Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=979https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3693I played again today, and I still got no further than the last time. The game seems like it has potential to be pretty cool from what I've read on other people's logs, but until this game provides more instruction as to what I need to do, it sucks. There's not really anything that I can discuss; I can't pass the area. There should be a strategy guide or something. It wouldn't be cheating. The game has no way of communicating many actions to the player. It's frustrating.Tue, 10 Mar 2009 02:17:35 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3693&iddiary=6952https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3693I am pretty frustrated with this game. When I finally figured out how to get through the hallway, which took a good 15 minutes because I thought the "security cameras" were rabbits, I got into the cafeteria and did not know what to do. I remembered them saying something about the cafeteria, but I didn't know what to do. I thought I was supposed to put bombs under a table, but there was no way to know which one. The game doesn't always let the player know what's going on, and there are no objectives list or hints. There were about 40 people in the damn hallway, and I would get "busted" and not know why. After the 30 minutes of playing, I had accomplished absolutely nothing since the previous play. By the time I finished, I was ready to shoot somebody. That was a joke. There's nothing else to talk about because I didn't get anywhere new. Well, I guess I could mention the useless facts I learned about Denver's water supply. What the hell was with that? I'm trying to evade hall monitors and security cameras and the game wants to inform me about hard water vs. soft water in Denver. It was totally inappropriate for this game because it was in no way relevent to the events at hand. The only other thing I learned is how difficult it is to attempt to blow up a school. It's inefficient; don't waste your time, kids. Go build a snowman or play Gamecube.Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:51:26 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3693&iddiary=6934https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3693I read the "forward" on the website before downloading and playing Super Columbine Massacre RPG. It was well written and persuaded me to refrain from judging the game before I played it. As a game it's kind of boring. It's not for me. The game looks pretty neat; although, the poor graphic can, at times, make it hard to tell objects apart. And even though I didn't like the gameplay so much, I must keep into account that I didn't even get past the parking lot yet, but more importantly, I really enjoyed the story. I hope the conversations and dialogue are not made up, but it is a very interesting perspective on the Columbine shootings. I was kept interested as I played, but I figured since I have to write three entries, I'll stop at the parking lot and save some for later. Again, one of my favorite components of the game was it's song track. I heard an old Nintendo/Sega style version of Nirvana's "Lithium." This was the only song that I recognized and liked, but I hope that there are more to come. I'm not sure which verb tense to use here, but as for the ethical issues, what these guys are planning to do just doesn't make sense. These two guys are dumbasses. Their opinions on life are totally skewed. I can think of so many names to call these guys because people like them piss me off: retards, fags, pussies, losers, etc. I can do this all day. As old news as it is, I am passionate in my hatred for people like this. These weak minded fools take the easy way out, which they feel needs to be more complicated than dealing with it, whatever it may be. A bunch of babies is what they were. Damn. I hope the gameplay improves as the story unfolds.Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:53:42 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3693&iddiary=6923https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3584 When I played yesterday, many early missions required a lot of driving. I encountered two songs that I didn't hear last time I played, Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Strutter, my favorite Kiss song. I was having a blast. Some things I had to do include spray painted over a rival gang's graffiti, taking out a cocaine dealer, and chasing down a rival gang's car before it reached the hood. I didn't really kill pedestrians except for when I acidentally ran over them while driving a car. So at this point, the main character, CJ, was actually being a hero/vigilante. I killed some gangsters and drug dealers, makingt the city a cleaner place. Respect is a big part of the game; you earn respect from your gang by completing missions. I respect the idea of increasing your standing or rank and moving up through the system. Becoming powerful and having a name that everyone knows after having little to start with is impressive and desirable. I think that's why I was so interested to keep playing. I actually got weapons for the first time too. First I got a bat, and then a gun. When playing the game, one really doesn't consider or care about the ethical issues in the game. The violence in the game stays in the game. It doesn't apply outside. There's a thing designers call the "magic circle." The magic circle is the space in which players agree to follow a set of rules to play a game and where things outside of this circle lose meaning. By playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, players step into this make believe world to participate in an attention holding story. The mental attitude they have when playing the game stops when the player stops playing the game and leaves the circle. I don't like when people say that video games and movies make people violent. It's not true. People are violent already. I would say that video games increase knowledge of violence, but don't cause a person to act more violently. And certainly movies have an influence over some of the things people do or the way we want to look, but I don't believe it happens with violence, at least not to most people. I'll bet there are some weak minded people out there who don't know any better. I think it's cliche that we are even playing/discussing Grand theft Auto in an ethics class. It's like "Why?" How many diffent ways can we take the topic? It's all been said and done before, and I'm sure that both sides of the issue are easy to figure out if you just give it a quick thought.Sat, 07 Feb 2009 12:35:25 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3584&iddiary=6723https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3584 Yesterday, I decided to play while waiting for someone to meet me on the 7th floor of the CDM building. This time, I wanted to play through more of the story, so I could better discuss the game. I had to start over again because there is no way to save (unless I brought my own memory card which I don't have). This time I went right for the missions, and I decided to play for an extended period so that I can write two different entries. I don't want to write three entries about the beginning of the game from the same point of view; it would be extrtemely redundant. Anyway, having played more of the game, I found it to be really enjoyable. I kept wanting to do more missions and advance the character throught the plot. I have a new appreciation for this game. I received a comment on my first entry asking why I think that the Italian/mafia guys from previous Grand Theft Autos were better than the gangters from "the hood" in San Andreas. I don't how to respond to comments, so I'm doing it in this entry. I guess it's really just a personal opinion. I recently saw The Godfather (I and II), and I was really into the movies. I'm 50% Italian, and although my family doesn't have any ties to any mafia, it's fun to pretend. I like them better because they are classier, cleaner, have a better vocabulary, and they are more relatable. But from a more objective point of view, one group isn't necessarily better than the other at all. If you consider the end result of each's actions, you find that they're doing the same things. Both groups are presented with similar ethical choices which primarily consist of killing people. Each has its own way of doing things that occur at different times and places. I just like the cliche Italian guys better.Sat, 07 Feb 2009 12:08:42 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3584&iddiary=6722https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3584I had to start the game from scratch because there was no memory card or save file. Right from the start, I knew the characters were all thugs. The previous GTAs have better characters, Italian Mafia kinda guys. It seemed like an interesting story, and the voice acting of Samuel L. Jackson really pulled me in. I call him Snakes Windu. Anyway, I didn't get very far into the storyline, but being in the ghetto and hanging out with "gangstas" the player will be presented with tons of ethical choices. In my experience, I don't really focus on the missions; although that is the only way to advance the plot and the abilities of the character. I tend to stick to the free roam, open environment. Today, I primarily stole a few cars so that I could listen to the rock radio station. The real life music in the game is what I love most. Including tracks like Slow Ride, Baracuda, White Wedding, and more, the rock station is the coolest. Som ethical issues I ran into were whether to obey the laws of the road. I did not. I was impatient; I hit several cars, light posts, killed several people, and totaled several cars. I didn't even have a weapon that entire game. That just goes to show you son't need guns and drugs to have violence, but the game will get to it later on. The ehtical choices aren't really choices other than to steal or to kill, but if you want to move on, you don't have choice. I believe the values represented in the game are family/community - loyalty and sticking together; respect; power/being on top - "American dream" ideals; freedom to do whatever. It seems strange that a Grand Theft Auto game could possibly represent such values, but I think they do it in their own unique way. It my least favorite of the 3D GTAs, not including IV, but I think it still presents an enjoyable experience, at least sometimes.Wed, 04 Feb 2009 18:07:52 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3584&iddiary=6720