Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=447https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3102Gameplay: This second hour though the game ran much more smoothly, I had started the game over for one last final time and I was level 7. The slow start was non-existent, I learned the movement and timing of the zombie attacks so it became much more easy to dodge attacks and get up close to kill them. The best part of this run through was that I had more special abilities to use on the zombies. Although none were extremely powerful attacks they tended to be much more practical because they aided the player in dodging huge masses of zombies and allowed the zombie threat to be minimal. I had the opportunity to explore more areas, rescue more humans fight a boss and unlock more stats. I had more fun this play through because I finally got the chance to get involved with the story. The boss battle, which had some evil trigger-happy human shooting at me non-stop, was very frustrating because he always seemed to have perfect aim. Once I had run out of bullets I jumped to the second story where this boss was shooting and I just took out a powerful item and beat him with it. This proved really successful and even though I took a lot of damage I finished him off quickly. With the end of the boss battle I saved and finished the gameplay for this write up. Design: The design of Dead Rising has really good parts but also horrible parts. I really like the open mall where the player is allowed to do whatever he wants and go wherever he wants. The stat increasing system is generic but it does the job although a little slowly. I enjoy the gameplay, it is full of non-stop zombie executing and blood. Saving people is really emphasized, the player is rewarded with a large amount of experience points; however. The Artificial Intelligence is horrible, the humans that the player is trying to save tend to be more stupid then the zombies they are running away from. They will run into a pack of zombies and although they could have run around they start fighting or just die. One huge game design flaw was the lack of rewards players received. The player would kill literally hundreds of zombies and never gain a level but after rescuing a human, one would receive a ridiculous amount. A player also only receives a single stat enhancement at a time meaning it takes a long while to have an upgraded character. The game does certainly have major flaws that can turn players off, but it if someone can overlook the problems they may have a great experience with this game. The game boasts customization and it does that well, virtually every clothing store allows players to change his clothes and it certainly is a nice touch. In addition when blood is flying everywhere from massive zombie killing, bloodstains will appear on the players character. Although this game can be fun in short bursts it tends to have a limited save spaces really hindering the possibility of short gaming. I’m actually really surprised with how bad this zombie game is coming from Capcom, they really should have refined the game more. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:47:23.)Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:33:35 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3102&iddiary=5831https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3102Gamelog Entry #5 Summary: Dead Rising is a zombie survival game where you, the player must stay alive for three days in a mall. The player can use virtually anything as a weapon to fight for their struggle of survival. Gameplay: Dead Rising started really slow and despite my personal love for zombie games it took a long time for me to into the “magic circle.” I thought that the character is a pretty cool one, but it strikes me as weird that he is a photojournalist, yet he is an amazing fighter. Right off the bat there are no special moves to perform on zombies and one must resort to just killing hoards of undead with few weapons. There seems to be really ineffective objects to pick at the start and as a result I died a lot. As frustrating as that may be, Dead Rising has a very interesting retry option, the player is asked the question if he would like to load from a previous save state or if he would like to start the game over with his stats saved. After dying a few times but still gaining a few levels (which consisted of increased health, special moves and slots to hold items), I started over again with my stats saved. I quickly found a really easy way to gain experience. I zipped through the game’s intro and saved this elderly couple gaining a significant amount of experience points then died and repeated the act. It made the game much more playable with increased stats.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:53:37 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3102&iddiary=5793https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2794GAMELOG ENTRY 4 (Part 2) GAMEPLAY This play through was amazing compared to my last; I finished two and a half levels on my last run. The changes I made consisted of plugging an Xbox controller into my laptop to play and editing my ships power ups. I found that the standard configurations for the ships weren’t great for my style of play. I also tried using different power ups and was amazed at how important the speed up ability was. The more I played through the less frustrated I got because I became more comfortable with the style of play. I was able to predict the movements of enemies and bosses quite quickly. Although the new control and power ups helped me advance, I am not saying the game became easier to me at all, it hadn’t, but because of the repetition and the more comfortable I got with my custom ship I was able to advance. There is definitely a groove effect to this game; the longer the player goes without getting hit the more powerful he becomes and opportunities of death present themselves less often and on a smaller magnitude. DESIGN I have been waiting for quite a while to discuss the design section of this game. The design of Gradius III is stellar, the levels are extremely fun and consistently present challenge to the players. The enemies are very interesting and the variety keeps the player constantly on his toes to destroy them. The best design aspect to this game is the option to edit your space ship with the power ups that you want. There are example power up schemes a player can use or make their own. I made a custom ship every time for my second play through and did much better than the first run through with pre-chosen power ups. The system of power ups is genius; I haven’t seen any shmups like it to date. Certain enemies drop power up capsules after they are destroyed for the player to pick up. The player can use them right away by pressing a button; the key is for the player to hold onto them and accumulate them because the more received, the better the skill is when initialized; however, if the player dies while retaining power up capsules, they are lost. So it’s up to the player to manage his abilities conservatively. Gradius III will present a challenge to all players, it is known for making many people frustrated and I would be included to this crowd if it had not been designed so beautifully. The challenge presented is easily tolerable when using power ups at the right time.Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:23:14 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2794&iddiary=5262https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2794GAMELOG ENTRY 4 (Part 1) SUMMARY Gradius III is a horizontal space shmup where the player(s) control a space ship through multiple environments. The players must progress through each level and complete it by defeating a powerful boss. GAMEPLAY After playing a lot of current generation games, it took me a while to get use to the difficulty old video games use to have. After my first couple tries of Gradius III I was swearing in frustration. A player has a few tries to beat the game, but after three continues they’re sent all the back to the beginning. There are many enemies coming at high speeds, bullets flying from every direction and it’s an instant death if a ship touches anything, even the ground. With this said, it has been 45 minutes and I cannot even get to the first level’s boss. I consider myself a very good shump player and for some reason I am having a hard time getting into the groove of this game even though I have beaten the game years before. For my next 45 minutes of play I am going to make a few adjustment to not only my ship’s power ups but to my control scheme also. With that said, let the frustration begin once again.Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:08:41 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2794&iddiary=5246https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2421GAMEPLAY For the second hour of gameplay I decided to change things up a bit and play online. I found out right away that although the single player is fun and engaging the online multiplayer is what makes this game amongst the best. First thing I notice is all the different options there are to unlock: guns, camouflage, achievements, attachments, the list goes on. The reward system is one of the most vast I’ve experienced and I can tell it will keep me coming back constantly for months to come. My friend signed onto Xbox Live and we played some team death match together. The gameplay doesn’t change much from the single player and I noticed maps are reused for the online function but this game is really gripping. The biggest change from the single player is how attached I was to this game and my online squad. I was talking to people with my headset letting people know where enemies were and they did the same; I was so into this game I ignored knocks on my door twice. The game is very fast paced yet refined; one must never stay in the same place but cannot just run from location to location blindly. The only complaint I have to the online portion of the game is the little kid brats that play the game and chat online, it makes me wonder if they actually go to school. DESIGN I enjoy this game to the extent that I do because of the wonderful design. Every map has extraordinary design, there is no safe place to be idle at and in return it keeps the game at a great pace. A few maps are very similar in looks but once played it is evident that they are in fact very different. This game keeps players interested by the class creation system and the reward system implemented. Every player is given the option to create a soldier with the weapons and power to one’s liking. Although these options need to be unlocked, it doesn’t feel like a pain to the player to do so, it feels like a fair system in which one is rewarded for their improvement in the game. Perhaps the best accomplishment Infinity Ward captures is the tone of the game. When I play this, even just online, I feel like I am in the Middle East or on a ship and I am fighting a war. The details of the streets and decayed city war zones captures the setting to what it truly looks like. Not to mention the graphics of this game are remarkable and with no slips in frame rate this game is quite a success in my opinion. To sum this up, the design of this game is wonderful, it succeeds at everything it attempts and is a must own for any realistic first person shooter fan.Fri, 08 Feb 2008 19:13:50 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2421&iddiary=4619https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2421SUMMARY In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward changes the franchise’s World War II setting to modern combat. This first person shooter involves online close quarters combat and encourages teamwork. GAMEPLAY For the first hour of gameplay I played the single player campaign. The story is nothing spectacular and I didn’t really get pulled into it; however, the gameplay was no short from amazing. The game’s levels present challenge after challenge by engaging the player in team based missions. In the first level the player’s squad is on a huge ship, the ship begins to sink after an explosion. The player must move through the interior of the ship to the outside with the team as they encourage you to hurry while the entire ship is slowly slanting to the side and going under water. I personally have never really experienced gameplay like this before. I’ve played games where there is a set amount of time to leave a location, but this mission wasn’t like those other games, it set up a really intense mood. I really felt involved with my squad members and that it was not just important to me that I exited but to them as well. Beyond the emotional attachment to the player controlled, this game is just a blast to play. The level of difficulty is quite intense it stops the player from just running and gunning. There is a lot of strategy involved with each gunfight. The game is one of the most realistic war games I’ve played, second to America’s Army. With the combination of the magic circle effect and gameplay Call of Duty 4 has, I am unbelievably hooked and enjoying this game.Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:39:33 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2421&iddiary=4611https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2210Gamelog Entry # 2 Gameplay: During the second hour of game play we decided to switch to a different game, boxing. I would love to be modest in this category, but when it comes to boxing, I’m unbeatable (at least when it comes to my family and friends). My sister told me she had been practicing but there was no difference from the old outcomes. After 30 minutes of pure boxing I had won every match. Boxing is the most interesting out of all the sports because it doesn’t boast 1:1 Wii-mote and player functionality, in other words there is a delay in the time you throw a punch and when the game character throws a punch. For this reason a lot of my friends don’t like it, but I feel it just adds to the strategy, which may be why I am better than them in this game. My sister tended to often just throw wild punches and maybe only half of them actually registered, as for my tactics; I just blocked, looked for an opening and knocked her out with easy combos. For the second half hour of gaming we played my sister’s favorite game, tennis. Although this is one of my least favorite games due to the lack of control of one’s character, I thought I owed it to her because she played with me. This game is very simple, the Miis move on their own and you, the player, just swing the Wii-mote at the time the ball approaches you. I happened to miss the ball a lot during this game. I’m not sure if the boxing delay threw me off, but I felt as if there is not very good connectivity with the Wii-mote for tennis. Design: The most noteworthy design factor to Wii Sports is the Wii-mote functionality. Every game utilizes a different motion control scheme to play the game. Of course all the movements are reenactments of the actual motion used in the sport. Although motion control is an awesome addition with clearly new game play opportunity, there are still some bugs in the controls that can make a game very frustrating. Golf for instance is a game I spend very little time with due to the factor of its control. The game looks great but in my opinion Nintendo ruined it by limiting the amount of power the player can hit the ball. I feel that they should have developed the game so that if the player twisted their wrist the ball would either slice or hook, but they penalize the player for hitting the ball too hard, which is far from realistic. However, games like bowling and baseball are great when it comes to the motion controls, I feel that they are very sensitive and they really get me into the game. The design of Wii Sports really makes me think of the game Pong. I see a resemblance between the two because both are very simple games that are easy to learn and play, they have the spectator and social factor and they were both showcases for a new video game idea. Going into more detail, the Wii Sports games have a five-minute learning curve at most and really allow players with no experience to pick up a controller and play. The game boasts an amazingly addicting multiplayer mode that really hooks the people playing and watching into the game. This is due to how players interact with the games, people see someone throwing a bowling ball and putting spin on the ball and spectators are just amazed, especially if the spectator hasn’t had a lot of video game experience. The game Wii Sports doesn’t feel like a demo but it really is, it was a sign to both gamers and developers showing what the Wii’s controls could do and by making this game, it really set high standards for the Wii.Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:10:02 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2210&iddiary=4301https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2210Gamelog Entry # 1 Summary: Wii Sports consists of five mini game sports games. Within these five sports there are several practice modes. Each game has both a single player and multiplayer mode. Gameplay: I’ve been sick this entire week so today I went home. At home my sister has a Wii, so I decided to play Wii Play with her for this Gamelog. For the first hour of game play, we solely played bowling. We both had our own Miis already created so we went straight to our favorite game, bowling. What makes bowling and the rest of the sports so much fun is the simplicity of game play. The games are easy to pick up and play. There is no story to the game whatsoever and in the case of this game it works out perfectly. This game strives on pure game play and as said before the games are very simple and easy to learn. After a year of release, I sill come back to this game and believe this title to be one of the best in the Wii’s library. All the games have a certain addicting feel not only because of game play but also because of the Wii-mote functionality, making the player feel like they are actually playing each sporting game.Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:10:09 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2210&iddiary=4255https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1821Gamelog Entry #1 Summary: Rock Band is a musical game that allows up to four players to engage in a fun alternative instrumental simulation. Although the game has a single player mode, the most addicting factor is the multiplayer world tour mode because it creates a sense of comradery between "band mates". Gameplay: I invited a couple buddies over to play; after our initial three hours of non-stop practice mode trials, we felt ready to start a band and go on tour. When starting our band, named Rome's Revenge, we spent nearly an hour designing our characters to truly capture our alter ego looks. Once the creation process was over, we played our first gig in a small Roman theater and got a five star rating, the highest you can receive. We were hooked to this game: the more we played, the more unison we felt as band mates. For instance, in a couple songs my friend always failed out at the same point in the song. I knew to keep my "energy" up, by hitting the perfect notes, so after he failed out I could revive him and continue with the song. Gamelog Entry #2 Gameplay: Rock Band is probably the most addicting local area multiplayer game I have played, and that is saying a lot since I’ve played plenty. My friends and I are so addicted that we spent eight hours playing the first day and this past weekend I received knocks on my door from them asking to play more. Rock Band is not a quiet game, as people throughout the dorms had no trouble hearing me pound on the drums, but most just came to my door to watch not complain. It is surprisingly a good spectator game; people piled into my single dorm room to cheer-on the actual players, not necessarily needing their own chance to play. For this overwhelming popular response, it is quite an unusual experience for playing a video game. Small elements, like designing a personal band logo and unlocking band transportation and security, help the game really succeed in keeping the tour mode goal-orientated and exciting. The song list is addicting in and of itself, since many of the songs we continue to play again and again. Rock Band has become one of my favorite games because of all these addicting factors. Design: Rock Band is definitely a game that is popular due to its core gameplay rather than graphical beauty. The game does have an appealing art style; however, when it comes to graphics, it doesn’t surpass last generation consoles. This may sound like a complaint but its actually not, the gameplay is so amazing I haven’t heard one negative comment about it. If I did have a complaint, however, it would be that it was not released for the PC or Wii. I am very satisfied with the evolution of Harmonic’s music games. Guitar Hero was extremely innovative whereas gamers got a sense of feeling that they could rock out as their favorite rockers did. I cant stress how excited and thankful I am that they didn’t just stick to that title and they formed a whole new musical gaming experience. The price may be quite hefty to get a full band going in Rock Band, but it is definitely worth every penny. The world tour mode is perhaps the most fun I have ever had while playing video games with friends; it always draws us back to play more. The key to this mode’s success is the bond players get after playing small gigs on the easy difficulty and working their way up to playing in huge areas on the hard or expert difficulty. Even after playing some of the songs hundreds of times they don’t get old because the whole band get perfects and it feels like we actually preformed those songs. The union Rock Band makes players feel and experience together will always draw people back for more, even for years to come. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:08:11.)Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:31:27 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1821&iddiary=3602