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Feb 9th, 2008 at 00:40:58 - Enter the Matrix (PS2) |
Gamelog Entry # 2 for 2/8/08:
Gameplay:
At first I was getting really frustrated because I was having some difficulties with the game. And it wasn't that I couldn't pass a level with my gaming skills, it was that it didn't let me. The game kept doing weird things. My character Niobe would be in the air frozen in jump motion and I was not able to get her to go back to the ground. The only thing I was able to move was the camera, and that was where I actually saw her just floating there. My friend who was with me was laughing, because she had thought that it was an actual part of the game she thought she was doing as she called it "that matrix motion thingy." However this was not the only time I became frustrated with the game.
Another time I had to restart the console was when as I was shooting my enemies in the game-world, getting really pumped up, then the screens upper portion turned black and on it was some kind of code. At first I thought was part of the matrix game, because it had zeroes and ones, but then a high-pitched sound followed that woke up my housemates. And I wasn't able to move my character. With these disruptions however I found out that I wasn't paying attention to the people around me because I was into the game, immersed in the game-world actions. Even these two disruptions made me think I was still playing the game, until I realized I didn't have control and therefore disrupting my game flow.
The story got more interesting, and overall I was entertained but I just felt that there were too many clips from the movie that were supposed to help set up the story and further the narrative, but a lot of the times I caught myself just wanting to continue playing. When I did play I was fairly entertained; the character herself (Niobe) was what kept me most involved in the game.
Design:
I thought the levels gave me a good amount of space to wander if I wanted, and at times an arrow appeared on screen to tell you which direction you needed to go. That was very helpful at times but wasn’t necessary all the time so I liked that aspect that the arrow wasn’t around all the time, so that you as the player were free to decide where you wanted to go first.
At first I liked that after you passed a certain section of the narrative it allowed you save, but sometimes I felt that the save points were happening too frequently and it became that it would disrupt the game flow as it saved too often.
The main thing that attracted my attention to this game was the ability to slow down time, which did entertain me at the beginning, but then I found out you could also speed up time, and learn new moves as you progress through the game. These forms of rewards kept me wanting to play because I looked forward to learning a new move or finding a new weapon.
For me there wasn’t much social interaction in this game with other people around me, or with other players because it is a one player, and I guess because in the beginning of the game you can choose which level (easy, medium, hard) that you would like to play at. But it left me no room to interact with others because I chose “hard” and more and more enemies would re-appear. But I liked that aspect of the game design because there was always someone for me to fight, but at the same time, I would forget what was the actual task at hand, so I guess it could both ways.
The levels of this game were varied so you weren’t just shooting and fighting, but there were also times where you drove the car if you were Niobe or rode shotgun and shot outside the window if you choose to be Ghost. I played with both characters, but I think personally I like the character of Niobe better, because I felt her story was much more interesting and she was just plain awesome.
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Feb 8th, 2008 at 20:45:41 - Enter the Matrix (PS2) |
Gamelog Entry for 2/8/08:
Summary:
Enter the Matrix is an action type game with first person shooter elements. It is based on the Matrix movies, and in this specific game you get to choose whether to play Niobe or Ghost. You follow the narrative and basically beat up or shoot anyone in your path. There are sequences where you go from fighting to driving but the only thing significantly different about this game is the aspect of freezing/ slowing down time which is helpful in defeating those trying to prevent your character from furthering the narrative.
Gameplay:
So I will admit to never having seen the movies of the Matrix trilogy, yet still wanted to play this game. Maybe because it was all that hype that was brought about with the Matrix movies, and I just wanted to see what it was all about. Anyways, one thing I liked about this game was that you can choose to be the non major characters from the movie, instead of being Neo or Trinity, you could choose to be Ghost or Niobe. Maybe its because in reality I did NOT want to be a character that looked like Keanu Reeves, So it just so happened that I was excited to be Niobe, because she's short but she kicks butt, and I'm always glad to play a game with a strong female character in the lead.
Another thing that I was really excited about was the major concept of the matrix aspect, which was to do the whole slow motion thing with your character, dodging bullets and all that. And that was exciting for about the first 5 minutes, where I could see my character do crazy flips and kick people and throw them really far before they actually knew my character had hit them. But then I got bored really quickly with all the movie clips integrated within the game. I just wanted them to stop talking already and let me shoot something or punch someone, only it didn't let me. I wasn't really happy about my first time experience with this game, maybe I'll have more fun the next time around.
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Jan 14th, 2008 at 00:33:57 - Jak and Daxter (PS2) |
Game log Entry # 2: Jak and Daxter
Game play:
As I played longer the game got a little more difficult, through the new places I explored. I continued to speak with people around me, and was still able to maintain focus on the game. I think this was because I was able to stop my character from moving if I wanted to so, and because I had that complete control of my character was able to feel comfortable to carry out a conversation at the same time.
The game was still enjoyable, but not as much as it was in the beginning. I think this was because I felt I was doing the same thing over and over, like continually getting the orb like items and trying to find more of the same objects. At times I would become frustrated because I was not able to reach a certain item, or I had not yet figured out how to get to a certain location where the item was found. So in this way it made me enjoy my game-play a little less.
Design:
The fact that the area in which my character can move in is pretty big and visually creative (because i was able to see landscape at a distance) makes this a great game for me, but there were limitations. Because I liked the aspect of moving anywhere I wanted to, it disappointed me when I realized that my character was only able to dive to a certain level of water depth that I found not to be deep enough. Also, at times I wished for more speed because, as the game progresses you can get more blue electrifying orb like items that will speed your character up. I really liked that my character gained speed but I didn't like that it was a limited amount of time before the speed wore out.
The concept of time however was something that I did enjoy in the game design because it would turn into night and day visually on the screen through out your game-play time, even though it was done quite frequently it was an interesting aspect of the game. Another aspect I enjoyed was the different variation of location scenery, from the beach to the jungle, the location changed and yet it was still interesting to see which paths one could take to find an object. And when u did find an object, like a Power cell, the way game rewarded you visually was with the characters. Jak and Daxter would jump up and down as a little upbeat tempo would rise in a way to congratulate you for finding another object to collect. For a lot of the items you searched for, there was jumping involved, and I am not particularly a greater jumper in the game having fallen many times and having to retrace my steps, I appreciated the fact that in this game no matter how high of a distance I fell, I did not get hurt. However, when I did get attacked by a creature, it was three hits and then my character would get knocked out. Overall as the game continued I got tired of collecting objects, but maybe it was because I did not get far enough to enjoy all the aspects of the game and the different tasks I had to complete that seemed to get more difficult as the game progressed.
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Jan 13th, 2008 at 23:42:24 - Jak and Daxter (PS2) |
Game Log Entry# 1
Summary:
In the game Jak and Daxter you play the character named Jak who is followed around by a rodent-esque creature named Daxter that guides you in this one player journey. The purpose of the game is to try to find a way to change Daxter back into his normal form by going around and collecting items, and completing tasks that are given to you by people of the surrounding village, and in the process defeating some wandering creatures that get in your way.
Game play:
Although only having played the beginning of the game, I found this game to be enjoyable and not as difficult as I imagined. I found that I was able to play continuously while carrying on a conversation with my friends who were just sitting and watching me play, and still understand what was going on. As Jak I was able to choose where I wanted to go, and most of the time, you are following paths of objects you have to collect so it makes it easy to know where you have to go. I really enjoyed the freedom of wandering around the landscape of the game, from swimming to jumping high.
Even though I was moving around as the character Jak, I felt more concerned and interested in what Daxter had to say, and in a way it overshadowed Jak as a character. It also didn't help that Jak did not speak at all and everything was either said by Daxter or another character.
The game itself was fun to play because I felt that there was a lot of freedom of what and where my character could travel. And each task that Jak and Daxter had to complete involved allowing me as a player to figure out what I had to do to make my character complete the task. Even at the very beginning of the game( a lot of games give you a tutorial to tell you what each button does) this game allowed you to figure things out on your own, yet explained what important items meant. I like games that make you think for yourself, and allow you to explore your surroundings, and this game did that.
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grayskies has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 8 days |
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