Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=223https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1459After working of my frustration with a nice shower and a quick screwdriver, i picked up grand theft auto once more. trying hard to ignore my prejusice and enjoy the crude humor and twisted novelty of the game i finished the very first section or chapter. i encountered in my exploration of the city and the house, multiple bugs. i became embeded in a wall more then once, and i found that the color kept bleeding (maybe it was just my old TV). controls were difficult for me to pick up easily and driving cars and bicycles was frustrating. one issue which i found to be particualily bothersome was the dialoge over gameplay. i like story, and narrative in a game and i felt i was unable to focus on the characters dialogue while crashing into homes and people. i also like having a purpose beyond immediate goals of "follow johny" or whatever. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:34:37.)Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:33:03 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1459&iddiary=3087https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1459Note: please excuse any unfair harshness of critique of game design is this gamelog. I am biased. I am very, very, very biased. "Bullshit and bullets" is the mental category in which I place this game. And that’s just a hint of how prejudiced I am against this game. Anyway onto the meat of the story: The first thing that struck me about Grand Theft Auto San Andreas was the awkwardness of the camera angles. The second thing that stuck me was a slightly plump prostitute. Turns out while I was testing out the controls I accidentally found the punch button and knocked her one. I then tried to rediscover the punch button, to try to get the "lady of the night" to not beat me to death. After an all too brief brawl with the working lady, two attorneys and one cop, I was "wasted." not at all a pleasing way to start off a new game. I found myself less amused, more frustrated by the fact that everything and everyone is a potential victim as I tried to master the controls only to get shot and beaten repeatedly. A slight indication that I, a 20 year female college student with a preference for cute over bloody, am probably not the target market. After getting lost and shot a few times I was able to progress with the main character's background story and narrative motivation. Turns out as a black man, I love my mother, and I am a criminal- not stereotypical at all. (I read a gamelog where someone praised the cultural diversity represented by having a black protagonist. I then laughed.) Fri, 23 Feb 2007 19:23:03 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1459&iddiary=3086https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1208Narrative progression has improved a small bit, but I remain almost overly annoyed with the game. Maybe it’s just that time of the month. After further continuing Zelda, I understand to a better degree what makes this a pleasurable game, though I feel much is still lacking which might make it a great game - hopefully as I continue playing, elements will be introduced making gameplay more exciting. I find that as a game of very obvious progression, the game world and gameplay feels stilted. I am very conscious of the linear motion of game progression, and at times I become confused and frustrated when I am faced with a game situation and I am unable to proceed based on my own judgment. Rather I must follow the very exact direction set out for me by developers. Perhaps this frustration only steams from the fact that I still yet remain trapped in the introductory phase of the game world, but to a large extent that is no excuse, either. In that case the intro should A. be more interesting and compelling, or B. it should be quicker to get through.Fri, 09 Feb 2007 03:20:20 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1208&iddiary=2573https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1208First off, high five and yay me for finally buckling down and getting a Wii. The 10 hours I spent in line were worth it. I began playing the legend of Zelda twilight princess, with no real motivation besides getting to know my new Wii. I’ve had brief stints with Zelda in the past but in only very, very limited amounts. So there was no former attachment to bias my judgment of this game (which means it may be a little harsh since I have nothing to base any improvements). I started the game giddy at the free range of motion enabled by the wii nunchuck, but the excitement dulled in time, and left me wondering why I was so bored with the game. so I thought a bit about it and decided its because, I’m sorry to say it, the beginning plot is sooo damn dry. I was trapped in a continuous series of mini games- herd the goats, get the honey down, get the hawk to grab the cradle! It never ended! character interaction was as dull as mud and did nothing to help me push past this initial introduction phase either. I’m not a hasty person, and I’m better suited to casual games, I’m all for mini games! -but I was desperate after a half hour to get the game MOVING already. Narrative progression may not make a game, but so far it seems like it can damn well break one. Fri, 09 Feb 2007 03:07:02 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1208&iddiary=2571https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=440"ARG," is essentially how I feel about Soul Calibur at this point. In my last journal I spoke about how too overly accessible, and unchallenging the versus level was, well as soon as I began playing legend mode I found all the frustration I could ever hope for. I’ve played Soul Calibur and soul blade before, in fact I have beaten both with every player and at one point I virtually unlocked every secret level/character in the game. And I could NOT beat Soul Calibur III. Not even once!!! Now it’s been awhile since I had played the previous games. I could understand losing once or twice, while I got a feel for the gameplay again, but I devoted two hours to the game and could not beat it once. Frustration does not even capture the pain and shame I feel at this moment. My failing found me in my 5th challenge. I lost to one of the characters, not even by that much, so I think "no biggie" I try again. I lose even harder then I did before. Still I'm calm- I’m thinking "wow this is tough-cool!" then I lose again and again and again and again and again and again. And I would swear at this point the guy I’m fighting is at least eight bloody times harder then when I first fought him. But enough is enough. I'm done ranting. I have a feeling someone changed the difficulty just to mess with me. Now for the good stuff: The Soul Calibur single player mode, called tale of souls, is the obligatory story mode. The down fall of this game is its new very narrative story element. Too many cut scenes, and horribly boring text based narratives in between every battle. And though there was an element of role-playing in the same vein as choose your own adventure books, the added effect was made the progression of the story and gameplay even slower then it had to be. The narrative elements and cut scenes effectively distanced the player from the game, making it difficult to become fully engrossed in its threadbare storyline as well and made the games progression painfully slow. Soul Calibur, while drawing from its predecessors, endeavored to tack on additional features, without creating anything original or innovative, and in my mind succeeded only in complicating and cheapening structure of the gameworld and gameplay. Wed, 31 Jan 2007 01:26:11 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=440&iddiary=2156https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=440I’ve played games from the soulcalibur/blade series before, so it was not very difficult to reacquaint myself with the basic game play. General graphics were improved and flasher, more intricate specials and combos were introduced. However despite this, I very quickly became bored and even irritated with the versus mode. Playing my housemates I found myself being losing 1 out of 3 rounds just due to their furious button smashing. Also besides the few new characters there was nothing compelling about the vs. mode. Stages were same old same old, and the new characters tended to be way too easy to get a feel for. Essentially there was something almost too accessible about versus mode; there was no challenge, only luck of the button smasher's draw. Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:57:40 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=440&iddiary=2152https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=785Part two Elements of game design whihc make this game my favorite -Simple yet highly aesthetic graphics and character design. As I stated in the previous log, the graphics for this game never get dull. Fresh and modern in quirky japanese pop/cute appeal. Encourages all ages and all levels of gamers from casual to devout. -Witty humorous and playful storyline and dialogue There is no overdramatic plot plot in this game, straightforward in the manner of a particualily funny one liner. -does not depend on extensive out-of-play cut scenes to move the game along. the cute scenes are random and hilarious, and in no way really super relevent to the main goal and motivation of the game. cut scenes involving the adventures of an astronaut's family are amusing but can also be skiped with the push of a button, without missing a beat. levels are introduced by the King of the Cosmos who detais your mission and its goal and motivation. levels are in turn completed with the king rating your success and then sending your star into the cosmos. simple short and amusing. -innovative and simple to play game play. forward means push analog controls forward. back means push the analog controls back. simple. -stress-free gaming experience! You wont die. simple. you wont be injured. there is no planet princess or universe whose life despends on your success. if you fail a missionyour dad lectures you for a second but there are no wounds or money/items lost. Cons to gameplay: I hate it when the king talks while in the process of the game. the dialogue box pops over the middle of the screen and youre left jabing buttons to get it to dissapear so you can see what youre doing. it would be helpful to have a quick skip button to get it out of the way right quick. (This entry has been edited4 times. It was last edited on Mon, 22 Jan 2007 20:22:03.)Mon, 22 Jan 2007 20:18:19 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=785&iddiary=1946https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=785so it turns out my second game log was too long to post. :( i cut it down and its now up. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Mon, 22 Jan 2007 20:23:41.)Mon, 22 Jan 2007 19:56:44 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=785&iddiary=1945https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=785The moment I began playing this game I realized that it really did something for me, something that no other game ever had- it made me purely simply happy. as the daughter of a game developer, I have been exposed to games of every genre and style out there, I’ve been a hard core gamer, and I’ve been a purely casual gamer in my life, and that is how I know with no doubt in my soul that katamari Damacy is unique. I’ve played this game since the day it was realized in America, but to refresh my memory I have completed the game once more (in two one hour segments). In this game log I will attempt to deconstruct the components of the game which give it such unique appeal and charm. Part one First and foremost the visual element of the narrative storyline is extremely stimulating. In the style of post modern Japan-pop, the visuals though not the most high tech or innovative propel the player into emotional state fitting with the game play and basic storyline. Bright colors and cute things, all portrayed with an almost cheerful irony, come across as smart and not at all intimidating. The cuteness of the character design goes a long way into making this rather simple game a joy rather than a bore. A second element of katamari's charm is the brilliant and innovative game play. Using the analogue sticks you control a tiny protagonist and his ball endeavoring to collect items into a, at first small, then gradually great, mass of everything and anything. Level goals are established by size and time requirements. There are no enemies or antagonists, merely hindrances or obstacles. As the tutorial says "but don’t worry too much about it. You wont die or anything." to me this sums it up. Katamari offers a great, pleasurable gaming experience without the stress and worry of virtual death or destruction. ...Fri, 19 Jan 2007 06:04:38 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=785&iddiary=1749https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=574You can only take so much drumming before your hands get tired. The game unfortunately only has a limited amount of song choices and after a good solid two hours of game play I know the words to about half of the available songs. On a happier point additional songs can be unlocked as one clears certain stages at certain difficulty levels. Additionally there was a myriad choice of mini games optional, which I did not explore, bent as I was on getting all the damn songs I possibly could before exhaustion overtook my bad self. The graphics didn’t wear thin luckily, though that could be attributed to the fact that the only thing the players eyes can focus on while playing is the tiny markings passing on the screen indicating a drum beat required. One other down-fall of this game (which I love despite its apparently short lifespan) is that it is a noisy game- there is no playing this at 2 in the morning without waking up the housemates, and maybe the people downstairs. Despite my critique it is a lovely casual game, obviously intended for group use and enjoyment. Personally its one of those games I'll leave on when I host my next party. Translation: it rocks even when you’re wasted. Note: platform= PS2Fri, 12 Jan 2007 04:02:14 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=574&iddiary=1340