|
R2D2's Super Mario 64 (N64)
|
| [February 21, 2008 01:06:32 AM]
|
Entry 2
Gameplay:
For my second round playing Super Mario 64 I found that I was having just as much fun, if not more than the first time. The gameplay continually developed throughout the levels to create more complex ways of earning stars. Some levels had me scratching my head at first as to how I was supposed to get certain stars. There were switches scattered everywhere which did various things such as raise and lower the water level. These types of challenges have always been what has drawn me to platform games. I love the puzzle aspect created to get through levels because it requires more thinking than your typical shooting or racing game (that’s not to say I don’t like those games as well).
Although I had an immense amount of fun playing Super Mario 64, I still found a couple things in the game that bothered me. Firstly, just as in Super Mario World, I thought the bosses in Super Mario 64 were too easily beat. The same idea was used which was: hit the boss three times and you beat him. Beating a boss this easily just doesn’t seem to make sense to me; a boss battle should be challenging. Secondly I would have liked a more responsive camera behind Mario. This seems to be a common problem in platform games of this generation (N64 and Playstation) that has started to get better in later platform games such as Ratchet and Clank.
Design:
I thought the design of this game was amazing. The levels are particularly intricate which lent themselves to fantastic gameplay. Each level has several objectives to be completed. Because of this, the player is constantly compelled to return to even the earliest of levels to grab those stars they may have missed the first time around. For example, in the very first level there is a star to be found by launching Mario out of a canon onto a distant platform. There are many places to explore beyond the linear path which one must follow to find the “main” star for each level. Although the storyline is interesting I think the extra stars and the complex level design are what make Super Mario a fantastic game to play and make for great replay value.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Feb 21st, 2008 at 01:07:26.
read comments (1)  -
add a comment 
|
| [February 21, 2008 01:06:15 AM]
|
Entry 1
Summary:
Once again, the short, mustache sporting Mario is on an adventure to save Princess Toadstool from the evil Bowser, only this time he’s in 3-D. Playing as Mario, one must access a series of worlds through the princess’s castle. In these worlds are enemies to be punched, objectives to be completed, and bosses to be defeated. The goal of the game is to obtain as many stars possible in order to advance through the game, defeat Bowser and save the princess.
Gameplay:
One thing that Nintendo was always very good at doing with its games (the Mario franchise in particular) was creating a silly, fun and welcoming atmosphere. The first thing I noticed when I started playing Super Mario 64 was the goofy character carrying the camera through the simple cartoony world outside of the princess’s castle. I then proceeded to jump my way to the front door of the castle to begin my journey, with Mario making funny sounds the entire way.
As a kid I didn’t have an N64, so I had only played this game for short periods of time in the past. Having experience with platform games I found Super Mario 64 extremely easy to get the hang of. Once inside the castle I wandered over to the first door without a number on it and jumped through the painting on the wall. For an early 3-D platform game, I found Super Mario 64 to be a surprising amount of fun. I noticed that a lot of the old characters from Super Mario Word for SNES could be found in the first level with the only difference being that they are 3-D characters in a 3-D environment. This gave the game a familiar feeling although many of the game mechanics and aspects of the game itself are much different.
After playing for about twenty minutes I had earned a couple of stars, therefore unlocking several doors containing more levels. A couple of levels into the game I began to notice that there are multiple stars to be earned per level. This seemed like a very cool idea to me. The way in which stars can be collected is by achieving tasks for characters in the game, finding secret stars, collecting all the red coins and defeating bosses. Having so many options to earn stars gives the player multiple ways to play the game. I personally liked completing objectives or tasks given to me by characters in the game. For instance in the second or third level a giant blue penguin has lost her baby and has left it up to me [Mario] to find him. I liked searching the level and carrying him back to his mother. It gave me a sense of achievement and I was awarded with a bright yellow star to add to the rest on my way to defeating Bowser.
add a comment
|
|
|
 |
R2D2's Super Mario 64 (N64)
|
|
Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Wednesday 20 February, 2008
|
|
