 |
|
Feb 9th, 2008 at 01:31:28 - Gun (PS2) |
GAMEPLAY
This time around my missions were all involving protecting either a bridge or a stage coach from attacking Apache tribesmen. I died several times while attempting separate parts of the mission, leading to quite a bit of frustration. The main problem is that I was to protect a bridge from being blown up by the Indians (as they had placed TNT on it). However, due to my own clumsiness I continually shot the TNT, failing the mission. It was pretty frustrating and I was pretty close to just stopping the game right then. Instead, I kept trying and when I eventually won, there was a great sense of satisfaction of having beaten this difficult little mission. Also, I got a tomahawk to replace my knife!
Also this time while playing I accidentally started a gunfight in town. I was testing out a new gun I had just acquired by firing it randomly into the street in a circle. I figured I wouldn’t hit anything, and if I did, nothing would happen. Turns out someone started shooting back and as the fight drew on a meter appeared titled “Town Patience.” I suppose this is an example of Gun’s more sandbox type of qualities. You can kill random people and possibly benefit, but must skirt the law as you do so.
DESIGN
Overall, I’d have to say that Gun has some pretty good design. As an action game, it’s pretty easy for it to set up conflict and challenges. However, the rate at which the missions come at you is quite rapid; you’re always facing a new group of enemies. It gives the game a great sense of tension that really adds to the feeling of the game’s environment and narrative. The narrative is also well presented through voice-acted dialog in most, if not every, interaction between the player and NPCs.
So far the level design has been pretty good and varied. Though I’ve only played for a short time, I’ve already had several fights on horseback, shot down enemy ships with a cannon on a steamboat, escorted a stage coach, and other varied combat situations. Aside from just fighting off enemies, so far there has also pretty much always been a second aspect to keep in mind, such as protecting your friend Jenny, being careful not to shoot barrels of TNT, etc. This can lead to quite a bit of frustration though, because it usually requires a bit more thought than just “kill all enemies.” You have to pay more attention to which enemies need more attention and plan strategies around it.
read comments (1)  - add a comment  - read this GameLog  |
|
Feb 8th, 2008 at 22:24:15 - Gun (PS2) |
SUMMARY
Gun is a third person shooter set in the American old west in the year 1880. The player controls Colton, a hunter who is on a mission as instructed in the dying words of his non-biological father, Ned. The game is set in a free-roaming environment following a linear story line, but with the addition of side missions which reward the player with stat boosts and money to buy items.
GAMEPLAY
So far the game hasn’t been too hard. I died a few times when finishing the last mission in the first city, but once I figured out how to more easily avoid fire from the surrounding enemies, it was fairly easy. The aiming so far is pretty good, even better in quickdraw mode. In quickdraw mode the game shifts to a first person perspective and slows down, allowing you to pick off the often large groups of enemies with precision. This is a nice feature and helps make combat more interesting.
I’ve only unlocked two guns so far and only used one of them. They definitely have some sort of difference between them, like loading times, but so far there doesn’t seem to be any reason to chose one pistol over another or to choose the rifle rather than a pistol. They all seem to do nearly the same amount of damage, but maybe I haven’t been paying enough attention.
Also, in the intro sequence to the game, there is a somewhat offensive scene wherein a group of Native Americans attack a group of Spanish conquistadors. The models for the attacking natives feature very scary, almost demonic faces and are shown as merciless killers. I understand the historical context and realize that attacks like this happened, but the models for the Native Americans themselves looked outright evil in appearance.
add a comment - read this GameLog |
|
Jan 26th, 2008 at 01:43:55 - Wii Play (Wii) |
GAMEPLAY
This time around I played with my friend who had played the Wii and Wii Play before. I think I found this time that billiards is my favorite game on Wii Play. It adapts well to the Wii and recreated that same sense of standing around playing pool in your friend’s basement. Although my friend had played before, he didn’t know that you are able to change the angle of the ball with the d-pad. Despite this, he has able to beat me in at least one of the games we played. However, I don’t know if this is a comment against Wii Play’s billiard physics or my own inability at all billiards, virtual or real.
My friend seemed to really like the game where the player plays as a cow racer. As I said in the previous entry, you have to hold the Wiimote differently than normal for this particular game. Although I knew how to hold the controller, unlike whom I played with last time, it was just hard to accurately turn and jumping is very awkward. I ended up winning the race (by knocking down the most scarecrows and having the largest score), and although my friend wanted to play again, I just found it frustratingly awkward and not fun.
DESIGN
First off, when I think of Wii Play’s design, I think of what’s wrong. The game could benefit greatly from increased multiplayer play. As it is, only two players can play at once. The game, while boasting nine complete minigames, could also use much more minigames! Wii Sports got by on three games, but I think they were more involving and thus lead to a much different play experience. Wii Play is just almost just rehashing countless, nameless computer games. Also, the selection of the next minigame could use a random mode for when you don’t feel like picking the next mind-numbing game.
I guess the game’s good design lies in the Wii’s unique controller. Although most of these games have been seen before, they’re at least somewhat interesting to play due to the unique challenges the Wiimote brings. The game is also one of the few to use the Wii’s collection of Miis, characters players can create to represent them in games or as gave save icons (e.g. Super Mario Galaxy). The Miis appear as either your selected character, in the background as spectators, or as part of a game as in the “find the Mii” minigame.
read comments (1) - add a comment - read this GameLog |
|
Jan 24th, 2008 at 22:33:29 - Wii Play (Wii) |
SUMMARY
Wii Play is a collection of nine minigames ranging from shooting tanks to play billiards. Packaged with a Wii Remote for only about $10 more, the game is mostly designed as a party game aimed to show the novelty of the Wii’s unique controller set-up. The game supports two-player multiplayer mode and features a system of winning medals once all levels are unlocked.
GAMEPLAY
I was playing with a relative Wii newb. I figured that Wii Play would be easy enough for him to play, but when he didn’t even hold the Wiimote correctly, I got a little worried. We played through the games sequentially, unlocking the next one each time. All seemed to be going well until the horse racing minigame. My friend couldn’t seem to figure out the control set up properly from the little instructions shown before the game. To play this game, you need to hold each end of the Wii so it is parallel with the TV. He was still holding it like a remote the entire time.
There was one game that I actually lost in. It was like a variant of pong, only you can move your paddle up the half-way line in the court and turn according to the twist of your wrist. This was the only game that I actually ended up losing in, but that’s only because I kept accidentally knocking the ball into my own goal. Even as I’m writing this and my friends play the same game on the TV, they’re making the same mistake. It’s quite frustrating, but adds more difficulty to this otherwise simple game.
add a comment - read this GameLog |
|
|
 |
| tbaugh's GameLogs |
|
tbaugh has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 11 days |
view feed xml
|
| Entries written to date: 10 |
|
