Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=431https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2972GAMEPLAY: Since the game took was played real-time, I couldn’t sell items between 11:00pm – 8:00am. It was annoying if I was very close to paying off my house debt and wanted a bigger house the next day. I found out very quickly that the game was fairly repetitive. You wake up from your bed, check your mail, go gather resources to sell, pay off your debt, expand your house, and in turn you are faced with a newer and larger debt. It’s a cycle of endless debt! The only thing I have to look forward to now are the new seasons to catch new fish and insects. Speaking of which, the land suddenly turned from white to green the other day when I was playing. The thought of the seasons changing never occurred to me, but since the game takes place in real-time, it has to! Winter was now over and Spring rolled in. The land looks so much more vibrant and alive! There are butterflies, bumble bees, lady bugs, and cockroaches lurking about. New types of fish were also introduced, which was exciting because that meant the museum collection could finally be expanded. I had several neighbors leave. The first one (Frobert) was okay though. I didn’t like him because he never said anything interesting and only cared about his muscles. He was replaced with a very cute squirrel named Agent S. She fished a lot so challenging and interacting with her was very easy and we got along very well! But a several days of hard work in real life school prevented me from playing and she decided to move out because I wasn’t playing with her! That made me so upset! AH! DESIGN: The designers managed to design the game with lots of thought on interaction, which is very important for simulation games. Examples include using tools, such as a net to catch insects and a fishing pole to catch fish. Simply swinging the net in the general direction of a bug doesn’t usually catch it, so aiming and timing (especially while targeting flies) is required. Fishing also requires perfecting aim to reduce the amount of time a fish builds up its interested in the bait. Fishing is trivial once it has been mastered but sometimes the ripples in the water catch the player off guard if the bobble goes under too deep (meaning it’s still too early to reel in the line). Not only was interacting physically with the game world required, but the sense of listening to the sounds was also very beneficial. Players can hear insects buzzing and flying around nearby, even if at first he/she doesn’t see them on the screen. This can help the player determine which way to walk to get closer to the bug. When fishing the player sometimes is fooled by the ripples of the water, making it seem the bobble has been taken underneath the water by the fish. If the player listens for the bobble sinking sound, quick reflexes of hitting the “catch” button is more reliable. Choosing the game to take place in real-time is probably one of the most unique aspects of Animal Crossing. This aspect allows the player to literally feel as if he/she is emerged inside the game. If it’s sunny in game, it’s sunny in real life. If it’s dark in game, it’s dark at night in real life. The seasons change and holidays are celebrated in game during the same time in real life. These subtle aspects make the game feel more real and simulating a second life just seems that much more realistic. The narration of the game is emergent. There are some pre-determined plots and jobs for the player to choose to complete, but the player’s interaction with the villagers, shop keepers, museum, and et cetera all influence the flow and story of the game. The player can chose to befriend or become archrivals with villagers. Villagers that feel bored in the town will move out if the player doesn’t prevent it. New villagers in the town will interact with the old, and the old villagers are influenced in some way or another by them, such as raising gossip. If the player buys a lot of stuff from Tom Nook’s store, Tom will expand is store to make it larger and carry more items. Whatever the player does in the gameworld will affect the game. Even if the player quits the game without saving a mole will pop up out of the ground and give a lengthy lecture of complaint the very next time he/she logs back on. The rewards received in the game focused a lot on those of Glory and very little Facility. Occasionally the player can get new tools that enable him/her to interact in newer ways that weren’t possible before, such as getting new tools. To get access to these new facilities the player has to spend bells (currency), which isn’t too much a reward if they have to be bought. New golden tools can be difficult and take time to obtain as well. A lot of the game revolves around the reward of Glory, such as donating as many insects, bugs, paintings, and fish as you can. The only thing that pushes the player to keep on playing is the one goal of upgrading the house to its max size and paying off all of the debts to Tom Nook. This might not be enough to keep players interested.Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:20:10 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2972&iddiary=5597https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2972SUMMARY: Animal Crossing is a life simulation video game for the Nintendo DS. The player plays the role of a new resident in a town and interacts in the world by talking to neighbors, store owners, and by poking around in the land with various tools. The game is played in real-time, and many events in the game correspond to holidays, such and Independence Day and Halloween. GAMEPLAY: I was excited when I first got the game. Many people recommended it to me because I liked other similar simulation games, such as Harvest Moon and The Sims. When I first played I didn’t get to create a character, so I was a little confused. I had to talk to a taxi driver and converse with him, giving out my information, in order to have my character created. I thought that was pretty neat. It was my first indirect character creation I’ve ever encountered. When I finally reached my new city, I ran around everywhere, learning the game controls, recognizing landmarks and getting to know how to interact with the townsfolk. I shook a tree to let the peaches fall and the animation was quite cute. I actually think style of the entire game is very whimsical and cartoony (NPC animals!), which translated into warm gameplay mood. After my second day in the game passed (also a new day in real life), a new character moved into the town. I thought it was neat how these characters all had different personality and character designs. They all have their own animal sounds too! The small town seemed to be growing larger everyday. Even Tom Nook’s (the town store) expanded the more I bought from the store. The setting of the game was winter time and there was snow everywhere. Luckily I could still fish out fish from the lake, river, and ocean to raise money or donate to the museum! I wasn’t sure why peaches were growing on the trees during winter, but there has to be some easy way to get money, right? Some items sell for more bells (the currency) than others, such as peaches for 100 each and shells for 30.Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:12:48 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2972&iddiary=5587https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2689GAMEPLAY: Progression throughout the game felt the same and the flow of the game was pretty consistent. Some levels would branch off in another direction on the world map if unlocked, but the paths would eventually meet again. Levels did get a tad bit more difficult and more lengthy. As I played I met different colored Yoshi: green, yellow, blue, and red. Each Yoshi has a unique special ability while a shell is in their mouth. The green is a normal Yoshi, yellow can stomp, blue can fly, and red shoots out fireballs. I have to say that I like the yellow Yoshi the best because I like seeing the monsters die or take damage from the stomp. Eating different colored shells also gave me different abilities, so if I couldn’t get my desired yellow Yoshi and was stuck with a green one, I could find a yellow shell to do the job for me! I know a lot of people like flying, but I think it’s overrated! I found myself not using the feather as much (to fly) because that would ruin the point of playing a platform game. If I’m going to be in the sky most of the time, why would I even be playing the game? Instead I focused on shooting the monsters with fireballs and collected their coins. Besides, platforms are a lot more interesting than the open sky. Hmm, I didn’t realize story progression too much, but as I entered different worlds (or parts of the map for that matter) there would be new castles, Koopas to kill and new Yoshi’s to rescue. Other than the block of dialog I got after defeating new Koopas, I wasn't fed too much storyline. DESIGN: The game kept the player feeling safe by allowing many different forms of collecting “ups” or lives. The player can get these by either: 1) Collecting 100 coins 2) Finding green mushrooms within the levels 3) Hitting the top of the tape at the end of each level. 4) Reaching 100 points by cutting the tape at the end of each level. 5) Collecting all of the Yoshi coins in a level 6) Successively Killing or hitting monsters. By allowing this, the player won’t be discouraged during gameplay if he/she were to die a lot and suddenly get a “Game Over.” That’s never a good sign, but SMW kept a great balance in collecting lives just in case this should ever happen. This is also the main focus of the game’s reward structure. Item collection also allowed for the players to receive an incentive while performing challenges. One of the more apparent aspects of SMW is the designs of the levels. The average level had a range of platforms and monsters but many extended out into the sky with cloud platforms. Other levels took place in dungeons, castles, haunted houses, under the sea, in a chocolate filled land, and so many others. The large variety of terrain landscapes and sprite palette is amazing. The uses of space in these levels were well arranged as well. If you were in an underground level, the paths designed would wind here and there, but they always had paths that would consistently lead you to the right way. The designs of each level were unique and keep the players on their feet. Unlocking or reaching new levels is always exciting and the game provided plenty in the worlds. Some of the levels were designed to automatically scroll by itself. By adding this feature, players are encouraged (if not forced) to gather collectible items and travel as quickly and safely as possible. This also changed normal the pace of the levels because the players are required to play in a fixed boundary on the screen. These particular levels also relied a lot on interactive environments, such as platforms that can smash the avatar or an endless pit down below. Another noticeable aspect of SMW are the power-ups. Mario can get either a mushroom (in which he grows into a taller Mario), a flower (granting flower power, the ability to shoot fireballs), and a feather (granting flying abilities as well as a new defense mechanism). All of these power-ups allow for new verbs to be used that couldn’t be accessed before. They create a larger array of gameplay to be carried out because new languages with the verbs can be used to traverse through the levels. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:48:30.)Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:17:29 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2689&iddiary=5157https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2689SUMMARY: Super Mario World is a whimsical 2D platform game for the SNES. The player's avatar Mario receives help from his dinosaur friend Yoshi while traveling through seven worlds in search of Princess Peach. Peach has been kidnapped from Bowser and is in desperate need of rescue! GAMEPLAY: The introduction was very nostalgic. I have forgotten how great the music and the art aspects of the game were. Even though some people don't consider these graphics to be awesome, I personally don't think Mario could be done any other way. The sprites look great being as cartoony as they are and don't need any form of realism to meet the visual expectation of players. Just looking at the game makes me feel like a kid again, something not many games can do! I forgot some of the controls, but luckily there are tip boxes that updated me on how to play the game in the tutorial levels. Shooting red fire balls actually gave me an incentive to burn up the monsters because I get rewarded with a coin. They don't just die and disappear with no reward like in other games! I also had a really bad habit of trying to create eggs with Yoshi after eating each mob. Too much Yoshi's Island for me. Mario has a funky twirl jump that I used to find annoying. I would much rather have a normal looking jump than a silly looking one, but it turns out to be quite useful when I need to break some platforms. I don't think I'll ever find myself using only the twirl jump in a level though. Maybe I'll try it later to make gameplay especially interesting. Ooh, I've never been more surprised in my life when I heard the warning alarm for my time running low! It wasn't something I expected, but I am thankful it's there. I would probably be fooling around, trying to get all of the coins in the most awkward ways possible if there wasn't a timer. I did like the powerup place holder at the top center of the screen. Sometimes if I timed my jumps wrong, I'd get hit by a monster and lose my super mushroom, flower power or feather ability, but I'd have a back-up if something was there. It kept me safe and it was a good feeling.Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:13:18 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2689&iddiary=5064https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2323GAMEPLAY: I'm not sure if I got more annoyed at the game while trying to collect all of the items, or if I was excited about the challenging aspects of the game. Sometimes I would be missing ONE star at the end of the level and there would be no way to retrieve it. There were other levels that required me to use babies in a specific order to carry out tasks to get a flower or some other item. If I messed up one transition I'd have to start the level over to get it or die and start at the check point. It was frustrating! The secret levels are way too challenging to complete. It is already hard enough to pass through the series of platforms and enemies, so imagining collecting all 30 stars, 10 red coins, and 5 flowers seems impossible. What skill is needed to do everything perfect?! I think I focused too much on collecting items and forgot the main storyline and purpose of my goal of even playing the game. I sort of created a new goal of "COLLECT ALL ITEMS" and lost touch with the original purpose. I'm not sure if that makes the game good or bad, but I think it's neat that the designers allowed the players to recreate goals while using the same rules of gameplay (even if it was on accident or not). DESIGN: This game obviously focused a lot on level design. The placement of each item in the game was specifically designed to challenge the player to the extent of anger. The designers made the levels difficult by requiring a huge amount of accuracy while throwing eggs and calculating timing at the same time. Obviously the player can make gameplay less interesting by not focusing on item collection, but the designers kept their minds open to the people who would force their limits and do every single thing possible in the game... to the extent of exhaustion. This makes gameplay challenging if the player decides to have his/her experience that way. There were a variety of platforms and objects used to help the player travel through the levels, ie: rotating wheels, platforms fixed on a path, vines, magnetic powered platforms, wind travel, temporary platforms powered by a button, and etc. All of these created interesting forms of gameplay while being experienced by the player. The player can spend as much time on a fixed/static platform while he/she talks to friends about other things in real life, but if the player is on a time-based platform, his/her attention is undivided. Having the choice of switching between five babies (Mario, Peach, DK, Wario, and Bowser) made gameplay especially interesting. Some levels required certain babies to be chosen to get past obstacles, but it was free reign otherwise. Gameplay experience differs from one baby to the other because each baby has his/her own abilities. This either made gameplay more simplistic or challenging, depending on what the level required from the player. The item collection in the game created a lot of challenges for the player. The replay values of levels are quite high when the player did not collect all of the items possible. The levels are saved with the best points scored so far, so the player is never docked for playing poorly. The wacky color crayon graphics adds warmth to the game. The music is very whimsical. All of the art aspect of the game may seem simple, but it suits the mood of the entire game very well. The player is emerged within this fantasy land while playing with Yoshi and the babies because the visual features bind so flawlessly with the audio provided. When Yoshi is attacked by an enemy, the baby on his back cries endlessly until saved. Each baby has his/her own unique and character independent cry. Each action in the game has its own sound effect, which adds a lot of subtle depth to the game.Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:57:53 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2323&iddiary=4505https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2323SUMMARY: Yoshi's Island DS, as the name suggests, is a 2D platformer for the Nintendo DS. Baby Mario with the help of Yoshi go on a quest to find Mario's brother, Baby Luigi. He has been kidnapped by one of Bowser's minions, Kamek. In this game, Baby Mario and Yoshi receive help from Baby Peach and Baby Donkey Kong, who too have been captured by Bowser's minions. The two then go on to meet Baby Wario and Baby Bowser, both who leave the team for one reason or the other later in the game. GAMEPLAY: I have previously played the original Yoshi's Island and it was one of my favorite games for the SNES. I couldn't resist getting a DS just for this game because the old version was so great! Anyways, the game controls, mechanics, music, and art concepts all still seem to be same, or at least very similar. The biggest difference playing this version is the dual screens. I can see flowers/coins up above me, or I can move my screen down and see items below. It's hard to control sometimes because the camera doesn't always go where you want it to. However, it's good to have almost free control over what is visible or not. I had a difficult time readjusting my accuracy throwing the eggs. Maybe it's because the DS's controller is a tiny bit smaller? It's not comfortable holding L1 and R2 at the top. Yoshi can only hold a certain number of eggs and at some points I couldn't get anymore when I really needed at least one to get a coin or flower. It was annoying. I got to play with Baby Peach in this game, which was quite strange when I first did. I wasn't used to switching babies, but new things came on the fly so I adjusted as well. You can't run with Yoshi while she's on his back, but she has the ability to float in the wind with her umbrella. She becomes useful for passing by parts of the level where only wind can take you to certain places. Another baby used was DK. He can't run either, probably because he's quite large. His eggs explode on collision, he can climb vines, and he can automatically flatten long vertical stumps with Yoshi's smash skill (time saver when I was looking for red coins!). I found myself using Baby Mario most of the time because he can run. The only times when he wasn't on Yoshi's back was when I needed to use other babies to get past certain obstacles that only they can pass. I found myself redoing levels where I didn't get 100%s. That is, I didn't collect all of the 20 red coins hidden in the level, didn't get 5 flowers, and/or didn't end up with 30 stars. When I did get all/most points, a secret level will pop up in the map. These levels are insanely difficult and I had a hard time trying to complete them while scoring 100%. I got very emotional trying to get a flower, but the lava rose up too quickly for my needs...and I died. It's interesting that the designers would put such a difficult secret level in the first world because new players would need a lot more experience and maneuverability. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Sun, 03 Feb 2008 18:57:17.)Sun, 03 Feb 2008 18:54:34 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2323&iddiary=4451https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1969GAMEPLAY: The game got a lot more challenging because new monsters, harder levels, and interactive environmental gadgets were introduced. The hooks, as an example of an interactive environmental tool, are very easy to use but having to jump from one hook to another with precise accuracy wasn't as easy as I thought. I ended up having to use Dixie's slow-fall to navigate through the series of hooks for an easier time. Another one of these gadgets are the animal boxes. There are characters, such as a rhino, snake and spider, that help Diddy and Dixie on their quest within special predefined animal zones. They help you traverse through the level easier and help you get to secret stages you could never reach otherwise. I like these animal characters because they add new color to the game, making new challenges if you lose the animal while within an animal zone. Some levels I encountered started requiring both Diddy and Dixie to be present in order to get to secret levels or to get certain items, such as tokens or block letters. When I couldn't locate a DK barrel to revive Diddy or Dixie, I got upset and wanted to start the level over. Even though I didn't want to go to such extremes, I wanted to collect all the items I possibly could. This challenge I made for myself added depth to my game play experience, but it made me feel like crap if I couldn't do it. But never before did I appreciate the Diddy/Dixie duo so much. I noticed that the first couple of levels did an excellent job introducing you to the controls of the game. What surprised me was how little had to be learned to use the controls, but mastering them took a while. As levels increasingly grew difficult, I had be extra careful when controlling the characters. Jabbing buttons in this game does you no good. The connections between the characters and the controller made me feel like I was in the game. When I died I thought, "Gosh, that was MY fault for doing a horrible move." I would secretly punish myself for doing a bad job then continue on playing. To me it's never the character's fault, even though they too are separate entities. I never felt this way in any other platformer. Having to control two characters added a lot to this experience. DESIGN: The first thing that needs to go on this list is the fact that there are two characters to control. Diddy and Dixie work together hand-in-hand and they have different skills that need to be used when encountered by specific tasks in the game. The two also work together as a team to reach goals. The creators of the game were well aware of the balance that the players would have to use between the two Kongs. The innovative element of having a different variety of movements with the two characters also leaves the game very open ended when it comes to attacking challenges. Because one task can be done using Diddy, Dixie can do it another way as well. Whichever way is easiest is determined by how the player interprets the difficulty of controlling each character. Donkey Kong Country 2, just like any other platform game, has a general path that leads to the end of a level. Any player would assume that going straight (from left to right) will eventually lead to a dead end and completion of a level. However, the use of space in this game adds adventure. The existence of secret levels to collect bonus tokens makes the game that much larger and exciting. These levels are sometimes tricky to get to and one of the most popular ways to indirectly lead the player in a correct secret track is to lay a trail of bananas. A player would never fall down a random pit because death is almost certain, but if there is a trail of bananas that lead you to another area, the player almost always will follow them. The designs of each level is highly dependent on the location of the level on the world map. If the level was at the top of a pirate ship near the sails on the map, then some physical designs of that particular level featured sails and a lot of sky. Not one level was designed like the next because the details of locations were different on the map. Some levels also have different mechanics. An example of that would be a level where lava or burning water rises as you continue traveling. The player is then forced to race against the clock in order to survive. The multitude of levels keeps the player on his/her feet because what's to come is unexpected. The tone of the game is very cheerful. There's no blood or violence and the most that ever happens to an enemy is a bonk on the head. There's the occasional explosion of TNT barrels, but the enemies only fall through levels of platforms and disappear. The design of the avatars is very cartoony and is suitable for all ages to play. The music is very energetic and the sound effects are comical. Overall, the color schemes of the game are fairly bright and vibrant and there are occasionally some darker complimentary colors that try to portray evil.Sun, 20 Jan 2008 21:24:51 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1969&iddiary=3854https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1969SUMMARY: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest is a 2D platform game and is a sequel to Donkey Kong Country. The game starts out after our hero Donkey Kong is captured by his arch rival Kaptain K. Rool. The player has to travel through a series of levels and maps with Diddy Kong and his girlfriend Dixie Kong to rescue him. The Kremling Krew, a vicious group of crocodile-like creatures, and other monsters are sent out by K. Rool to distract and attack Diddy and Dixie on their quest to save Donkey Kong. GAME PLAY: The first thing I took notice of when I started the game was the music. Each track suited every level so perfectly it made my game play more enjoyable. Not only was the music great but the graphics were very cartoony and uplifting. Even though the maps were usually designed to seem dark and eerie, the connections and interactions I had with the characters (Diddy and Dixie) brightened up the screen's mood. The sound effects were also great too. An example would be one of the Kremlings in a barrel. These Kremlings would pop out of the barrel when you are within a certain radius and make a low pitched "OUAAA" echoing sound. While they move back and forth they create squeeky car brake sounds. It's very comical and alerting at the same time. Having to take full advantage of the two character's skills was very engaging and also allowed me to experiment with the controls to figure out new moves. However, it took a while for me to get comfortable with the controls and I got especially frustrated when I couldn't jump while running. All of my actions had to be carefully planned out if there was an endless ledge right beneath me. Knowing that I have these two characters to use made me feel safer because if I ever lost one person, I could always find him/her again by finding a DK barrel. There's a general one way path to reach the end of the level but I had to explore and go astray from the original path to find secrets. This made my game play more lively because I was able to do whatever I wanted and wasn't forced to stay on any one path. It was great knowing that I could easily travel back/forth and up/down because if I ever felt like I missed something, I could go back to search.Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:40:29 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1969&iddiary=3851https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1724GAMEPLAY Right when the game loaded, I realized how much I wished I could run inside buildings. It's very irritating having to walk from one side of the room to the next. After getting back into the Netherworld in Faery Realm, I meet more Folks and absorb more IDs. I didn't state before, but folk attacks can be assigned to the controller's X, Y, triangle and circle buttons. This allows the players to choose a combination of four attacks that will benefit them the most in certain areas. You can upgrade these IDs by performing certain tasks, such as using their ability to kill a certain number of other folks. I liked the engagement of having to switch around the roles of what attacks I use most and to choose what attacks I want to focus upgrading. During these two hours of gameplay I didn't learn too much about Keats. Getting through the Faery Realm took a lot longer than I thought because I encountered some difficulties in some levels (explained later in this entry). This was discouraging because I spent a lot of time doing nothing but absorbing more Folk IDs. Getting experience is good, but so far I don't know the true goal of the game. What's the point of getting strong when I don't know what I'm going to use me strength for? DESIGN The design of the levels are pretty simple. Each level is designed with different path structures, different patterns/colors of vegetation, varying room sizes, and multiple exits that lead to other levels. No levels look like previous ones, which is exciting. Each level resets if you reenter it and this especially helpful if you're grinding experience or upgrading attacks. Some levels even connect to one another and create a loop. Unfortunately I found out the hard way and I traveled around in circles for quite some time. It was embarrassing, really. It wasn't until about the third time through when I realized this and it wasn't until the fifth time when I noticed there was a small narrow path that lead northeast to another level. The map in the upper left hand corner of the screen does a good job of pointing out Folk locations but it doesn't have fog of war so it gives me no incentive to explore the entire map myself. Maybe I was just too lazy to run along the borders, but I guess that's what I get when I'm not forced to take those extra steps. After every three non-looped levels or so is a safe zone where you can talk to NPCs, learn new things about the world, and save your progress. Save points are called Portals, but these are also used to restore your HP, return you to Doolin, or transport you to another portal within the same Netherworld area. These are very useful because the Folks don't tend to drop too many HP restoring items. You can always retreat back to these Portals to refill your health and go back to killing afterwards. Leveling in this game doesn't seem like a problem because of level resets. Folklore is the first game I played that uses the controller’s motion sensor functions. In order to absorb this spirits, the player is required to shake the controller in one of six different ways. I found this really neat and innovative because this game’s method of using the SIXAXIS controller is very sensible. ID absorb actions vary from Folk to Folk, which is beginning to make me see challenges I’ll face as I progress. One of the six ways of absorbing a Folk’s ID is called “Balance.” As the ID tries to escape from left to right, the player has to tilt the controller in the opposite direction to keep it centered. By absorbing IDs, you get powers and experience points. So far this game isn't too bad. It doesn't have a spark to excite me. I think I like the Folk attacks more than the main characters! But it does magically draw me back. I think the story's mysteriousness is addicting, but I'm afraid it won't be enough to fill up all of this FUN I'm lacking. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:53:50.)Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:48:19 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1724&iddiary=3498https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1724SUMMARY Ellen receives a letter from signed by her dead mother in Doolin, the epicenter for the world of the dead, and is determined to find out what happened. Keats is a journalist from an occult magazine “Unknown Realms” and gets a suspicious phone call from a lady in Doolin just before leaving work. He too goes on a journey to this city in order to find answers. Keats, out of curiosity and lack of good stories, goes on a journey to this city to find out what was happening. Not long after, he meets Ellen and they both find themselves involved in a murder mystery that can only be answered by traveling to the Netherworld, world of the dead. This colorful and fairytale-like land is full of friends and enemies. GAMEPLAY A screen pops up letting you chose what character you want play. This confused me for a bit because I automatically assumed I could only play one character for the entire game. Ellen's character makes me uneasy because she's very gentle and tries to put on an absent brave face. I sometimes wonder if she even knows what troubles she's going to face. All Ellen seems to be doing is blindly following whatever Scarecrow, her guide to the Netherworld, says. Keats, on the other hand, thinks that the Netherworld and creatures in Doolin are jokes. Every time he sees something strange or unreal, he thinks he's in a dream. He has to double check with someone/something if what he sees is real. He's an interesting character because he's curious enough to play with death to write a good report for his magazine. It's interesting to put such two characters together in a game because Ellen is very impulsive and gullible while Keats is very calculated and skeptical. As of now I am unsure if the two characters will be friendly with each other or not. The game has potential for the two to be enemies, but we’ll see. After playing for a long while, I began to sink in the couch. This game seems to have a lot potential, but the excitement is lacking. There was so much story progression in the beginning, unbearable loading screens every two minutes after, and little to no game play at all. Nothing kept me on my feet except the occasional running around and absorbing Folks (enemies or spirits) IDs, the latter which was the only interesting thing in the game. By absorbing Folks, the player can reuse the enemy’s powers. Also, I found Keat's ability to use the Folk's powers to also be very creative. Not only does he reuse and learn new attacks/moves but the Folks partially reemerge before him, following his motion while he's casting the attack. It looked very nifty and it made me wonder how many Folks out there could be absorbed. The game then started reminding me of Pokemon. After each chapter of the game is played, a separate screen pops up that allows the player to choose which character to play again. Choosing characters doesn’t seem to change the story progression much at all. It was a hindrance because I was forced to basically play the same chapter twice. Very annoying. (This entry has been edited2 times. It was last edited on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:46:11.)Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:57:45 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1724&iddiary=3440