|
Friday 25 January, 2008
Summary
In Super Smash Brothers 64, players control a famous video game character from other games and platforms. In the game, a third person fighter, player’s battle their chosen character against a single enemy. After each victory the level changes, maintaining the themes associated with the enemy’s background.
Game play
When I first started playing Super Smash Bros, after a few years break, I was excited to pick an old school character, and was super stoked to be Link in my quest to victory. The game play almost seemed new to me and was pretty fun. The controls are simple and mainly consist of a few base attacks and some good old school button mashing. I liked the game’s difficulty because it increases with each new level/enemy. The story progression in the game seemed relatively un connected however. There was no real sensible progression from enemy to enemy, and no real story line accompanying the level changes. Even though the story of the game was lacking, the first six levels I conquered were very fun, and the excitement of both the game and the old memories had a positive impact on my mood.
On this occasion of Super Smash gaming, I was playing the one player version, but I think much of super smash brothers’ appeal lies in its multiplayer options. The multiplayer is basically the same game play as the one player, but it incites much good spirited competition among you and your human opponents.
Game play
In my second session on the game I was able to beat the game. I was much more focused this half and really noticed how much the objects, which appear randomly in the game add to the game playing experience. The objects also themed randomly to be relative to one character or the other offer power ups most of the time and leave you hanging every once in awhile. Also as the game drew closer to the end, the difficulty was finally getting to my level and I was able to more successfully use the relatively large reservoir of moves to defeat my foe.
Also during my second session a friend stopped by and we found that the ability of the player to interact with bystanders is relatively high. The game offers entertainment to most people I would say, and is pretty action packed offering fast paced entertainment.
Design
I believe that super smash brothers had a few innovative ideas for its time. The health system displayed in the game was new to me when I first started playing it, and still is. The way your hp builds up, making your character more and more prown to attacks by enemies, was a very fun way to deal with health. I also enjoyed the level elements displayed in the game making fights more than just a tekken style no outside influence battle. The multiple layers of usable fight area in the levels give height and dimension to a pretty 2D fighting area, and obstacles like tornadoes add difficulty and options to the fight. Also cool about the levels is there relation to the characters featured in the game. These familiar environments help players to relate and connect with the game. The themed levels also give a happy cartoony feel to the game, making it more appropriate for young audiences and those not fond of blood.
This game actually does give me several ideas for my own game. The way the levels have things you can interact with, either positively or negatively is a major attributing factor to the game in my opinion. Some negative aspects of the game include the lack of story line and the relatively unchanged final battle, which consist of a large white hand.
|
