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Mar 6th, 2008 at 02:27:28 - Mario Kart DS (DS) |
Entry #2
Gameplay (CMPS80K)
My second time playing was pretty boring. I felt that over all the game kept on feeling too repetitive, like it depended way too much on the friend as the opposite player interaction. The challenges and mission placed were interesting but got me pretty bored after a while. It also annoying when you got hit with any item from an opponent and lost your item that you had not even used. The way the roads and the world was limited was also annoying because in one of the levels, if you even drove off by jut a little bit off the road, you were stopped and placed back into the road even if you had not strayed very far off.
The controls were very easy to handle and I had no trouble understanding the game. The challenges however became very boring and felt as if it were a matter of chance. As if your game depended on what item you had to your advantage; and of coarse I always wanted the bullet. The colors and music was very engaging and made it seem like a toyland. Drifting became very easy after a while and I just discovered how to start off with a turbo. There was nothing more than the basic engagement of a racing car and I wanted more.
Design
It kept many of the feature dealing with the character and but it also added a few new characters that I had never seen before. It had different items for the character to use which was something fun and creative. The different additions to items made it exciting in that it allowed the popular advantages and new one like the bullet. It seems like the challenges are kept the same throughout the game (road, slippery, drift, items..) except that is seems like you have more control over them.
Thinking about it again, I don’t think it was a bad thing that I began to create my new challenges because that hinted to the fact that I had a better connection to m character based on the new additions to this version of Mario Kart. Since there are a variety of cars you get to choose from where it gives you better items, handling, acceleration, weigth, and drift, I was able to choose my own favorite character, with a kart that fitted the road that I was about to choose. It really gave me control over my advantages and disadvantages on the road as if I were the character. What would have helped is maybe a little story behind it.
The use within the game world was very limited to the road. There was nothing else you could have done except drive backward or frontward. I expected a more engaging game in which shortcuts could be learned, and weaknesses could be found in every character. I felt it needed something more than the usual Mario Kart game features of drift, drive, and attack.
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Mar 6th, 2008 at 02:05:26 - Mario Kart DS (DS) |
Entry #1
SUMMARY
Mario Kart (DS) is an excellent addition to the Mario racing games. You are primarily racing 7 other typical Mario Kart characters with two additions of Dry Bones and WaLuigi. There are 5 different modes with varying difficulties of roads. You primarily race to the finish using items in boxes placed on the road that give you an advantage over the other players. You may compete against other players wirelessly, the computer, or timed series.
GAMEPLAY
I had not played a Mario Kart game since I had it in Nintendo 64. The game made very good job in keeping many of the original features from the first Mario kart games yet adding new things to make it different. The differences were enough to make me feel like this was a new game and not just an old one repeated. Racing with other competitors engaged me with the game.
There was still the racing aspect of the game that is very engaging. It was especially fun to be able to play with my friends wirelessly and having the other screen to see where they were at and what items they had to their advantage. The controls were common sense based on passed games so it was not hard to get the hang of the game and get frustrated with it. I really felt in control of the game by how many different options we were given from courses, character, kart, difficulty...ect
The funky music and the funky new roads made me feel like a little kid. It was new to me and it was fun to play. Not a disappointment and I felt it made good use of the Nintendo DS new features except for the little pen. It was more exciting to play it with my friends than to play it alone. It become very repetitive after playing it by myself for too long. After some of alone play, I resorted to making my own goals and challenges; something that I thought the game should have provided. It sucked that it had no narrative but its usually like this anyway.
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Feb 21st, 2008 at 02:30:26 - Goldeneye 007 (N64) |
Gameplay
After playing the game in both the multiple player mode and single player, it was easier to get the hang of the controllers. In the multiplayer you need to move in very quick motions both to point and run thru the unfamiliar platforms. You have to remember the world and where the guns are located and hidden. I did feel however that in multiplayer one player always got the upper hand because there was usually one player that appeared closer to the most powerful guns. For example the RocketLauncher. It was very engaging for all players to play in competition with each other and sucked us into the game world in proving who is the best at controlling and shooting the weapons.
In playing it in single player for the second time, it was very helpful to finally understand and get used to the controls. The flow of the storyline made it so that you felt like everything was connected and the levels weren’t just random levels. I did feel however that the game began to be somewhat repetitive because of the constant shooting, hiding, and collecting of objects. The game was engaging and had very good graphics for its time.
Design
One main thing about this game is the flow of the storyline. It was a very smart move to follow the storyline of the film GoldenEye 007 because it gave room for extra connection to the player thru a background set of emotions and knowledge of the game. It made people connect to the film and work toward their favorite part of the movie. The embedded Narrative flowed and allowed the game to piggy back of the film, its success, and connection between character James Bond and the Player.
The game, considering their time, took advantage of the controls. Even though they were difficult to control they pushed for a more interactive gameplay through more interaction. It allowed for more conflict and competition to develop between the players themselves and computerized opponents. The competition and conflict between players is what makes this game such a good game.
The back drop for these conflicts is that they were also very limited. You shoot, increase your shooting and controls, you increase stealth ability, or you will die. This in once way is very limited in the way the game may be played. There are also some hand to hand combat available but it is never used. In terms of more challenges, the missions and objectives provide everything you need; but that is in itself very similar to any other single player game. It also provides 3 varied levels in which you can increase the difficulty of the attacking opponents.
The reward system of this game was a result to the challenges wether it be by beating your friends in the multiplayer or finishing a mission. It creates a very tense environment by stealth hiding, choosing the right weapon, and running for your own safety.
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Feb 21st, 2008 at 01:54:30 - Goldeneye 007 (N64) |
Summary
In GoldenEye007 you play as the infamous James Bond on another one of his multiple missions. It follows the same storyline as the film where you are assigned missions and you manover yourself armed and ready to shoot or fight the opponents. You get are given multiple arms and collect some from your defeated opponents and stealthy find your way thru the game levels increasing in difficulty up to the final 20th level. The main objective is ultimately investigates a satellite known as GoldenEye that will be launched into orbit by Russia. It also has a multiplayer mode that allows 4 players to play at one time. It gives you a different choice in available weapons and levels.
Gameplay
I played this game a lot when I was younger so I know what it meant to have these kinds of game experiences and how much of a big deal it was. I played this game first in single player and finished the first couple of missions. I was immediately drawn to the fact that you are personally seeing thru the eyes of James Bond. You can see what weapons you are holding and a target comes up when you want to aim. It was extremely difficult however to move the target to exactly where you wanted it to be in and the controls were a little difficult to figure out.
This was a game that you had to get the hang of quickly and stealth is a very large part of it. The camera angle and the way it moves when you are running or walking is very realistic and drags you into the game world. The range of weapons at first is very limited by then you have an entire library of them. It is however difficult to use some of them since they do have a since they may add a sense of weight to your body and slow you down. I was also very tempted to just go off on all of the guards and see how far I could get into the game without having to hide. The watch as the menu screen was a very interesting idea and added to the “secret agent” feel where you are only connected to the outside world was thru this watch that contained everything you needed. It was an overall exciting game with emotional and strategic motivations.
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hlujan has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 20 days |
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