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Jan 31st, 2007 at 01:52:43 - Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) |
My second hour of this game was even more evenful as the first and, suprisingly, I didn't step foot into a single dungeon. Up to this point in the world of gaming, I think, that the highlights of RGPs were the dungeons and The Ocarina of Time seems to break away from that. I spent the second hour of this game building the story with much interaction.
Normally, a story will consist of a massive cut scene and it will have very little, if no, player interaction. The story spent a lot of time within the walls of a major city and a very step-by-step player exploration of that story. Emotional attachments are made with this game at very early stages of this game. It is obvious that the game is setting the player up for many dungeons and quests in this open ended world.
The qualities of both emergence and progession are very prevalent in this game. The story gives it a very linear quality but the huge presence of minigames gives the character many simple ruled puzzles for the player the defeat. This is just another awesome blend that this very well rounded game presents.
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Jan 31st, 2007 at 00:46:54 - Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) |
From the moment that a new game is started on this amazingly well-rounded RPG, any kind of player can tell that this game will take you on a most epic journey. The game is dripping with innovation that from the moment its turned on. As if being the first of its kind wasn't enough, it sets an incredibly high standard for RPGs to live up to.
The introduction is incredibly in depth but does not overwhelm the player with too much information. A camera angle from the fairy's view is a quirky innovation that is seen right off the bat. This gives a wonderful sense of the players surroundings and the direction that they need to head within the first area of exploration.
From the first hour of game play, I could get a real sense of what might lay ahead because the dungeon offers a smooth landing into the world of Hyrule. It is not too easy and not too hard. It allows for the player to become comfortable with their surroundings but not being overwhelmingly forward with its dynamics.
The first dungeon left me wanting more!
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Jan 18th, 2007 at 21:55:28 - Super Mario 64 (N64) |
As I continued on my quest for Peach's cake, I began to pick and choose my favorite parts of this platfomer. The level design is really awesome in the sense that every world really utilizes all of Mario's capabilities. The different puzzles in each section of the castle teach you the nessecary skills when it comes to using Mario to navigate the world. On top of that, it builds the skills up until you reach the Bowser level which puts all the skills to test.
Along with every level having several really fun challenges, there are also many tedious levels that grind at ones paitence. However, the game usually gives you enough fun challenges to allow one to skip over the boring/hard challenges and keep you moving through the different blocked off sections of the castle.
The one trick that the game pulls that is one of the more clever elements is the pre-level screen that gives the player a hint. This gives the player on a goal when entering the level but doesn't keep them to it. Since it is harder to come complete a goal without a hint, the game generally requires that you keep to the goal that is intended.
Yay for the Bowser levels!
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Jan 16th, 2007 at 16:02:13 - Super Mario 64 (N64) |
During the first hour of gameplay in Super Mario 64, the majority of time is spent getting used to the world of this 3D platformer. The game throws you out in front of a castle with only an invitation to go inside to eat a cake. With a turtle on a cloud as your only companion, you venture inside. Once again, Nintendo throws us a curveball with a friendly little announcement from Bowser telling us that he has taken the princess hostage. I think that he probably ate that freakin' cake.
With no time to waste, I scrambled about looking for something to challenge my mustached wits. The game shows a linear side by allowing us to go into only one of the many numbered doors. After diving through a gravity defying picture of liquid on the wall, I arrived in the first world of star challenges. Apparently, Bowser has cleverly placed all these stars in worlds that require physical controller skill and puzzle solving smarts to recollect them.
I think that this level design is absolutely genius. It was the first of its kind by allowing us to have freedom to explore pleasently sized worlds that are full of life and cute little challenges. The first level seemed to do a wonderful job at introducing the variety of star challenges and the moves that Mario can perform that are nessecary to complete the tasks.
While the first level is easy enough to give a huge sense of accomplishment, the second and third stages make it more challenging. It is not possible to complete all the challenges in any of the levels without unlocking the "wing hat" which allowing for another dimension in the sky. This, once again, makes the game loosely linear which, I think, is absolutely essential to the integrity of this new level design.
The first session of this game that I have not played since I was very young left me wanting to go back for another...
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goaker has been with GameLog for 17 years, 10 months, and 14 days |
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