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Thrillville: Off the Rails (DS) by jp (Jul 15th, 2025 at 17:10:16) |
I haven't played any of the Thrillville games (I assume there's at least two because I think this one's a sequel) nor am I a huge fan of what I think are related games like "Rollercoaster Tycoon". But, I was impressed with this one - somewhat. It started when I saw that it was published by LucasArts! That was unexpected and, weirdly, whenever I see that I assume developed by them but that's obviously not the case. There must be a fair amount of years in which LucasArts was publishing all sorts of things that have no relation to anything by Lucas...or their own IP either.
Anyways, what I've thought most interesting in the game is how it really eases the often overwhelming experience of many of these simulation games - especially those on the DS where you have a touchscreen but you can't expect the same fidelity and interaction resolution as you had on the PC. It's just more clunky and slow so some stuff doesn't work as well. So, I've been playing the campaign and was able to quickly figure stuff out - and you start with a park template for which you sort of fill in blanks as told by different goals (build a this kind of ride). There's enough flexibility that I've gone off-piste and it's been fine...but I liked how it has really leaned into the story (rival amusement park is trying to sabotage you and steal your amazing ride designs) - and as I meet objectives more parks have opened up (there's a nice rotating globe to select them as a menu). The missions are short, pretty easy and I've been able to appreciate all of stuff in this game.
Strangely, at least so far, a lot of if it is playing carnival-style mini-games. I'm either playing park visitors (if you beat them, they'll do something you want/give you info) or my own employees (same as visitors, though there are some games to play to train them to be better employees). So far the management part of these kinds of games has been downplayed significantly - I generally have enough money to pay for whatever new thing I put in the park, and happiness hasn't been an issue either.
I've played enough to get to the point where you build rollercoasters - and there's a new interface "gimmick" the game uses here (and elsewhere, but it makes the most sense thematically here).
So, you pick the coaster and it shows you (on bottom screen) a generic layout/outline. You trace it with the stylus and go to the next step. Here the generic layout has a few sections highlighted and you can design those specific sections (e.g. make a loop). You're essentially picking from available options - but you have to draw them with the stylus (draw one of the possible shapes). Then the highlighted section is replaced with a track section embodying the change (e.g. shows a loop). It's pretty neat and I preferred it over the typical "pick the thing you want" that then turns into a drag/drop nightmare of trying to slot/fit/orientate the section into the track you're making (things don't line up, etc.). Very elegant and works really well for the DS and it's screens!
THe same idea (draw a shape from a few pre-approved ones) is also used in the game-y conversation interface. Here you need to convince an NPC about something - and must choose from a few response options. Instead of just tapping the option you want, you have to draw the shape that corresponds to that option. Thematically it makes no sense - but I guess it's part of this games interaction vocabulary for some reason. I wonder if it will appear in other parts of the game as well?
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (PC) by dkirschner (Jul 13th, 2025 at 17:13:35) |
Short and sweet beat-em-up that is very reminiscent of old TMNT games. I used to love going to the arcade to play Turtles in Time. They nailed the retro feel of those old ones and added lots of fun animations. There are more modern elements here like a bigger move set and subtle leveling up, but at the end of the day it's pretty button mash-y.
I liked the music, but the audio quality of the voices wasn't great. I often couldn't hear/tell what the character was saying; voices would be lo-fi and drowned out by music. One time the audio went all choppy cutting in and out. I understand that they got some good voice talent, so I'm not sure why the audio quality wasn't better.
One thing I did that I usually don't do was play online co-op. Me and some other person (and a couple third people) played through about 5 levels. Someone had already beaten the game because they'd unlocked paths between levels and we took a shortcut from level 5 or 6 to level 11. So technically I skipped a handful! It was fun playing with a few random strangers, all beating up foot soldiers and bosses. You can cheer on teammates, which gives them some health, and you can revive fallen teammates too.
There are a handful of characters who vary in power, range, and speed. I chose April O'Neil because she smacks people with a microphone, which was funny. There's replay value here for big fans to explore all the characters, but this is definitely a one and done for me. Fun little nostalgia trip.
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SNKRX (PC) by jp (Jul 13th, 2025 at 11:28:27) |
A student recommended this game - it's a rogue-like snake shooter game. Which, on the face of it just sounds super interesting. And it is/was! ("was" because I finished playing it and I'm not sure I want to spend more time getting all the achievements or that sort of thing...
It's 25 levels or so, each consisting of waves of monsters you must avoid and each snake segment is a "character" with some abilities. There's a cool stacking mechanic - each character can have one or more classes and if you have multiple of the same class you get a bonus buff so it's worth specializing - but at the end f each level you can buy from the shop (from three options). When you beat the game you can unlock a higher difficulty AND a +1 on the maximum length of your snake. There's some more stuff going on, of course (different enemy types, different effects from the different characters) but there's a few design decisions I thought were neat/clever/smart...
a. Increasing the maximum snake length seems like a perfect balance with the increased length of the snake BUT it also feels like a real incentive to play at the higher difficulty because a longer snake means more chances of getting the buffs from different snake types which is an exciting thing to look forward to for each run.
b. You get money at the end of each level which you use to buy new characters (these can also get upgraded when you buy multiple of the same). The shop has a "reroll" - it was a smart decision to make the reroll cost money BUT it's pretty cheap - especially when you get to the higher levels (and earn more cash). It really helps you lean in to the intent to try to get a set of same character class to get the buffs. Also, curiously, the shop levels up too (automatically, but you can spend money to upgrade early if you want) - this changes the odds on the rarity of characters that will show up!
I've beat the game, but I'll leave the GameLog open in case I think of something else I want to write about.
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Tom Clancy's Endwar (DS) by jp (Jul 12th, 2025 at 13:44:05) |
So, ten years later and I started to play this again having forgotten completely that I had played it before.
Strangely(?) I'm not experiencing issues with the interface, and while I would not say I'm having a wild and great time, I'm perhaps a lot more permissive of some of this game's quirks? In fact, I'm finding some of them positively interesting from a game design perspective.
In most games of this type you move and attack - typically in the same turn. Here, you move and you attack in a later turn - and when it's your turn to attack you need to see how your opponent will move, and so on. So, there's a different cadence to each turn which makes things a bit trickier to figure out an resolve. I find it's a lot easier to make a mistake by, say, getting a unit into trouble and also a lot harder to predict the outcome of a battle. Units are also a lot hardier - they'll stick around for longer.
Another interesting departure from Advance Wars is that positioning matters and can give you an advantage. If you're attacking and have multiple units adjacent to the enemy, that's a bonus. But. the bonus is better if your units are on opposite side of the enemy. So, surrounding and then attacking is always a good idea if you can manage it.
Finally, and I'm not sure how much of an effect this has - units gain experience and get better! Every time you're in a fight and survive you get a star. Destroy an enemy unit, two stars. When you have six starts you level up and are boosted in combat. I'm not sure by how much since I haven't been able to do this too often. But, so far it's pretty interesting.
It's still a bit tricky for me because there are lots of different units and I haven't really learned their ranges, attack ranges and so on. It's definitely more complex than Advance Wars.
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PC) by dkirschner (Jul 7th, 2025 at 07:46:43) |
Not going to write much for this. It's as amazing as everyone says. Best JRPG I've played in many, many, many years. Like, jaw-droppingly good. Beautiful art, incredible original sound track, excellent writing, interesting characters, compelling world and story with twists and turns, engaging combat with parry and dodge mechanics, lots of discoverable side quests, dozens of challenging optional fights with "chromatic" enemies, mimes, and world bosses, etc., etc. The main things that need attention are improving the map (indicators for what you've explored, level info for areas, some ability to add markers or something, would all be nice) and improving the pictos organization options and equip screens.
But like, it is so good that I'm going through my wishlist and just deleting most other JRPGs. It's a must-play.
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they are currently playing. A GameLog is basically a record of a game you started playing. If it's open,
you still consider yourself to be playing the game. If it's closed, you finished playing the game. (it doesn't matter
if you got bored, frustrated,etc.) You can also attach short comments to each of your games or even maintain a diary (with more detailed entries)
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2297 registered gamers and 3294 games. 7826 GameLogs with 13301 journal entries. 5116 games are currently being played.
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Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64) by avera |
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most recent entry: Saturday 9 February, 2008
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GameLog Entry #2
GAMEPLAY
In my second demo of Majora's Mask, the game became even more open and I finished with no clear objectives. This left me a little frustrated. After about an hour of gameplay, you can get link back to his former self with a new ability to transform back into the shrub, and I imagine, into other forms and creatures. This is an integral part of gameplay, since you use the special abilities of each form to accomplish certain goals. You're also reunited with your magical ocarina that can heal and manipulate time.
The play became less and less interesting as it seemed more and more like Ocarina of Time 2, but with a darker theme and more difficult to find objectives. The "flow" had slowed and I quickly got lost. Once you can become human Link, the world opens up very broadly, allowing you to travel to four expansive areas outside the town.
While moving back in time to the beginning (to avoid the apocalypse) is an interesting concept, it makes some of the gameplay repetitive. Some of the objectives not only need to be completed by the shrub Link but also by human Link. Overall, my experience was mediocre.
DESIGN
The manipulation of time and ability to transform into different forms with different abilities is definitely an innovative element. However, that seems to be the only innovation. The time element make the storyline original, but the gameplay somewhat repetitive. Transforming into other characters and acquiring new abilities is not incredibly original but allows for more puzzle solving challenges.
The world is highly reminiscent of Ocarina, with a less lighthearted twist. The town is not as brightly lit, does not sport bright colors, and there is a sense of doom felt among the characters within the town. The conflict created is a bit new. Link has not been charged to save the princess, but was first challenged to help himself. After discovering what's happening in the town he's stumbled upon, he becomes obligated into attempting to recover a mystical mask, and thus, save the town.
If I had any influence on the design, I would allow for more direction for the player by either more communication from key characters or opening less areas of the world at a time. Also, the reward structure is not as pleasurable as other games in the series. The rewards do not seem to come as frequent as necessary. It's a reminder for me about the importance of making the game a "pleasurable" experience for the player through the use of significant rewards.
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