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Feb 28th, 2007 at 12:16:13 - Goldeneye 007 (N64) |
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Feb 28th, 2007 at 12:17:43.
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Feb 23rd, 2007 at 19:06:25 - Goldeneye 007 (N64) |
Log Entry #1
Wow! I forgot how truly revolutionary this game was. This game was one of the first of many, many first person shooters. One of the first things that struck me about this game was its hit detection. As far as I know, no game before this one had such advanced hit detection. When you shoot an enemy in the foot he limps, if you shoot him in the head he is killed instantly, if you shoot his hat it flies off his head. This also makes stealth very important. Also, many levels have an alarm system that is activated if you are spotted or shoot your gun without a silencer. This game remains a cultural icon for my generation. When I was in sixth grade everybody had this game, and everybody was obsessed with it. I recall playing it over and over.
Another rather revolutionary aspect of this game was the level design. The player can pretty much go anywhere he wants, but there are certain objectives he must complete to beat the level. The objectives range from taking a picture of some top-secret documents, disabling a computer, blowing up a building, or eliminating an enemy. There are also more objectives to complete when playing on higher levels of difficulty and objectives could sometimes be completed in any order allowing the player to take their own unique path to beat a level. This type of game play is extremely common today. Every first person shooter is structured in this way, with various objectives required to advance levels. First person shooters are perhaps the most popular game genre today and it’s all thanks to the release of Goldeneye007 nearly a decade ago.
This game launched the James Bond 007 video game series that continues to produce successful games to this day. None however will ever compare to this one.
I will now venture into multiplayer mode….
Log Entry #2
This game’s multiplayer mode was also very revolutionary and part of its wide appeal. It kept players playing even after they had beaten the game, kept their lusory attitude I guess. One of the great things about multiplayer mode is the challenge. Instead of playing a computer character, you are fighting an enemy controlled by another player, most likely somebody you know well who is sitting right next to you. This allows for much trash talk and some extrinsic glory for the winner. This multiplayer battle concept is now a staple in every first person shooter.
In multiplayer mode, the player also gets to choose the weapon selection available and the character. Though this game is primarily based on the Goldeneye film, there are characters from many films in the Bond franchise. Some have attributes that make them harder to kill, like Odd Job, who is so short his opponent has to aim down to hit him and chances are odd job will get in a couple of knee shots before this happens. Also you can control what weapons are available so you could have a battle based on stealth and snipering or an all-out manic shooter.
Another very significant aspect of multiplayer mode, as well as the main game, is Cheats. Cheats can be unlocked in a number of ways and some of them affect weapons, or armor, or just the way the enemies look. One cheat gives you access to the one-hit-kill golden gun, another makes you invisible, another gives you unlimited ammo, and another makes the heads of the enemies exceptionally large. Basically this simple game gives the player so many options that it is easy to keep playing it in new ways. It is very difficult to get bored of this game. Just the other day I walked into my buddy’s house and he and some friends were just sitting there having an intense goldeneye multiplayer battle, just as we all had a decade ago. Of course this time there was the added element of beer!
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Feb 28th, 2007 at 12:41:02.
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Feb 9th, 2007 at 19:21:36 - Guitar Hero II (PS2) |
Guitar Hero 2
Log Entry #1
Yesterday, my buddy brought over Guitar Hero 2 and two guitar controllers. I had never played the game, I had only heard it was fun and addicting. I actually had no idea what it looked like or how it was played. At first I was a little taken aback. It seemed more like those Dance Dance Revolution games and less like a musical instrument, and essentially that what it was. This turned out not to be a bad thing. Almost instantly I was hooked. I started playing in Career Mode in order to unlock more songs. In the game there are four levels of difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert. Initially, even the Easy difficulty is tricky, but the best part of this game is how rapidly you learn how to play. What seems overwhelming at first can be mastered in no time.
The way the game is played is simple. On the screen is a rapid succession of notes represented by colored circles, the colors correspond with the buttons on the guitar controller so when the green note is to be played the player must press the green button and “strum” the guitar at the right time and hold it for the amount of time indicated. The game is based on points and there are various ways to get points and point multipliers (such as hitting a certain number of notes consecutively without messing up).
Once my friends and I unlocked more songs we decided to try multiplayer. This is what makes the game really fun. There are two multiplayer options: Face-off and Cooperative. In co-op one of the players plays lead guitar and the other player rhythm or bass. You work together to get the highest number of points. This whole time we all were playing on easy, but next we will attempt Medium difficulty.
Log Entry #2
Medium difficulty adds a new element to the gameplay. On easy the player only has to worry about pressing three of the five buttons on the guitars neck. Now it is four. Also, in medium difficulty the player may have to press multiple buttons simultaneously. My buddies and I decided to battle each other in the face-off multiplayer mode. In this mode both players play different portions of the same song and get individual point totals. Also, each player can choose their own difficulty level. Unfortunately, difficulty doesn’t affect point total, so when I upgraded to medium and my friend stayed at easy he ended up with a higher point total than I did, because I made more mistakes. I see this as a flaw.
Medium was almost unbearable my first try, but it is astonishing how quickly a player can adapt, especially if they know the song they are playing. After a few attempts the controls and the rhythm become almost second nature and you don’t focus so much on how to play but what to play and when. I actually found myself zoning out at certain points and still hitting all my notes. I also discovered another way to rack up points. On long notes you can use the Whammy bar (the same as on a real guitar) and add more points to your total.
Overall this game is highly addictive, probably because it makes you feel like a real guitar hero for those brief moments when you hit all your notes. There are a few flaws I noticed. The main one was in career mode. In career mode you rise to stardom playing various gigs and earning more and more money each time depending on how well you do. However, the money is essentially useless. It allows you to buy newer cooler guitars and stuff, but these are merely nice looking objects and don’t sound any better or give you a better point total. I think in the next guitar hero they should adjust this feature so that the money you make in career mode can actually affect the game. Other than these few flaws the game is great fun especially after a few beers with some buddies!
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Feb 9th, 2007 at 19:42:56.
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Jan 31st, 2007 at 19:34:44 - mario 64 (N64) |
NOTE: I'm not sure if anybody's caught this yet but the gamelog time seems to be off. it is currently 5:10pm and the gamelog says this was posted at around 7:30.
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gnuanes has been with GameLog for 17 years, 10 months, and 2 days |
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