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Thursday 21 February, 2008
Entry #2
GAMEPLAY
I found that after playing for a few more hours the game controls became easier. Now I can quickly control the camera as well as the horse during the battle sequences. (However, I think that getting a grasp of camera angles and controls should take a lot less than a "few hours" ).
In my earlier entry, I was impressed that the none of the colossi proved too difficult, or left me wanting to give up. After getting further in the game though, I feel I must change my mind. Since all the battles play like puzzles, it isn't much surprise that the player can get stuck; and I certainly got stuck. This is truly a frustrating feeling. With one of the colossi, I simply could not figure out how to bring him down. However, after about ten minutes of wandering, the game knew I was stuck and a voice from the heavens gave me a hint on what do to next. I really appreciate that the game has this built in hint system that doesn't stray from the game play. The game designers realized people may get stuck, and thought it fitting that "god" should give them some help. However, although "god" was trying to help, I found his hints too vague. Only after I accidentally stumbled upon the solution did I understand what the hint had actually meant. Thank you game designers for trying to point me in the right direction (I really appreciate it), but is it too much to ask to be a little more direct?
More evidence against my original opinion of the game "not being frustrating enough to quit" involves a navigation problem. We can all agree there is plenty of room to get stuck during a battle, but once I found myself completely stuck before I had even reached the beast!
[The light reflected off your sword is supposed to "guide" you to the beast's location. However after following the light, I ended up at a blank wall. After 45 minutes of wandering around and being frustrated, I decided to "cheat" and look up what to do online (I wasn't prepared to spend all night just looking for the monster). I was glad I looked it up because, wow, I would have never gotten that. (I was supposed to go completely around the map in order to reach a place far far behind the original wall I kept running into.) ]
On a more positive note, I realized I hadn't mentioned much about the music during my first entry. During all the parts where your character is traveling to the next beast, there is no music at all. After my friend pointed this out to me, I could clearly see how this small aspect truly changed my game play experience. The lack of music created such a desolate feel, and added to the melancholy tone of your entire mission. The music only begins once the colossus is reached. This change in setting is really effective at enhancing the "epic" tone of each battle. As the fight climaxes, so do the instruments. I can really appreciate this creative addition to the game, which is very unique to this game (and also brings me perfectly to the subject of my DESIGN section.)
DESIGN
Simply put this game is in its own class. Many aspects of this game (the pace, use of sound, story, segmentation, game mechanics) are unlike any other game I have played (in some very good ways, as well as some more negative ways). My first observation on what made this game unique is it's lack of attention to simple game mechanics.
I believe both the frustrations from my second game play entry are good examples of the game simply not being mechanically intuitive. It took me a second time of playing to realize that many of my initial frustrations could be linked to this problem. This game fails to address simple game mechanical issues from the very start. For example, the controls were very clunky and took hours to master. This is not a very good starting place for a game. Also there were small aspects of the game that I felt should have been conveyed to the player more openly. For example, I found out that the light reflected off your sword will also point to the monster's weak points by trial and error on the third or fourth colossi. Why did the game not tell me this in the beginning? Also the storyline drags at a very strange pace unlike any other game I have played. (Very little information is revealed during game play besides the first cut scenes.)
It was a strange realization that this game had problems (such as terrible camera angles, clunky controls, and unhelpful hints) that most game designers have already mastered addressing. Why does such a simple game still struggle in pointing the player in the right direction, or even allowing the player to properly ride a horse?
Another more negative aspect I found unique in this game involves the story (although I'm sure this wouldn't bother most people). The game begins with hardly any background and fails to reveal much more than what we initially see at the beginning. In this aspect, I feel the game story runs like a foreign film. (When comparing a foreign film to what we see everyday in America, there are often differences in pace or changes in formula). I have come to believe that the storyline is just not a fundamental part of this game (note: I have not finished the game, perhaps there is an amazing heap of storyline at the end that I am missing out on). Not having a strong storyline is fine, but also strange for a game of this genre (adding to my statement that this game is simply different than anything else).
On a more positive note, I was extremely impressed at how well the game defined the colossi. I feel the designers did a great job making each beast unique (in terms of physical experience as well as the different levels of game play they provide). This really adds to the game's replay value (for example, you may have a favorite battle that you would wish to endure again). In no other game have I seen such creativity in terms of just a battle. Every battle I have encountered is extremely different, and although they can sometimes be frustrating, I can always appreciate what the game designers put me through from a creative standpoint. They test your character mentally and physically as he is pushed to swim the oceans, climb the beasts, and even fly to victory.
So yes, perhaps the pacing is strange and the controls difficult to master, but I believe that the uniqueness of this game truly makes it a game worth playing. The feeling of solving the puzzle and defeating the colossi singlehandedly is worth the tricky camera angles and the occasional frustrations. I would suggest this game to any gamer looking for a new way to feel epically heroic.
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