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Sep 28th, 2009 at 22:50:51 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC) |
GAMEPLAY
I was extremely impressed with the game’s progression in the story. Getting to view the next cutscene was a great reward for completing each level. When I realized that I could choose which planet I wanted to travel to, I was afraid that the story would be fragmented and independent from the other planets. I couldn’t have been any more wrong. The story line was extremely integrated into each planet yet the sequence in which the player travels to them is irrelevant. At this point, I’ve beaten the game with a 100% light affinity character and have just begun a character who will be on the dark side. I’ve intentionally travelled to different planets to see if there is a difference in the story, and there surprisingly isn’t. Another interesting, discovery was that my character’s affinity influences the member’s of my party’s affinity. This is dependent on my character’s influence on the given character. Playing on the light side, this affect isn’t very noticeable, but on the dark side, your friends are a lot more likely to have a dark affinity and a darker appearance.
I highly recommend this game to those who are looking for an interactive storyline or the chance to run in and attack enemies à la melee style. It seems like the game forces you to be a melee type character due to the close quarter combat. I typically encounter most of my enemies standing directly behind a door that I’ve just opened. This is neither here nor there for melee characters, but ranged characters are the most useful attacking from a distance. Their goal in most games is to kill or severely injure an enemy before it reaches the character. I personally enjoyed hacking up bounty hunters with my silver light saber, but it would have been nice to toggle between a melee or a ranged weapon without loosing a turn in the fight.
DESIGN
This game was clearly the sequel to the 2003 Game of the Year. Not only did it provide little to no innovation in terms of gameplay, graphics, and animation to the original, the game’s biggest claim to fame is the extended story line. Albeit, the designers found something that sold, and the game, by my own previous definition, is a game almost solely based on story line progression. The story made this game great, but at the same time, the creator’s focus on the story took away from needed improvements to gameplay.
KOTOR has a number of role playing aspects that really add to immersing players into their own Star Wars universe. Most of the levels can be beaten in a number of ways, but the way they are beaten often influence the player’s alignment. The limited character creation was a disappointment, but was made up by the numerous armor and weapon choices that outfitted the character’s avatar. Adding the ability to upgrade armor and change the light saber color was a nice touch.
The game creates a great deal of conflict in the player in that their decisions in conversation often carry the weight of changing the world. For example, on Telos, the player has the option to help a group dedicated to restoring the planet’s environment after the war or work for the Czerka Corp. who are interested only in credits (money) and the exploitation of certain areas of the planet for military bases. Both sides try to preach that they are what’s best for the planet, but in the end the player must decide. Another way the game creates conflict is by having to invest in skills, feats, force powers, and attributes. Depending on the player's skills/feats, there are additional options in conversation and alternative ways to completing a level. I enjoyed being able to have a character with high computer and security skills. Players who were in a level with a terminal can “slice” their way into the computer and use their skill to control doors, droids, or force fields that would have otherwise been an obstacle.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Sep 28th, 2009 at 22:58:32.
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Sep 27th, 2009 at 10:08:22 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC) |
SUMMARY
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: The Sith Lords, otherwise known as KOTOR II, is an in depth RPG set five years after KOTOR and 4,000 years before Episode I. In some sense, the game could be described as a mystery game. From the beginning tutorial to the final end game conversations, the player is encouraged to inquire as to what has happened, the state of the game world, who the player should trust, and what moral decisions the player should make.
GAMEPLAY
During the first half hour of the game, the player takes control of a droid who is the only conscious being on a nearly destroyed ship (aside from a trapped droid in the storage room). The droid must repair the ship in order to save itself and the unconscious jedi in the medical bay. This tutorial can be skipped, but it does give some back-story to how the main character ended up on the Peragus mining facility. The game did a great job of keeping me on edge in the beginning. I kept expecting something bad to happen due to the morbid condition of the ship, and the background music was consistent with this tone.
The story is what makes this game and the designers were clearly interested in plot twists and moral decisions. The player is given the chance to change their alignment (light or dark) depending on what they choose to say in conversation. One interesting addition to the role playing aspect of the game is that the player is questioned about why they chose to join the Mandalorian Wars, which gives the player the chance to create their own back-story. Every character that can join the player’s party has a unique personality, great voice acting, alignment, and back story that the player can uncover.
So far I only have two complaints. Complaint one: it took way too long to build a light saber. Who plays a Star Wars game as a jedi without the expectation to have a light saber at least after the first boss battle? My second complaint is that combat is turn-by-turn. The player has little interactivity in battle aside from picking a couple of attacks and keeping their health meter from getting too low. The game pauses when an enemy is spotted or when a party member passes out, breaking the continuity of the game. I highly recommend turning this feature off, unless you are struggling.
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Aug 24th, 2009 at 00:01:18 - Warcraft III: Regin of Chaos (PC) |
Gamelog entry #2:
GAMEPLAY
Warcraft III was an excellent addition to the Warcraft trilogy and culture. It has some addicting elements, none of which dealt with its generic gameplay. I was far more interested in defeating each level so that the storyline will advance, and I anxiously waited for the next cinematic sequence. The flow of the story line was very well done, and the levels matched what was happening in the story.
I was disappointed to see the repetition of objects throughout the game as well as the lack of ingenuity in level creation. That being said, Warcraft III is still a very good game. There are multiple strategies that could be used to beat the game.
I sat on the edge of my seat during the survival levels, and I haven't played a level yet that hasn't had me watching the screen intensely. Every level has something to add to the game and I never got the vibe that I was doing a "filler."
DESIGN
The game had an overall lack of innovation. It did provide some similarities to your standard RPG but did not allow for any character customization or design. I was very disappointed to see that when I equipped my hero with a different armor, his avatar remained the same. However, it is clear that the game was meant to be more of a strategy game than an RPG. I was impressed to see how well balanced the races were. This includes balance between the casters of each race, the heroes, the speed and cost for individual units, and the overall strategy that each race requires.
The levels of the game are very similar to the levels of most Blizzard games. I did appreciate how the level difficulty began at easy and increased throughout each campaign. The levels are more varied than some real time strategy games. There are times when the player simply has to survive for an amount of time and others when the player has to strategically build up a force to destroy another base. There weren’t any levels that stand out against other RTS games. Complexity does appear in this game in that you have to build up you own defenses, manage resources, and wage war against your enemies all at the same time. The use of hotkeys in this game is almost a necessity.
The tone of the game world was that of a world on the brink of destruction. Something always seemed amiss. Each race has its own major loss and struggle that they have to deal with. Before and during most levels, there is a short cut scene in which the characters set up the objective of that level. These cut scenes were very useful as an addition to the story and often go hand and hand with the gameplay.
The most frustrating part of the game was that there were some levels that were obviously designed to put the player at an extreme disadvantage. Often, the enemy base had the ability to build and create units at a faster rate than the player. Some of the things I would change about the game would be the use of sprites. A lot of the objects and buildings became very repetitive over time.
The game’s reward structure was well done. By using your hero in battle, you are able to gain experience with that character and make him stronger. The points displayed at the end of each level, however were only useful in games with more than one player. The game had a strong emphasis on rewarding each completed level with more knowledge about the Warcraft universe and another stepping stone in the intense story.
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Aug 23rd, 2009 at 23:00:39 - Warcraft III: Regin of Chaos (PC) |
SUMMARY
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is a real time strategy game with a touch of RPG elements in which the user commands a hero or two as well as a race, the humans, the undead, the orcs, or the night elves. The main goal of the game is to survive attacks from the other player/computer, manage resources, and complete the main and optional objectives. For example, the main objective of most levels is to destroy the enemy’s base. In the campaign mode, the player begins with the human race and its hero, Arthas. As the story develops, the player gains control over the undead. After the undead campaign is completed, the player plays as the orcs, and finally as the night elves.
GAMEPLAY
Warcraft III has an excellent story line, challenging campaign mode, and powerful cinematic sequences. The game began with a reminiscent view of a human and orc battling (Warcraft II and Warcraft I’s main theme), but their combat was quickly broken up by fire in the sky. The game wasn’t impossible to beat without cheats, but it was certainly a challenge. I was tempted to use a cheat to beat one particular level that was giving me a hard time just so I could find out what happens next.
I was extremely attached to the main character, Arthas. When he betrayed his father and his entire race, I too felt betrayed. But the feeling of no longer being in the mutual mindset of Arthas allowed me to really enjoy the game from a more detached perspective. I stopped worrying about what the right thing to do was and more about enjoying the evil side of things. I was very pleased to find that the creators left a number of easter eggs in the game and a bit of humor. Repeatedly clicking on characters can produce some strange responses as do the mortar team's call to combat. All are simple additions to the game that helped keep it from becoming immensely depressing.
The game was enjoyable to play, but its only innovation to real time strategy games was that it allowed the user to control a hero. The hero can pick up items and when the hero levels up, the player can select skills to learn. Aside from that, the normal archetypal RTS rules apply.
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