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Mar 6th, 2008 at 03:05:15 - Mario Kart (Wii) |
ENTRY TWO
Gameplay:
There is no storyline to the game, so the narrative progression is obviously absent. The point of the game is merely to race the other characters and attain first place and the highest score possible. The lack of storyline gives the play no reason to have any emotional attachment to the characters. The only reason a player would have to pick one character to play over the other is because some characters are faster than others (because they are smaller and weigh less).
The game does help foster social interaction among the players (there can be up to four). The game has a separate "battle mode" where the main objective is to successfully attack your opponent three times in order to win the match. I believe this is a more personal level of gameplay that will be more interesting ESPECIALLY for a multi-player game.
Design:
The innovative aspects that set Mario Kart apart from other racing games are the level designs and battle-like interaction during gameplay. As you progress from the Mushroom Cup to the Star Cup, etc, etc...the tracks become increasingly more complex and interesting. More obstacles are present, and even lack of obstacles (edges of the track going off into space) leaving you stuck on the track, or flung far off the edge of it.
The game stays interesting mostly because of the progressive design of the levels. Other than that, the gameplay stays pretty much the same throughout. There are no power-ups that can be permanently acquired, only the occasional mushrooms that are available in the multicolored cubes on each track that will boost your speed, but only temporarily.
The tone of the gameworld is very fast paced and chaotic. The tone is created mostly by the quick tempo of the upbeat soundtrack.
Although the weapons that are put on each track are fun and add more fun to the gameplay, they get incredibly redundant after a while. It would have been nice to have specific weapons available to specific tracks, and even specific characters in the game. And maybe even weapons that you may acquire through completing the game successfully and keep them permanently to use in future races.
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Mar 6th, 2008 at 02:56:11 - Mario Kart (Wii) |
ENTRY ONE
Summary:
In Mario Kart 64, the player chooses one of eight Mario game characters to race around various shaped racetracks that have obstacles, hazards, shortcuts, and items you can pick up that are of benefit to you.
Gameplay:
While playing Mario Kart 64, there is a varying level of excitement to the game. It is always ascending and descending depending how well your standing is in the race. Excitement can quickly turn into panic if you suddenly lose the lead by getting bonked by a red turtle shell (an item that was picked up by another player to use as a tool to slow you down for their benefit). Although this can be frustrating, the game would be boring without being able to take out your opponents with a banana peel or turtle shell.
The gameplay experience was for the most part, all relative to which character I was using. I seemed to have much higher levels of frustration and panic while playing with Donkey Kong because he is so slow and worthless. While playing with Peach and Toad, however, gameplay was much more enjoyable. These two characters have better acceleration and are therefore much speedier.
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Feb 21st, 2008 at 02:57:02 - Goldeneye 007 (N64) |
Gameplay:
I became increasingly more frustrated with the controls as I continued the gameplay. I feel like the character is very slow to respond to actions you give it.
I asked my roommates if they wanted to play with me so I could see what the multiplayer mode was like, but everyone refused to, so I was stuck in single player mode the whole time.
All of the new first person shooter games make Goldeneye 007 look like an antique. I think the only reason that people would want to play this game is for the nostalgia rather than the wow factor that the newer games have with their amazing graphics and easier avatar control.
Design:
I felt that it was very difficult to navigate through the levels because the graphics seemed very chopping when moving around the landscape. I found myself having to go back and forth on the joystick multiple times before I was finally facing the direction I was intending to look towards. This also made it difficult for me to shoot accurately.
The landscape was very undetailed. The structures were more like massive angular shapes with patterns pasted onto them. Nothing had a very dynamic feel to it. The characters were also very angularly shapen. They do not have detailed features and move kind of awkwardly.
An innovative aspect of this game is that you can move your head to look left and right, up and down with the yellow buttons. This enables you to move in a direction that your head is not facing. That is one of the best design aspects about the game is the freedom of movement the player has: being able to duck down, jump, running, and walking sideways. If only the movements were more fluid, the game would be much easier to play.
I realize that critiquing this game by comparing it to the newer shooter games is unfair because obviously the technology has enormously improved since the time of Nintendo 64. However, I do feel that even in the Nintendo 64 era, the graphics could have been made much better.
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Feb 21st, 2008 at 02:26:34 - Goldeneye 007 (N64) |
Summary:
Goldeneye 007 is a first person shooter game in which the player takes the role of James Bond and must complete twenty missions using a variety of firearms. There are different difficulty levels and multiplayer modes.
Gameplay:
Honestly, I've never been a fan of shooter games because I find them to be uninteresting. I much prefer puzzle, sports, or simulation games. This game was no exception; it did not succeed in converting me into a fan of them. The reason that I chose to play this game for this gamelog assignment is because it was one of the few games I had available to me that is on the classics games list.
I began the game trying to think optimistically about finding this game more fun to me than other shooter games I have played. I was given the mission to infiltrate a facility in Arkhangelsk, USSR by bungee jumping from the dam. Basically, the level consisted of shooting at many different boxy-looking silent enemies and picking up their ammo.
Another reason that I do not particularly enjoy playing shooter games is because they just make me nervous. The newer first person shooter games that I have briefly played such as Gears of War really make me uneasy not knowing who is around the corner and worrying about not being able to react quickly enough. I feel like I am in a haunted house and the zombie is going to pop out any minute. Obviously, Goldeneye 007 did not affect me to this extent mostly because the graphics were so unrealistic. Also, the musical score was not as dramatic as it is in some of the modern shooter games.
The storyline did not interest me particularly. It was very similar to what happened in the movie Goldeneye. There was nothing incredibly innovative about the story.
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Shelly has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 6 days |
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