Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=143https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1507So I found a friend of mine was heavily into Smash Bros, and decided to challenge her. Right away, she was confident that she'd give me an ass-whooping. That's the thing with this game; confidence and ego are mainstays and are almost required. When someone says he's good, he means it. Likewise, if they suck, that's always 100% true. She chose Kirby, and I chose Fox. A minute into the 3-life match, and I could see why she chose that particular character. Kirby's air Down-A is a move that sends the recipient shooting downwards. If this occurs over the edge, he will shoot straight down. Her strategy immediately became trying to get me off the edge. I still won easily, as I realized that apart from this particular move, her ground game was pretty weak (especially compared to Link's). Moments like these bring out why Super Smash is such a good game. Any strategy, be it deemed "cheap" or "unfair" can easily be countered if the player knows what he (or she) is doing.Sun, 04 Mar 2007 15:06:20 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1507&iddiary=3174https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1507I got this game a year after it was released, and it's pretty much changed my life. I unlocked all 4 secret characters within a week, became unbeatable until I met a friend who could dodge attacks with impunity, and generally played it all the time with friends. The use of classic Nintendo characters is what gives this game its charm. Take those away, and you have a solid fighter without a lot of heart. It's the same reason seeing Link in Soul Calibur 2 for the GameCube is so fun; everyone wants to kick ass with Nintendo characters. Fox and Link are mainstay characters for me, and I've become adept enough that I can take on anyone with any character.Sun, 04 Mar 2007 14:58:47 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1507&iddiary=3173https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=704So I played this with my girlfriend on the flight from Phoenix to San José. We played Chinese checkers, as it was a game both of us could get into easily. The DS is amazing in regards to its "DS Download Play". A half minute or so of transferring data, and the DS without the cartridge can get full play on any game of the cart owner's choice. We added two more computer opponents to make the game board more interesting. At this point, whenever one plays Clubhouse games, it becomes more of an interaction of the actual game you want to play, rather than clubhouse games as a whole. Clubhouse Games doesn't offer anything original at all whatsoever. They're banking on people knowing how to play most of the games available, and have detailed rules for games you necessarily don't know how to play.Tue, 13 Feb 2007 00:41:38 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=704&iddiary=2815https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=704Clubhouse games is awesome in that it provides so many small games, each individually not worth the price of even a bargain-priced game, but rather a whole collection of good games. As it is, they are all games of emergence. The only progression I can see is playing through stamp mode, which earns you the ability to use stamps in the online chatting. The online Pictochat is rife with profanity and general naughtiness, in that people tend to post penises, vaginas, iPod ads, burning Twin Towers, as well as every iteration of "zomg hurry up" that one can think of. My favorite games so far are connect 5, chess, bowling, and chinese checkers. Texas Hold 'em is in it, but it's an extremely limited version, with a game limit of only five hands. It's lame. The other games are solid and fun, and provide many hours of entertainment. Having a person to play with is even better, as you can play any of the games between multiple ds' with only one cartridge. More later.Tue, 13 Feb 2007 00:34:36 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=704&iddiary=2813https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=934So I'm trying to play this game, but the more I do it, the more I get annoyed. The game world is highly detailed and pleasing to the eye, but the amount of interaction is very minimal. I went through yet another cutscene, but due to the burned copy I was using, it stayed at a blank screen. I skipped it, and went straight to the gameplay once again. Apparently I missed something important, but I really don't care, as it was probably more of Vaan's whining about how he is an orphan. Sidenote: Square Enix, you seem to have some sort of fetish for orphans. Every single game you've made has them as the protagonists. I mean seriously, come on. I was told to go to the southern desert and look for a sun stone. Before I left, I decided to take up another bounty, and this time it was for a giant mutated cat. I left via the west gate, and tracked it down. This thing was so powerful my level 1 Vaan got mutilated in two minutes. All the potions didn't do squat, either. I died, and restarted at the save crystal. This time, I said screw it, and decided to just go straight for the sun stone. Again, I got owned. High level monsters ganged up on me, and I died. I. HATE. GRINDING. I will NOT spend an hour killing low level bunny rabbits and hyenas just so I can progress with the story. UGH. Yeah, I'm done with this game. Screw Final Fantasy games (tactics excluded of course).Wed, 31 Jan 2007 15:09:33 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=934&iddiary=2272https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=934This is the only console Final Fantasy I've ever played, and I'm in the middle of FF3 for the DS. I started a new file, and was hit with a very pretty cutscene. That's the one thing I hear about Final Fantasy games: dramatic and epic cutscenes. FF12 didn't fail to deliver here, showing plenty of pretty scenery and characters, androgynous characters included. Now, I need to get some details about myself out of the way. I hate Japanese RPG's with a passion. The girly pretty boys, the whiny female leads, the stupid random encounters, female armor that leaves the entire torso and legs unprotected (if you can even call it armor), and of course, lots and lots of level grinding. There are even more conventions that I wish they would discontinue, and I'll get into those in a minute. I was treated to a tutorial, given by Basch. Now, I know I need to bone up on how to control this little waif of a soldier named Reks, but when I'm told by Basch to "press x when you see the marker over a character's head!", the fact that I'm playing a game just rips me out of the immersion. It's a stupid practice. Just have a small text box open, with no in-game characters actually telling me how to do something. Please. I was then introduced to a short combat tutorial. Now, here I was excited. I hate random encounters with a passion, Pokémon being the only exception, as the random encounters was part of the catch-em-all gameplay. Actually choosing whether or not I wanted to engage an enemy excited me. As soon as it started, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I could target anyone I wanted to, and that the other members of my party automatically healed and fought. I was given a rude awakening when I realized that after hitting an enemy, I couldn't run away to avoid getting hit. Even if the enemy was a good 20 feet away from me, he would swing his sword and I would get hit. This is like taking two steps forward and one step back. Come on. And oh my GOD this retard character. Vaan redefines "pretty boy with physics defying hair" so badly that it hurts. I hate playing protagonists that are younger than I am. A 15 year old? Really? You know what I want to play as? A hardened badass veteran. The in-game world is named Ivalice, which, as it turns out, is the exact same world from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance for the GBA. Species like the Viera and the Bangaa are there, which I found to be a good connection. Turns out the director for both games is the same person. Go figure. I took a bounty and fought some evil tomato thing, and at this point, saved. This game looks interesting, but I doubt I'll play past my requisite 2 hours.Mon, 29 Jan 2007 15:14:43 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=934&iddiary=2058https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=705Continuing from the Sixth Colossus: I started off in the main temple in the center of the world, as is the case after every single colossus. It happens automatically, as you sort of "die" after you kill one. I summoned my horse with a quick yell, and hopped on. Again, I whipped out my sword, and let my sword's light guide me. This time, the sword led me directly north, across a land bridge. This particular design choice enabled the developer to make the User Interface as minimal as possible. The only thing you have to worry about is your health and stamina, and those are only visible when you're fighting a colossus, or have to switch weapons. It really works, and keeps the player's attention on the gameworld, which is quite the pleasant thing to look at, even if the framerate tends to suffer. My beam of light was shooting directly into a mountain, so I started skirting it on the eastern side. Eventually, I came upon a low wall, with a lake on the other side. I hopped over it, and came across a series of columns sprouting out of the deep, dark waters. As soon as I jumped onto the last one, a cutscene started, and a giant electric eel-type colossus emerged from the depths, three giant glowing spikes adorning its back. I quickly scrambed up onto a low-lying platform and started launching arrow after arrow at it, but they didn't penetrate the surface, and just floated there. I dived in, and swam around, trying to get it's attention. It finally swam at me, the head rushing closer. I swam forward, and in doing so, it dived again, but this time, it's tail rushed at me, and came out of the surface. I immediately noticed that it was covered in fur, and I hung on. It dived under water, thrashing and wriggling violently. Now that I was hanging on AND holding my breath, my stamina meter drained pretty fast. It would rise to the surface quite a bit, at which point I would run forward, and hide behind one if it's spines. Every time it submerged again, however, it would shock me. That's when I noticed the small blue glowing spots behind them. I quickly stabbed them, and the spikes would become useless. I quickly ran to it's head, and stabbed the magic seal there, effectively killing it. More later.Fri, 19 Jan 2007 12:24:22 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=705&iddiary=1762https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=705Shadow of the Colossus is one of those rare titles that just instills in you a sense of awe and wonder that very few games are capable of. The haunting soundtrack alone is worth the price of admission, and the epic score matches the huge enemy titans perfectly. The world that the main character fights his battles in is a barren, desolate land, inhabited by nothing but plants and old, moss-covered ruins. The occasional lizard or bird scurries about, but there's no interaction with them. My only companion on this lonely world is my horse, Aero (or Agro, I can't tell what he's saying). The main character is the typical quiet type, and the story revolves around him defeating the colossi that are hidden in areas on his world. He is doing this because the mystical force that has tasked him with killing the colossi has promised to revive his dead (I think, don't spoil it for me) girlfriend. I've already been playing this game on and off for about 6 months, as I want to make this intense experience last as long as possible. I'll fight a colossus, revel in the intense battle and experience, and stop for a while. I just don't want it to end. It's rare for a game to have this effect on me. This particular session had me hunting down the sixth colossus, which entailed me to track it down, as is the case with all the other colossi. You do this by holding up your sword to the light: as soon as the sun's light strikes it, six beams of light shoot out of it. The closer you turn to the general direction of where it lies, the closer the beams converge. You then follow that beam to where the colossus is lying in wait. The sixth colossus led me to an underground castle-like area, a giant room full of low stone partitions and a very high ceiling. I climbed over the sides of these partitions until I came to the very end of the room. At that point, a small cutscene came on, and the sixth colossus burst through the wall. He looked like a gorilla standing upright, with large arms and short legs. I looked at his legs, and I couldn't see any "fur" or "hair" hanging off. In SotC, you must kill these leviathans by somehow climbing onto them, then stabbing their magical seal. Getting on them is the hardest part, as each one requires a different trick. He came charging at me, and I realized I should probably run out of his way. The aforementioned partitions were not obstacles in my path to safety, and I had to quickly climb up and jump over each one. I managed to make it to safety, into a little overhang. At this point, the colossus was standing in front of me, walking around. I needed to get onto him, but how? I decided to at least draw him near me, so I shot a couple of arrows. I heard a loud, questioning grunt, and he crouched down to look into the overhang. That's when I noticed his beard was swaying right in front of me. I quickly leaped out and clung to it. Instantly, the music changed, becoming tense and quick, while the colossus tried to shake me off. The game utilizes a stamina meter in the shape of a circle. The longer you hang onto something, the more this meter shrinks, until it hits zero, at which point you'll let go. I crawled up his face and the side of his head, figuring the weakspot to be on his forehead. I was right, and quickly stabbed him a couple of times. Each stab pissed him off even more, and the only way I could let go safely while staying on was on his back, which was slightly slouching. The seal on his forehead disappeared, at which point he shook even more violently. I fell and stumbled down his back, barely managing to hang on. That's when I noticed the seal there. Acting quickly, I stabbed into him again, and killed him. This game is comprised solely of these sorts of experiences: there's no mini-boss, no collectables, no swarms of lesser enemies. It's just huge rock monsters, one after the other. More later.Thu, 18 Jan 2007 17:44:11 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=705&iddiary=1608https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=483Note to the TA's: I didn't read the assignment carefully, which is why I have entries for two different games instead of two entries for one game. Zelda Part 2 This particular entry is about the dungeon in the Gerudo Desert, after obtaining the Master Sword. In most Zelda games, you had to figure out your next objective by actively seeking out quests and directions to the next dungeon, or by running errands and recieving information in return. TP eschews all that in favor of a centralized hub in which you talk to a group of explorers, each willing to provide information as to where you have to go directly. They even have a detailed map for you, which adds a location marker to your own. I headed off to Lake Hylia, feeling pumped. I mean, I have the master sword. The big kahuna of Zelda blades. Even in Ocarina of Time, I never used the unbreakable Goron blade. That thing was unwieldy compared to the one-handed sexiness of the Master Sword. You don't mess around, here. Gerudo Desert as a level sucked, with nothing but lots of running and dodging little sandworms. I found a hidden chest, which yielded 100 rupees, but alas, my wallet can only hold a pitiful 300, and I had to put it back. While this "Put back rupees you can't carry" can be seen as an improvement over previous Zelda titles, since you just took them regardless of whether or not your wallet was full, it's not like I actually plan on coming back to this tedious desert to collect it. When I finally got to the fortress at the end of the desert, I was met with what looked like sniper towers. Now, I must interject here. Almost all action-adventure games try to incorporate a "stealth" level, even when the controls are completely inappopriate for it. To be frank, I despise them, and usually completely stop playing right then and there. However, Zelda actually did a good job, and I felt like a badass when I sniped fire arrow-wielding goblins from afar. The end boss for this little fortress was one of the same oversized orcs that I fought on horseback way before I even got the Hylian shield. It was a good fight, and I had learned a new sword technique, which allowed me to stun him with my shield, then leap over him while slashing at his head at the same time. I entered the dungeon, which allowed me to truly use my wolf/human transformation ability at will. To get past certain areas, I was required to turn into a wolf, sniff out the enemies containing necessary souls, and then to defeat them. Other areas require that I use bombs, which is accessibly in human-form only. Earlier in the game, the wolf form felt unnecessary and tacked on, but I see now my folly in my lack of faith in Nintendo's development team. More later.Tue, 16 Jan 2007 13:10:40 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=483&iddiary=1510https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=483I've started this game already, and this particular session is from the middle of the Water Temple. Traditionally, I've always hated the water temple in Zelda games. The one in Ocarina of Time, my favorite Zelda until I played Twilight Princess, forced me to resort to a player's guide, which I always hate doing. This one wasn't as bad, and I managed to get through it okay. Zelda games always have a tradition of giving you a new weapon or item in a dungeon, and this one provided me with the Clawshot, TP's iteration of the famous Hookshot. As soon as I got it, the rest of the dungeon opened up to me, and I was able to make it to the boss room. One thing this game does extremely well is give you a feeling that you're a small but important part in an intensely epic story. The boss room was a giant water-filled chamber, and must've been at least a couple hundred feet deep. I strapped on my iron boots, and jumped in. I rapidly descended, feeling a growing sense of "oh shit oh shit oh my god" as I saw what looked like a giant tentacle poking out of the ground. As soon as I landed, a cutscene took over, and several more tentacles popped out, followed by the boss they were attached to, a giant anemone. This was pretty much identical to the OoT version, which was an eyeball in a tentacle that you had to pull out with the hookshot to be able to slash at it. This boss had the same thing, and it was incredibly easy. At that point, I felt incredulous and somewhat cheated. A two hour long, annoying temple followed by this? Screw that noise. However, I had forgotten that a lot of these bosses had multiple forms. Sure enough, all the tentacles retreated below the surface, and out exploded a giant eel. The "anemone" I had been fighting was merely its mouth. I unequipped my iron boots (a quick process, thanks to the fact that you equipped it as an item and not as an article of clothing), and swam after it. The eyeball was still there, except this time it was embedded onto its back. I swam after it, L-targetted to lock on, and fired my claw shot. It pulled me in close, and soon I was hanging on to it, Shadow of the Colossus style. I whipped out my sword and stabbed at the eye. Rinse and repeat 3 times, and done. This game is huge, and it makes good use of the Gamecube's now-defunct hardware (as you can play GC games on the Wii). Bosses like these are what makes it feel epic, and certainly makes me feel like I'm getting my money's worth. The revamped music that's been heard in every single Zelda game since the SNES version fills me with a mixture of nostalgia and wonder as I explore new areas. The next section of the game tasked me with getting the Master Sword. FINALLY. The Master Sword, for me, is the pinnacle of the Zelda experience. The lone sword, buried deep into a center stone in the middle of an ancient chamber, the orchestral operatic music that plays as you approach it, and the moment of glory as Link pulls it out, slashes the air, and sheathes it. I had to warp to the beginning forest to retrieve it, which was an easy task thanks to Midna (the shadow creature that accompanies you in wolf-form) and her warping ability. The level immediately before the Master Sword's chamber consisted of what looked like Scarecrow from Batman and his puppet henchmen who were easily dispatched. After that, it was a puzzle room, in which I had to return two stone guardians to their original spots. And then finally, the sword. The music, lighting, and graphics represented the best retrieval yet, but maybe I'm just blinded by the fact that it's the latest Zelda game. Wind Waker had a pretty good Master Sword retrieval area, especially since I had to fight over 20 Stalfos and Pig guards in order to escape. Retrieving the sword allowed me to return to human form, and now I can switch back and forth from human to wolf at will. At this point, I saved and quit.Thu, 11 Jan 2007 17:08:10 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=483&iddiary=1193