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Mar 3rd, 2008 at 19:11:53 - Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Wii) |
Last Gamelog
2nd entry
Gameplay
In my session with the of Trauma Center I saw the narrative side of the game progress. I encountered an inner virus that’s destroying patients from within called the GUILT. This virus adds a bit of a sci-fi feel to the story.
A cool addition that was not in the DS version of the game is the “defibrillator.” The defibrillator lets you take the wiimote and nunchuck and press them forward on a patient to zap them and bring them back to life. Second Opinion really shows off what the Wii is all about. If anyone checks it out, you’ll agree that it is a great example of a wii game.
Just for the sake of fun, I found myself purposely killing my patients. It’s amazing how this is a game where you have full control of a person’s life. Trauma Center may be one of the only Operating games out, but it isn’t exactly a simulator. Operations that’ll take countless hours in the real world can be completed here in 5-20 minutes. I removed a patient’s tumor in 3 minutes. Aside from that, the game has a tremendously innovative gameplay and is perfect for the Wii.
Design
The Design choices in the game are both appreciated and questionable.
One design choice that I must mention is the music which was composed by Shoji Meguro, who is known for composing the music for the Shin Megami Tensei series and the Digital Devil Sage series. In my opinion (no pun intended), Trauma Center has some of the best music in gaming history. It’s memorable, catchy, creative, relaxing, and yet intense. Drum beats follow slow piano and keyboards. The music is simply beautiful.
Another design choice that must be mention is the gorgeous hand drawn artwork.
There are no CG cut-scenes, only handdrawn artwork. Honestly, I’d prefer this than an extremely expensive 3d cinematic.
The most important design choice that Atlus made with Second opinion is the full wiimote functionality. It works very well, and takes advantage of the sensor bar and the gyroscope technology that’s built inside of the wiimote.
The designs for the visuals are a huge a step from the DS, but yet have a last-gen feel. Another con with the design of the game is the lack of voice over work. There is a small amount of VO work, but not enough. You’ll find yourself reading text box after text box.
Another interesting design choice is how this game that is all about opening someone up. If you explain this concept to someone they could think that it’s filled with blood and guts and not at all safe for kids. This is not the case. The game’s visuals are “player friendly.” There is blood, but not enough where the player will be too disgusted to play. The art style is so eye friendly, that it even attracted some friends of mine and convinced them to play.
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Mar 3rd, 2008 at 18:23:27 - Trauma Center: Second Opinion (Wii) |
Last GameLog
1st Entry
Summary
Trauma Center: Second Opinion is “wiimake” of the cult classic “Trauma Center: Under the Knife.” The DS version sold tons of copies and is still to this date one the most innovative DS games out. Second Opinion is no different on Wii as it takes full advantage of the Wii’s functionalities. You play as the young new Doctor, Dr. Styles, as he is set to save the world from suffering patients.
Gameplay
This game is all about being a Doctor for those who don’t know. Players can operate with scalpels, needles and threads, ultrasounds, disinfective gels, surgical lasers, and all the tools found in an operating room.
In this version, the players uses the nunchuck and wiimote rather than using the stylus and touchscreen on the DS. It works perfectly fine. I was a fan of the DS trauma center and I picked Second Opinion with the Wii’s launch. I remember feeling skeptical when this game was approaching its release. However, after playing it, I realized that there is no reason to feel skepticism. When you make incisions, you’ll actually see your cursor shaking on screen because of your hand. This makes the game a lot more exciting than the DS version. It’s far more intense and entertaining. The game starts off like many games with introductory tasks like making incisions on a person’s surface and pulling shards of glass from a person. It’ll become more difficult with levels involving cutting out tumors. All of the tasks in this game feel intuitive. I often immediately knew how the controls were going to be for some operations just by reading what my goal was. For Example, pull out tumors. I knew already that I was going to have to use the Wiimote to cut, drain blood, and pull.
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Feb 20th, 2008 at 05:45:41 - Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) |
4th assignment
2nd entry
Gameplay
A lot of games have a light/dark world type gameplay. Including the Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Ocarina of Time has gameplay like this as well, but instead displays it through a time travel mechanic. You can go 7 years in the future. A really memorable part of the game is when you're older and you are told about stories of a boy with a fairy, and evetually you go back in time to play through those events. Also, the game features a fishing mini game. This mini game alone can be sold as a game on its own. Also, you get to ride your horse Epona. This horse riding element had yet to be done in 3D before Zelda. The control felt right. The fighting is amazing in this game as well. You can lock on to enemies with the Z button which was introduced in this game. Countless games have copied the lock on feature. It's really interesting when your enemies have shields and your attacks are blocked. This really shows off the game's A.I. while providing difficulty during battle. After playing this game for far longer than two 45 minute sessions, i realized that i had to write a game log about the entire game, rather than my 2 sessions.
Design
There is so much to mention in the game's design. The controls in the game were like no other at the time. The B button is used to swing your sword. However, Link isn't limited to sword fighting. He can use a large number of weapons to defeat enemeis including a bow and arrows, slingshots, hookshots, bombs, and many more. Also, the design for the puzzles is awesome. Having to light sticks on fire to light torches in the first dungeon is smart and clever. The graphics are jaw-dropping. Even to today's standards, I am still visually impressed. For its time, Ocarina of Time was the best looking game out. Aside from that, it was the biggest game out. The world is so massive, that calling it huge would be an understatement. Walking around Hyruleand going to a village is satisfying. While you walk from town to town, the game shows off its night and day system. When it turns night, wearwolves and skeletons come out and attack you until the break of dawn. Another design element is the fully interactive world. You can avoid the main objective and go to shops, find small hidden caves and even tease chickens. There is so much to talk about about this game that I would have to write the equivalent of 20 game logs. It's an epic game. This game has huge bosses, enormous environments, smart puzzles, impressive combat, beautiful graphics, fun control, great sound, an innovative target-system, an unforgettable story, and a fully interactive world. Ocarina of Time was revolutionary and remains as one of the greatest games of all time.
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Feb 20th, 2008 at 00:45:50 - Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) |
4th assignment
1st entry
Summary
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time begins with the main character Link waking up from the Kokiri village. He is awaken by a fairy named Navi after having a nightmare about a young princess being kidnapped by the evil Ganondorf. Link was the only kokiri without a fairy and soon sets off to the biggest adventure of his life. The quest inventually turns into a rescue mission for Princess Zelda. Players must travel through dark dungeons, inside a volcano, inside a giant tree, inside a giant fish, and more.
Gameplay
Around the time of the game's release, there were only a handful of games that did 3D right. Nintendo was the king of 3d exploring at the time with Mario 64. It single-handedly invented the 3d platforming genre. With that said, the control feels very familiar to Super Mario 64. Better examples exist today, but Mario 64 was the only other true 3D platformer at the time, so I'm comparing them. However, Ocarina of Time is not a platformer. There is no jump button. You can still jump at certain points in the game, but it's an automatic action that Link does when walking off a ledge or bridge etc. Ocarina of Time was the first game to include an auto-jump feature if I'm correct.
Fans of the series will be familiar to the objecives. The same puzzle solving is here, but instead in full 3d. But Ocarina of Time does more than simply keep the old Zelda formula; it adds new innovative features as well. The main feature is the Ocarina which is like a flute. You can use it to solve puzzles, play simon says games, and just to jam out. When you actually use the Ocarina the buttons become different notes. This makes this game more than just an action-adventure game.
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