Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=160https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1469World 2 is themed very differently than World 1. The second world has desert theme and adds pyramids and sand to the level design. It's almost like playing a different game now; though the ruleset stays the same (you can get the same power-ups just like in World 1) your interaction with the level changes due to the varied game mechanics inherent in World 2. The game utilizes big black blocks that limit the path that you can take at any given moment; if you get a hammer power-up, you can use it and smash the block. This usually opens a path to other levels, or sometimes it takes you to a special item. Again, this is something that you kind of learn on your own from trial and error, but since I played this game when I was a child, I remember it vividly. At the end of the World you always fight a boss by entering the castle. There is a routine to these boss fights: first you must traverse your way through the myriad of bullets and flames that shoot out at you on top of a flying boat. Second, you must go down a pipe and then fight the area-specific boss. The boss usually attacks the same way, but they get incrementally harder. Every boss takes 3 hits, and then they're done. Super Mario Bros. 3 is such a fun game for several reasons, but probably its greatest attribute is its size; it has 8 massive worlds (massive for its time, anyway) that each have their own theme. It makes the game feel like it's enormous. In some cases, it feels like a different game. Its scale sets it apart from most other games of its genre on the NES.Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:58:19 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1469&iddiary=3094https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1469Super Mario Bros. 3 is quite obviously an infamous game. I would go as far as saying that most people living in a developed nation know about it and have probably played it. So my goal out of playing this game again was to look at it in a more critical style. The first thing I noticed from the game is that it is gorgeous. Compared to previous NES games, Super Mario Bros. 3 just blows them all out of the water. The Nintendo programmers must have really gotten the code of the NES down by the end of its lifetime. The second thing that stands out is that there is a World Map. I don't know how many games before this one used this, but this is a very nice feature that connects the otherwise-completely-disconnectedness of the levels in the game. What I mean to say is, Level 1 in World 1 looks very different from Level 2; though there are themes, they do not physically connect to one another. This hub world (the World Map) acts as a connection between the levels in order to immerse the player in the levels better. One of the beautiful things about this game are the hidden power-ups. Amazingly, I don't recall learning these; I haven't played this game in years, yet I still remember where to jump to hit an invisible box. It's really quite surreal. I made it to the end of the 2nd World by the end of my 45 minutes. More on the game as I continue.Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:53:18 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1469&iddiary=3090https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1166So I've played another hour or so, and I've just gotten to the Twilight world. I've turned into a wolf and am exploring around a bit, finding the ins and outs of this world. The neatest thing I can tell so far is that, as a wolf, my skill set is changed yet my execution of my skills stays the same. For instance, pressing the A button to attack as Link works the same way as a wolf. This is great because it makes transitioning from Link to the Wolf much easier. The game has very strict rules that you must adhere to in order to further the storyline. For instance, since it is a story-driven action RPG, you must "trigger" an event to further the linearity of the storyline. That is to say, you must speak to person A, or enter building C in town B, etc., in order to progress the story. This is both a negative and a positive. I say this because the game itself is massive, and wouldn't quite easy to get lost. Yet, part of me wants to get lost. So having the linear storyline in such a massive world is a double-edged sword; either way, there are ups and downs. The game uses the same cardinal ruleset that the previous Zelda games use; in particular, you have a sword, shield, hearts that represent your life gauge and of course, rupees to purchase commodities in the game world. The storyline is so far pretty minute; I have seen Princess Zelda once and she has said very little regarding my quest. So far the person furthering the narrative the most is a Twilight creature named Midna: her advice is typically where to go and why. Pretty small stuff, but this type of game typically unfolds its storyline over time. Since I am playing this on my Wii, the game utilizes the semi-motion control set-up that the Wii-mote affords its games. All-in-all it is a welcome addition to the game. I say it is welcome because I was skeptical but once I started playing I really found no issue playing with the Wii-mote apart from the fact that it drains batteries like no other. However, that is a hardware limitation so I really don't hold it against Twilight Princess. The only thing that I consider a disappointed with the Wii-mote conversion is that the motion control is really not as great as it could be. It is nice to be able to "aim" the remote like it's a bow and arrow or a slingshot, but swinging the sword leaves a lot to be desired. You swing the Wii-mote like it is a sword in order to make link attack, but Link's attacks do not correspond to the motion that you, the player, makes when you swing the Wii-mote. More on this game as I progress.Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:47:07 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1166&iddiary=2500https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1166The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is an infamous game. I do not say this to hype the game up, and I say this without a hint of fanboyism. In fact, I say it in a pejorative sense. Everyone knows Zelda and that's what makes this game so massive; they are practically obligated to make it bigger and better than the previous incarnation. It's just too bad that not every game can be as grand in scale and executition as this game, because it really shines in almost every way. I started a new game and watched the opening cutscene and then took control of Link. I tried to set aside all of my expectations from the game and simply play it like it was a game I had just gotten and knew nothing about. I find this to be a very good way to play a game because it gets rid of the fake hype that you build up in your head, and hype is almost always a sure way to let you down. The game starts you off as Link in the town of Ordon. Very quickly you are able to take control of him and walk around the town talking to people if you choose. There are very simple puzzles at first that require you to acquire specific items and use them in very specific ways. For instance, an early puzzle was using the fishing pole to get a fish, and then you give that fish to a cat. This makes the cat go home, which pleases the cat owner, who gives you a shield, etc. There are many puzzles like this, and I believe if the game was comprised of this solely, the game may not be as fun. Fortunately this is not the case, as more fun things are starting to pop up. These small puzzles at the beginning of the game serve a very important purpose: to train the player in the ways and methodologies of this specific game. It's like a very nonlinear training stage, which is very welcome. After you have done enough of this training stuff, you are actually allowed to explore outside of the town a bit. This is typical fair so far, where you smash things with your wooden sword and backflip around off high platforms. But around an hour in, a hint of story begins to rear its head. More after I play a while longer.Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:39:18 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1166&iddiary=2497https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1085I've played another good hour or so of Shadow of the Colossus. I'm quickly moving from Colossus to Colossus. Each enemy gets tougher than the previous one, which is to be expected. The first Colossus was quite easy, but the third one I just beat was much more difficult than the previous one. One great thing about Colossus is despite the fact that the world is barren, the landscape narrative helps distinguish where you are. There are 12 Colossi and so far, all of them have inhabited very different areas in the world. The first Colossi was enclosed in a rocky enclave, the second in a barren field and the third atop a huge rock, circular altar in the middle of the lake. The journey to reach the third Colossi in itself was complicated and adventurous; you have to swim to the middle of the lake, and then climb atop a rock pillar that is fallen and slowly ascend to the top of the altar. Once you arrive up there, an armored Colossi awaits you. All of the Colossi have been impressive looking, but this one especially so due to its heavy armor. At first glance, the player may have no idea how to attack this Colossi; there are no obvious weak points or areas to climb up it. However, a voice directs you to pull out your sword and shine it on the beast to find its weak points. After doing this, I found its weak points, but still no way to reach them. Again, a voice spoke to me and mentioned that the beast had very coarse and brittle armor. It dawned on me that the Colossi may break its own armor if it smashes onto the metallic circle in the middle of the circular altar! So I lured the Colossi over to me, and sure enough, he smashed his giant weapon into the ground but missed me and the impact was so massive that it broke his armor and I was able to climb atop of his weapon that lay on the ground for a moment. After that, the gameplay mechanics became similar to the previous Colossi: climb up and attack the weak points until you fell the Colossi. What is so neat about each Colossi is that ultimately they are all killed the same way, but the challenge lies in mounting them. Each Colossi has a different technique to finally get atop of them. I really love this game so far. It's my first time playing it and I had only heard a little bit about it in the past. The game's atmosphere and landscape make the player feel so alone, but it feels like this is intentional. I like the feeling of solitude. I like that my only companion in this game is my horse, Agro. The game feels very powerful in this respect, and unfortunately, this is an all-too-uncommon feeling for a video game. Wed, 31 Jan 2007 17:31:48 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1085&iddiary=2333https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1085 Shadow of the Colossus is unlike any game I've ever played before. If ever there has been a game worthy of the title of "epic" before, it is this one. Colossus is deceivingly simple. You turn on the game, watch the opening cutscene and suddenly you're in a temple with only a few clues to what you will be dealing with in the game: a horse, a magical sword that focuses light in the direction you're supposed to be going, and a dead woman atop an alter. Colossus is a seamless world. It is incredibly innovative because this is not done very often, probably due to hardware limitations. Yet Colossus has no load zones at all. In my first 30 minutes playing the game, I found my way to the first Colossus. It was quite easy to get there: I just hopped on my horse Agro and put my sword high in the air. I moved the sword around until I found the light's focus point, and I followed that until I arrived at an area that allowed me to do some fancy platforming maneuvers, including jumping from my horse and grabbing on to the wall and climbing up. After I did all of these intuitive actions, I arrived at the first Colossus. The first Colossus is a colossal beast that walks around and tries to stomp on you. Immediately you recognize that his legs are quite hairy -- perfect for climbing on! -- and you jump onto his legs and climb on up leg. When you reach his upper calf muscle, you unsheath your sword and stab him in his leg. Then you proceed on up the Colossus. This type of gameplay, at least to me, is completely new and unparalleled. The music score compliments the action of the game and the tensions run high, creating a highly immersive and enjoyable experience. When you finally reach the top of the beast, you pull out your sword and jab him in his skull repeatedly until you fell him. He falls and then you are taken back to the temple where it is explained that you must repeat this all over again with the next of the remaining 11 Colossi. More on that as I play the game some more. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Wed, 31 Jan 2007 17:22:24.)Wed, 31 Jan 2007 17:21:38 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1085&iddiary=2320https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=845I've played another hour or so of FFXII. I've just gotten out of the castle confines and I've been sent on a mission to hunt down some tomato creature. I like this feature of hunting enemies because it's a good way for you to learn the areas of the game and the battle system, as well as earn some experience and money. I like the design of getting the player out there and doing something. What I don't like are the long tutorials of the game explaining to me (in great detail) the inner-most functions of the combat system and abilities, etc. I would rather the game let you find out on your own how you are supposed to accomplish things. The thing that I think works the best for the game, and also the worst, is that it is so gigantic (which I love) but at the same time, confusing to navigate around the city. This could be easily fixed by rendering the world seamlessly (like in Shadow of the Colossus or Jak and Daxter) or having the map be able to pop up instantly when you push the Select button. Unfortunately, neither of these are the case and I find myself wandering around for far too long when I really just want to get into a battle that is necessary to further the storyline. I also feel the storyline is a bit over the top, but I guess this is a staple of the genre and series. Overall I am not enjoying the game too much but there are definitely good things about it.Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:33:55 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=845&iddiary=1876https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=845I borrowed FFXII from the library and popped it into my roommate's PS2. It took seemingly an hour to just finally get control of the character. This was acceptable, as the intro was pretty neat and technically impressive. At the same time, I thought that this game emits this extremely intense aura of excess, kind of like the 80's. Regardless, once I finally got control of the character, I was able to move around with little hindrance. Here are the things that I found that I liked about the game so far: The controls are easy enough. Very simple. The combat system is very MMORPG'ish, meaning that you just pick a command and move around and it does the attacking for you. It's real-time which is neat, although I admit this game does not really feel like a "Final Fantasy" game to me yet. But at the same time, it's good that it branches off from its previous incarnations. The real-time cutscenes are very impressive in terms of their ability to convey emotion and storyline. SquareEnix has made a reputation for engrossing storylines and video game engines, and I suppose this game is no exception; everything feels top-notch when it comes to storyline execution. It tells its story through cutscenes that you cannot control (however, a nice addition is that you can skip any real-time cutscene by pausing and selecting "O", which is really quite helpful if you're eager to get the game progressing sooner) and occasionally these cutscenes are pre-rendered. However, I find myself enjoying the non-pre-rendered cutscenes more because everything else just feels so polished and not at all indicative of the PS2 hardware. Call me a realist but I have a hard time watching a movie half of the time and a video game the other half (which is what the Final Fantasy series is known for at the Final Fantasy VII mark and onward). The things I don't like: The battle system is new and fresh from its counterparts but at the same time, not very engaging to me. I suppose it has to do with the lack of options at this point. But this is not to the game's detriment (yet) because I am so early on in the game. I assume later on I will gain more abilities and attacks, etc. The game is massive and sometimes I feel it's a bit hard to move around effectively. The map in the game can be accessed at any time but there is a significant lag so I tend to wander around because I hate having to wait 3 seconds for the map to appear (and while you're waiting for the map to appear, you are rendered incapable of moving or doing anything.) Overall, though, this game feels like it is an incredibly enormous game. It's kind of intimidating actually. But that is not necessarily a bad thing; it really depends on what kind of a gamer you are. Personally I just want the meat and bones of the game; that is, I want to follow its linear path to the end. Maybe along the way I'll get an ultimate weapon or two, but there are just simply not enough hours in the day to be a completionist. More on the game later.Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:29:18 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=845&iddiary=1873https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=408I finished playing my second half of Katamari Damacy. The game follows the same path as before but only the limitations imposed on the player have increased. I'm now asked to make a LARGER Katamari in a shorter amount of time. The challenge increase is made possible by adding even more trash for me to pick up (at least, it seems like there is more trash). The game's quirkiness is still there and the strange music and controls really accent the game. It is definitely not a game for anyone who is Xenophobic; but anyone who wants a breath of fresh air is sure to fall in love with it. I certainly am finding myself wanting to lose sleep over this game. My only concern as of right now is that the game is going to get awfully repetitive. More on that later.Wed, 10 Jan 2007 21:12:24 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=408&iddiary=1141https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=408I popped this game in and played non-stop for about an hour. I find it to be incredibly.. weird. The music, graphics, storyline and gameplay are all very peculiar. For instance, the gameplay's rules are as follows: you are required to roll a ball ("Katamari") around the floor and on top of other objects, which then become part of your "Katamari," thus making it bigger. You are doing this, I think, because your father, the ruler of the Cosmos, accidentally made the world go "Poof." The gameplay is, interestingly enough, very engaging; I think this is probably due to the very intuitively-designed control scheme. To move the ball forward you simply push both analog sticks forward. To go backwards, you do the reverse. The gimmick is that you need to utilize both Dual Shock sticks, not just one. The game has no life bar as far as I can tell. I believe the challenge of the game is to make a big enough Katamari in a short enough time. For instance, the second objective of the game was to make a 20mm Katamari in under 5 minutes. I will write more on this game when I finish playing.Tue, 09 Jan 2007 19:09:51 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=408&iddiary=1086