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Mar 5th, 2008 at 23:06:13 - Dynasty Warriors 4 (XBX) |
GAMEPLAY
The second time around, I played with a friend, choosing the option to play cooperatively. This game is designed nicely for two people to play together. While the players are on the same side, there is still a feeling of competing with each other. The main reason for this is because there is a number in the corner of the screen keeping count of how many kills each player has gotten. Thus, each player contests to have a higher kill count than the other. Also, the game encourages more than one player by adding another bonus to the Mousou attack. If you and another player are near each other and both have full Mousou bars, then if you activate it at the same time, you both release a more powerful Mousou attack, doing tons more damage for a longer period of time. These were the main things that made two-player mode that much more fun for me.
The game is constantly feeding the player rewards as well. Some of them are small and simple rewards of glory, such as if you've killed a specific number of people (50, 100, 200, etc) or if you killed a named officer, the sound effect of a crowd cheering plays and an allied general will shout their congratulations. Others are bigger, where at the end of each level, experience is tallied up for how many people you got and officers you took down, which causes you to level and gives you more attacks for your combos. Your bodyguards can level up as well, allowing them more access to different weapons and making it so you can increase there number, from 2 up to 8. As you complete more levels, you can also unlock new characters; in fact, practically every two levels, two or three more people are made available to play. This constant positive feedback is definitely part of what makes this game so addicting.
The game also allows a fair amount of customization. Beyond being able to chose from dozens of different characters once you've unlocked them, you also get to chose what to equip your character with. These items have to be unlocked first as well, either by destroying boxes or through finding all named officers and killing them for loot, but once you have them, you have your fair amount of choices. You can choose several different orbs - which are weapon buffs - that can either do extra damage, freeze your enemy in place in a block of ice, and a lot more. You can choose what artifacts to where, which can increase your life, mousou bar, defense, jump height, speed, and so on. You can also chose what mount to start with, be it a horse or an elephant. Depending on what you equip often effects your style of play, thus it makes you feel like you have more control over the power of your character. I often change what I equip to my hero from level to level to see what the outcome is. Plus, I am encouraged to always explore each level thoroughly to see what new items I can discover.
DESIGN
While I have really enjoyed this game so far, I can tell it will eventually get repetitive. Though I can tweak my character quite a bit, that does not change the fact that every level is 90% the same exact thing from the last. You kill hordes of soldiers and a few all-powerful generals here and there. The goals vary a little, from killing the main baddy on the opposing side to protecting your own leader to defending an area for a certain amount of time. Also, there are a few random events here and there, like a triggered ambush or the boats your fighting on are set on fire. However, when you get right down to it, it's still just the same thing over and over again. The designers did a good job of packaging it, making it so it hooks the player in quickly, but it'll wear off eventually. It would have been nice if they had found a may to make each level feel a little more different from each other or make the events have more of an impact.
I don't think they handled the story-telling very well. Most of the narrative is handled with tiny text scrolling up the screen in between each level and a screen shot of some place or person. It's probably talking about which army is advancing on which, but I am not certain, because I don't bother to read it. I don't really feel drawn into reading it because it is handled in such an unappealing way. Like I said, the text is tiny, and there's a lot of it. It just does not flow well with the rest of the game, when you've just completed a tough level, slaying thousands of enemies, and then being forced to slow down to read. They do, however, have a few cutscenes to introduce characters here and there, but they are short and often don't make sense. It may be because of the fact that I did not read the text, but I also think the cutscenes themselves were just not scripted well. I will say that they were beautifully rendered however.
I do like how much thought they put into making each character fairly unique. With dozens to choose from, it's nice to see that each is not a repeat of one or another, even going so far as to have their own personalities. Each one looks entirely different from the other and you can unlock about 6 different costumes for each of them. They all have their own fighting styles, which is quite apparent and does not even depend on what weapon they have. For example, two men carry one hand swords, but fight entirely differently from each other, one swinging heavily and resheathing his weapon in between each attack while the other slices his gracefully through the air in an almost artistic manner. A different voice and different phrases are shouted by each character as well, giving each of them a distinct attitude. Each character belongs to a faction as well, so even choosing a certain character can give you a fairly unique gameplay for that specific character. True, the amount of flexibility is limited, for they all play the same maps. However, depending on the character you chose, it will start you off fighting for different armies and different objectives. You could play one character and have your goal be to kill a certain warlord, and then chose a completely different character afterwards and be given the goal to protect that vary same warlord.
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Mar 3rd, 2008 at 01:43:12 - Dynasty Warriors 4 (XBX) |
Entry #1
SUMMARY
Dynasty Warriors 4 is a real-time, third-person action game, where the player takes control of one of many available warlords of feudal Japan, or designs their own unique character. With a character chosen and weapon in hand, they take on hundreds, sometimes thousands, of enemy soldiers per zone, leveling their fighter and bodyguards along the way and being able to customize items from what they equip for bonuses to how their avatar dresses to what they ride.
GAMEPLAY
I want to start by saying it is really easy to hop into this game with no prior experience or tutorial. Choose a character, have a look at the map, then hit start and you're in the first level. Once inside, it is not hard to figure out what to do. If you see some guys running at you and yelling, it's a good bet they are your enemy. Just start hacking and slashing until they die, then find some more enemies to kill. Such a simple premise and yet it is handled so well in this game that it becomes very addicting.
The control scheme is really easy to learn. There are two attack buttons, one for your normal attacks and the other for special attacks. If you hit the normal attack button repeatedly, you string a set of swings together that each have their own animation, flow smoothly together, and deal a fair amount of damage. What the special attack button does depends on when you hit it in relation to a combo of normal attacks. For example, if you hit it on its own with no prior attacks, it usually covers a wide area, damaging a lot of enemies at once. If you hit it after doing a combo of two normal attacks, it will often daze the enemies that get struck, incapacitating them for several seconds. And if you hit it after four subsequent normal attack, it throws an enemy up into the air and your hero leaps after him and slams him to the ground, often making a good finishing move against more powerful enemies. I like the way the fighting controls were set up. While all you are really doing is pushing the same button over again, with throwing in a special attack here and there, it makes you feel like you are doing a lot more then you are actually doing. What gives you this feeling is the fact that each swing in a combo looks different, plus you get the feeling of options since the outcome of your special attack depends on when you do it.
An added bonus to the fighting is the Mousou Bar. This is a bar that steadily fills up as the player either causes damage or takes damage. The player also has the option to channel their Mousou, holding down a button that causes the bar to steadily rise on its own; the only disadvantages of this part is it leaves the player vulnerable to attacks and also each level has a time limit, so the player may not have time to waste. Once the bar is full, the player simply needs to find a large group of enemies, jump in the middle and hit the Mousou button, then sit back and watch the bodies fly. It unleashes a powerful chain of attacks that do massive amounts of damage, have a wide range, and causes knock back to all enemies. This can be a deadly weapon and very helpful against bosses, so the player has to chose carefully when to use it the most effectively. Additionally, if the player's life is low, this bar fills up faster and does more damage, setting the player's weapon on fire. This attack gives the player a feeling of satisfaction, both in watching the health bars drop quickly and in the fantastically designed visual display. This, combined with the other attacks, are the core of what hooks a player into the game and want to keep playing more.
Another thing that makes the fight system fun in this game is the fact that you have bodyguards that follow your hero around. I will say a player's control over them is limited, as you can only tell them to do one of three things: guard you if anyone attacks you, attack everything and anything that moves, or stay behind and guard a specific spot. However, it is still a nice feature to the game. It gives the player some feeling of command and not like your just another soldier with prettier armor than the others.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Mar 3rd, 2008 at 01:43:36.
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Feb 20th, 2008 at 21:49:21 - Super Mario 64 (N64) |
Entry #2
GAMEPLAY
Super Mario 64 is a game full of puzzles. The primary ones involve finding a way to reach or uncover several stars from each world. Its clear the designers put quite an amount of thought into these puzzles, for they hardly ever feel repetitive. From having to get to the very top of a level to fighting some big baddy to collecting hundreds of coins to races against opponents or time to using a multitude of hats that have varying effects on Mario - flying, turning to metal, becoming intangible... Really, the list of challenges presented to the player is quite large. With all the variety presented to the player, it makes sure the game never feels dull or repetitive. Sure, you are always collecting more stars, but it always feels like you are making progress and having fun while doing it.
The camera system is handled very cleverly in this game, both in explanation and actual player interaction. As I mentioned in my previous post, there is a brief introduction of the camera at the beginning of the game. What exactly is going on is you find out you actually have a little camera man following you around on a floating cloud, documenting your trip through the castle. It shows him at the beginning, and later in a room with a mirror, you can see him reflected and following closely behind Mario, a cute addition in my opinion. As for actual controls, the player is allowed easy access to rotating the camera as well as being provided different modes. The first and default mode keeps its distance but centers on Mario, allowing a good view of surroundings and anything that may be charging in your direction. The second gets in close and stays directly behind Mario, used for situations that need more carefully handled and precise controls, such as crossing a narrow pathway. I feel this allowed a lot of control over the camera for the player, minimizing annoyance and making for a more overall fun gameplay.
DESIGN
I like how the game set up access to all its levels and how easy it is to traverse and go back and forth between different zones. First, there is the castle area that serves as the main, central point. Withing the castle, there are several portraits, all portals to the separate levels. At first, the player is limited to only one world beyond the castle. However, as they further gameplay and get more stars, slowly more possibilities open up to them. They can either chose to see a world through to the end, collecting every star and finding every secret, or they can skip a world all together, or somewhere between the two extremes. It is possible to complete the game without ever having visited certain worlds. It is also possible to skip ahead a few worlds then decide you want to go back and explore another world further. So, in a sense the story is fairly linear, but the player is allowed a fair amount of control to the point of picking and choosing what they want to do and playing through the game in a different order than may have been intended.
In this game, Mario got a serious upgrade from his past incarnations. In previous games, he was mostly limited to one kind of jumping, one kind of punch, and a few power-ups, such as shooting fireballs. But when Mario got introduced to the 64, a whole new slew of attacks and special abilities came with him. No longer limited to a simple hop, the player can now do several different amazing leaps, all unique and useful in their own way. For example, Mario could now long jump, throwing himself across a large, gaping abyss. He could also wall hop, leaping into a wall and bouncing off and being able to do so repeatedly, going higher and higher, allowing access to the tallest of structures. I think it was great that this was designed into the game. It made exploration more fun and interesting for the player, as well as providing several tools for puzzle solving. Plus, it was a very unique aspect to the game, practically turning jumping into the series' trademark.
Flying in the game gave me mixed feelings. When Mario 64 was first introduced, the flying was actually rather impressive. This feeling of gliding through a free, 3D environment among the clouds was quite a sensation. However, the controls were always rather frustrating. They are in fact quite similar to the Super Mario World, involving attempting to keep Mario afloat by waggling the joystick up and down to a certain rhythm, all the while watching nervously as you slowly lost altitude. I'm not sure if there was really a better way to handle it, making it more fun and yet still challenging. However, I will say that there were several hours lost to the bonus level solely made for flying among the towers and nothing below you but endless blue.
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Feb 19th, 2008 at 00:39:01 - Super Mario 64 (N64) |
Entry #1
SUMMARY
Super Mario 64 is a third-person platformer starring none other than Nintendo star, Mario, the little plumber out to battle the evil forces of Bowser and save Princess Peach. This game introduces large expansive zones for the player to explore in a colorful, 3D environment, along with the player having several ways to explore, including dashing, swimming, shooting through a cannon, flying, and multitudes of hops, skips and jumps.
GAMEPLAY
I have played this game before, but it was a really long time ago. It was good back then, and it's still fun to play now.
The game starts you off by putting you in control almost immediately. There is an invitation to the castle by Peach, a quick introduction of the camera, and then the player is free to take off with Mario. Upon entering the castle, you find that Bowser is up to his old mischief again, and then you're bouncing off to your first world. I personally liked this quick introduction. It may be a bit flimsy on the story side, but it's Mario, it never really needed that big of a story. And for games with simple controls like this one, it does not need a big long introduction, so I like being thrown into the action almost immediately. Plus, there are the helpful signs everywhere with little tidbits of info or instructions on how to perform special jumps. It's all very clear, clean and easy, making for a very enjoyable introduction for any player into the game.
From the first world, Bomb-omb Battlefield, a player can quickly learn what to expect from the game. There's a wide, open area to run around in with bright backgrounds and several odd creatures that could either be friendly or could be enemies ready to jump into action as soon as Mario runs up. I like that there are lots of small secrets to discover as well, such as running a quick circle around a flower patch could cause a life-up to pop out, or pressing up against the back of a small alcove teleports you to the top of a mountain. And the openness of the world gives a certain amount of freedom to the player. Sure, there is a clue each time you enter a zone as to where you should go, but the player is in no way obligated to follow that clue. They can go running off in another direction and find other things to explore and enemies to bash.
In Super Mario 64, you find that you have to return to worlds a lot to collect stars. I liked the way they designed this, adding a nice amount of replayability to each zone and the game as a whole. It encourages the player to explore more and interact with those that could help you. It also helps the player looks at things in new ways, possibly finding new uses for tools - like the cannon - that they may have not thought of before. This in itself makes the game a fun sequence of discoveries.
I would just like to add that the soundtrack for this game was excellently done. Each world has music that feel very appropriate and helps draw you into the game a little more. The bright, grassy first level has bouncy, upbeat music that fits in with your surroundings, whereas the haunted house level has spooky - yet cartoony - music. Water worlds have this slow, soothing tune that can only be described as aquatic. Slide levels have energetic, almost gameshow sounding music that gets you raring to go. All in all, it was implemented well and was a nice enhancement to the game.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Feb 20th, 2008 at 21:56:56.
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Vayle has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 10 days |
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