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Mar 6th, 2008 at 01:52:03 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2) |
GAMEPLAY
It is useful in this game ( and necessary, to rack up high point totals) to develop an instinct of when to ollie so that the player reaches maximum jump height and distance. Just as in real skateboarding, releasing the X button (which the player holds down while skating to increase speed and prepare for a jump) too early or too late will interfere with the skaters ability to launch of the ramps correctly. Additionally, stat points can be added to the skaters existing stats in categories such as Air, Hangtime, Speed, Spin and Balance to increase the skaters abilities to complete challenges.
It is important to develop a rhythm while skating throughout the level in order to string together tricks to form trick combinations that add multipliers to trick point totals. Once this rhythm has been obtained, it is easy to get carried away, and try to perform too many tricks, which creates the challenge of regulating speed and ferocity. Another one of the most creative features of this game is the ability to create your own skater, manipulating clothing, appearance and personal information. Also this game features its own level editor which allows players to create their own skate parks.This game is fun, hip and highly interactive.
DESIGN
There is an intriguing characteristic of all the characters in this game; they are real, popular, professional skaters. Growing up as a young gromit in a skateboarding/surfing community, I never imagined I would see my favorite skateboarding pros in a well-developed commercially popular video game. They all resemble their actual people and even feature custom clothing and skateboards for each individual skater. Additionally, the players can derive a similar thrill from the individual levels, which are constructed to mirror real places in real cities around the world and features a plethora of challenges that vary creatively and intrigue the player to continue pursuing the end goal.
The soundtrack to this game features a diverse line-up of tracks from multiple genres of music. Also, interestingly enough, each professional skater featured in the game picked a song for the game them self. This aspect highlights the most important ability of this game, which is to connect deeply on a cultural level with an audience of potential game consumers that were previously unsatisfied with the quality of other extreme sports games that were often simple without the high interactivity of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3.
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Mar 6th, 2008 at 01:51:04 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PS2) |
SUMMARY
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is the third installment of the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. THPS, a true classic, has dominated pretty much all other skateboarding video games and has headlined the extreme sports genre of games since introduction. Tony Hawk, the most recognized spokesman of skateboarding has popularized and commercialized the sport in a way never previously imagined.
GAMEPLAY
As a young pre-teen and into my teenage years, I watched friends of mine I rarely caught in doors, let alone devote extended amounts of time in front of a television develop a strong passion for this game. The graphics and range of motion in this game remarkeable mimic the dynamics experienced in real skateboarding. The physics have been adjusted obviously and considerably; however, the engaging magic circle of this game uses its surrounding realistic imagery and technique to quickly make the player forget it is not at all possible to successfully "grind" a handrail across canyons or launch to the roof of a building from a wooden jump.
The game features an extensive repertoire of tricks featuring variations of "grab" tricks in which the skateboarder performs different aerial grabs of the board, "flip" tricks which cause the skater to perform kickflips and other variations that involve flipping the board in midair, and "grind" tricks which can be used to ride on various rails and ledges around the level. The grind tricks require balance that is shown on a meter as the player grinds, as do the manual tricks, which allow the player to continue trick combinations across flat ground. The flip and grab tricks all require different height of jumps to perform successfully so it's easy to get carried away and try to perform too many tricks while in the air causing the skater to fall once he hits the ground.
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Feb 21st, 2008 at 07:07:40 - Super Smash Brothers (N64) |
GAMEPLAY
In the Single Player mode there are five skill levels to choose from ranging from very hard to very easy. Acknowledging the skill I have already accumulated playing the multiplayer mode of this game for so long with friends, I initiated the mode using the very hard setting. Next I was given the choice between starting with between one and five lives. This is a good feature because increasing and decreasing the level of difficulty and chances allowed during game play creates an increased challenge even once the player has completed all the levels. The player can also toggle a five minute time limit on or off, but cannot decrease it to raise the difficulty as you can with the very easy to very hard setting, or choice between number of lives.
There are eleven levels of characters to progress through with a few additional bonus stages along the way. The number of lives the player has left carries throughout the game until their depletion, during which the player may continue on with half his/her original score. On a few levels the player is forced to fight multiple nearly identical, easier-to-kill bad guys rather than one, larger more challenging opponent in addition to fighting on the team of a companion computer controlled player. This allows a varying fighting sequence although it requires little changing of strategy. Overall this game is fun, interesting, interactive and engaging. The storyline is simple and easy to follow and it manipulates the fighting structure of the game well to create various modes of game play
DESIGN
The best and most novel feature of this game is collection of classic characters from old, memorable Nintendo games. Who wouldn’t love to play a game in which the Mario Brothers or Donkey Kong can be used to beat up Pikachu, Kirby or Jigglypuff. The levels are fun and all have creative varying ways of making them diverse and individually memorable. The set up of game controls is interesting and enjoyable because each character features the same general construction of attacks and dodges (for example, the A button is always a light attack, the R button is always a grabbing move).
The way of tracking hit points is original to this game as a percentage of damage increases with each blow. The level of damage percentage before the character is killed varies from character to character, causing the player to choose between the benefits of additional strength at the cost of greater speed and agility. Overall, the most intriguing aspect of this game are all the elements which allow the player to relate to the characters and find his/her own favorite or attempt to diversify their playing ability with multiple characters.
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Feb 21st, 2008 at 06:42:21 - Super Smash Brothers (N64) |
SUMMARY
Super Smash Bros. is a very engaging fighting game created for Nintendo 64 featuring various popular Nintendo characters. Players challenge each other using a range of attacks that increase damage percentages allowing the knocking of the opposing player off of a variety of landscapes.
GAMEPLAY
Maintaining the cartoonish spirit of most popular Nintendo games, Super Smash Bros. does a good job of hooking the player with silly and fun landscaping, memorable characters and action packed game play. The classic oddball Nintendo characters featured in the game are miscellaneous enough to ensure that the player will recognize and relate to at least a few of the characters, yet they are similar enough to seem natural opponents. They all have their own advantages such as superior strength, or extraordinary agility. Some players stick with individual characters because they perform better with the game play styles of that character, some stick with a character because of a previous partiality from it’s original game.
The levels are diverse, fun and interactive, and each features its own personality, advantages and disadvantages. Certain variables like a rising and falling ocean of fire, a wind-blowing tree, a wild tornado, or an attacking space ship add to the interactivity of the level. The multiplayer mode is notorious for its popularity and competitive following, a result of the engaging game play style and relativity of the characters. I have had much more experience playing the multiplayer mode of game play which I have found is extraordinarily interactive with up to four players, but I look forward to exploring the single player mode as well.
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jeliasko has been with GameLog for 16 years, 10 months, and 6 days |
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