Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=351https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1289Once one learns to use that next column view, the game goes on forever! It's designed so that there is no ending until you fail, and you don't want to fail, so you keep on playing, even though you want it to end. I got to level 131 (earlier tonight I had been proud of making it to level 36). The game is more of a challenge of endurance, and I have created artificial challenges for myself, by pressing down from the beginning, so that pieces always speed into place. Mind-numbing, not meant for such long periods of play.Sat, 10 Feb 2007 00:10:46 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1289&iddiary=2747https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1289This game is a variation on tetris. It really takes no advantage of the Wii's control system. Nonetheless it's addictive, mindless fun. The gameplay is self-explanatory once you start playing, but it isn't necessarily easy. There are occasionally unexpected collapses, and those are very gratifying. Strategy is starting to emerge now that I know the patterns, but I'm not yet really using the "next" column view.Sat, 10 Feb 2007 00:07:46 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1289&iddiary=2746https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1105Super Mario 64 is fun and a bit frustrating. The nature of the challenges is first one of motor control (which makes sense - the launch game of the new system should intimately familiarize players with the controls). Secondly the challenges are of exploration, and third of following instructions and memorizing landscape. The exploration challenges, usually finding the red coins, are definitely the most fun. One thing that made the game less enjoyable was the music. In most worlds, the music was very grating. One exception was the water world, which I spent a long time in. This world was a success in atmosphere. The music problem was an effective motivator in making me rotate rooms between challenges. Because of it, I won't play this game for long sittings.Wed, 31 Jan 2007 19:07:28 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1105&iddiary=2371https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1105So far, Super Mario 64 is about as fun as it's purported to be. I particularly enjoy the freedom to explore each world (many 3d games force you to follow a set path). Mario has kept up with the glorious platformer tradition that it started, hiding secrets and extras throughout the game world. The greatest challenge so far is controlling the camera; the discrete rotations are usually great, but when you're in a jam it's quite frustrating. There are a number of different jumps, and I've spent much of the time figuring them out. Movement in this game is great, jumping is excellent. The narrative through signs has so far kept me on the lookout for the names of all of the stars. After the first fight with Bob-Omb, there has been no confrontation, for which I'm very eager.Wed, 31 Jan 2007 18:57:58 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1105&iddiary=2370https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=863This was an excellent game. It took a short time to learn the controls, and an hour to internalize them. I never really used the zoom out control, but I did use the flip and the zoom. I expressed concern that the game would get redundant. That problem had an elegant solution: the linear path to finish the game was very short, and one could later go back to accomplish skipped tasks. Of course this was necessary, because the levels were getting to lengths of 20 minutes (which is why the gameplay really wasn't much harder - growth was designed to accelerate with size). One thing that bothered me was the existence of the "cousins"; what were they there for? They contributed nothing to the story, and nothing to the gameplay, so far as I could tell. The delight of the game was throughout the absurd; at first, I sought the many silly things bouncing around the levels. Later, the absurdity was in picking up improbably large things, from terrified people to buildings and blimps. All in all this game is not for everyone - while the gameplay is a lot of fun, without a certain sense of humor most of the pleasure would be lost on one.Fri, 19 Jan 2007 21:25:08 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=863&iddiary=1914https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=863What a fantastically absurd game! After 45 minutes of play, most of the fun comes from the humor of the game. The King of All Cosmos is amusing enough that I actually read everything he says. The same goes for the cut scenes with the family. The style is the most extremely Japanese-pop-culture I've ever seen, but it's at its best. The Gameplay itself is very interesting. To some extent the pace is flexible; The time limits allow one to carefully choose what items to pick up (I'm assuming anyone reading this is already familiar with the game). You -can- speed through the levels though, which is a double challenge since collisions with large objects make you lose size. Again, part of the motivation in the gameplay is humor; while you're concerned about your size, you also seek the sillier of things sitting and running around. Concerns: This game would be significanly more fun to play with people than by one's self. Also, there are now so many stars left, I'm afraid the levels may get redundant. If that happens, more people will help again, because everyone can advance at the same rate by taking on stars of a similar challenge level. That's the theory, but so far all levels seem to be equally difficult.Fri, 19 Jan 2007 19:50:58 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=863&iddiary=1911