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Feb 9th, 2008 at 01:43:49 - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3) |
Gameplay
My second experience with Call of Duty 4 has made me question the hype. All the problems i experienced in my first run i found in the second session too. The gameplay seemed to be weak, and far to dependent on pretty graphics.
I mentioned the way it the AI bots seemed to carry me through the first level. Well during the second level they became much less effective, and the game became much more dependent on you. Although this is what i wanted, the quality of gameplay did not seem to increase. With no AI to lead the way, i found myself loitering around the same places, unable to advance in the level. The compass mechanic you are given to navigate the levels frustrated me.
Although the single player was disappointing, the multiplayer mode was much more fun. I don't think there were any spectacular improvements made from single player to multiplayer. But being able to play with 3 friends makes the game much more fun. I did not play the game online yet, but i will probably get around to that soon.
Design
Call of Duty 4 is nothing special in the sea of first person shooter games. The graphics are probably some of the best I've seen in a first person shooter, but i attribute that to how new the game is. There is nothing very innovative about the gameplay. The most innovative thing i noticed was the way your gun locks onto enemies when you "look down the sight" of your gun. There was a relatively insignificant element of the game, and one i did not enjoy. It seems like the lock on mechanism is there to compensate for the bad aiming design already present.
I think the main problems i found with the game were the way the levels were designed. After turning on the multiplayer, i found very little to be wrong with the game. The way you aim the gun seemed to improve when you weren't shooting at stationary enemies hiding in the distance. You are given a radar in multiplayer instead of a compass, so navigating the level becomes much less frustrating.
The levels in single player were driven by mini objectives you must complete to advance in the level. I didn't like this because if you were unable to complete one mini objective, the game would begin to lag, hurting the flow of the game. I would have eliminated the compass leading you to each mini objective if i could have changed anything about single player.
The levels did not have very much variety either. The enemies always seemed to behave the same way. The most notable change between each level was the equipment you would receive.
After playing Call of Duty 4 a second time, the game has not lived up to my expectations and i am sorely disappointed. The interactive levels and beautiful graphics do not make up for the shabby gameplay. If playing the game with friends, i found it to be very enjoyable. The single player mode left me wanting more.
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Feb 9th, 2008 at 00:55:34 - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3) |
Summary
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a first person shooter game. It takes place as the name of the game implies in the modern world, and you play some sort of special ops soldier. The player uses an assortment of weapons to eliminate enemies, and accomplish the mission.
Gameplay
After turning on Call of Duty 4, it looked like the usual first person shooter game. It did not take me long to become familiar with the controls, and the game begins with a short tutorial on how to control your character. The simplicity of the game is nice, and allows the player to jump into the action relatively fast.
The games first impression left me wanting a little bit. The first mission took place in a very dark environment, so it was hard to see enemies and travel around the level. I felt like the game compensated for this by making the computer controlled allies too helpful. I felt like they would have accomplished my mission with or without me. I found myself following them around the levels, and relying on them to find and eliminate the enemies. I would have preferred the game make the success of the mission be more dependent on the player.
The game made a feeble attempt to develop some sort of plot. You play a rookie soldier being initiated into this elite group of seasoned veterans. There is minimal character interaction, but there seems to be some sort of bond developing between the player and the captain.
Although the gameplay of Call of Duty 4 seemed to be mediocre, i enjoyed playing the game the first time i picked it up, and look forward to playing again. The graphics are very detailed and pretty, with an interactive environment to go with them. Pipes will burst if shot, your guns can shoot through certain walls, and you are able to interact with many random objects in the environment.
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Jan 26th, 2008 at 01:38:24 - Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) |
Entry 2
Gameplay
After playing it a second time, shadow of the colossus made me question why it is known as one of the best games to come out on ps2. The graphics are without a doubt amazing. I like the way you can go almost anywhere you can see on your map. The world is beautiful, if not a little barren.
The story is pretty basic, and never really drew me in. Outside of killing the colossi to save your girlfriend, we are not given very much. I was able to fight the second colossus in my second session, and it didn't dissapoint me. This game would have been much better if it was constant battles against the colossi. I feel like i waste to much of my time running around the large world trying to find the monsters.
Design
This game has some design flaws, but i think it is a well designed game. My biggest complaint about the game is the camera movement, and the horse controls. It seems like the designers probably put a lot of time into designing the world you travel through, which turned out very nicely, and not enough time into making the controls user friendly. One thing that was done well was the camera controls during a colossus battle. While battling a colossus pressing L1 will automatically face your character towards the enemy.
If i were to just critique the game based on the boss battles, i would have a much higher opinion. The way you climb the colossi like a puzzle, and find their weak points was very innovative. I like the way the designers left it to me to find my route up the colossus. I even found i could climb colossi multiple ways.
If the boss battles weren't so fun, i would have no motivation to play this game. The world is giant, but the game does not make use of this space. The dead time while hunting for colossi hurts the flow of the game, and makes me think twice before turning it on. It seems like if there were more enemies to fight in between boss battles the game might be more interesting.
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Jan 25th, 2008 at 22:10:27 - Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) |
Summary
Shadow of the Colossus takes place in a world of colossal monsters and divine beings. You play a hero of unknown origins trying to resurrect his dead love. The game begins with a voice at the edge of the world telling you to slay all the colossi across the world in trade for her life. With a colossi-tracking sword and a horse, you hunt and kill colossi scattered across the world in hopes of saving your beloved.
Gameplay
Right off the bat i found this game to be a little frustrating. It opens with a long cutscene of nothing important, and explains very little. Leaving us with no tutorial, the makers of this game probably thought we'd figure out the simple controls on our own. You are given all the basic commands like jump, grab, attack, etc... The main tool we are given for tracking colossi is a sword that pinpoints the sun's light onto a given target. Although this was something i've never seen before i prefer the mini map radar that most games give us.
After following my sword i encountered the first colossus. Before the first boss fight i was a little skeptical about this game. I had been playing for a good 20 minutes and was given no enemies to fight except the camera controls. The fight with the colossus was very interesting. You are about as tall as the colossus' foot, and are left to fight it with a sword that locates its weak points. After dying once i figured out i could climb up its back, and stab it in the head to kill it. Although it was the only fun part of the game, fighting the colossus left me wanting to play more.
Unfortunately i was not clever enough to figure out how to advance in the game, and was content to end my session there. The game had few redeeming qualities. The graphics are very nice, and the world is extremely large and detailed. The music is pleasant and blends with the game well. Perhaps i am just bad at working the camera, but i found it hard to use. The game leaves a lot up to the gamer to figure out which can be nice, but hurt the "flow" of the game for me. All in all it's a fun game, and the colossi battles are enough to keep me playing.
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RabbiChan has been with GameLog for 16 years, 11 months, and 4 days |
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