GameLog Page

Please sign in or sign up!

...blogs for gamers

Find a GameLog

... by game	... by platform

[ advanced search ]

HOME	GAMES	LOGS	MEMBERS			ABOUT	HELP

jp's Patapon 2 (PSP)

[July 21, 2010 12:45:58 PM]

I was sure I had written about this game before. I've been playing since June, but I haven't logged THAT many hours with it ("only" 15). However, it feels like a lot more than that in both a good way as well as a bad one.

I guess the good is that this really is a Patapon game. I enjoyed the first one quite a bit (despite a difficulty spike in the middle if I recall correctly) and everything I enjoyed about it is still here in the sequel. Not only that, but I noticed that some of the grinding aspects I had have been addressed. There are now a lot more options available for you to grind. A lot more. The downside in my experience is that, well, it feels like I spend more time grinding than before! There are more types of patapon, there are more items/things, there are more levels, so you have to grind more, and more, if you want to have a chance at success.

This is a realy shame, and I've decided to stop playing despite enjoying myself (and being genuinely curious about the patapon I haven't discovered) because I want to quit while I'm still happy. 15 hours is fine, I know the experience won't change ALL that much. But how much longer will I have to play? I'm roughly halfway done, according to the list of missions on GameFaqs, but who knows how many extra missions I'll have to play in order to tackle them? The stress is simply too much to bear (especially with a full shelf of PSP games waiting to get played).

I want to get back to the grinding bit. My main gripe with grinding in general is that it can interfere with gameplay. The message behind grinding is essentially that all you need is time. Do something for long enough, and you'll be able to then succeed at the next one. That's ok if the "doing" is entertaining, but it becomes problematic when success is dependent on skill, strategy or some other (non-grindable) aspect. I played a few missions I lost at and was utterly confused. Did I lose because I played poorly? (yes, in some cases) Did I lose because my Patapon don't have the proper equipment/levels? (yes, in some cases) Did I lose because I didn't choose the right Patapon? (also yes). My problem isn't with failure, rather it's with the obfuscation that grinding creates in helping the player determine the causes for failure. This obfuscation results in a large amount of wasted time (I'll try a bit of everything until I can succeed) and ultimately no greater insight (I tried everything, but I'm not sure of what actually made the difference).

As a final note, I guess I'm still not used to the downloadable AAA title. I think. I bought Patapon 2 in a store. With a box. And then had to download it to a memory stick. I wonder what happens if I lose the memory stick? I do love having the box though...