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Feb 21st, 2007 at 20:35:30 - Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) |
Well, this time I wanted to focus on missions. My roommate who owns the game has finished all the missions, which is why I was able to play around the entire map. I have never done the missions, so I thought this would be fun. A few times I got lost and accidently crossed a border which automatically gave me four stars and consequently got me killed. Then I had to start at the beginning. I'm not used to needing to know where I am or where I'm going, so it was tough. I think it would be better if he was just not able to swim there. Some text would come up saying something like "You're supposed to be tagging over the Front Yard Balla's." Along with that would be something on the minimap saying "Go Here" or a flashing star or something...
I think that the first missions are extremely easy and then all of a sudden it takes six or seven tries to get remotely good at a mission. I think that this could have easily been improved by having a slower progression to harder missions. I barely knew my way around and all of a sudden I have to follow a Balla car driving fairly fast back to CJ's house from the drive-thru before they kill my fellow gang members. This forces the player to acquire some level of driving skill, which is a good thing, I suppose. Then it goes back to being easy when you have to go to the gym to get stronger and go buy some green clothes.
This going back and forth between difficulty on the missions is a bit confusing. On the other hand, I appreciate the tactic, which probably keeps players interested. If the game just got harder and harder, players would be discouraged and want to just wander around. This way, a player gets a break from hard missions to buy clothes or get a new hairstyle or design a car with hydraulics. This keeps the mood light rather that grueling. A good choice.
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Feb 21st, 2007 at 19:50:21 - Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) |
GTA San Andreas is an excellent game because of the many options it provides as well as extreme freedom in the game world. This means that this game can be very social. For the past hour I played this game and as my roommates heard the music and sound effects, they gathered around. Since this game is a part of our cultural discourse, everyone knew the game very well. Everyone has an opinion about what to do while wandering around. A fun afternoon can be spent following friends' suggestions one after another.
First, I stole cars and killed people in plain view of the police, hoping to gain the maximum of six stars without dying. If you stay outside, helicopters and SWAT come and even if you have body armour, you will die. However, if you stage the fight outside the liquor store, then when you are almost dead, you can just go inside and buy soda from the vending machine and heal. Also, you can find cheats online that give you a large selection of weapons, lots of money, a tank, the ability to have your car fly, a jetpack, or other fun things like that. The ability of a player to do practically whatever they want makes this game good for hours of entertainment. CJ can stand on the top of the pyramid in Las Venturas, the Las Vegas of the game, and shoot helicopters with the rocket launcher, a very theraputic exercise. The Strip in Las Venturas is also where the fastest cars are in general. One thing that is very frustrating in this game is that for most of the map, no fast cars are spawned unless you are already driving one. This is great if you can find a new one right after you crash yours. However, sometimes you get stranded in the middle of nowhere with nothing but big, slow trucks and tractors. Wow, I'm having difficulty even staying on topic. That's how many choices a player has.
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Feb 9th, 2007 at 14:24:25 - Dance Dance Revolution (PS2) |
Well, even after a rest, an hour of this game is pretty tiring. My roommate came back from class and gave me a few pointers, so now instead of C's and D's, I can get B's and an occasional A. Her main tip was to keep your feet on the last buttons you pushed until you need to push a new one. This one little tip made a huge difference. Now, instead of struggling to get to the middle and then back out to one of the buttons, I can relax a little bit. My main goal for next time is to pass the song Exotic Ethnic, which is my favorite one, but too fast for me right now. I noticed in playing this game for an hour, there is a sort of arc. First, I am really terrible until I warm up and get better, and then I start doing badly again when I get tired. The only time I'm truly having fun is in that sweet spot in the middle of playing. It is also fun to play this game with a small group of friends. I can play and we can all laugh about it without me feeling as embarassed as I would in front of a bunch of strangers. This game is social in this way. The goal in this game of moving up in the grading system is frustrating and rewarding. To a player just starting out, such as myself, it is frustrating more often than not. Oh, another thing that bothers me in this game is the background. It's so distracting and sometimes I can hardly see the arrows. I'll get distracted and then when the game starts booing at me, I'll realize that I'm about to fail. Ooh, another thing is that sometimes it will boo at me or say something mean when I'm getting better and about to save a fail, and then that ruins my concentration and I fail. I have to work on shutting out distractions...
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Feb 9th, 2007 at 11:34:47 - Dance Dance Revolution (PS2) |
Well, I don't own this game because I think it would be depressing to own it and still be so bad at it. My roommate does however, and she let me borrow it. I had played before at a friend's house back home and liked it enough to give it another shot. As a video game, DDR is fairly simple I think. However, the fact that it was so new and dynamic has made it very popular. It is now part of our cultural background to know that DDR stands for Dance Dance Revolution. If you don't know this, you quickly pick it up. I can only play on Light mode (the easiest) and even then, I have to stick with the beginning and rather boring songs. Within the first hour, my skills at this game have grown by leaps and bounds, but I still suck. To gain proficiency at this game, I think I would have to play it for at least five more hours. The problem with that is that I'm already tired. I think I'll take a little break and then play again. Oh, and about the pad, wow, that's frustrating. First I end up drifting on the mat and then I can't find the buttons, and then the mat moves out from under me and I get messed up in that way. I know that the ones in the arcade don't move, and that would be nice. The only problem is that other people are there. I'm not ready to play this game in public yet.
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Molly has been with GameLog for 17 years, 10 months, and 16 days |
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