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Feb 8th, 2008 at 23:27:35 - Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (360) |
[Gameplay]
For the second gaming session I played online co-op with three of my buddies. While the game was still the same old tired formula it was a much more enjoyable experience. When we all combined our attacks to unleash nifty special effects on enemy’s faces; I can honestly say those moments made up for some of the previous disappointment I had felt for the game.
We switched over from regular co-op to competitive multiplayer for the remainder of the session. The prospect of beating my friends served as a good motivational tool to continue playing this mediocre title. On a positive note, the unlockable alternative costumes for each hero/villain turned out to be really cool.
[Design]
There was very little innovation in terms of gameplay mechanics. The combat system was a rehash of old hack-n-slash games with a few alterations. The story was nothing new for the comic book world with a generic villainous attempt to conquer the universe. The only interesting element was the ability to combine special attacks to create even bigger and highly stylized attacks for dealing with a multitude of enemies on screen, but even that has been done before in variations.
The graphics were very subjective as Raven Software did away with the cell-shaded look of previous installations (X-Men Legends I and II). The collection of heroes and villains amassed for this title was impressive even if some of the roster slots felt wasteful (Elektra?). The constant collection of orbs and coins was more of a nuisance than a reward. Lastly, the RPG element of the game was also nothing new (allocating points to various skills/attacks), but it served the game well adding some replayability to the title.
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Feb 8th, 2008 at 22:53:10 - Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (360) |
[Summary]
Developed by Raven Software, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is an action-RPG of the hack-n-slash variety whose main story revolves around the formation of an emergency hero squad assigned to prevent Dr. Doom from destroying the universe. Players can choose from a large collection of Marvel comic’s heroes and villains in the formation of their four man squads (whose members can be human/computer controlled). These squads will be used to battle through spawns of enemies and “epic” boss encounters with familiar faces from the Marvel universe. There is also the option for competitive multiplayer in addition to co-op.
[Gameplay]
I decided to play through the main story mode solo, and after forming my own superhero team (named Blue Velvet) I got underway. The novelty of cutting though hoards of enemies with superheroes lasted a good thirty minutes before it became tedious. As with most button-mashers this game required very little skill, instead opting for mindless violent entertainment.
My AI controlled teammates served as little more than decoration as they just ended up getting in my way. The boredom of button-mashing was then intensified by the mundane level and mission designs. Don’t superheroes have more urgent matters to attend to? Do they need to be flipping switches and pushing blocks to solve lame puzzles?
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Jan 26th, 2008 at 00:19:14 - Goldeneye 007 (N64) |
[Gameplay]
I spent the second session playing multiplayer deathmatch with 3 of my friends. The setup for multiplayer included five modes of play (we started with normal), a large character and map selection, and a weapon and map tweaking system in place (which we took full advantage of). The majority of the time was spent arguing over who would play as Oddjob (he had a considerable height advantage) and deciding what weapon scheme to use on each map (rocket launcher and slap fights ensued).
When we finally grew bored of blowing each other up in normal deathmatch, we switched over to “The Living Daylights” (a glorified version of tag). This mode offered a different challenge than normal and served as a nice change of pace. The variety of different multiplayer modes helped keep things fresh for the rest of my gaming session.
[Design]
The success of Goldeneye 007 came down to its simple yet finely tuned combat system and control scheme (a difficult thing to pull off with an N64 controller) and it’s addicting multiplayer modes. The graphics for the time were superb, adding a much needed level of realistic depth to a game trying to emulate a live action film. The ability to zoom-in on the sniper rifle was also an innovative and novel skill to possess in a console shooter.
The attention that the game makers had for little details of the Bond world ultimately made this game a must have for any fan of the Bond franchise. The game has remarkable replay value as even now, over a decade later, I found it hard to put down my controller. It did come as a surprise that a dated shooter on an obsolete system could manage to compete, in terms of enjoyment, with any modern fps on any console today.
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Jan 25th, 2008 at 23:18:48 - Goldeneye 007 (N64) |
[Summary]
Goldeneye 007 was released on the Nintendo 64 in 1997 as a continuation of the Bond movie franchises’ success. As one of the highest acclaimed console shooters ever, Goldeneye 007 offered a deep single-player mode keeping in-line with the movie’s plot (each mission played similarly to the scenes from on-screen). While the multiplayer deathmatch mode proved to be the reason to come back for more; as players received an extensive collection of Bond character’s to choose from.
[Gameplay]
I played through a few missions on single-player to once again familiarize myself with the game after so many years of it collecting dust on my shelf. The missions were easy enough to progress through with the time limit being the only obstacle of real substance. The weapons and gadgets were fun to mess around with; offering different opportunities during a level to be showcased. The enemies were varied in appearance and reacted to taking damage differently depending on their wound’s location (something very novel to console shooters at the time).
Playing as Bond I had to figure out ways to avoid groups of enemies by maneuvering around the maps unseen. There was an element of stealth involved in each mission that contrasted many games of the era. At times the game even seemed puzzle-like, requiring the use of gadgets to maintain my avatar’s secrecy.
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jj4c has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 9 days |
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