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Mar 6th, 2008 at 06:43:58 - Pokemon Red (GB) |
Gameplay 2:
During the second day I played pokemon, I didn't have an opportunity to get sidetracked playing with my friends, and instead got to play through more of the game. Catching various pokemon was fairly easy, but choosing which ones to take with me everywhere I went was harder. With many options involving what type of pokemon to use, I found my favorites to be of the psychic type. I think it was well though out to allow the player to be able to progress through the game using whatever pokemon he or she pleases.
I enjoyed the amount of computer controlled trainers lurking around the world, and the high amount of experience and money defeating them granted. They make the game world feel much more alive ( although when I went back to old zones where I had already beaten trainers, and there were no more fights around, the zones felt very barren). I also found the frequent and numerous encounters with wild pokemon to not bother me, because my pokemon could just steamroll them and get experience, and they always leave the opportunity for capture open. There are no rules in pokemon red saying you can't use six pidgies!
Another part of pokemon that I enjoyed was being able to move around the game world very quickly. Before my pokemon were past level 24 I already had a bicycle, and the ability to teleport or escape rope back to the last pokemon center I visited. Beyond that, I also liked how interactive the game world felt for an rpg on a handheld game system. Having to cut down trees to advance into new zones, or use flash to light up a cave force players to obtain these techniques, but also add an incentive to track such skills down and ultimately make the new areas more exciting, as being granted access to new zones brings forth new pokemon and new enemies to defeat.
Design:
Compared to most slow paced, more serious rpgs, pokemon provides the player an opportunity to enter a comical world lending itself to bringing out the inner child in the player. For me, the fast pace alone was enough of a breath of fresh air to keep me playing this rpg, as opposed to others. Although the game is intended for children, with shorter attention spans than adults, I still found the game to be very rewarding for myself. I found battling lots of little creatures against one another for money, and to unlock new areas with many more and new pokemon enough reward to keep me interested.
However, I believe what set this game apart from other rpgs, and games in general, was the design placed in the pokemon themselves. Pokemon, by nature, I believe lend themselves to being adorable. Humans love keeping animals as pets, and pokemon just took a real world trend and turned it into a game. I found that raising virtual critters, and watching them change and evolve by your hand, ultimately becoming very powerful forces to reckoned with, to feel like a worthy accomplishment for a days work.
The only part of the game that I would change would be to make the game centered less around having to play with other people. Although a wise marketing scheme for Nintendo to strongly push players towards having access to two gameboys, two different versions of the same game, and link cable in order to be able to collect all the pokemon, I found this very frustrating at times (for example, I wanted a caterpie, and to evolve my kadabra, but I had to wait until my friend could play with me). Other than that, I found the game overall to be a very satisfying experience.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Mar 6th, 2008 at 07:25:05.
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Mar 6th, 2008 at 06:20:06 - Pokemon Red (GB) |
Summary:
In pokemon red version, the player takes on the role of a new pokemon trainer who is sent on a mission to gather data over the various 150 pokemon using a pokedex. While some pokemon do not change, most pokemon can evolve into stronger pokemon, and within these 150 pokemon, the different evolutionary states are considered different pokemon. The trainer the player takes over must also must defeat the gym leaders of eight different gyms throughout the world, leading up to a clash against the elite four, a group of four pokemon champions. Throughout, the player must also deal with various other opponents, such as his or her rival, or team rocket.
Gameplay 1:
Having played pokemon yellow version as a child, I decided it was time to play one of the two games that started the pokemon craze. I decided to play the game over a period of two days off and on, given that it is an rpg, for a more full experience. Also, I decided to start the game with a couple of friends, using a link cable from time to time to trade or battle, to keep it more interesting, and to add an element of conflict to the game.
I was surprised at the pace of the game, and lack of drawn-out introduction that most rpgs have. After playing for only a couple of minutes, I already was on my way to having my first pokemon. After choosing squirtle, the game immediately has a combat walkthrough. Despite the first fight being rather boring (each pokemon only has two abilities), and the computer ai being very poor, the game was still gripping. Instantly, I had an urge to capture more pokemon. Soon after capturing a pidgey and a ratata, I gravitated towards my intial pokemon, as the game lends itself to be much more pleasing when only working on leveling one pokemon at a time.
The game continued to move quickly, and it was enjoyable to see all sorts of pokemon start to appear. Despite, computer ai being very poor at choosing techniques with an intent to beat my pokemon in the beginning(the game was designed with children in mind after all), the challenge would arise in the form of choosing which pokemon belong in my lineup. Having a balanced team of pokemon is essential to beating other pokemon. In spite of the computer player choosing poor attacks (for example continuing to use tail whip to lower my pokemon's defense when it has already been lowered a maximum amount of times), in an unfavorable type matchup (say my electric pokemon versus a ground type, which is immune to electric attacks), it doesn't matter if a computer player plays poorly because they have such a great advantage.
I found playing with friends to make the game much more enjoyable, and fulfilling within the game (for example I was able to evolve my kadabra because I traded it to a friend and back again). Also, I found battling against my friends, even with our fledgling pokemon, to be very fun. Furthermore, it is much more acceptable to play a children's game when you have a couple of buddies playing with you.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Mar 6th, 2008 at 06:34:10.
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Feb 22nd, 2008 at 09:59:28 - Wii Sports (Wii) |
Gameplay 2:
For the next round of Wii sports, two people left, leaving the match up at one versus one. Therefore, my friend and I decided to play baseball, boxing, and tennis. Not having to field in the Wii baseball was a nice change from most baseball games out there. Instead, my friend and I could just enjoy having a home run derby in his dorm room using the Wii remote. Eventually, however, we discovered that it was possible to pitch balls, although Wii baseball is so simple it doesn’t have a penalty for balls and treats them as if they were hittable, thus unfairly penalizing the batter.
I found boxing to be very strenuous compared to the other Wii sports. Instead of actually fighting each other, my friend and I traded off on a practice event for boxing with a bag to see who could get the higher score. The boxing was very exhilarating, as sometimes we could find a sweet spot on the bag where swinging the Wii remote and nunchuck at just the right angle and speed would allow us to land powerful blow after powerful blow in quick succession. However, sometimes the motion sensor wouldn’t pick up a swing quite correctly, and it wouldn’t be registered in the game, causing us to have to swing again, or even use a completely different swing.
Finally, we tried out Wii tennis, and I found it to be a great medium for the Wii remote’s capabilities. First off, I enjoyed that Nintendo didn’t force a player to have to somehow move around their side of the net quickly to reach the tennis ball in one versus one, by instead just having two versions of a single avatar spread out on one side being controlled and synchronized up to just one Wii remote. I also enjoyed having the potential for my back Mii to still have a swing on the tennis ball if I missed with my front Mii. Ultimately, I found Wii tennis to be my favorite of all of the Wii Sports. Wii tennis seems to have a nice balance between laid-back play, rewarding timing over power, while still keeping the player constantly in action.
Design:
Overall, I thought that Wii Sports incorporated the Wii’s innovative feature of a controller with motion sensor capabilities in a private recreational console into five everyday sports, while still keeping them enjoyable and interesting to play. Wii Sports was a lot of fun for me because it allowed me to enjoy activities I enjoy in a new, more easy-going, video game party environment. Also, compared to most sports games, where you press a button and an avatar reacts with a single action, or reacts using a table of actions, in Wii Sports the motion is much less restricted. Being more connected to my avatar than most games, both visually and when our motions were synchronized, was pleasing, especially because the avatar was a caricature of myself.
Next, I am not sure if I have played a game that is more suited towards a party scene, and that is as appealing to a wider player base. For example, two of the people I played Wii Sports with during my first game session do not play any other video games regularly, but were just as involved as I was in Wii Sports. Therefore, Wii Sports brought people together to play that wouldn’t normally play video games together, creating a strong social activity.
However, I wasn’t completely satisfied with Wii Sports. I found motion sensor problems in all of the sports with my Wii remote. The motion sensor technology wasn’t always dependable, but I found tennis and boxing be the more frustrating in this sense. It was never fun for me to swing at the right time in tennis, and only to have the ball pass by my Mii untouched. Given enough time though, I believe a player could adapt to most sensor issues, and just learn its limits. However, if I would have Nintendo improve upon one part of Wii Sports, it would be to make the motion sensor more dependable.
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Feb 22nd, 2008 at 09:57:54 - Wii Sports (Wii) |
Summary:
Nintendo’s Wii Sports allows for one to four players to participate in simulated sports, using the Wii remote’s motion sensor to control an avatar’s motion in the game. Wii Sports is geared towards multiplayer use, allowing a group of people to compete in simplified, cartoonish versions of tennis, baseball, bowling, boxing and golfing. Also as part of Wii Sports, there is the option to play variations of each sport in practice modes, such as hit the target in Tennis. Furthermore, Wii Sports lets a single player participate in a test of fitness involving several of the sports, allowing the player to assess their competence at the games with a Wii fitness age. Being released at launch with the Nintendo Wii, Wii Sports is a fun way for new users of the Wii to get adjusted to the Wii remote while playing social and enjoyable games.
Gameplay 1:
For my first session of playing Wii Sports, I got three other friends to play golf and bowling with me. However, before playing we all took the time to create avatars of ourselves in the Wii’s Mii channel, so we could have characters portraying us in Wii Sports. I found the avatar creation to be flexible enough for both creating hilarious, absurd looking characters, as well as avatars that are easily identifiable as the people they represent. I was pleased Nintendo implemented this feature because watching a friend act out the basic or similar motions to the real world sport being played in Wii sports while watching their avatar react with the game world was enjoyable.
Although Wii golf was enjoyable, I found its controls to be a little frustrating. It was very easy for me to over-swing, and difficult for me not swing in a straight enough line for all my swings to have the ball avoid going askew of where I was aiming. Also, I found tapping the ball a small distance to sink it in the hole to be annoying. The difference between a light tap, and a swing that will put the ball further from the hole than where it began was very minor feeling.
I found Wii bowling to be more enjoyable, and more exciting than golf. There was a lot of flexibility concerning the adjustments for where the ball would roll, and spin could be incorporated. I found bowling to be well portrayed in Wii Sports, and the motion of releasing the ball felt natural. The bowling was more involving and rewarding, and thus got everyone I was playing with more interesting in playing with and against each other, creating a very fun social event. I found that knocking down the pins was easy enough to keep me wanting to play, but difficult enough for me to work on mastering my Wii bowling.
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