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Jan 25th, 2007 at 21:53:58 - Diablo II (PC) |
I have very mixed feelings about this game. On the one hand it has incredibly simplistic and repetitive gameplay that wouldn't interest me in other games. On the other hand, D2 has managed to keep me entertained off-and-on for years. I'm still working through how it succeeds where others of its kind fail, but there are several mechanics that I think are key.
The core mechanics of Diablo II are very simple. You run around and use your abilities on monsters, while trying to dodge the abilities they use - it's fairly fast-paced, but on a 2D field there isn't a lot of room to play in so these mechanics wouldn't stand on their own. The way the abilities in Diablo II are set up is what has always struck me - basically, every class gets a set of abilities with a wide range of usefulness, and a few classes get abilities that are retardedly overpowered in the context of the game.
For example, one of the most important mechanics of the game is hit points, and the toughest enemies in the game are almost all defined by their hit points. A chapter boss is different from a normal monster largely because he's harder to kill, plus a few special abilities and a bit of extra damage. However, the Sorceress class gets a spammable ability called Static Field which takes 1/3rd of the hitpoints from everything in the area (regardless of how many they have). This largely invalidates the hitpoint mechanic for that class, since you can drain massive amounts of HP chain-casting static field and then finish enemies off with...well... anything.
And that's fine. It's a PvE game, and a lot of the fun of PvE games is ripping through hordes of enemies without a lot of trouble. For the first two 'levels' of the game ('Normal' and 'Nightmare') this is pretty much what happens no matter who you play. Every enemy type has some special abilities that differentiate it from others, but it really doesn't matter at all. Even if you do get into trouble, you can always open a portal to return to town instantly, escaping whatever monsters were chasing you. This encourages a lot of carelessness on the early difficulties. What kinds of spells does this next enemy cast? How are 'Stygian Bone Dolls' different from 'Oblivion Knights'? Who cares? I'm killing everything instantly with whirlwind attacks and ridiculous 10,000 damage assassin combos. I think I'm good at this game!
When you get to the final difficulty level (aptly titled 'Hell'), the monsters get major damage buffs and a lot more abilities at their disposal, some of which absolutely destroy players. As an example - players in D2 tend to have low hit points and deal massive damage, while monsters tend to have high hitpoints and deal low damage. This is fine until you run across monsters with a curse called Iron Maiden that returns the damage you deal onto your own health total. This curse is famous for one-shotting players who use physical attacks, and as a melee character your only real option against Iron Maiden is to run in circles until it wears off, or just avoid the enemies that use it entirely. The monsters on hell difficulty have skills and immunities specifically designed such that they're almost impossible for certain classes to kill. Running into hordes of high-damage monsters that are immune to all of your attacks is commonplace towards the end of the game.
This, in turn, creates a really weird situation. By the time you get to Hell, the core gameplay itself has grown pretty stale, but its kept interesting by these stupidly overpowered abilities that insta-kill you if you're not constantly on your toes. This manages to keep the gameplay itself interesting, combined with some other factors which I'll describe in another entry.
It's an interesting lesson in game design. Imbalanced skills aren't necessarily bad for the game. If the overpowered skills were removed from Diablo II, I doubt nearly as many people would still be playing it or enjoying the gameplay. They really are what keeps it interesting.
Peace,
-Squidget
This entry has been edited 3 times. It was last edited on Jan 25th, 2007 at 22:21:58.
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Jan 21st, 2007 at 21:54:58 - Donkey Kong Country 2 (SNES) |
Having played through this game (completely) over the last few days, I felt it deserved some discussion. I've played a very large number of old school platformers and the Donkey Kong Country series stands out as the best of them. I can continue to replay these games long after I've grown bored with Mario, and in my mind they stand out as some of the best platformer design I've ever come across.
Most more recent platformers (post-NES) aren't just about passing the levels or getting through the storyline - those are an important and integral part of the gameplay, but to truly complete a platformer you always have to find a multitude of secrets. These secrets are usually hidden off the beaten path and require a fair amount of exploration and puzzle-solving. While a weaker or more casual player might find the levels a challenge enough, a hardcore gamer can comb every level for hours trying to find that last item and get 100% completion. Donkey Kong Country 2 handles this duality perfectly, with levels that are challenging in their own right and secrets that are hidden just well enough to keep the gamer interested.
First, the levels. Each level in DKC2 has its own 'gimmick' that subtly changes the way the game is played. On one level you might find the gravity has been lowered and your jumps will take you twice their usual distance. On another level you're stuck on a twisted roller coaster, jumping your car to grab bananas or dodge other cars while you move quickly up and down the various tracks. On yet another level, acid is constantly rising below you and you have to climb up instead of moving left to right. Creating so many gimmicks (DKC2 has dozens of levels) is a feat in its own right, and it makes each stage feel new enough that the player never gets bored.
On to the secrets - secrets in DKC2 are structured such that each level has one 'big' secret (a large golden DK coin), two or three bonus rooms, and a multitude of small bananas and extra lives. Before you enter a level you are able to look at which secrets you found - since the levels themselves are fairly short, this makes each secret feel very achievable. You know that that taunting DK Coin is in somewhere in this relatively small area, but you don't know where.
None of DKC2's secrets are without some clue as to where they might be hiding. Alarm bells start to go off when a player sees a certain feature. For example, the small bananas (identical in function to Mario's coins) are always indicating something about the secret. If a single small banana is placed against a wall, you know it's there for a reason and that you should check that wall. If the banana is over a deadly pit, you know that you can jump into the pit without fear - something will always be there to save you.
At the same time, the rest of the level actively pushes you away from the secrets. Jumping from one vine to the next feels right and makes sense, while jumping to get a single banana in a pit feels like a stupid move. The player starts to question every action and every assumption, and a segment of gameplay that's really only a few minutes can be massively extended as they search every nook and cranny for the elusive secret.
In this way, the player quickly learns that the path the gameplay provides isn't always the correct one. The first few levels of DKC2 have you moving left to right in the usual platform style - then suddenly, you come upon a DK coin hidden just to the left or just above the starting point. If the player finds this coin, they'll forever be questioning their left to right assumption. They'll try to move left or up at the start of every level, looking for another secret. They'll always be wondering if there isn't another way to go.
The really amazing thing is how little effort it must have taken to create these secrets. The graphics and gameplay around them is really miniscule from a design standpoint. However, they add massively to the game's lifespan and replayability, since you can always find something new and you'll always be looking for some special item off the beaten path. A 2-minute level might take 10 minutes, all because of one or two well-placed secrets.
I'd recommend this game to anyone designing a platformer. It really is one of the best.
Peace,
-Squidget
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Jan 19th, 2007 at 17:12:53 - Super Smash Brothers (N64) |
Just for completeness sake, I decided to spend the second half of my logged time messing around in the Super Smash Brothers single player. In this version, the single player consists of a series of AI fights, culminating in a boss battle with the "Master Hand." After how much I've played this game I didn't expect to have fun slaughtering AI, but it turned out more interesting than I expected despite having gone through it so many times.
One of the best features of single player in SSB is the award system. After each battle you are given a series of awards and titles that affect your point total - for example, if you completed the battle in under 30 seconds you receive a "Speedster" award and a bonus to your score. The sheer variety of these awards ensure that you will get at least a few every match, and they encourage the player to try some crazy things in order to see what new awards they can find. Winning a match using only a beam sword gets you an award. Finishing Giant Donkey Kong without any allies taking damage gets you a special award unique to that match. Even dying just before your enemy (within 5 seconds) gets you a special award for a suicidal kill. Since points in the game are meaningless you wouldn't expect so much out of the mechanic, but it really goes a long way towards making each game unique and interesting.
The AI is reasonably well-built, but like most video game AI, the best way to win against it is finding holes in the programming rather than just playing the game as you normally would. On some levels you can force kills just by jumping around, since the AI will eventually fall into a pit trying to chase you around the map. The AI ignores motion sensor bombs, so you can simply evade until you find one and then throw it in the bot's path for an easy kill. In short, there are a multitude of ways to win without fighting that greatly reduce the challenge of the single player. If you do choose to fight the AI head on it is actually a decent opponent, using it moves well and countering your play over time.
Overall, multiplayer is definitely the strong suit of SSB, but the single player is perfectly enjoyable in its own right. It serves as both a way to get used to the controls and, on the higher levels, a way to test your skill. Extemely well-designed overall.
Peace,
-Squidget
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Jan 21st, 2007 at 22:23:07.
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Jan 18th, 2007 at 19:07:29 - Super Smash Brothers (N64) |
"Haha, owned!"
"Dammit that move is cheap!"
"Play to win."
"You just say that because you're using Kirby!"
That conversation should be familiar to anyone who plays Super Smash Brothers with frequency. The ability to start arguments and shouting matches among good friends is the mark of a great competitive game, and Super Smash Brothers is no exception. With an easy learning curve, strong casual and competitive play, and an easy to learn system of moves and combos, SSB is one of the strongest competitive games to be released on any console system.
The structure of the game is such that any bad player can pick up a controller and probably do some damage. The movement is simple but fast-paced and rewards quick reflexes and agressiveness. At the same time, the control system seperates good players from bad ones, as bad players will stick almost entirely to their character's special moves (B-activated) without ever realizing how powerful the simple A-activated attacks really are. As a player learns the power of the A-attacks in combos with the special moves they improve and are able to compete against tougher opponents. At the same time, new players can beat on each other with the B attacks and have a great time doing it - they won't become frustrated or feel like they can't do anything, because the B attacks are relatively strong when used on their own.
The health system in SSB is a nice innovation that really makes the game. As a character takes hits their 'percentage' rises higher and higher (I'm not sure why percentage is used since it can easily go beyond 100), and the higher their percentage the easier they are to knock around. A life is lost when a character is knocked off the stage, which can usually only be done at a relatively high percentage due to the large number of movement and jumping options available. This creates a situation where some moves are good at building percentages and others are good at smashing people around. Players have to use a variety of moves to consistently get kills, rather than relying on a single attack as is the case in some 2D fighting games.
Unfortunately, this excellent framework is marred by weak balance. At the higher levels of the game there are only a few characters really worth running, and one in particular (Kirby) dominates mid-level play. On the plus side, all the characters are useful to new players and you can play your favorite character in casual games without feeling too handicapped by it.
This is a game I've had a fair amount of experience with, and playing today was no different. I went in with my usual Kirby and won every match against various opponents on the floor. Later I switched to Luigi (a weak character, but one I enjoy playing) and started losing pretty consistently. While I've dropped most other Nintendo 64 games by the wayside long ago, this is one that I can always come back to and enjoy - the sign of a true classic.
Peace,
-Squidget
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Jan 21st, 2007 at 22:23:19.
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Squidget has been with GameLog for 17 years, 10 months, and 12 days |
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