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Jan 19th, 2007 at 19:28:13 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) |
In my second hour of game play, I became more adept at beating levels. Now I am much more capable with the controls and can better utilize power ups to my advantage. At first I moved through the levels too fast, assuming that I was still the master I once was. This, sadly, was not true though and after the first hour I was frustrated into slowing down. This greatly increased my efficiency and reduced my deaths to a minimum. I have pretty much forgotten the story at this point and am focusing much more on memorizing the levels and building up my reflexes. I'm not sure if there is some way to save the game, but I suppose it doesn't matter because I can't figure it out. This makes the overall experience of playing the game very intense because the further through the level I get the higher the stakes rise. I find myself cursing and contorting in new and interesting ways. Usually when I die I have to take a short breather before I can try again because otherwise I would probably spontaneously combust. The simplicity of this game makes it very easy to have fun.
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Jan 19th, 2007 at 19:23:18 - Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES) |
Today I finally made my way down to the Engineering Library and picked up an NES so I could try out some of the classic games on the play list. After careful and studious deliberation I decided to check out Super Mario Bros. 3. Although I am quite familiar with the original, I had never played the third installment and was curious as to how the two versions might compare. Ironically enough, I noticed relatively few major differences in game play. The level layout was different, and of course new bosses were added, but the game play experience was much the same. This was hardly disappointing though because the original game is one of my favorite games of all time. One of the things I love about the NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) is the simplicity of game play. I find many of the games coming out nowadays are too complicated both in internal design and physical control for me to enjoy in the same way. I like having two main buttons and a square controller with a non-analog direction control. I like the two-dimensional world and easy to understand objectives: don’t die. The story is more of a placeholder than a game driver, but manages not to be completely obsolete. It’s just involved enough to explain things, but not too much so that you have to waste a bunch of time involved in something other than game play. The power-ups make things interesting, and only further enhance the element of strategy so necessary in this game. After nearly eight years since I last played this game, it remains a classic and entertaining waste of time.
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Jan 10th, 2007 at 13:59:38 - James Bond Goldeneye 007 (N64) |
It seems as though there are two components to this game. First of all there is the part where you learn how to move and aim well. Then there is the more strategy-based element in which you have to figure out what is meant by the vague objective descriptions. Level one of 007 Goldeneye has two objectives in the secret agent mode, both of which are quite easy once you understand how they are completed. Unfortunately, it is usually pretty confusing figuring out how to satisfy these objectives. For example, the simple and vague instructions: disable the alarm system. The key word “system” makes it seem like there is some kind of control room with a lot of computers that have to be hacked using a special gadget. I definitely over thought this one though, because it turns out you just have to go into several of the towers and shoot the red alarms which are on the wall until they explode in a little burst of flame. The different levels of difficulty are well designed because in order to beat the levels on “00 agent,” several additional objectives must be met and many more enemies must be eliminated. These skill-based levels of hardness are good because they keep the game fresh for a long time. Even once the game has been beaten on “agent,” to repeat the levels on “00 agent” is a completely different thing. New problems must be solved and new degrees of skill must be acquired. With any game that sports the “007” name, there is a plethora of expectations about what the game play will be like. It is kind of similar to a Bond movie in that a broad, well-informed audience is already quite familiar with the concept before the game or movie is released. A Bond video game can be expected to be exciting, violent, and very secret agent. These expectations are not necessarily limiting though because they allow the game to be successful in ways a newly developed concept could never achieve, regardless of how good it is. Goldeneye’s chief function is to cater to this critical audience of Bond aficionados and gaming experts and I find it to be extremely effective in both these aspects. I would also like to comment on the soundtrack, which plays a critical role in game atmosphere. The music is haunting, frantic, and repetitive. I find the experience of game play with audio to be far more intense and far less successful than game play with the sound turned way down and some calming music from my computer. The music is cool because it puts the game in an emotional context that could not be achieved in any other way. Without the music, I wouldn’t feel the stress and agitation Bond must feel as he works a mission. I wish I could have two guns at the same time and use grenades, but that would be too easy.
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Jan 9th, 2007 at 19:31:52 - James Bond Goldeneye 007 (N64) |
I have decided to dedicate my first experiments with gamelog.cl to one of my all-time favorite games: 007 Goldeneye. Growing up at home I never had video games, but this game has always stuck out in my mind as a good example of great, engaging game design. Since I have never actually played the game all the way through, I want to take this opportunity for purposeful reflection to further my understanding of what makes this game so great. I started on the first level, and selected the difficulty level “secret agent,” which is half way between “agent” and “00 agent.” I wanted to be able to do relatively well, but I didn’t want to run out of people to kill. One of the most thrilling elements of this game is the fact that when I play it, I feel like I am James Bond. The wide variety of game play options allows me to be stealth, or not stealth. I can run like a kamikaze through the levels trying harder not to get shot than to kill the enemy, or I can move slowly and try to eliminate all risk before moving forward. One thing I notice right away when I play the game is that the enemies manage to be both incredibly stupid and incredibly annoying. Their movement is very predictable and lacking in grace, but they will shoot you. The levels are divided interestingly into different zones. Even in a three-dimensional world working in real time, there are different components to the level. These are expressed in “mission objectives” which are mentioned at the beginning of the level but usually lack in descriptive details. It tells you what to do but not how to do it. This game is an interesting case because—unlike later Bond games—its story parallels the Bond movie “Goldeneye” very closely. This means that it is pretty coherent and engaging. But, like most games, the real interest here is less in the story than in joyfully performing simple tasks requiring concentration, hand-eye coordination, and basic problem solving. I found the controls to be very easy and quick to pick up. Movement is controlled mainly by the joystick, but side to side motion is also possible by using the yellow buttons. An interesting component is the constant need for ammunition and deciding which gun to use. In some instances, a sniper rifle is the best decision, but overall I used the AK-47 mostly. Occasionally I would run out of bullets and revert to my hand gun, but this usually meant that I would die very soon. Unfortunately, in my first hour of game play I was unable to beat the first level. However, this could be because I am not very good at video games. Maybe in my next hour I will beat it and get better.
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aldymachine has been with GameLog for 17 years, 10 months, and 15 days |
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