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Monday 14 January, 2008
GAMELOG ENTRY #1
SUMMARY
In Shaq Fu, NBA Star Shaquille O'Neal must travel to an alternate dimension to beat up various Creature-Peoples, in order to save a young boy from the mind control of an Evil Mummy-Warrior. In this one-on-one fighting game, you must use a series of hits and combos (or just mashing the "C" Button,) to drain your opponent's life bar and win each fight.
GAMEPLAY
This game cracked me up. Shaquille 'Oneal fights a giant lava monster, A cat woman, a human cyborg, the Prince of Persia, and The Crypt Keeper: All while in his bball shorts. The story and the characters develop through the trash talk that goes on before and after each fight. Needless to say the story doesn't have much depth, but you can get the main idea: Shaq wanders into a Kung-Fu dojo, going to the "second world," and fighting an evil mummy to save a boy. The story was kinda weak but funny nonetheless.
http://i9.tinypic.com/80picjk.jpg
http://i1.tinypic.com/8fziwxt.jpg
As I progressed I was somewhat interested, I liked to to see what kind of ridiculous opponent I'd have next, and what kind of trash talk Shaq would have for him. I played story mode on my own, so I didn't really get the 2 player part of the game. The game was fun for the first 30 minutes, but it kind of got old fast. There is no guidance to do any special moves so you're kind of left for dead against guys like the cyborg who just shoots you with his gun arm all day. The game is actually pretty hard, and takes some getting used to. But I think with a second session I'll be able to beat it.
GAMELOG ENTRY #2
GAMEPLAY
At this point I have adopted a style of play that is ensuring me quick victory. It is a "Norrisian" style of fighting that consists of several roundhouse kicks to the face. Using my thumb I pound the C button several times until Shaq does his victory dance (running in place.) Playing this game for an hour and a half has dampered my mood a bit, It's not really that fun anymore but I'm just playing to beat it. The idea of the game is still funny to me, and I look forward to seeing what kind of terrible ending is in store, but there isn't really any other reason to continue playing this game. The gameplay isn't that great because you don't know the button combinations for the special moves, so you end up pounding "C" like me in order to win. Hitting the other player is pretty hard, maybe the hitboxes on the sprites are messed up or maybe there is something else, I'm not sure.
Another thing that makes me want to stop playing this game are the MIDI songs, you know, Sega music. At first I thought the music was complex and entertaining but now it's just piercing my brain, certain notes are repeated over and over.
UPDATE: I have beaten the game! Sett Ra has been slain by the mighty hand that is Shaquille 'ONeal! I have also learned a throwing blade type move through the "Duel Mode" called the "Shaq-Ruken," but I can't seem to do it in the game. Here are shots of the ending scene:
http://i3.tinypic.com/72iiqgo.jpg
http://i2.tinypic.com/6ltnw9i.jpg
DESIGN
If there was anything innovative about Shaq Fu, it could be the incorporation of Shaquille O'Neal into a Kung-Fu videogame. Maybe another part is the map that Shaq runs around on to select his opponents in whatever order, I don't see that in many other fighting games. Other than that though, Shaq Fu doesn't bring much to the table. A good quality of this game is the smooth animations of the different fighters doing different moves. All of these looked cool. Though the gameplay isn't smooth, at least it looks smooth. The levels within the game are only different aesthetically, otherwise every battleground is the same. What is different though are the enemies, which pose a bit of a challenge. Sometimes you need to to be an agressive roundhouse kicker, and sometimes you need to protect yourself more often, depending on your enemy. But if you can mash the C button good enough, you can usually overcome any foe.
The reward system didn't reward very much, when you win a fight you get to progress, and you get to read your enemy's response of defeat. I think it would be a good idea to learn special moves when you beat enemies. Another thing I would try to fix about the game would be the mechanics in general. It's just kind of hard to hit your opponent and control your fighter well. Cutscenes were used pretty well I thought, they were one of the only charming aspects of the game. It makes for a little confrontation or even story with the person you're fighting. In other games like Mortal Kombat and street fighter, you're just faced off and you go.
All in all, Shaq Fu is a Novelty game, played for laughs more than for the gaming experience. If you're interested in playing a slightly better game than this one, try Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City
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