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Mar 5th, 2008 at 23:31:10 - Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS) |
ADVANCE WARS: DAYS OF RUIN
SESSION #2
GAMEPLAY: Once introduced to all your resources, the challenge of the game ramps up. You will fight battles in the fog of war, which is basically a black shroud that prevents your from seeing (or attacking) units which are hidden. One must make use of flares and recon vehicles in order to clear the fog to see what enemy units lie ahead. The AI of the enemies, while far from being as good as a human, does rather well. If you build bomber planes, it will build anti-aircraft guns. If you build submarines, it will build cruisers (which counter them). When you have stationed ranged units like rockets or missiles protecting your units, the computer will often retreat and regroup instead of mindlessly charging. One quirk of the AI is that it will always attack your infantry when you are capturing its cities. This is one of the few advantages that the player must use to overcome the enemy. In later stages, your enemies will have superior firepower and numbers, and you will be forced to exploit the AI's priorities.
Late in the game, you are introduced to the CO (Commanding Officer) zone, and the CO powers. Unlike previous advance wars games. Simply destroying or losing troops anywhere on the map will not raise up your power meter. COs are able to board vehicles, and a certain radius will form around that vehicle. Only troops destroyed inside this radius will boost the power, and the power gauge will empty the if the unit holding the CO is destroyed. This element rarely helps your battle significantly, but does add a bit of depth to the game.
DESIGN ELEMENTS: While I have not tried the multiplayer, I can honestly say that I will enjoy Days of Ruin much more than previous advance wars games. In Advance Wars: Dual Strikes, there is an insane amount of extra fluff and features that took the emphasis over pure strategy. Certain character's powers were broken and overpowered, such as units being bought for a cheaper price, or a power that drains fuel from vehicles. The power meters filled at a much fast rate, and so the tactics of the game strayed from tactical unit placement to using and abusing the CO powers. I welcome the new CO power system, as well as the "back to the basics" combat.
The combat of advance wars is quite balanced, even with the addition of many new unit types. Anti-tank artillery provides extra defense against ground units, while expensive aircraft carriers are able to build and launch devastating seaplanes. Dusters provide a cheap air unit that can take on Bombers and Jet Planes. One of the most radical changes is that the rig, which supplies units with fuel and ammo, can now build "temp" airport or seaports which can house and repair air or sea units. With a unlockable maps and online multiplayer, you can be assured that this advance wars is the best one yet.
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Mar 5th, 2008 at 22:46:50 - Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS) |
ADVANCE WARS: DAYS OF RUIN
SESSION #1
SUMMARY: In Days of Ruin, the latest game in the advance wars series, you control and army of post-apocalyptic survivors, struggling to bring peace to the world. In contrast to the happy go lucky antics of the previous advance wars games, this handheld turn based strategy has a serious and dire tone, which conveys a more realistic image of war. In a world ravaged by meteors, you goal is to bring peace and order back to the land by protecting civilians and overthrowing tyrants.
Gameplay: Days of Ruin's basic gameplay is essentially no different from previous Advance Wars games. Fans of previous advance wars (such as I) will be delighted to know that the deep, strategic, turn based combat system remains intact and as good as ever. Some, however, will be displeased with the brand new story, which abandons bright colored world of the previous three advance wars games. When you begin the game, you arrive on an earth devastated by apocalyptic meteor showers. Almost all of humanity has been wiped out by such disasters, and the remaining population struggles to stay alive. You play the role of Will, a student in the Rubinelle military academy. Rescued by Brenner's 12th battalion, you set out looking for stranded survivors.
The game starts out very easy, giving you tutorials along the way while beating bandits. One of the things that I really like about Days of Ruin is the realism that it displays in its story, as it takes death seriously. The commander warns you that you may not live long if you stay with him, and he even stresses that you should avoid troop casualties. Hunger, weaponry, supplies, and troop moral is all in short supply, and thus you must often protect civilians from being raided by bloodthirsty bandits. What I really like is how the game shows off the ugly side of human nature. After protecting the civilian encampment, the civilian mayor thanklessly demands that you leave their home, refusing to share supplies with your soldiers. Even the factories, which produce units, are justified in a way that is realistically believable.
Gameplay wise, the beginning battles are a snap. Even a new player should have no problem getting an A rank in these early fights. Each unit comes with a short yet complete description of its purpose, has a specified cost, vision range, movement range, attack range, and ammo capacity. Direct attack units like tanks, infantry, and recon vehicles must move adjacent to a enemy to attack. Indirect units like rockets can fire ranged attacks, and they can either move or fire for their turn. Infantry are the only ones who can capture buildings, which provide you with money, protection, and unit production. Throughout the beginning campaign, you are introduces to factories, airports, and then seaports, which can produce land, air, and sea units respectively.
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Feb 21st, 2008 at 06:06:58 - Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) |
SESSION #2
GAMEPLAY: After conquering the first dungeon, you are free to explore the wide open world of Hyrule, with only your fairy Navi nagging at you every so often to remind you where to go. I couldn't help but explore everywhere I could, because a game like Zelda rewards you when you explore areas you arn't necessarily supposed to go to. I wandered around in the magical lost woods, explored the vast lake Hylia, and fell into magical random holes that contained treasure chests and Deku scrubs and all sorts of wonderful things. Even though I had already played Zelda: OOT a few years back, I discovered a lot of through things through exploration. The vast Hyrule overworld is the great space of land that separates each town in the land. Time goes in a day-night cycle in this outside area, while time stands still in each individual town.
Sent to meet the princess of Hyrule, you are sent off to Hyrule castle. The castle town is a rustling bustling town filled with people and shops. In order to get to the princess within the castle, you have to get past gaurds, which is a relatively easy affair. Once at the castle, more delicious storyline is revealed, songs are learned (via the Ocarina), and Zelda, the Ocarina of Time, and the Triforce is explained. I had to stop playing at this point, as I already spent over 2.5 hours playing the game and would have been sucked into the next dungeon if I had continued.
DESIGN: OOT features many impressive design features that are impressive even in today's standards. The graphics are outdated for today's standards, but they absolutely fit the gameplay experience. Updating them to Twilight Princess standards would ruin the game's feel. The combat system, Z-Targeting instantly gets rid of any player/enemy camera problems, as it centers the enemy and the player in clear view. The music is used well to effect the tone of the game. For example, as an enemy gets closer, battle music gets louder and louder. Boss battles start out in an eerie silence and until the boss is spotted. The ocarina melodies are catchy and original, and will get stuck in your head.
In dungeons, the camera sets itself up very in a way that leads you where to go. In the Deku Tree on the top floor, the camera goes at an almost bird's eye view, which leads you to jump off the top ledge to break through the web at the base floor. Disposable items key for solving puzzles are often stored in bushes or drop from enemies. The vast overworld provides a sense of "realism", in that the land of Hyrule is an active an connected land. However, when it comes down to it, the overall feel of OOT is just darn magical and mysterious. It is hard to describe exactly why it plays so well. Exploring random pits and going off track is often rewarded with heart pieces and fairy fountains, and yet it is completely optional. Perhaps the freedom and non-linear gameplay, combined with impressive graphics, sound, and storyline filled with magic and mystery creates this perfect gameplay experience.
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Feb 21st, 2008 at 05:31:29 - Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) |
LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME
SESSION #1
SUMMARY: In OOT, you play the role of the Link, a young boy who's destined to save the land of Hyrule from evil forces. OOT is an action based RPG, which includes traversing the vast land of Hyrule while visiting dungeons and towns. Link uses his sword, shield, boy, and a wide variety of other items in order to conquer obstacles that come in his way.
GAMEPLAY: OOT is just one of those games that has that magical feeling that prevents you from putting the game down after starting it. This game simply has the perfect balance of combat, story, puzzle solving, and exploration. The game has a stunning level of originality, along with some outstanding songs. Right from the start in Kokiri village, you can feel the magical natural aura of the green vegetation along with the buzzing fairies. The tutorial aspects in the village not only teach you the basic sword, shield, and movement mechanics, but presents them in a non linear way. By exploring different areas of the village, you can learn various gameplay aspects.
The first dungeon, the Great Deku Tree, exemplifies many of OOT’s innovative systems. The combat system, Z-Targeting, makes good use of the N64 controller to make a combat system. When an enemy is targeted, the camera centers around the enemy, and Link goes into an offensive stance. This system is great because the enemy and Link are both always on screen and are in plain view. The initial enemies are stationary (parasitic flowers and spiders), and so the game eases you into combat. Zelda mainstays like the dungeon map, compass, and the dungeon specific treasure are still in effect. And each of these treasures lies within a puzzle or enemy guarded room in the Great Deku Tree. One innovative aspect of the Deku Tree is the spider web that blocks certain rooms and passages. In one instance, in once instance, you are required to jump from a high platform to stretch and break through the web to get to the floor below. In another instance, you use fire via a deku stick to burn the web. The treasure of the dungeon, the Slingshot, is a wonderful reward, as it is immediately effective against pesky hard to reach spiders.
The combat in the Deku tree turns intense with the boss Gohma, a giant spider parasite which attacks viciously while pumping out baby spawn. The feel and intensity of this battle is terrific, as the music and graphics of the boss arena set a dark and dangerous feel. It is certainly satisfying to hear the slashing and ripping sounds as the metal sword slashes through the boss’s eye. As the boss is defeated, you are rewarded with a heart container, and more of the intriguing story is revealed as the Deku Tree gives you a sparkly green emerald.
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dtonys has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 7 days |
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