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Gris (PS5) by jp (Apr 20th, 2025 at 20:25:52) |
I distinctly remember Gris getting a "meh" review score in Edge magazine. So, I was expecting to be underwhelmed gameplay-wise though wowed visually.
And yes, I was wowed visually (and aurally too - playing the PS5 version that makes use of the speaker controller in a cool way)...and the gameplay was sort of meh - but, it got better and better the longer I played!
Not counting the "hub" area, the game has four zones/levels that each introduce a mechanic, as well as some in-world things to interact with. And so, the game really goes from less to more as later levels incorporate more in-world mechanics as well as require use of the character mechanics you unlock. It also all makes sense with the game's theme and story and balblabla (ludonarrative harmony is what my students brought up).
That being said, it's a pretty relaxing and flowing kind of game - nods to Journey in there as well - and there isn't really a fail state, though you can get stuck on puzzles and some dexterity-timing dependent puzzles. There's some swimming bits that are just glorious - as you dash from "water bubble" to "water bubble" (blocks of water in the air) - and I loved swimming up waterfalls.
What impressed me the most though were two things:
1. I kept on trying to "go the wrong way" and most of the time, it was the right way.
2. The onboarding and tutorials are really, really well done. You notice a thing, or do a thing, and then that's the thing you have to do later to solve puzzles and so on. It feels very natural and very normal.
So, I'm actually excited to try Neva now...
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Lost in Blue 2 (DS) by jp (Apr 18th, 2025 at 18:46:41) |
Perhaps the strangest thing for me about this game is that it's a bona fide survival game on the DS. In my mind, the genre is more recent than 2006! I'm thinking of all the indie survival games (craft stuff, gather food, don't die of hunger or thirst) and then ones on Steam..and here's this game - a sequel no less - and it's straight up THAT. Survival. And there's two characters to boot - and you can die (I did, pretty soon it turns out).
I guess I was surprised by how quickly I did die - and, from a novice perspective, it felt sudden and a bit unfair. As in, CLEARLY there was nothing I could have done differently to survive. I spent too much time exploring was probably the main problem, and I left the boy behind in a cave we found, and I'm not sure that's what you're supposed to do? You have to keep both of them feed, hydrated and energized, and I felt like I had my hands full with just the one character.
I think my biggest mistake was probably not getting the spear for fishing made sooner? But then, I'm not even sure how you're supposed to use it - and all the other food I kept scavenging wasn't really doing much. Like, you'd eat it and not see a huge effect. I'm guessing there's something I'm not understanding and it makes me wonder if a full reset makes the most sense? (instead of loading into a saved game that's already doomed/too heavily stacked against success).
Perhaps the strangest thing (for me) about the game is that there's a super simple mini-game for cooking! You collect stuff to cook and also stuff to use as spices and then need to sort of trial and error recipes - though I could set the boy (the character I was not controlling directly) to cook and he'd come up with his own stuff... it's weird.
And it's a sequel? I guess I should look up if this is a port to DS from someplace else? It would make more sense in a way - the game is also low-poly 3D as you wander around the environment. Still...I might just put it on the shelf.
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Phantom Abyss (PC) by jp (Apr 6th, 2025 at 19:14:27) |
I'd heard of the game's hook (or gimmick if you will) as, everyday it's a different 1st person platforming game/run, and if you die - that's it. Play a different run later.
I'm guessing stuff changed along the way, though the concept is still here - it's a reasonably challenging rogue-like 1st person platforming game. I've had fun, you have a whip to help you climb and each level has different modifiers (the whip has an ability) and you can pick up boons in your run (if you have enough coins to afford them) and hopefully make it to the end. BUT, you see a bunch of ghosts for everyone else who played this level - if someone died, you can collect their spirit or something for a small heal! During each run you collect keys you can use to buy permanent upgrades, and so you go up the progression ladder of many roguelites...
Someone described this as first person temple run, which is close enough? I mean, the levels themselves are a lot more interesting than the "mere" reaction times that temple run goes for, here you can side-step/etc. stuff - and there are different paths, and in all you can be a bit creative for how you approach stuff...I've had fun so far - unlocked all the green levels and I've started on the blue ones!
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Cuphead (Switch) by jp (Apr 6th, 2025 at 13:37:03) |
I only get to play this when my son comes around - and we play together and I realized, yeah - I need to either start practicing seriously or just give up. And, I enjoy playing it co-op, so there's not much sense in practicing, so I decided to give up.
We did make it to the 2nd island(?), and played some of the levels there - but I was clearly starting to see a steeper path to success. As in, it too us (mostly my fault) more and more tries to make less progress. He's already played it, beat it too? So, not much point for him really.
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Sonic Rush (DS) by jp (Apr 6th, 2025 at 13:34:08) |
I started playing this from the saved game - with new(?) character Blaze on "area 2" (I don't remember the exact name). And, I just could not beat the level - it was set in the casino world, and everything was moving super fast and on "automatic" - so, you just press move and the character zips along, bounces, etc.
It's actually quite boring! Because you just do this, at some point you hit an enemy (very few enemies in the game!), lose your rings, and then carry on. But, I'd lose because I'd fall into a bottomless pit, lose three lives and then out.
I'd say it wasn't so much frustrating as it was a disappointment. Yes, the point of Sonic is that it's "fast" - that's it's thing. But I find that there's little interaction to the game for most of the levels - you just "go along with the direction". It's neat when sometimes you get bounced around automatically, but for the most part I like to control the character.
So, I deleted the save file and started a new one, this time with Sonic in the equivalent of green hill zone. This level has two areas and then a boss. So, it's like 3 levels make up a level.
And, the experience was pretty similar - run on automatic for a while, lose rings suddenly or die, repeat with a bit more caution...etc. I did make it all the way to the boss fight - which I almost beat one too many times, and I just realized - ok, this is dumb - at least the boss fights have more gameplay ( you dodge, make an attack when the weak spot is open, etc.) - but it's still a pretty boring/uninteresting platforming experience.
So, off to the shelf it goes!
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GameLog hopes to be a site where gamers such as yourself keep track of the games that
they are currently playing. A GameLog is basically a record of a game you started playing. If it's open,
you still consider yourself to be playing the game. If it's closed, you finished playing the game. (it doesn't matter
if you got bored, frustrated,etc.) You can also attach short comments to each of your games or even maintain a diary (with more detailed entries)
for that game. Call it a weblog of game playing activity if you will.
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2286 registered gamers and 3257 games. 7789 GameLogs with 13266 journal entries. 5110 games are currently being played.
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Pro Evolution Soccer 6 (PC) by aceyo |
| Pro Evolution Soccer 6 is a fairly realistic simulation to what a soccer game actually is. Although the commentary, graphics, and audio in general are rather poor, it does not infringe on some of the great previous gameplay experiences I've had with this game. |
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most recent entry: Friday 12 January, 2007
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Game 2: Semi-Final cup match vs. Liverpool
The atmosphere of the cup match is much more exciting than that of a regular season match. The stadium is now full of fans, and you also get bird eye view shots of your stadium at night which look rather nice. The entrance scenario is also much longer and detailed. TV crews are on the pitch adding to the authenticity, and sometimes you can even see the players chanting their national anthems. However, since it is a special match, the AI play much harder than that of a normal season match.
1': The AI is already showing its coded anxiousness to win the match by chasing my players with the ball at full speed, something you don't see too often in a normal season match. Furthermore, the AI is positioning itself in ways that intercept your passes at a greater success rate than that of a normal game. This not only leads to the difficulty of the game, but it also adds a new frustration factor, which sometimes can get you yelling at the monitor in my case. So not only do I have to pass more because I am being chased around by mad AI soccer players, they get intercepted a lot more.
17': The AI's star player began a nice run through my midfield and approached my last defender. As the crowd began booing and hissing, I felt I shouldn't let my fans down, and attempted a last ditch tackling effort to steal the ball with my last defender. I mustered up my bravery and approached his player with caution, waiting for the perfect moment to hit the tackle button. When I saw small my window of opportunity open up, thanks to my great reaction speed from years of gaming I made an excellent sliding tackle to steal the ball and felt totally relieved and awesome.
22': The AI's star player was once again on a mad run through my defense, even literally shoving some of them out of the way. You only experience this type of AI behavior in important matches, but it is really poor that you have try and defend against this type of advantage the computer has when you cannot do it yourself. I suppose its easier to design the game to be more difficult and give the AI certain advantages rather than giving them better attacking play. Anyway, I ended up being lucky as my goal keeper got in the way of his shot and the ball went wide.
24': After the goal kick and a few passes, I saw my first opening in the AI's defense and sent a pass up the field. In frustration from previous events in the game, I started unnecessarily smashing the sprint button which lead to an easy tackle for the AI to steal the ball back.
40': The AI's star player received a lofted through ball, and once again began plowing through my defense. In frustration and in fear of being scored on, I maliciously tackled him from behind and received a yellow card.
2nd Half:
42': Right at the beginning of the 2nd half, I had an excellent scoring opportunity as I had 2 of my forwards against only 1 of his defenders. It was my chance to try and taking an early lead in this game. The tension in my mind was building up as I had precious seconds to decide my plan of attack. Do I try to dodge him and take on the goalkeeper myself, or do I risk an intercepted pass to my other forward? In the end, my decision was to pass to my other forward, which was successful, and the anxious adrenaline buildup once again began flowing through my body. The defender was left isolated, and I was in a perfect 1 on 1 situation with the AI's goal keeper. I hit the shot button, and to my horror he shot it way wide.
47': After that nasty reality that I was still even with this team, while dribbling around with one of my midfielders I noticed that I wasn't being covered by my opponents defense. At this moment, I realized this was an excellent opportunity for a long range effort on goal. I sprinted up, smashed the shoot button and it was parried into a corner kick by the AI's keeper. Here was a real chance for me to put it in the goal. I then powered up my corner kick and directed it towards my opponents goal. The pass was blocked out by a defender.
51': I had yet another great attempt on goal moments later after a few passes between my fowards called in soccer a 1-2 sequence. My forward was speeding past the AI's defense, and only had the goal keeper between him and the net. It was another nail biting situation for me. Do I just attempt a direct shot on goal, or do I risk being tackled attempting the shot fake? I opted for option 2, and was disgusted when the AI's keeper didn't fall for it and stole the ball from my foot.
78': After a few more malicious tackles on the AI's star player, to my surprise I actually injured him and put him on a stretcher. Although it felt kind of dirty playing this way, I justified my feelings by just thinking of some of the things the AI was doing with this player. Take that computer!
90': At this point, a draw was really inevitable, and I was just passing the ball around keeping it away from the AI. I passed it to one of my midfielders, which again I noticed was uncovered. I figured, what the hell, even though I know this is going to miss why not go for it anyway. I sprinted up, smashed the shoot button, and actually watched the ball fly towards the AI's net. This was a few precious seconds to me, as it felt like I was watching the game in slow motion. As the ball got even closer and closer, I began realizing that it might score, and with background ambiance of the crowd cheering and the commentator screaming, I unconsciously began flailing my arms in the air in real life. In a mad flurry of excitement and adrenaline, I realized the ball was tucked into the top right corner and the commentator yelled "what a goal!"
It was a moment in gaming history to remember, I had robbed the AI of a game that should have been a draw. I cannot describe being any more happy playing a video game than I was at that very moment.
1-0 win for Black Hawks FC.
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