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Feb 9th, 2008 at 04:55:20 - Every Extend Extra (PSP) |
Ok, wow. I messed up with this one.
GAMEPLAY:
I played the tutorial level to get a better feel for how the game works, which is really what I should have done from the beginning, and it is so much more fun now.
It turns out it's really easy to get extra lives and kill multiple enemies at once, as long as you know what you're doing. Enemies that are lines up when you kill yourself explode in a chain reaction, that can sometimes take up the entire screen. You control how fast the enemies come at you by collecting "quickens," and the more enemies on screen, the easier it is to get combos. Every boss has a complex strategy, and every level has a new look, enemy, and feel.
Yeah, I messed up.
So after figuring out how to play this game and actually enjoy it, I was able to make it all the way to level 5. It looks like there's a level advancement tree, and it shows you your location on it at the end of each level, but I don't know how to get to the alternate levels. It's tantalizing, though, and definitely looks like it will add to replay value.
After playing a bunch of the arcade mode, I tried some classic mode. It played like the final version, except you can't charge explosions or disconnect yourself from them. I also unlocked some levels for playing nonstop on, but not as many as I unlocked in arcade mode. Oh well, I'll figure that out later.
DESIGN:
Every Extend Extra is an incredibly unique game, that takes the concept of killing off waves of enemies without exploding and turns it on its head. Although the core gameplay wasn't readily apparent, once I actually figured out what to do it was great.
One of the greatest parts of this game, besides the fresh gameplay, is the constant rewards. Whenever you blow up a chain of enemies, you're bombarded with flashing lights, rising numbers, and the satisfying "extended" from the games narrator. And the tempo of the lights and beeps matches with the rhythm of the level's music. The game has been mostly described as a type of music game, and although the music doesn't really affect the gameplay, it does feel like you're affecting the music. It changes tempo the more quickens you collect, and the screen is constantly gyrating to the same beat as the music. It's all really engrossing.
This game really shows you that there is still a lot left to be done with the shmup genre.
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Feb 9th, 2008 at 02:04:27 - Every Extend Extra (PSP) |
Every Extend Extra is a bizarre rhythm shmup, although it only resembles a conventional shmup before you press the first button. In this game you don't attack by shooting lasers or missiles, you attack by killing yourself, as well as any enemies in the immediate vicinity. And yes, you lose a life every time you attack, so you have to be very careful timing your attack.
E3 is a very tough game. I haven't made it past the first boss yet, because every time I get to it I either run out of time or lives. The ship is an orange throbbing caltrop, and the enemies are green spores that run across the screen. You can kill more than one enemy if you charge your explosion, and attack from a distance if you separate the explosion from your ship. (You still lose a life in this case, though) You only have 15-odd lives to attack with, so that makes it unnecessarily difficult.
Granted, it is fun: there's plenty of power-ups to collect (I have no idea what they do, though) the music and background are hypnotic, and when I do manage to kill a lot of enemies, it is exciting. I've noticed myself getting a bit better as I play, too, and I think I'm just a few steps away from mastering this level. I keep imagining what playing this first level will feel like after I've gotten really good at the game, I'll probably think "Oh, this level again, ho hum." The thing is, I want to keep playing, and I want to see what more this game will have to offer based off this first level, but I can't get that far.
I liked Lumines, and this game seems to be following the same code. Which is good. A very good thing. It's just getting a bit boring waiting for things to get good.
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Jan 14th, 2008 at 21:06:45 - Banjo-Kazooie (N64) |
Gameplay:
What I feared for this game has come to pass: the collecting. I ended this last play session able to continue in the game, but unable mentally because there were still things to collect. This is more a fault of my play style, but it's still frustrating.
I played through Treasure Trove Cove, and after getting used to all the new moves I had to complete, went through it fairly quickly. The hippo pirate that spoke in burps was amusing, and solving the puzzle of finding his missing treasure was fun. I still haven't gotten used to swimming, and just navigating the 3D space to pick up the gold bars was a hassle. After a while I got more proficient at it, but it still wasn't enough for some more difficult puzzles in this and later levels.
After finishing the level and opening the next level, I was struck with the challenge of finding the door I opened. At first I thought it was behind another note door, and had to go back into Treasure Trove Cove in order to get more notes. Unfortunately, this wasn't the right place to go, and I explored fruitlessly and found several doors... all right out of my reach. I finally went back to earlier in the castle and discovered the correct path. Having to explore the keep itself hadn't occurred to me, and yes, it was fun.
The next level, Clanker's Cavern, was surprising in it's complexity and it's titular character, Clanker. Finding out how to get past the giant sharp-teeth frogs (and how to kill them >:D) was especially exhilarating. Clanker, the giant metal shark, was really cool, and even touched me with a bit of sympathy for his dead-end role. Unfortunately, Clanker's chamber was filled with water, and very tough to navigate. I must have gotten game overs at least 3 times in that freaking room. Clanker's chain, attached to a plug at the very bottom of his tank, took at least 2 air points to reach, and then even more to unlock. There was a friendly fish swimming around the plug dispensing air bubbles, but they were so hard to reach I'd usually miss it by a few Z-axis points, then get lost and die. After reaching game over twice, I decided to call it quits.
Design:
This game took a 3D platforming concept started by Mario 64 and gave it a few of its own twists, and the end result is an above average experience. The large moveset was fun in and of itself, and it was great to still be learning new moves a few levels into the game. I did have a bit of trouble remembering the buttons for Jump and Attack, but that's my own fault. :P
The giant castle was like a level itself, and had as many puzzles to solve as the mini-worlds. The mood and theme was varied nicely, and the castle just outside the area reflected the area itself. For instance, a beach area just outside the ocean level, and pipes and sewage just outside the sewer level. There was an area I found with a pond and moss, and although I didn't make it to the level, it's pretty easy to guess what it will be.
Its one crippling design flaw, however, is the collecting. There is so much crap to get; while on one hand it does add replay value and gives you some motivation for moving forward, on the other, it's impossible to pass up a puzzle piece just out of your reach, and forcing myself to leave it alone and move on was really tough. It was satisfying, however, to collect many musical notes at once: running through a line of notes felt like jumping into a pool of money. But after a while the thrill is lost, and is replaced with cold 100% instincts.
The other flaw is underwater control. For a game that spends so much time underwater, the camera should have been much smoother in such areas. All this isn't to say that it isn't a fun game, though. The moveset and exploration is a lot of fun, and I can say that I'll probably play it to completion when I have the chance.
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Jan 13th, 2008 at 18:18:03 - Banjo-Kazooie (N64) |
Summary:
Banjo-Kazooie is an old-school platformer for the N64. Banjo and Kazooie, a bear and bird respectively, claw and fly their way through multiple levels to save Banjo's sister, Tootie. She is kidnapped in the opening sequence by the evil witch Gruntilda who plans to steal Tootie's cuteness for herself, leaving Tootie with her old ugliness. (A sequence you get to see if you get game over, or if you want to stop playing.) To progress through the Witch's keep, you must travel to different worlds and collect puzzle pieces, which are in turn used to open more levels.
Gameplay:
I had heard a lot about Banjo-Kazooie from friends, and my neighbor (who I borrowed the game from) told me how much fun they had with it over the years. Not one wanting to be left out, I decided to play it this weekend.
I can definitely see why it's so well liked: the characters speak in a mumble that sounds like it was stitched together, and the personalities are all unique: Kazooie is constantly rude and obnoxious to everyone they meet, Gruntilda speaks in rhyme, etc. The story is limited, but Gruntilda taunts you as you make your way through her den, and every time you turn off the game it shows her winning, to make sure you don't forget about the main task at hand.
The gameplay, almost immediately, reminded me of Mario 64. You travel to different lands from your hub in Gruntilda's keep (the paintings) and collect puzzle pieces (stars) to travel deeper into the keep and open more worlds to explore. The differences are that Banjo-Kazooie has many more moves that focus on the dynamic between Banjo and Kazooie and has some funny dialog interspersed between levels. Also, the gameplay element that may be the game's downfall, is the collecting. Dear god, there are musical notes, puzzle pieces, these colored bird things, witch doctor tokens, feathers; and each item has a set number in the level, so if you want to beat the game completely, you have to go back into levels and get every single collectible there is. This hasn't gotten annoying yet, but I can definitely see it becoming pretty irritating, as I find mass collecting a poor gameplay element.
But so far, yes, it has remained fun. Learning new moves is constantly rewarding, and their implementation entertaining. The only thing that's kind of annoying is flying and swimming, as trying to collect a single underwater puzzle piece once took me a few minutes. The level design is well thought out and (increasingly) complex, making good use of new abilities. So far I have only made it to Treasure Trove Cove, and exploring is still entertaining. One interesting addition to this level is a bear-eating shark that hangs out in the water. While this choice was probably just to keep persistent explorers from reaching the edges of the map, whenever I enter the water anywhere in the level, I get a sudden pang of fear. It's so frustrating to move underwater that I hardly get away from the shark whenever I do meet up with him. In a conversation about an innate fear of water in video games, several people mentioned this level as especially terrifying. Now I'm begining to understand why.
I'll finish when I return from my second play session. Hopefully it stays entertaining.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Jan 14th, 2008 at 20:35:23.
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Psychomax has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 8 days |
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