Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=295https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1440After playing more of Super Mario 64 for the N64 I've come up with a few question, firstly why there was never an N128 or N256. I suppose those names just wouldn't be as great as the N64, but they would be fun systems! (the Wii just isn't doing it for me!) The iconic status of SM64 is truly amazing however, and the game itself really allowed Nintendo to do and become what it is today. Some might argue for Zelda, Ocarina of Time being a major factor in Nintendo's history as well, but even that game relied heavily on SM64's success. Game play for this game is really great, with the button layout seemingly installed in every gamer's brain. Game roleplay-history is somewhat more detailed in this game, but really doesn't play a major role in the game itself. What does play a major role is the camera-system for the game, which really is quite innovative since Nintendo actually decided to make the camera a character in the game, and thus explain away the ability of the player to move the camera about to get a better angle. A fun factor in SM64 can be its bugs. Though not very prevalent, these bugs are often times very well known, being documented on YouTube, and vary from being infinitely long staircases, to very speedy ones, to levitation abilities for Mario. Of interest is one rumor that surrounded the game since its launch; Luigi. Many said he was an unlockable player, which certainly from my gameplay I have not seen and seems to never have been able to be unlocked. This rumor is, however, widely supported by a small graphic that appears at the base of a statue, purportedly reading "L is real 2041". In my quest to discover its meaning, I did find that the theory was posed that this was a spoiler for the Paper Mario game, which was released February 5th, 2001 (with at least one source saying it was released on the fourth), which would coincide with the 2041 in the cryptic phrase. (Of not is that the phrase is indeed blurred out, and many would say it does not even say L is real 2041". I believe this to be true however since it would seem very improbable for so many to report the text as such BEFORE February 5th 2001 when Paper Mario was actually released. All in all I realy actually enjoyed this game for the N64. Gameplay was great, background story just enough,l and the challenge of all 15 (or 25 including mini-games) games was great, and I really enjoyed playing it. And now to return to my Super Mario game for the DS Lite...Fri, 23 Feb 2007 16:24:53 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1440&iddiary=3039https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1440Wow! Super Mario 64; it has been a long time! A long while back I had the pleasure of waking up one morning to the news that my cousin had been able to purchase that "brand new Nintendo system"--the Nintendo 64. With this system he had a brand new copy of Super Mario 64: while I had been upstairs playing old super mario brothers, a new world awaited me! SM64's nostalgia-factor is very high for many people; many have memories like mine of the first time they played it. It really pioneered the world of 3d video games on entertainment systems and brought that frontier to the millions. One of SM64's crowning glories today is the communal factor and social recognizability of the game itself. Everyone seems to know who Mario is, and just which Mario is saying "itsssaa meea! Mario!" Therefore, as soon as I started up the game, I had a room full of people cheering me on. There will be more later, as I complete more of the game!Fri, 23 Feb 2007 16:11:08 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1440&iddiary=3034https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1233Alright--45 minutes later and I am ready to go! The way the background story of the game works out, you really get a feel for what type each character is. An unfortunate casualty for the gamecube version is that Leon is the only playable character in this game. Though he is the main character in the Play Station 2 game as well, the PS2 version of RE4 allows the player to also play as Ada, Leon's female protagonist who runs a parallel storyline to his throughout the game and who Leon encounters and many stages throughout the game. The characters of RE4 are really well developed through the use of cutscenes and how others respond to them in game: I really like the story each of them has connected to them! There weren't really all that many innovative elements to RE4. The aiming system may have been new in terms of not having been used before by other games, however I can't really discuss this as I haven't played enough shooters to know if that was true or not. One thing I really enjoy about RE4 is the weapon system; many different weapons one can use throughout the game, with a neat way of holding them that encourages the player to buy bigger bags to visually store items in so that they can fit in more weaponry. The way the game works, too, is to have merchants at various save points throughout the game. These merchants, then, encourage the player to gain more and more money to use to buy weapons, and trough various beatings of different parts of the games there are REALLY nice weapons that the player can unlock which I enjoy especially. The reward system in the game is pretty standard, nothing really new here, but it is really very well balanced in the way that it provides finances for the player. I didn't actualy object, when I first played the game, to actually playing the entire game over again, I enjoyed it so much, just to earn cash to get that "Infinate missile launcher"! The game progresses very nicely in terms of monsters the player is facing. It always seems to be challenging to kill all that would slaughter Leon, but it never really seems impossible, which is a nice balance to what other games give their plaers. Over all, I must say that I really enjoy playing RE4. It's thoroughly addictive, it is true; but it has to be a GREAT game to be so addictive in the first place, and RE4 definately matches expectations.Fri, 09 Feb 2007 12:16:37 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1233&iddiary=2626https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1233Resident Evil Four! It has such a nice ring, doesn't it? Yes for this gamelog I decided to risk renewal of addiction and restart that good old game of RE! On first start up memories came flashing back to me of long hours spent reclined in the living room, shooting up the controlled-humans of RE4. This is a new feature for the Resident Evil series; no zombies! While they certainly may be inhuman, the enemies in this game are not actually zombies, but are zombie-like humans who have been infested by "Las Plagas", a sort of alien creature that takes control of the brain! Upon starting, the player is already immersed in battle, having to kill an enemy in the first few minutes of gameplay alone. I love the combat system in Resident Evil; the game-makers really seemed to get the targeting system right. The right button is an aiming button, and though this might seem a bit strange to those used to more of a 007 layout to shooting it really works out well. In fact, RE was so intuitive for me I tried to bring that system of shooting over into games that weren't set up for that layout, and so whenever I play 007 now I'm always doing strange things with the right button and joystick! To start off the game, the player has the option to view a moderately long cutscene that explains the background of the game. What I think I love the most about this game too is that these cutscenes are completely skippable: I love watching them and getting the background story, but I would be at no way at a loss if I were to skip over them. I also must say I love the background story itself in RE4; it's very long and detailed, and extends throughout the game (though I wouldn't know this at this point if I had really just played it only for 45 minutes) in such a way as not to be a distraction from gameplay, but really add to it. I realy love this game thus far--I will give more info in the next log!Fri, 09 Feb 2007 12:06:56 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1233&iddiary=2623https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1045-on the characters in the game: I am glad to see some of these characters making a comeback here! I particularly enjoyed playing Link myself, and seeing Samus and starfox's main character as well. -thoughts on the gameplay: I believe gameplay was quite entertaining, at least for a while. The controls of the game were intuitive and I had no real trouble learning them. The arenas entertained me moderately well, and I had no problem progressing through battles between my friends and I in each. -on how the game keeps the player entertained: This game does not need to worry about providing for entertainment for its players through challenge because the opposing player in the game IS the challenge, and thus presents the best form of challenge possible. Since I played exclusively against two friends, game-created challenge wasn't really a factor. -on the social aspect of the game: The social aspect of the game was great! As I was playing and having my doorway open, people would come by and ask to play later that day! The game is well known among many and thus has a fairly large following who really enjoy playing it, sometimes all too much. For this reason, the gameplay socially ranks with a 10/10 rating. -on relation to my game project: I don't really think this game will relate in any way to my game project. I'm going to concentrate on a one player game, and since I played as two player, I did not really gain any insight into my future-creation. All in all, I would rate this game with a 8.5/10. I think it was great overall, but could have been better and could have offered more variety in moves available to the players, perhaps in a way that didn't just lend itself so strongly to rapid button mashing, sans-rest. (This entry has been edited2 times. It was last edited on Wed, 31 Jan 2007 14:08:15.)Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:59:56 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1045&iddiary=2243https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1045Well, the iconic game that I find all my friends to be oddly obsessed with playing has finally had the chance to be reviewed by me! After a bit of fooling around with practice rounds, I launch in to mortal combat with a friend of mine, and we both learn the characters we have decide to play. She as princess peach(*), and I as Link from Zelda, Ocarina of time--which I reviewed last week. After a number of rounds, my initial opinion of the game appears to be positive. I have enjoyed the matches thus far, and have only now started to play around with the settings for the game itself. Gameplay thus far seems pretty intuitive, but I may phone in assistance from a friend who claims to be an expert on this game! We will see how thigns progress and have gone along after another 45 minutes of gameplay has elapsed. EDIT: (*) She did NOT play as princess peach! I had actually played the game a while ago, and had jotted down notes on my opinion for the game, as well as obersvations. Later, I played Smash on a friend's gamecube--I'm afraid I mis-remembered which character she was able to play, and she is unavailable for comment on it at this time. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Wed, 31 Jan 2007 14:03:45.)Wed, 31 Jan 2007 13:43:46 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1045&iddiary=2239https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=797After continued gameplay, I have bested another dungeon, and have focused for a while on attaining more rupees--the currency in Hyrule. It is not difficult to earn money in Ocarina of Time: in fact, the entire system of earning items is pleasantly simple, while still being of a level of difficulty that requires time and dedication before you truly become wealthy. In terms of controlling the character, Link, the controls on my gamepad were simple to learn, and more importantly simple to remember. The controls felt intuitive to my hands, though this may also be attributed to the time I have spent playing other Zelda games on the Nintendo Gambeboy Color console. Plotline for OoT is also of a quality not matched in many games. For good reason, the game has attracted a large following of fans who adore its roleplayed history, and I too feel a similar attraction to the easily understood history and development of the plot in OoT, unlike some other games whose plotlines are so convoluted that to properly understand you must have played ALL previous entries in that games history. Graphics, as mentioned earlier, are adequate too for this game. Compared to some games now, they are but simple first generation 2D-3D graphics. This is OK, however, for this game because that is exactly what the game is, and it does not call for anything more advanced. I took the opportunity to play LoZ OoT on a friend's gamecube as well, which supposedly has touched up graphics, and even with the newer graphics I felt no real greater draw to it then the draw I already felt with the N64 console version. As all other entries into the Zelda series, this game also features mini-games inside of the game itself, that while even simpler then you might find elsewhere, are still quite addictive and prove to really empty out your pockets far too quickly. I don't believe I really have any thoughts on the characters in the game beyond the observation that they adequately served their purpose, moving along the plotline and story. As always, Link returns to his role as the main character, which always does bring fans back for more. Something I found interesting was that the display of narration through the story did not actually bother me; indeed, I actualy wanted to follow along with what the narrator was saying, even if at times hitting the button to move down a screen to the next text box did get dull. In terms of innovation, aside from being the first truly succesful game for the N64 that became the flag-game of Nintendo, LoZ OoT does not offer too much innovation in terms of the abilities afforded to the player. Of note is the ocarina itself, which serves a great deal many purposes in the game, and whose music is designed to be catchy and rememberable. Design wise too, the game is not anything majorly special, offering the variety of dungeons that a similar game might have, but offering nearly every type imaginable in a way that fails to bore the player with repitition due to the limits of the gameplay that the game provides. The game is the story of Link, venturing forth into the lands with his new-found fairy, and who is later in the game forced to become the savior of said lands. A rather typical setup for a game, but OoT still presents it in a fresh fashion, presenting conflict through series of puzzles, boss encounters, and general dungeon-encounters familiar to most players. The game manages to keep the player interested with an addictive gameplay, a level of difficulty that is at the same time challenging while still not overly-difficult, and a background storyline that draws the player into the realm of Zelda and Link. I don't actualy think I would change a thing about Zelda. It has stood the test of time for good reason, and generally seems to be an all around extremely well thought out game, that must have been extremely well tested and balanced for the player. The game flowed quite well between history, roleplay, battle, and puzzles, in a way that was neither choppy or dull. Overall, I'd give Legend of Zelda, Ocarina of Time a 9.5/10 rating for all of its finely tuned gameplay and background plot. I enjoyed playing this game quite a lot. It doesn't really give me all that many ideas for my game, as I already have an idea of what I want to do with that, and was already familiar with the plotline and general gameplay of the Ocarina of Time itself. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Fri, 19 Jan 2007 14:14:54.)Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:49:40 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=797&iddiary=1774https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=797I will confess that I already had some experience with past Zelda games before I picked up the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Upon entering the game, I was pleased by the graphics of the intro-movie, and similarly pleased with the graphics displayed within gameplay itself. Though not advanced or truly 3D worthy, the graphics did the job they were supposed to do, and served their purpose quite well. In the beggining of the game, the first goal was to attain Link's Kokiri shield and sword. After picking up these two goods, I was able to progress past a villager who held me back from the Great Deku Tree, and was thus able to enter my first dungeon of the game. I continued playing, completing the dungeon with friends chearing me on as I went. Gameplay for LoZ OoT invites a social aspect not found in many games, as all observers seem brought back to times of their childhood when they, too, traveled as Link through the great lands of Hyrule and the Kokiri forest. I have made it, now, to Zelda's castle. I will continue this log after another period of extended play.Fri, 19 Jan 2007 13:37:41 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=797&iddiary=1772https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=562It seems like a fun game to play on and off, but it rather fails to be long lastingly-engaging due to its simple play and unsophisticated plotline and environments. The game involves lengthy "cinematic" introductions for all missions that involves small icons of the main characters of the James Bond movie series talking to you about the mission you are about to undertake. Seemingly lasting forever, these mission-introductions seemed to be an unsuccesful attempt to appeal to those gamers interested in a roleplay adventure, while failing to provide an interesting, or even bearable, mission background. Gameplay varied from mundane to impossible, with near to no range in between. Missions--which I played under "Operative", or easy, status--went very quickly from quick 3 minute long run throughs to extremely difficult, dragging experiences that involved many deaths at multiple stages of the mission. Control of the main character, James Bond, was intuitive and followed closely the standards for first person shooters developed for the Gamecube. Gameplay in terms of this aspect was intuitive, but at times rather agitating. In example of this, the "c-stick"'s up and down motion served to move the gun up and down, but when moved right would make Bond strafe instead. Similarly troubling was the other aspect of targeting: manual targeting. Manual targeting was rather jerky, with the crosshairs jumping inches at a time across the screen, while still requiring you to actually move Bond's angle left or right to move the crosshairs, as opposed to moving his arms to a neaw firing location. Overall, this game proved to be enjoyable in the short time, but did not provide the addictive aspect that similar games, such as Resident Evil Four, provided, and also failed to provide a background for the game itself, other than that of the movies (which, at times, it got wrong: the golden gun did not kill on the first shot, but instead on the third!)Fri, 12 Jan 2007 02:40:24 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=562&iddiary=1314https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=562Begining my gameplay of 007: Agent Under Fire, I am met with a simple-to-follow plotline that I was able to quickly jump into without difficulty. Controling my character was very intuitive: I did not even need to look at the layout of the controller that was provided for me with a list of what each button did. The first few missions have gone by extremely quickly. I was amazed, in fact, by how fast I was moving through them. While I have played other shooters in the past, I am no god in terms of the first person shooter world, but even I was able to move through the first number of levels like a hot knife through butter. Perhaps because I did not look at the layout for the controller, when James Bond--the protagonist for this game as he is in the movies--suddenly found himself driving a car, I was at a complete loss for how to drive it, and ended up wasting much of the car's ammo trying to figure out how to drive the car. This game seems to be of a generally average nature: more to come when I have completed more of the missions.Fri, 12 Jan 2007 02:40:08 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=562&iddiary=1313