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Mar 6th, 2008 at 00:25:36 - N+ (360) |
[Gameplay]
For the second gaming session I played multiplayer both on and off-line. I first played co-op multiplayer with my friend who already knew how to play. We decided to tackle the impressively difficult co-op episodes that required even more time and effort to figure out and finally complete. The game called for each of us to perform different tasks in order to make it through the level door. I would have to speed to the door switch without wasting time, while he would kite enemy missiles to keep me safe. It was fun and the tasks varied level-to-level keeping things fresh.
I switched over to on-line multiplayer which offered two modes of play, race and survival. The race mode was challenging as some of the competition had worked out quick routes ahead of time to reach the exit door. The survival mode was essentially who could collect more gold coins to extend their life/time bar to stay alive longer than the competition. It proved to be less fun than race, but still a nice competitive multiplayer mode.
[Design]
There was innovation in terms of gameplay mechanics with the physics-based controls that awarded players an easier experience once mastered. The minimalist graphics and level design were pleasing to the eye and never distracted from the core of the game, the aforementioned unique controls. The level progression in single-player and multiplayer required an immense level of challenge that offered an equally pleasing reward of simply overcoming said challenges.
The levels themselves were diverse and quirky making the opening up of new episodes enticing. The simplicity of the game’s concept is what kept things both light and highly intense at times, like the best classic arcade games (Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, ect.). The beauty of the co-op mode though is what makes this game tick. It involved plenty of challenge and truly rewarded proper cooperation to even discover a route to the exit door. The level editor was a nice addition to extend the replay value of this title as well.
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Mar 5th, 2008 at 23:56:22 - N+ (360) |
[Summary]
Developed by Slick Entertainment for Xbox Live Arcade, N+ is an action-puzzle platformer that uses unique physics-based controls as players traverse through robot infested levels with their acrobatic ninja. Modes include single-player (with over 300 levels), on-line and off-line multiplayer (competitive and co-op), and a level editor.
[Gameplay]
I started my first session with the single-player mode. The tutorial levels gave me a feel for the game quickly as the controls were very intuitive (running and jumping). Each N+ episode consisted of 5 levels that needed to be cleared together in order for progression to be saved. This added a bit a strategy for collecting gold (health/time bonus) as the health/time bar was shared between the 5 levels. The progression of difficulty mounted and I soon had to raise my concentration level to meet the oncoming challenges.
The varied enemy types being thrown at my little ninja were devastating. Each level brought a new challenging foe, from floor-patrolling to missile launching robots. As the enemies increased in difficulty so did the puzzles for completing each level. It took me around 10 minutes at times just to figure out where I needed to go and how I had to get there (though any number of possible paths exist to complete all levels).
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Feb 21st, 2008 at 01:55:01 - Wii Sports (Wii) |
[Gameplay]
For the second gaming session I played multiplayer with a friend who had never played on a Wii. The creation of a my friend’s Mii (I had a Mii before playing this title) factored into his enjoyment of the game as the customizable avatars are the same avatars used in game. We decided to play tennis against each other which turned out better than expected. While the tennis couldn’t be on par with actual simulation tennis titles like Vitua Tennis or Top Spin it instead offered, much like the bowling game, a simple and fun play mechanic.
Messing around with the player fitness age test, which utilized three randomly chosen training tests, was also a neat feature to include. The visual feel of the game became a slight annoyance as the bright shiny colors gave me a migraine headache. We finished up by playing both baseball and golf which left much to be desired. The baseball ended up being a pitch and bat home run derby full of monotony while the golf’s controls were too difficult to learn.
[Design]
There was definite innovation in terms of gameplay mechanics with the use of the Wii Remote. That however did not make up for the lack of any true depth or aesthetic prowess. The game offered very little in terms of reward aside from winning or losing a contest while the visuals felt flat and uninspired. The backgrounds chosen for each sports locale were also bland (though the growing crowd size at tennis and boxing matches was a cool sight to behold).
There existed too many holes in the gameplay mechanics that allowed for the sports to be both exploited in the case of easy strikes in bowling or simply too difficult in the case of golf. The developers should have honed the motion sensor more on the Wii Remote as controls were erratic at times detracting from the overall gameplay. In the end the games were overly simplified with very little replay value.
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Feb 21st, 2008 at 00:47:23 - Wii Sports (Wii) |
[Summary]
Developed by Nintendo as a launch title and packaged with the first manufactured Wii consoles, Wii Sports is a compilation of five sports (baseball, bowling, boxing, golf, and tennis) that demonstrates the motion-sensor capabilities of the Wii remote for the first time.
[Gameplay]
For the first session I decided to play through some single player game modes including training and the standard mode of play. I picked boxing (3 rounds each bout) and bowling (ten-frame game) as my sports to progress through by earning or losing skill points after each contest. The controls took awhile getting used to as slight movements were registered pretty quickly. The training mode was cool to mess around with offering up simple tests for measuring different skill attributes.
Boxing made me nauseous as the camera movement was jarring. The fun factor of swinging my virtual gloves was ultimately very low. It was repetitious and required less skill than I had hoped. The bowling was fun and reminded me of the Super Monkey Ball mini-game. It was simple and rewarding as it proved to be a better simulation than the boxing.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Feb 21st, 2008 at 01:15:58.
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