 |
|
Feb 6th, 2008 at 21:11:27 - Metroid Prime (GC) |
Entry #2
Gameplay:
After a few hours of playing, the game can get repetitive. After all, all you do is shoot and find stuff. The part that keeps me going is whenever I find an upgrade which brings me back some excitement. It is still interesting to play because I enjoy exploring, but my excitement to play is slowly decreasing.
As I progress further into the game I was able to find a few more weapons to add into my armament. I got a few new type of beams. Each beam had its own unique graphics design and effectiveness which was fairly cool. As usual, you don't really know much of the story unless you piece together background text, but you just know you progressed further in the game cause you killed a few more bosses, and your map GPS system becomes bigger as you explore more areas. The background text does hint something Samus may be a hero of a legend that comes to save the world.
Design:
I think the best element that Nintendo added into this game is the HUD display in this first person shooter. It gives player a grasp of feel of what is it to be like behind a suit and a helmet.I can lock on to things and scan new objects which gives me a description of it. I think Nintendo wanted player to get imbedded into this suit that Samus wears.
The bad part of this game is how poorly the progression of the story is. I literally had to scan every object in the game to piece together puzzles in order to figure what happened in the past. This can get irritating. Good thing Nintendo made it that you can receive secrets unlocked if you scan a certain percentage of things in the game as an incentive. Even then I still become lazy to scan stuff or just simply forgot. Another bad thing is that even though the game has a lot of secrets, they are all well hidden. You may require a guide to figure out where to go or else you're not going to get very far in the game because things do get harder to kill.
The map level of the game was designed quite brilliantly. There are 5+ big zones, each with its own unique terrain, and they are all puzzle-like basis. The game was made so you won't be able to clear out an entire zone in one sitting. You will eventually have to go back in each zone to unlock further secrets and stuff to progress further in the game.
The game created interesting challenges by making players jump over variety of obstacles and solve puzzles. You must also go through many mazes that are filled with creatures that you have to kill to get to your destination. Then there is also bosses that you must kill with variety of strategies.
Overall this is a fun interesting game to play. I try to view Metroid Prime as a classic adventurer game where I must explore a whole world by myself. If you do enjoy exploring and don't care much about the story, then this is a game for you.
read comments (1)  - add a comment  - read this GameLog  |
|
Feb 6th, 2008 at 20:19:39 - Metroid Prime (GC) |
Entry #1
Summary:
In Metroid Prime, you are a female bounty hunter named Samus Aran who has been chasing down space pirates that tries to conquer the universe. You discover they have been secretly researching deadly biotechnology on a planet named Talon IV and you attempt to stop them single handedly. The game itself is a first person shooter. Throughout the game you will have to solve puzzles to proceed further into the game as well gaining power ups to buff up Samus in order to defeat the space pirates and bosses. You will find lots of various weapons and tools to aid you across the mind puzzling map of Talon IV.
Gameplay:
When I first played this game, I was shocked by the stunning graphics that was displayed by the game. It made me feel that this game was made in the future was brought back in time only to be sold for more profit. The graphics was comparable to future console graphics which was quite hard to imagine. In the tutorial-like starting zone, right where I first start the game, I became immediately impressed on how Nintendo was able to make a realistic futuristic first person shooter in space. It just looked so real that I find it unbelievable. They made good use of the lighting and background. You can see astroids floating near around you.
Like the previous Metroid games, the player only know Samus by just a brief description of what she does and who she is. You never really see her face except a brief glimpse of her eyes so she presents a bit of a mystery. The character also never talks since she's always alone, and there's no one to interact with other than just reading ancient scripts from a wall. The story unfolds more as you progress further into the game only if you read the background scripts but is still awkward to understand. It is like a jigsaw puzzle, you have to piece them together. You probably can beat the whole game without understanding a single thing on what is going on in the game. The concept is simple to get though, just go after the space pirates and stop whatever they're trying to do.
The game is interesting to play because of the cool graphics, but may get you frustrated over the puzzles to solve. I think Nintendo really like their consumers to work their minds a little when they play. Social interaction seems limited, if you got friends watching you play, they would probably just keep asking the same question over and over again about where you going. The response would be quite similar too, just following the radar. Overall I still think it's a pretty fun game because of the variety weapons that you unlock and the variety of movements that you must master to get to you destination.
add a comment - read this GameLog |
|
Jan 26th, 2008 at 00:53:37 - Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) |
Gamelog Entry#2
Gameplay:
After playing this game for another couple of hours, I find it amazing that N64 was able to incorporate first person shooting when you switch to sling shot or the bow. It was a genius thought and gave a style to it that was both unique and cool as seen. As I progressed further I was finally able to make contact with more NPC's in Hyrule's market. Ocarina of Time offered a lot of side quests which allowed the player to explore more of the world than just completing the main quest. I think Nintendo wanted the game to be like a freeform RPG without the tiresome leveling so it can keep people attracted.
As for character synopsis, when I finally got to the Temple of Time and find myself growing old was just not my taste. I feel kind of sucked to be Link. Missing out seven years of my life all of sudden and finding my home world molded into a undead trash land was just not my thing. Of course you can just use ocarina to play a few songs or so to change things up a bit. I find this ocarina item must be the coolest thing Nintendo has ever done. Player must know how to play songs using the C buttons to change the event of the game is some pretty cool stuff.
Design:
Ocarina of Time is a game of variety. It included variety of weapons that player must get use to, a variety of mazes to keep the player keep using its brain, and a variety of music that blended well into the game. Player must interact with its surrounding and maneuver quickly behind moving objects to reach its goals. Game emphasizes patience and timing, and clever thinking which I think Nintendo wanted players to understand what a real hero would undergo through in a journey to save his/her kingdom.
The game controls the tone of game through backgrounds and music. When you play young Link, music always seems joyful and happy, while when you play old Link, it always seems dark and quiet which shows the dark forces has taken over the world. The most interesting part of this game is that the player has the ability to control when the characters want to travel in time to become old Link or young link. Each time zone set off different events but are intervened with each other. This creates a unique plot twist because no game offered the ability to go back in time and change the future.
Ocarina of Time foster a lot of social impact. It inspired game creators of next generation what a heroic journey should be. Dungeons filled with bosses and puzzles that players have to solve. It featured opened ended gameplay in which player can do anything at anytime without failing the main quest. The whole game is like telling a tale of hero. The hero grows stronger over time and finally saves the day when he reaches his final age. A classic story that has been translated into a game.
read comments (1) - add a comment - read this GameLog |
|
Jan 25th, 2008 at 22:31:45 - Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) |
Gamelog Entry#1
Summary:
In Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the player controls an adventurer named Link who is given a mission to find the Triforce's existence before the evil finds it first. The player must journey through many dungeons and fight bosses with variety of weapons from a simple sling shot to sword and shield. This is an epic action/adventure game where the player must interact with his/her surroundings to solve dungeon mazes in order to achieve his/her goal.
Gameplay:
Playing this game brought me back childhood memories when I first saw this legendary game came out. At that time I didn't own a N64 so I could only watch my friends play with jealousy. Now today, I can finally play it to my heart's content in my own dorm.
First off, just at the start screen, the game already tells me that it is going to be fun game from listening to the introduction music. Its grand orchestral theme tells a tale that few games possess. I enjoy playing games that has a great story because that's what keeps me addicted to it. The player start off with no weapons or whatsoever, instead the character must go find your weapon and shield before he could even head off to anywhere at all. I find it kind of fun because the game makes it like you're on a scavenging hunt. This style probably attract to little kids, but it also give players a chance to be familiarize with its movement actions and attacks which in my opinion is a smart thing to do.
The gameplay was extremely fun and interesting to play, but requires you to be versatile and flexible. The player must learn how to dodge attacks and counter them so timing is important. You don't level in this game but you do gain more powers as you progress further in the game. Player can also assign items/weapons to the controller stick which gives them a chance to adjust the game buttons to their own discretion instead of forcing players to get use to the buttons. In each dungeon there is a maze or puzzle that the player must solve in order to progress further in the game. Sometimes I find that Nintendo put too much effort on making these maze because they become too annoying to solve. I guess this is also a good thing because it encourages kids to use their brain instead of mindlessly playing game just to beat it.
The character, Link which whom the character control is somewhat of a mystery. He originally does not start off with a fairy like the rest of his villagers but instead was given one. This shows that there is something more behind him than he is just a mere woodland elf especially since he can grow big later on in the game.
The story of the game is splendidly told. You are given a quest from an ancient tree in which you must recover ancient artifact known as Triforce before the dark side does. The plot unfolds more and more as you progress further in the game. Eventually you'll have to rescue your providence from the evil Ganondorf.
After all these years since the game first came out. I finally found out why this game has become a classic. My roommate still thinks Ocarina of Time is still the best version of Legend of Zelda out there. I don't know if that is true or not because I have not played the rest, but I wouldn't be surprise if I find myself agreeing with him. This game is certainly addicting both from the story and from the adventurous gameplay. Even when I mention the game to my friends they would all know the name and talk about his favorite part in the game.
add a comment - read this GameLog |
|
|
 |
| Schua's GameLogs |
|
Schua has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 10 days |
view feed xml
|
| Entries written to date: 10 |
|
