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Feb 9th, 2008 at 01:28:03 - Digimon World 2 (PS) |
DIGIMON WORLD 2 GAMELOG ENTRY #2
GAMEPLAY:
After my second play session, I found myself becoming a little bored with the turn-based battle system. After finishing the fourth dungeon I found myself avoiding battles as much as possible. However, after learning how to catch digimon, I then became engrossed in expanding my digimon collection and making the best team possible. I think perhaps that this games main feature would be the plethora of digimon that were made available to the player.
The only thing I found the game to be lacking in was a 2-player mode. While I understand that multiplayer functions were not common for the Playstation systems, it has been done by taking data from 2 sources and letting the players battle it out that way. I was somewhat dismayed to find out that I could not battle my fellow hall mates. I found this very strange because ever since its conception, digimon has been a 2 player activity, with raising your monsters and then having them fight each other.
I felt that the story behind Digimon world 2 was not only very interesting but also moved at a fast pace. I enjoyed this because despite the length of the dungeons, you knew that you would get a juicy tidbit of an overlaying story. Not only was the progression of the story well done, but the explanation of the world and the relationships between humans and digimon were explained thoroughly all while keeping to the theme of digimon.
DESIGN:
The design of the game was great for its time, but unfortunately compared to recent titles, the game falls short; this is to be expected as the game is around six years old. The battle-system of the game is simply done, and can get monotonous after a while. The only thing that keeps the player going back for more is the gripping story and the chance to catch strange and new digimon. Another interesting touch to the game is the player’s ability to upgrade the digibeetle with different parts that can become handy in different situations.
The system of catching digimon is simple, yet original. The player gives gifts to the digimon they want to catch. Depending on the quality of the gift, the affection gained from the digimon will be different. A high affection means the digimon is more likely to join the player’s party. The player is then forced to fight the affectionate digimon, and if the player is successful, the digimon will want to join them and the player will be given the option to accept or decline the digimon’s offer for help. The more digimon you catch, the more DNA-Digivolving combinations you can make. DNA-Digivolving is what happens when you merge 2 digimon to create a stronger one. The created digimon begins at level one, but as it gains levels, its stats increase more dramatically and it gains the abilities possessed by its “Parent Digimon”.
The digibeetle upgrade system is also very engaging. The player is able to buy parts for the digibeetle, making it more resistant to the hazards in dungeons and able to get around obstacles the player may encounter. The only flaw in this system is the cost of the upgrades; the game seems to demand that the player upgrade their digibeetle almost immediately. Unfortunately, the game does not explain how to do this or catch a digimon. Despite these flaws Digimon World 2 provides a unique, fun gaming experience all while keeping true to the digimon world.
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Feb 9th, 2008 at 00:59:52 - Digimon World 2 (PS) |
DIGIMON WORLD 2 GAMELOG ENTRY #1
SUMMARY:
The game Digimon World 2 for Playstation 1 takes place in a fictional world known as the digital world. In this digital world there are humans and Digimon, both of which oppose each other. Digimon World 2 begins with the main character, Akira, preparing to go on his last training mission to become a full-fledged Digimon trainer. A Digimon trainer is someone who befriends digimon and uses their powers to defend the city against “Wild Digimon”, who seek to destroy the humans. In Digimon world 2, it is up to you to protect the city against ferocious wild digimon as well as the evil organization known as the “Blood Knights”.
GAMEPLAY:
Having played Digimon World 2 long before now, I had a very nostalgic feeling after returning to the game. I found myself cheering my digimon on as they performed their attacks and I felt that a large gap in my soul had been filled. I found the characters really colorful and fun, despite that they followed the typical RPG archetypal characters such as: the rival, the love interest, the mentor and the benevolent leader. Despite the fact that the games mechanics felt somewhat dated, I did not care. I went in knowing that because the game was for Playstation 1 that the games sound, graphics and mechanics would feel somewhat old. When the game was originally released, its graphics were unmatched, and I find it so interesting that so much has changed in the last 6 years.
So far, the gameplay has been fairly simple. You move your characters avatar through the game’s dungeons. The monsters in these dungeons move 1 space for every 1 space you move, almost like a chess board. When your avatar comes into contact with the monster’s avatar, the screen goes black and you are then brought to combat mode. In combat mode you can see all of your digimon and it is here where all the action takes place. The combat is a simple 3-on-3 battle style with the order being determined by the speed of a monster and the type of its attack.
The avatar that you move around with in dungeons is an insect-like tank known as your “Digibeetle”. In Digimon World 2, you are able to upgrade your digibeetle with additional parts that give you bonuses when cruising around in dungeons. Some of these attachments give you the ability to remove obstacles as well as damage enemies before you enter battle with them, thus giving you the advantage before the start of the battle.
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Jan 25th, 2008 at 03:49:47 - Katamari Damacy (PS2) |
KATAMARI DAMACY GAMELOG ENTRY #2
GAMEPLAY
Upon returning to Katamari Damacy after a much-needed dinner-break, I noticed that the controls were still as just easy to execute as when I was playing a few hours before. I found that the interactions between items and the katamari were very realistic and thus, added a sense of realism to the game. For example, if my katamari was hit by a fast-moving child on a bike, my katamari would go flying farther than if it was just batted around by a menacing, but cute tabby cat.
The game also has a fair amount of variety in the levels. On the Taurus-themed level, you pilot your katamari around a town infested with cows! The catch is that you can only roll-up one; therefore, you have to find the biggest cow in the level. Unfortunately, there are also many cow-printed items and pictures of cows that can count as your “Cow Quota” so you have to be careful with what you roll up as the larger cows will require a larger katamari to be rolled up. One the virgo level, everything is female themed, so the trick is to roll up as many girl-related objects as possible before the timer runs out.
Unfortunately, despite the variety in the themes of the levels, the actually number of levels is somewhat small. The player’s katamari can also get stuck between objects which can waste quite a bit a valuable time. The multiplayer options are also a bit limited as well, with just an option for a head-to head mode which gets boring quickly. Overall, Katamari Damacy is a unique and interesting look at what the Japanese gaming industry has to offer and a herald for what else is to come from across the seas.
DESIGN
When returning to Katamari Damacy, I was greeted with a happy loading screen that had me select my save data via rolling the correct data icon (all the data icons spell out the name of the company that made the game, Namco) up in a katamari provided for me. It is these kinds of quirky, seemingly miniscule features that can really make a game shine. Not only was it very cute to see the Prince rolling away a katamari with a big “NA” on it, but it also showed that the game designers really put a lot of thought into making their game unique. Upon progressing in the game, I began rolling up cousins of the Prince. Each cousin had its respective theme to it, some have oddly shaped heads, some resemble fruits and other objects and others have similar bodies to the Prince, but their colorings are different.
Katamari Damacy also has an all-original soundtrack of which all of the songs are in Japanese, but that does not stop them from being on the top of my “Most Played” list. MY favorite song occurs on the level where you need to make the constellation of Cancer, the crab. The entire level is a house that is infested with crabs of many different sizes and colors. The song that plays on the level is called “Katamari Mambo” and it is one of the many off-beat and up-beat pop songs featured in the game.
The cut scenes following the Japanese family known as the “Hoshino Family” are also portrayed as a pastel drawing. Here, everything is drawn heavily stylized, for example, the shapes that make up the people are all squares on rectangles with rounded edges. The Hoshino’s story begins with the children noticing that the stars have disappeared. The story then progresses with them going to the space station, where it is revealed that they are in fact planning to travel to the moon for a vacation. Despite the actions of the Hoshino family having nothing to do with the Prince, it is still cute to watch them.
The level design is also incredibly accurate to many small towns in Japan. The items that the player is capable of rolling up also reflects the presence of Japanese traditions, for example, players can roll up dango, a ceremonial Japanese treat consisting of three spheres of mochi skewered on a long toothpick and many other Japan-related items. Later on, the player is also capable of rolling up thunder and rain gods, showing the polytheistic Japanese beliefs. Overall, Katamari Damacy is a beautifully designed game that brings many aspects of the Japanese culture to us through a unique and pleasurable gaming experience.
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Jan 25th, 2008 at 01:22:12 - Katamari Damacy (PS2) |
KATAMARI DAMACY GAMELOG ENTRY #1
SUMMARY
Katamari Damacy begins with a father-son chat between the “Great King of All Cosmos” and his son, the main character. The King states that you, his son, are far too small to become a king one day and decides you must get bigger by rolling a katamari. A katamari is a spherical adhesive ball that the prince is ordered to roll around and collect any manner of item that is smaller than the katamari, which includes mundane items like ants to rather outlandish things like giant squids or even entire islands. After a short tutorial on a practice level, a movie plays where the King destroys all the stars in the sky. In the American version, it is said he does this out of eccentricity, but in the Japanese version it is revealed he was actually drunk and did it on accident. It then left to the player who guides the prince and his katamari to restore the stars, constellations, and finally the moon back to the night sky.
GAMEPLAY
In my first hour of playing the game I was very amused with the stylized character designs as well as the quirky J-pop that went along with the levels. I found this atmosphere to be quite intriguing and I was quite pleased with its originality. The object of the game I found to be original as well, after all, how many games ask you re-make the universe? The controls were also very easy to master and remember. The tutorial was also set up so that you were unable to complete the level without demonstrating mastery of all the game’s controls.
The story of the game, so far, has followed the tried and true method of “keep it short and sweet”. The game immediately reveals what is happening and what you need to do. While you progress through the game, you also view small cut-scenes that tell the story of a Japanese family taking a trip to the moon. The levels have, so far, been moderately-sized; the largest thing I have been able to roll up so far has been a person on a skate board. The level design does a great job of making the player feel like they are experiencing immersive game play when in fact, they are moving throughout a level based on the size of their katamari. Levels usually come in two or three parts, in which at the beginning of the level the player is confined to the first part and is then able to move to other parts as they grow and are able to roll up larger items into their katamari.
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KinokonoYama has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 10 days |
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