Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=140https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1371Today was my second day playing Mario Party, and during this session I paid more attention to the level design and mini game designs. What always seems to amaze me about Mario games is the designer’s ability to apply the “Mario world” to many different venues. How does an Italian plumber spit fireballs? Save the world? Play tennis? And still find time to party with his friends? It just amazes me how the designers can take the concept of Mario’s World and use it repetitively and consistently. It’s the same thing over and over, yet it’s still interesting and engaging. Another thing I love about Mario Party is the mini games and their gameplay. The games are kind of like Pong in a sense that they’re so simple yet you are so engaged in it. I’m sure we’ve all gotten that blister at the bottom of your palm from playing Mario Party. The game is so great you could be playing your 18 year old cousin and your 9 year old sister and still face some fierce competition. Believe me, my sister is a Mario Party fiend.Fri, 23 Feb 2007 01:53:19 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1371&iddiary=2927https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1371Yesterday I played the classic, Mario Party on N64. I never owned this game but played it a lot at friends’ houses when I was younger. When you first play Mario Party, the gameplay can be a little confusing but the game eases you in nicely. I think the overall concept of Mario Party is pretty clever. It takes the concept of a board game and combines it with simple video mini games to create a hybrid that can keep players occupied for hours. I think what makes this game so great is the different elements of play you get with it. You get the classic elements of a board game with components of simple yet great video games. This doubles the competition between players. You not only have to be decent in your mini games but also concentrate on buying stars at the right time or choosing which way on the map to go. There are so many different things to focus on in the gameplay that it’s hard to be a “good” Mario Party player. There are so many uncontrollable variables that the game is always different and fun.Fri, 23 Feb 2007 01:52:59 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1371&iddiary=2926https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1175Today I played Gears again with a friend who already beat the game. It was easier playing with him because he knew exactly what to do and where to go. We played on a harder difficulty then I had before playing by myself. The game is so much harder; you have to be very good at headshots. While going through the game, I thought about how much I liked the level design. The transition from cutscene to gameplay was almost seamless which I loved. They game designers were able to tell their story without delaying the gameplay. Another thing I thought the designers did well was conveying the characters personalities through their dialogue. The dialogue seemed so realistic and was probably what soldiers really say to each other. There was even some humor and sarcasm in the dialogue which I also enjoyed. My friend and I played for hours but it didn’t seem like it. He said to stop because we were almost done and I was shocked because the game transitions were so smooth it went by fast. I liked the levels, especially the one where you couldn’t step into the dark for too long because of the krill. This changed the gameplay so much, it was genius.Fri, 09 Feb 2007 04:40:46 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1175&iddiary=2583https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1175Yesterday I began playing Gears of War on Xbox 360. The first thing I thought was “wow look at these graphics.” The detail on the levels was awesome. In the beginning of the game the training is very integrated into the gameplay which I thought was smart. It didn’t take long for me to figure out what made this game different from other games such as Halo is the hiding/jumping system. You are pretty much dead if you stay out too long. I thought this was pretty clever and realistic. It’s a nice change from a game like Halo where you can take a lot of fire and it’s not as challenging. However, one thing I did not like about this new system was the how it took away from the shooting aspect of the game. It was kind of reminiscent of games like Golden Eye where you don’t always have crosshairs to aim your gun. Just like in Golden Eye you have to press an additional button to bring up your crosshair. Personally, I like the shooting more than the hiding so I didn’t really like the hiding system. Don’t get me wrong though, I thought the new system is very smart and innovative. As far as the rolling and jumping aspect of this control system, I thought it was pretty annoying. You can’t really control what the player does. Because they assign so many actions to one button (hide, roll, jump/climb over), the computer decides for you what it’s going to do at a given moment. I remember one instance where I had to dodge a charging enemy and I ended up rolling right into him because I had no control over the direction of my roll.Fri, 09 Feb 2007 04:39:54 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1175&iddiary=2582https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1025Today I played Smash Bros again this time in 1P mode. I actually find 1P mode more boring than multiplayer. Once you get used to playing the game, the computer becomes less and less formidable as an opponent. The computer’s moves become predictable over time and the gameplay gets redundant. However, the game designers were smart to foresee this and put interesting twists on the levels such as Yoshi team or Giant Donkey Kong. The computer also gives you partners to fight along side with who are sometimes good but also sometimes bad and leave you to fight alone. A down side I see to the 1P mode is that some characters are virtually impossible to move. For instance, Metal Mario and the Master Hand, are two characters that move very little or not at all when hit like the other characters. This completely changes one’s strategy when fighting such opponents. For example, I personally use Fox’s moves in a sequence using the enemy’s ricochets against him but this strategy cannot be used against characters such as Metal Mario. I know these bosses are not supposed to be easy but the gameplay is simply annoying at this point and makes the game that much unenjoyable. Overall, I think the 1P mode in Smash Bros is necessary only to unlock the other characters and to learn the ins and outs of the gameplay. Where Smash Bros really shines is its multiplayer mode.Wed, 31 Jan 2007 06:50:06 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1025&iddiary=2208https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1025Yesterday I played Super Smash Bros. Smash Brothers is a game I can play over and over with my friends and not get tired of it. I think this is one of the greatest qualities of the game. For me, it’s rare to find a game that I actually enjoy playing over and over again without getting bored. I think this is attributed to its emergent properties. The game gives you a simple formula: characters, levels, FIGHT! When playing with friends, the outcome is completely up in the air. For instance, even if two players are equal in skill, the weapons that are randomly generated in the game and how the players use them can determine the victor. I think this is what makes the game so fun and spontaneous. My brother can own me with weapons but without them, I can win easily. I think what makes a good Smash Bros player is learning the ins and outs of your character and how to appropriately use them to your advantage. I also think it’s interesting how the characters’ home levels sync well with the character’s strengths. For instance, for Fox, a strong ground fighter, his home level Sector Z is a very large flat platform. Having a simple level platform allows Fox to fight straight up without having to worry about enemies jumping off other platforms and using air attacks.Wed, 31 Jan 2007 06:27:22 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1025&iddiary=2204https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=526The second time I played Goldeneye I played with my roommates. It’s been a while since I’ve played multiplayer mode against my friends. In multiplayer mode, I noticed more how the controls annoyed me. Of course these controls were standard at the time the game came out. However, using only one joystick to control movement and the aiming of your gun was quite difficult and much less accurate. However, the game compensates for this by auto aiming. So all I had to do point in my enemy’s general direction and unload clips. Although the controls and graphics maybe old, I still think the gameplay is still very fun especially in multiplayer mode. I also appreciated the classic aspects of the game such as the Facility level that just about everyone knows. This game really does deserve to be called a classic because this game was very innovative and set the bar for new games to come.Fri, 19 Jan 2007 01:23:20 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=526&iddiary=1685https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=526When I finally played Goldeneye 007 on N64 again after all these years, it was interesting. The first thing I noticed was how much better the graphics have gotten since Goldeneye came out. I remember Goldeneye used to be the “it” game to play with your friends at a party. But when I played it recently, I almost laughed at the graphics, especially how the sniper rifle looks a lot like a super soaker. However, once I got over how I thought I remembered the game, I began to realize why this game gained its popularity back in the day. The levels were designed well and it was easy to see that it was games like this that set the stage for games such as Halo. If you think about it, there are many similarities between the two games, such as the wide array of weapons to the classic PP-7 to the Proximity Mines. I think that this game was very innovative for its time with the scenarios and maps it created. Overall, what this game currently lacks in graphics, it makes up for in gameplay and nostalgia.Fri, 19 Jan 2007 01:23:04 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=526&iddiary=1684https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=529Today I played Halo 2 again. This time I tried to pay more attention to specifically the levels and overall game design. All in all, I think that Halo is one of the best designed games out there. The levels are really well detailed and there are few problems with them. The levels are very realistic and laid out well. You do feel like these alien worlds are real and could go on forever. What I liked about the levels is that they seem realistic, complex and never endless but it’s not that hard to figure out which way you’re supposed to go which is nice because you get the best of both worlds, you get the nice map but also the simplicity that allows even the newest players to succeed while playing. What else I like about the Halo levels is that they’re not too repetitive. When traveling through the levels there isn’t much redundancy and you always feel like you’re making progress. Another aspect of the Halo 2 programming is the AI. For instance, when you’re fighting along side other humans, they speak rather realistically. Say you shoot and kill and enemy they were already attacking, they might say “Hey, that one was mine”. This makes the game feel so much more interactive. Overall, the design and programming of Halo 2 is superb.Fri, 19 Jan 2007 00:12:49 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=529&iddiary=1669https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=529So, it’s been a while since I played Halo or Halo 2. This time I played it on the 360, which wasn’t that different from the regular Xbox. I never really owned Halo, but I finally got to play it regularly when one of my housemates brought his 360. In the past, I’ve only played Halo in multiplayer versus my friends. But, I finally got to sit down and play the campaign. I was already familiar with the controls so it wasn’t a big problem for me. However, for the first time, I was able to pay attention to and follow the storyline. I liked the storyline and how it wasn’t just the classic “aliens are invading earth”. I liked how the storyline followed not just human characters but Covenant characters as well. It was interesting to play on different sides at different points in the game. This added so much to the storyline. Another part of the storyline I particularly liked was that there were multiple parties involved such as the humans, the covenant, the brute etc. The interplay between these parties created a lot of conflict in the game. It was interesting during the game to walk into a level where two parties were already battling and you had to defeat them both. I also liked the flow of the game which was so smooth that you could barely tell that you were still on the same level. The game used cutscenes well to transition between parts of the level. They weren’t too long and got you into the action right away. Even though the levels were long, they were broken down into smaller parts which didn’t make it seem that bad. The levels were very well detailed and laid out. The levels weren’t too simple but at the same time not to complex that you got lost. Overall I love this game because at its core, it’s a run n’ gun shoot em up game. But by combining that with the rich storyline and various weapons and vehicles at your disposal, Halo 2 is that much better.Fri, 12 Jan 2007 02:15:32 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=529&iddiary=1306