play Digimon World 2 has yielded several more gameplay elements. After capturing a new Digimon and raising its level to a certain point (11, 21, and 31) you can "Digivolve" it. This involves the Digimon becoming stronger (and usually visually more impressive) as it moves from "Rookie" to "Champion" (at 11), then to "Ultimate" (at 21), and "Mega" (at 31). This cannot be done so simply however, since each Digimon you catch has a maximum level it can reach. usually most wild Digimon are anywhere from 1-10 levels away from their maximum. Once at the maximum, it must be "DNA Digivolved" with another Digimon. This process involves combining two Digimon to create one. This can only be done with "Champion" level or higher Digimon and yields a Digimon one level lower than lowest Digimon used in the combination. (Champion X2 = Rookie, Champion and Ultimate = Rookie, Mega and Mega = Ultimate). This process will yield one digimon with all the moves (eventually) of the parent Digimon. Each DNA Digivolution allows the produced Digimon to level up further than the parents. In addition, each DNA Digivolution adds "DP" or Digivolve Points. Digimon with higher DP will sometimes Digivolve into rarer forms than the same Digimon with lower DP. Design The first and most obvious design element of this game is the way in which movement is implemented. It becomes obvious very quickly that there is a grid of squares on the floor (on foot or in a Dungeon in your Digi-Beetle) and you can move from one square to the next (only up and down on foot, but diagonally as well in the Digi-Beetle). This relatively simple method of movement can often prove frustrating and time consuming when you can't simply walk or drive where you want to, you must follow the square grid, however it does make it easier to predict the movement of wild Digimon. Another interesting design element is the way in which Digimon are combined to create new ones. After some research on the internet, I found that there is a very specific mathematic formula for seeing what level a new Digimon can get to when compared to the parents. The formula I found in most strategy guides was: digimon1(highest level)+digimon 2's level divided by 5(round down) Sounds are another interesting Design point. For anybody who ever watched the show Digimon (of which I was an avid fan), you know that when a Digimon attacked it said, aloud, the attack that they were to use. (i.e. Agumon would exclaim "Pepper Breath!" before shooting a small ball of fire out of his mouth). In the game, this is still true. The only spoken words in the game are attacks by Digimon. However, they seem to be a strange combination of English and the language that the Sims speak. Sometimes the words are audible and understandable, and sometimes they seem completely unintelligible. Why the designers decided to have these be audible and not take the time to make them all understandable (or in the same language) is beyond me, but it definitely adds an almost humorous air to the battles in the game. And that is all I can come up with to say about Digimon World 2. PS. I enrolled in the class late, Professor Whitehead said I had until tonight (wednesday) @ midnight to complete the gamelog assignment.Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:00:23 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1948&iddiary=3826https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1948Digimon World 2 is the second in a series of several unrelated (i.e. the games themselves have nothing to do with each other) games about the fictional TV show Digimon. Digimon being an earlier version of Pokemon which was not released in the US until long after Pokemon. The game is sort of a blend of the Pokemon style of game where you capture creatures (in this case Digimon, and use them to fight your battles), and traditional RPG where in battle up to three of your current Digimon are lined up fighting up to three opponent Digimon. The story is simple enough, the player takes the place of a young "Trainer" in Digital City and it is your job to protect the city and explore the world with your Digimon. The first order of business being to join one of the three Guard Groups which correspond to the three main types of digimon. This being a thinly veiled choice between Good (Vaccine Digimon), Bad (Virus Digimon), and Neutral (Data Digimon). The choice doesn't matter in the slightest for the story, however it is obvious which Guard Group is intended to be for "bad kids" which one is for "good kids" and which one is for kids more interested in learning everything about everything. GAMEPLAY The gameplay, as I mentioned before, is a mix of Pokemon style play and traditional RPG style play. After choosing your Guard Group, you are given your first Digimon and your first mission. You must now embark on your long (sometimes tedious) journey. The bulk of the game includes traversing Dungeons in your "Digi-Beetle", a sort of all terrain vehicle designed for Trainers to use to go about protecting and serving and whatever else being a Trainer entails. Throughout the game, one can upgrade the Digi-Beetle with parts to make it run longer, survive more damage from traps, and even be able to shoot items (healing or otherwise) during battle. Coming across Digimon in a Dungeon is an interesting experience. You enter a room in one of the Dungeons (most are laid out like large mazes) and in that room is a wild Digimon. In most cases, for every move you take inside that room, that wild Digimon will take one move towards you. Occasionally, they will get two moves for each of yours or one for every two of yours, and sometimes they will move in the opposite direction. If at any time you end up adjacent to the Wild Digimon, you will enter a fight. Fighting in Digimon World 2 is simple and straightforward. At the beginning of each turn, you give your Digimon commands such as attack or guard, and then within the cattegory of attack, Digimon will have different Attacks, Assists, or Interrupts. Once you have given your orders, the round begins and Digimon start attacking (a Speed stat indicates who moves first and so forth). Guarding takes priority and any Digimon guarding do so before any attacks commence, a feature I wish all RPGs had. Capturing a new Digimon can sometimes be a challenge. It is not simply a matter of wearing down an enemy Digimon and throwing some sort of capture-item at it. Before the battle even begins you must find a wild Digimon (you can use a button to see what digimon are together with the one Digimon that is presented in the Dungeon) and if you have the right item (it varies for the three types of digimon)you can shoot the item at the Digimon. These items tend to be things that different kind of Digimon want. CD players, Skateboards, Toy Planes, etc... If you shoot enough items, a heart will appear over the Wild Digimon's head. When you are ready, or when the Digimon reaches you, get into a fight and at the end, the last Digimon which you kill will pop back up and ask to join your party (if you have the space) Such is what I have so far discovered in 50ish minutes of play-time. PS - I added the Class Late, Professor Whitehead gave me until Wednesday @ Midnight to complete the Gamelog.Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:11:50 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1948&iddiary=3817