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jp's Moon (DS)
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| [October 14, 2010 04:30:12 PM]
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So I played until I got to a boss fight I simply was able to clear. I've realized that, yes, the game works and is fun, but it's largely the same. No real surprises. You could say that I'm simply rationalizing why I decided to move on to another game...
As you play the game you can pick up (what are now "standard") text logs that shed light on the backstory of the game. I felt that the story was kind of obvious, but at least, in the beginning, intriguing enough that I bother to read all of the entries I could find. In a nutshell, you're exploring an alien base on the moon that has existed for as long as humankind has been around. Humans are a science experiment of the aliens who have been watching, observing, and ultimately farming us for the organic compounds in our bodies (or something like that). I think there was some sort of civil war in the alien society and stuff kind of collapsed. Thus, the base is mostly abandoned, though you run into sentry robots and that sort of thing. The aliens ARE still around (at one point I was abducted into an alien ship), but I'm not sure what they're doing exactly. I also got the impression that a group of humans has been exploring the base for a while, possibly infiltrated? Well, that's the gist of what I got...
Overall, I was impressed by the game and how it mixed up some action elements with light puzzling and having to switch between the remote droid and the main character was refreshing. The boss fight you had to deal with as the remote was also a nice change of pace. Another thing I noticed was the use of "alpha filters" to really set the tone. I'm not sure if alpha-filter is the right term, but essentially some of the areas are "tinted" in a certain color (light blue, red, green, etc.) that really helped give them a better sense of place, but also helped add some variety to the environments which were mostly the same. It's a simple trick, but I found it was surprising effective...
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| [September 30, 2010 10:55:58 PM]
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A first-person shooter on the DS. I should be surprised that they are such a rare breed on the DS. It sure seemed like they wouldn't be. Especially considering that the Metroid Prime:Hunters (was that it?) came with the console. I remember playing a bit of the demo and thinking, "Wow, this is going to be so awesome!". Then I forgot about it entirely. I'm not sure if it was even released. (It was, I had to go look it up just now). So, many years later and I'm finally playing an FPS on the DS. It kind of looks great.
Moon is unlike most other FPS' in terms of its setting and mood. The music is creepy, for starters (I had to mute it, in fact) and it takes place, on the moon.
What I've found most interesting about the experience so far is how the game is such a throwback to the first generation of FPS games (pre-Quake) yet at the same time incorporates some "design innovations" that weren't around then and are perhaps normal now. So it's kind of like playing an anachronistic FPS from 15 years ago. It is also strangely reminiscent of Metroid, but the 2D ones, which is weird.
Here's a list of some of the standard conventions that are/aren't in the game. So, just to be clear, it LOOKS like an FPS from the late 90's and FEELS at times like one, but then it doesn't.
1. There are no exploding barrels. (not standard)
2. "Standard" weapon variety (pistol, shotgun, sniper, etc.) (standard)
3. Pistol is pretty powerful (not standard) (in fact, it's my preferred weapon)
4. There are no health OR ammo pickups scattered around (not standard) (there's a minor exception to this, usually before a boss fight there's an partial ammo refill on the floor)
5. Ammo and health are dropped by enemies (not standard)
6. Your view bobs up and down when you walk (standard?)
7. No keycards to unlock doors (not standard)
8. There are story "diary entries" on some computer terminals (not standard) (actually, when did this start being used in games?)
9. You often have to control a robot sentry with wheels. It's also in a FPS, but the camera is just above the floor. (not standard) (the earliest game I can think of that had multiple FPS camera views is Dungeon Keeper, when you "possessed" different creatures)
10. Sniper rifle doesn't zoom (not standard)
11. 2D map! (standard?)
12. Enemies sometimes teleport in behind you (standard, and annoying)
13. There are sections where you control a vehicle, but not in FP view (not standard)
14. Pickups that enemies drop don't disappear (not standard)
15. No jumping (sort of standard?)
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jp's Moon (DS)
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Current Status: Stopped playing - Got frustrated
GameLog started on: Friday 24 September, 2010
GameLog closed on: Thursday 14 October, 2010 |
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This is the only GameLog for Moon. |
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