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Mar 4th, 2014 at 16:03:05 - Super Mario 2 - Yoshi's Island (SNES) |
Overview and Rules
Yoshi’s Island is a linear platform game that involves killing enemies, solving puzzles, and getting through obstacles all in the hopes of rescuing baby Mario’s twin and bringing them home safe. The controls are basic: control pad for moving left, right and ducking, button “b” for jump (holding down for long jump,) “b” plus down on control pad is ground pound, “y” is eat and spit out, and “a” can be held to aim eggs and released to throw. To complete the game, you must clear six maps each containing eight stages including one mini boss and regular boss. When a stage is cleared, you are scored for the amount of stars (0/30), coins (0/20), and flowers (0/5) you collected, flowers being ten points each. If every stage in a map has a score of one hundred, two bonus levels appear. To clear a stage, baby Mario cannot leave Yoshi for more than thirty seconds, which occurs whenever Yoshi is attacked or lands on spikes. You can also lose a level by falling in pits or lava, which has Yoshi respond either at the beginning of the level or the last check point.
GamePlay
The first session I played was about 20 min. I started the game with a new file, watching the story unfold, which had lullaby music. The story was a good length about 4 minutes and interesting the whole time. I have played this game before but it had been a while so starting the first levels (1-1, 1-2) I read a few of the rules, which can be read by hitting face boxes. I took my time clearing two stages making sure I got a one hundred score for each. Throughout the levels I got hit a couple of times but recovered Mario quickly.
The second session I played for about 15 min. Already having a previous file loaded I played the boss stage on the first map (1-8.) This one took me a little longer as I fell in the lava once, starting over at the beginning. The level contains puzzles that involve flipping switches that flip platforms over to either hide or reveal spikes and timing jumps correctly. The enemies for this level were a little more challenging as they had projectiles like the fish squirting out water and the blue baseball player like enemy. The boss was not overly difficult as you just had to avoid being bounced on and continuously throw eggs at it. I played this stage twice because the first time I cleared it with a score of eighty, missing a flower and the second time with a score of one hundred.
Analysis
Overall I believe this is a great game for multiple age levels. The storybook quality of the artwork and story make it an easy game for kids to like, although the difficulty increases with each map you progress to. I think the difficulty increases at a good speed, having most of map one being relatively easy and fast. From past experiences, I know that later the maps are more difficult. The game has minimal violence because even though Yoshi is killing enemies, the graphics are all kid friendly. I like how there are distinct sounds for every action like sucking things up, making eggs, jumping, etc. Yoshi’s sounds are very unique which is good being he is a unique creature. The music is very fun and upbeat on most levels, excluding boss ones where the music is more intense. Overall the game is very light hearted and fun, with some challenging moments depending on the player’s abilities. The assets create an easygoing environment from the smiling flowers and stars to the bright colors. I would recommend this game to any video game player.
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Feb 9th, 2014 at 21:37:37 - The Resistance (Other) |
Overview and Rules
It is a five to ten player board game that is based on deduction. Players must pass and fail missions according to which team he or she is on. Three to five missions are played. Three failed missions the spies win and three success missions the resistance wins. At the beginning of the game, players are randomly passed out a character card that is either blue (resistance) or red (spies), which determines your team. Each person looks at his or her own card but keeps it a secret from the other players. Then moderated by one player, he or she tells all the players to close their eyes. He/she then tells the spies to open their eyes so that the spies know who is on their team, while the resistance players do not know anyone’s team allegiance. The moderator then tells everyone to open their eyes and the missions begin.
After the opening sequence, players take turns creating missions with various amounts of people on them, depending on how many people are playing. The player choosing the people for the mission may choose him or herself also. Once the player chooses the team, everyone votes whether or not the mission should go. If the majority rejects the proposed mission then the next player (going clockwise) chooses a team for the mission. If five proposed missions are rejected in a row then the spies automatically win the whole game. If the majority approves the proposed mission then all players on the mission receive a pass and a fail card. Resistance players may only put in a pass card into the box but spies may choose between a pass or a fail. Players choose one card to put in the box, the cards are shuffled and unveiled. If there is one fail card shown then the mission fails and is essentially one point for the spies. No fail cards mean the mission is a success and is one point for the resistance.
Gameplay
Each game that I played lasted about 20 minutes. I played with five people, two of which had played before including myself. Explaining the rules to new players can be a little challenging. Since we played with five people, there were three resistance cards and two spy cards randomly passed out. The first game began with me as a spy. The first approved mission team was chosen by a resistance player who picked me and himself to go on the mission. I decided to put in a pass card so that one of the spies was not already narrowed down to me and him so the mission was a success. As the game continued, my fellow spy teammate decided to sometimes act like a spy and sometimes act like a resistance player, which really seemed to throw everyone off. The game went all the way to five missions with the sequence of success, fail, success, fail, fail meaning victory for the spies.
The second game I was a resistance player. At first, I was wary of the one other person who had played before just because he knew more tricks on how to play. My previous spy teammate in the last game continued to mystify everyone with his antics also making him harder to trust. The other two players kept quieter throughout the game, not having much discussion about who they thought were spies. As the game progressed, four missions were played with the sequence of success, fail, success, success meaning victory for the resistance.
Game Analysis
Overall I think this is a very enjoyable game because of its game mechanics of trust and deceit. It relies on the different players’ abilities at reading people. It is a great way to socialize with multiple people. From my past experience, I find the game more fun when playing with more people because starting at seven players there are three spies among the resistance. The game artwork and assets set an ambiance of seriousness to the missions because of the dark colors and high contrast on the character cards. The backstory also helps to set the tone for the game as the resistance try to uncover the spies. When playing the game, it helps to have people that are more willing to talk because discussion is a key tool in the game for finding the truth. At the end of the game, the winners feel very accomplished because you use your own skills in the game, therefore making the win more personal. Sometimes the losing side can feel tricked or cheated, depending on the personalities of the people playing.
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lscheibelhut has been with GameLog for 10 years, 9 months, and 13 days |
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