Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=484https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2948GAMEPLAY: Maybe I was a little too quick to recommending this game. Sure, it’s a good game but you see, I’ve been tricked. The first time that I put this game into my DS, I was simply shocked. I’ve had my DS for nearly 3 years so I thought I had seen all there was to see but the production values in this game are astonishing. The first cut scene shows you Luke and the professor as they journey to the St. Mystere. You’ll be charmed by the hand drawn characters and you’ll be shocked at how well the 3D objects interact with the 2D ones without feeling dramatically different. There are beautifully animated, hand-drawn cut scenes the move the story nicely along. Above all, the most surprising part of the game is certainly the voice acting. I have never seen such extensive voice acting in a DS game and the first 15 minutes of the games are entirely read aloud by the DS. It not only gives the characters more personality, the less I read, the better I feel. (You might be wondering how a point-and-click genre lover such as myself doesn’t like to read. It is indeed an oxymoron but I just wanted to let you know that it is possible.) But alas, I have been tricked by the game. While the first 15 minutes will show you 3 cut scenes, the other dozen are scattered throughout the game and voice acting disappear for the entire game, with the exception of those cut scenes, of course. Looking at the game as a whole, it has an amazing intro which leaves you wanting more, but you’ll be looking far and wide without finding it. There is another reason to applauded Level 5: their puzzles are well integrated with the story. Trying to find your way to St. Mystere? Solve a map puzzle! Trying to lower a bridge? Solve a puzzle about cogs! Trying to cross a river? Maybe there is a river-themed puzzle! There are also clock puzzles, cat puzzles, candy puzzles, hat puzzles, and even a filthy jar puzzle. It’s the fact that there are many different puzzles that keeps the game interesting and it’s the fact that they are related to the story that makes the two parts of the game feel like a cohesive whole. DESIGN: But let’s not forget the other part of the game: the puzzles. It seems appropriate to now introduce idea of picrats, Professor Layton’s point system that attempts to deter guessing while rewarding players for sharp, quick thinking. To some degree, it works well. If a player guesses for a puzzle but gets the problem right on his the second try, the player will be rewarded less picrats. If the player still cannot answer the problem after several tries, no more possible picrats will be deducted. It assures that players will come back to the puzzle. Imagine a player’s disappointment is he wasn’t rewarded for getting the right problem because he tried too many times. In this way, the reward system works well. Unsurprisingly about Professor Layton is the fact that it is a single-player game, like all other point-and-click adventures. This does not mean that game deters social interaction using the game as a common ground. Online, I have seen so many boards come together to offer hints to players of this game ass they talk about the possible answers and ones that have already been confirmed wrong. It is also noteworthy to mention that there are even Youtube videos showing the right answers and with hundreds of hits per each of these videos and the recorders promising to offer more, Professor Layton is incredibly social. Even on a local level, it is a social game. I was playing the game at the same time that my sister was and we were both having a wonderful time playing the game as 8 pm turned to 3 am in a blink. We were talking about the problems as we progressed and even traded the answers to a couple of problems (Is that cheating?). And though I had finished the game by the time that my roommate started, we would frequently talk a bout the puzzles. “Is the answer 3?” he would say to me. I would answer with “Maybe.” or “Did you remember to read the last line?” It’s conversations like these that prove that single player games still allow for social interaction which is certainly a plus for Professor Layton. In the end, I wholeheartedly recommend Professor Layton and the curious village. Sure, Nintendo could have been more on-task with it’s supposed promise of weekly downloadable puzzles, and Level 5 could have added more voice acting and cut scenes to the game, but these are just blemishes to the otherwise outstanding game that is Professor Layton and the Curious Village. Buy it, and you won’t regret it… or at least you’ll have me to blame, anyway. Sun, 02 Mar 2008 03:08:49 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2948&iddiary=5551https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2948SUMMARY: The Professor Layton series has taken Japan by storm. Since its original debut in Japan nearly a year ago, it has gone to sell thousands of copies with Level 5, the game’s developer, turning Layton into a DS trilogy. Now the first game has reached Americans. Professor Layton and the Curious Village, one part story-driven point-and-click adventure and one part puzzler, is 100% fun for the Nintendo DS. GAMEPLAY: I admit that I’ve always wanted to be a detective but reality has given me the occupation of a student. And so you can imagine the delight on my face as I played through this game. The story is very unique for a point-and-click game, and for narratives of video games as a whole. Professor Layton and his wide-eyed apprentice, Luke, explore St. Mystere in search for the Reinhold Golden Apple, an object never seen by the residents of St. Mystere. Its only mention was Baron Augutus Reinhold’s will, which promised his entire estate to the person who finds the mysterious object. True, the story starts slow, with the first objective being a fetch task. However, after that, players will dive deeper into the story which involves a murder and a kidnapping. And if that wasn’t puzzling enough, there’s always the architectural catastrophe at the center of town that is often referred to as “the tower”. For those who want a good detective story like myself, look no further then this game. In addition to the story, all the puzzles were well thought out with many presenting varied challenges. Some will involve careful reading, some test your visual thinking. There are matchstick puzzles, and weight puzzles, match puzzles, shape puzzles logic puzzles and so much more. The sheer variety will keep you on your toes and pressing further into the game. Some puzzle won’t leave you, even long after you’ve turned off the game and put down your DS. My favorite puzzle was one that asked how many times triple digits showed up on an AM/PM digital clock. It is hard and I won’t give you any hints here. Well, how about one: it’s not 11. That is all that I will say, but you’ll come to realize in a couple of hours how much you want to know the answer and you’ll understand why I kept coming back to the puzzles of this game. Even now, I feel like my incomplete puzzle haunt and taunt me. This is a good point for me to return back to the game... (This entry has been edited2 times. It was last edited on Sun, 02 Mar 2008 02:22:37.)Sun, 02 Mar 2008 02:19:34 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2948&iddiary=5549https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2631GAMEPLAY: There is a unique state of adventure and curiosity that Super Mario Brother 3 is able to put its players in. Part of this is due to its level design. There is a sense of awe created by looking at the giant “?” blocks of World 4 and there is a sense of wonder for players that jump to and from floating winged red shells. The game rewards players for exploring the levels by providing shortcuts and special items for advanced players. The flute, an item that will warp players to later levels, can only be found in certain levels where the player must travel into typically unseen areas – only discoverable through immense exploration. This keeps the game continually interesting and adds much replay value into every stage. While I didn’t grab the attention of any bystanders, I can say that Super Mario Brothers 3 is a social game by the fact that many people have been exposed to it. Even a decade after its initial release, I can still invite friends over to play this game with me because they still fondly remember and still want to play the game. And even though one of my roommates despises the game, we can still hold a conversation about it. The fact that I can still talk about a nearly two decade old game makes it a highly social one. DESIGN An aspect of the game that is particularly interesting is the game’s hub system. Prior to this Super Mario Brothers 3, few platformers used a hub system. Instead, these games had players traveling from level 1 to level 2, and from level 2 to level 3, and so forth in a very linear fashion. In Super Mario brothers 3, players are given the option of which level they want to play in the hub world. Of course, that is not to imply that the levels lose their linear feel. For example, in the first world, level 2 must be played after level 1 but after that, players are given the option to play either level 3 or 4 to reach an item or to bypass those levels completely. It is this sense of an open world that makes it unique compared to older platformers. Also innovative was Super Mario Brothers 3’s use of the camera. At that time, traditional platformers had camera systems that panned only left and right. Therefore, to allow for exploration of the 2nd cardinality, characters were displayed fairly small on the screen. The unique camera of Super Mario Brothers 3 allow for more detailed sprites without sacrificing the 2nd cardinality of play. As a matter of fact, the new upward scrolling camera allows the developers to further explore the potential of object is the sky and much higher then a simple jump. This new design aspect demanded a new ability, the raccoon tail, for players to fully explore the skies above – something impossible to pull off using the old camera. In the end, Super Mario Brothers 3 is a highly enjoyable game the never ceases to amaze me. There is no doubt that it was ahead of its time and is still fondly remembered today by many players, myself included. If you've never played this game before, you should.Sun, 17 Feb 2008 16:42:51 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2631&iddiary=4996https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2631SUMMARY: The year was 1990 and America was eagerly anticipating the third Mario – the one that promised new graphics and game play. Controlling the plumber who needs to save the princess yet again, players control a fully running, jumping, swimming and flying version of a character that they have already come to love. As a 2D platforming game, it remains one of the best. Even today, Super Mario Brothers 3 for the Nintendo Entertainment System needs little introduction. GAMEPLAY: Truth be told, the characters are not especially defined. Mario is, well, just playing that same plumber-saving-the princess role that he always was. The princess’ reason for being kidnapped is not explained and Bowser’s motives are as puzzling as they always were. Compared to games like Donkey Kong which make an honest attempt to tell the story in-game, the story of Super Mario Brothers 3 is disappointing, lacking and unoriginal. Unsurprisingly, the very first enemy that Mario encounters is a goomba and to destroy the goomba, Mario once again must jump and land on it. An introduction like this makes one assume that Mario hasn’t changed since his last adventure, but that would be wrong. So much has changed. For example, the reward system has been redefined to motivate players through every step of the game. In addition to simple rewards like coins and basic power-ups from previous games, Mario can now hold power-ups in his inventory and collect cards to gain one-ups. Rewards are scattered throughout each level and are plentiful enough as to keep players interested and challenged throughout the game. With so much positive feedback, players won’t be able to put down the controller until the credits for the game finish rolling. Let’s face facts: most people know who Mario is. To live in the 90’s was to live in Mario’s era. Mario was plastered onto everything that we loved: cereal, cartoons, bed sheets, backpacks, and even window curtains, to name a couple of things. There is a reason why Americans were once obsessed with Mario and that reason is the excellent gameplay of his video games. Look back on this game, its ability to differentiate between walking and running, something that would normally seem trivial in a video game, is worth noting. It is important that unlike more modern games which use analog control sticks for more accurate walking controls, this game used a simple directional pad as was standard at the time. Yet, Super Mario Brothers 3 featured a walking system that was so advanced and precise that it makes controlling Mario second nature. It even featured a meter to display how fast the player was moving. It’s a eye for detail that made this game simply amazing.Sun, 17 Feb 2008 03:56:32 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2631&iddiary=4991https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2354GAMEPLAY In addition to the lack of air-dodge, there is another game play flaw: tripping. Even after playing more of this game, I don’t understand why characters randomly trip. It tends to happen when a lot of buttons are pressed but the idea of tripping isn’t explained in the tutorial. Worst of all, the character is left vulnerable after fallen on the floor. This tripping element is extremely frustrating and it unnecessarily complicates the controls. It is also important to note that Brawl features some of the best co-op game play that I’ve ever seen. Nearly all of the single player aspects of the game allow for co-op. This means that many returning fan favorites such as multi-man melee, home run contest, event mode and even adventure mode can be played in co-op. The inclusion of such a rich and varied co-op mode means that bystanders can freely join into the game – even in the “single player” mode – making Brawl an incredibly rich social game. DESIGN It is also worth noting that Brawl has an incredible reward system. There are additional playable characters that can be unlocked in multiple ways, stickers to collect as items in fights, CDs to pick up to unlock new songs, and so much more. Even if playing one simple match, you’ll unlock coins that can be used in a simple SHUMP-like mini-game to earn trophies and coins. Nearly everything in Brawl unlocks something else and you’ll find yourself losing track of time while playing this incredibly expansive game. Furthermore, each of the different levels had a unique feel to it. Besides the game play altering aspects such as gravity changes and moving platforms, the different soundtrack in each level adds to the feeling of truly unique stages. For example, the dog howls in the Animal Crossing stage's song contributes to light hearted feeling of that stage while the opera soundtrack creates a much darker tone for the Final Destination stage. From flying shy guys bearing food in the Yoshi’s Island stage or the mini-games in the Wario Ware stage, each stage has been well thought out and each presents different new challenges while retaining the core game play. With a little less then a month left, Smash fans will soon be happily united with Brawl. This game was given 5 stars because it rightfully deserves it. Despite its flaws, Brawl is an features good controls and is incredibly fun in groups or alone. If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself in early March. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:07:42.)Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:47:33 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2354&iddiary=4496https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2354SUMMARY For this Gamelog entry, I chose a game that needs little introduction, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, a game developed by Nintendo, Game Art, and Sora, in which characters from Nintendo’s past and present games fight one another. Like past Smash Brother titles, the game features deep yet deceptively simple controls. Brawl is the third installment in the Smash Brothers series, with the director hinting that it could possibility be the last. **Remember that I am playing the Japanese version of the game and that some elements of this game may change before Brawl’s March release on American shores. One other thing to note is that this entry is spoiler-free!** GAMEPLAY The Smash Bros series has always been able to draw a crowd from hardcore and casual gamers and Brawl is no different. This is because most of the characters are instantly recognizable to Nintendo fans and non-fans alike. Mario, Kirby, Princess Zelda, and Pikachu are characters, to name a few. I was only able to play one verses match before my roommate quickly joined into the battle. Seeing Yoshi hurl an egg at Link is sure to grab the attention of bystanders and don’t be surprised if you can’t hear video crowd over the oh’s and ah’s of an actual one soon forming around you. Simply put, Brawl is a social experience. Particularly unique about Brawl is its ability to accommodate the many controllers that the Wii supports. More specifically, the Gamecube controller, Classic Controller, Nun chuck and Remote, and the remote alone can all be used in this game. Veterans of the now-seven-year-old Super Smash Brothers Melee will instantly want to grab a Gamecube controller and while the game controls virtually the same, there are a few key differences to keep an eye out for. The Z-button doesn’t attack in midair and taunts are mapped to all directions of the D-pad. It’s certainly nice to see that the game makers kept Gamecube controller support in Brawl as it will certainly be veteran smashers’ controller of choice. Controllers aside, there are several other changes. Characters grab onto the ledges even when facing the opposite direction and items are easier to grab since sweeping moves and air dodges pick up items. On the topic of air dodges, their importance in the game have been reduced as its range has dramatically decreased. However, to compensate for this, multiple air dodges can be done, instead on only one-per-fall as was the case in Melee. Players can still move slightly left or right using the air dodge in midair but overall, Melee’s air-dodging system much more responsive, interesting, and overall, effective. This new system makes Brawl’s game play much slower then Melee and is sure to have angry fans banging on Nintendo’s door asking for yet another sequel. (This entry has been edited3 times. It was last edited on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:13:48.)Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:18:42 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2354&iddiary=4493https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1973SUMMARY: Wii Pay is a simple collection of mini-games that introduce players to the Wii remote’s unique infer red (IR) and motion controls. Players go through a variety of differently themed mini games that will have players doing everything from shooting targets, to playing table tennis and even to racing cows, at some point in the game. GAMEPLAY: Wii Play starts with only one mini game: “Shooting Range”. In this mini-game, players find themselves shooting a variety of objects, both animate and inanimate, in an attempt to achieve the highest score. By pointing at the screen and pressing A to shoot, this control scheme both simple and intuitive. In an age where shooters seem to emphasize complexity, it is certainly a pleasant surprise to see a step in a different direction. In fact, this single mini-game set the tone for the entire game – that is, that this game would be a simple and intuitive one. At the end of “Shooting Range”, I was told that I unlocked the next mini game, “Find Mii”. This time, my objective was to find a specified character in a crowded area by pointing at that character on the screen and selecting him or her with A. In fact, four other mini-games are based on this same idea of pointing at the screen, making more than half of the mini-games IR based. At times, it can be frustrating to see so many mini-games controlled in this way – especially for a product that advertises itself as an introduction to the Wii’s controller, a motion based one. However, to say that all the IR-based mini-games feel the same is simply untrue. True, the foundation of their controls is the same but their objectives and themes vary greatly. Some of these IR games will have the player bombing walls and shooting other tanks, some games will have players twisting their wrist to match silhouettes. The objective of each game is certainly very similar as “get the highest score” easily summarizes the goal of all the mini-games, but the way in which the player goes about this goal varies from game to game. This helps in keeping each mini-game feeling fresh and unique, even if their controls are not. It is also worth nothing that Wii Play lacks an overarching story to connect its mini-games. This is very rare for a video game – even ones that are comprised mostly of mini-games. Rayman Raving Rabbids revolves around the idea of escaping from a prison controlled by “rabbids” and the Mario Party series has a game board in between mini-games to tell that game board’s specific story. Even Wario Ware: Smooth Moves which tries to be as zany and off-the-wall as humanly possible, has an overarching theme: make money. The lack of a story in Wii Play will leave players asking, why should wii play? -------------------------------------- GAMPLAY: Surprisingly, even without a story, the game does show progression. Players unlock a new mini-game with each successive mini-game played. This will make up the first hour of play. However, for my second play there was nothing left to unlock and after having played every mini-game once, revisiting this game felt like a chore. Players are expected to replay mini-games to achieve the highest score but the problem is that so many of these mini-games are shallow and uninteresting. There is a serious flaw in the reward system in Wii Play. Oh, and about leader boards, they don’t exist for this game. Are you even serious about online games, Nintendo? Even after all that I have said, I still recommend this game. The reason for this: its social aspect. The bright colors and unique appeal of the Wii remote is sure to draw in a crowd. The shallow, and sometimes slow-paced mini-games will not totally consume the concentration of the players and allow them to talk among themselves. The lounge-music Wii Play theme song is sure to brighten any living room and the bubbly soundtrack of the entire game is sure to draw a crowd and melt the heart of even the most hardcore gamer. DESIGN: I am almost tempted to call this game “Mii Play” because that title would certainly highlight on the better aspects of this game: the use of Miis, that Wii’s digital avatars. I admit that I am no artist but using the Wii’s Mii creation channel, I was able to create a variety of avatars which I would later revisit in Wii Play. It was hard choosing between playing the game with an avatar that looked like me or one that looked like a tooth fairy, a fortune teller, or a new year’s baby. The designers certainly thought of this problem beforehand. Even though I chose to play as a fortune teller, I saw these characters in the audience of a table tennis match. Trying to find out person that fell asleep in the “Find Mii” minigame? Maybe it will be Sean Connery – if you can create one. It is this customization that makes Wii Play so charming and it continues to draw me back to this game. There is so much that is innovative about the Wii Remote. Yes, IR controls are one of these innovations but this is not the only one. For a game that is meant to showcase the possibilities of the Wii remote, the fact that Wii Play focuses heavily on IR controls and not motion controls is certainly a let down. Instead of this game, players can play Wario Ware: Smooth Moves and other games which show that motion controls are can be both unique and varied. True, there are three games mini-games in Wii Play that are motioned controlled but it’s certainly nothing novel when compared to other wii games. Nonetheless, Wii Play’s mini-games are shallow but fun in small bursts. This game will also help you draw a crowd together on those lonely days and you’ll never get over this game’s charm. Did I mention that it’s only 10 dollars when you factor in the bundled controller?Mon, 21 Jan 2008 02:00:46 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1973&iddiary=3857https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1610SUMMARY Released over 2 years ago, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is a point and click adventure that follows the career of Phoenix Wright, an aspiring lawyer and the main character that the player controls. Players present evidence and disprove false testimonies to prove that their defendant innocent. GAMEPLAY I admit that I am a fan of the point and click adventure – a genre that has only found a niche market in America. Yes, the genre is called “point and click” and with good reason: interaction with the characters of Ace Attorney, is mostly comprised of using the stylus to “click” choices. Ace Attorney stays very close to the norm of the genre in this aspect – an aspect that has always kept this genre dull and repetitive. But if the interaction between the character and the player is so uninteresting, why is it that I continue playing point and click adventures? Storyline. This is one part of Ace Attorney that clearly divides itself from other games of the same genre. I often play point and click games where I must find the murderer using clues that I gather. In Ace Attorney, I am clearly shown the murderer before the trial. It is certainly different from say, Famicom Detective Club: Part II, where one must find both the murderer and the murderer’s rationale for committing the crime. Once the intro is finished, I hope that I will no longer know the murderer beforehand. Instead of revealing the murderer, the goal of Ace Attorney is to prove that your client is innocent through questions and evidence, ultimately reconstructing the event in question before the courtroom and the player. While Ace Attorney does contain a level of uncertainty in understanding the murder’s rationale, it also shows the murderer before the case begins and therefore, lacks a feeling of reward at the end of the case. This new form of presenting the story has left me disinterested. Regardless of this fact, there is no denial that this is a novel take on a genre that is on life support. While I am not a fan of the game, it is certainly worth considering. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A Second Look: I now realize that one element of most point and click adventures that I missed from Ace Attorney was the investigative element. While the trainer did not contain this element, it is refreshing to see this element reappear in all other chapters. Once again, I happily find myself snooping around and interrogating characters. As Phoenix Wright is trying to gather clues about the event to better understand the case, so am I. It makes me feel better connected with my “token” in this game and better connected with the game as a whole. One of my biggest initial gripes with Ace Attorney was that it made no use of the DS in advancing the point and click genre’s game play. After playing this game a little more, I realize that I was wrong and I have come to appreciate this game’s use of the DS. I admit that yelling “Take that!” or “Objection!” into the DS’s microphone has become a guilty pleasure and one that adds to the game’s overall charm. Furthermore, the touch screen makes answering questions easier while making room examinations more intuitive. It is refreshing to see DS unique functionality used in point and click game. DESIGN Nonetheless, Ace Attorney’s continual presentation of the murderer before the trial is certainly a let down. While Phoenix is gathering clues to find the murderer, the player already knows who it is. At one point, Phoenix accepts a case because he feels that the defendant has no one else to turn to. However, the player will believe that Phoenix should accept the case because the defendant was not the murderer as illustrated by the opening scene – something that Phoenix could not have seen. Because there is no way that I could communicate this to Phoenix, there is ultimately a difference in my knowledge of the case and Phoenix’s. It separates me from my token and therefore, I feel more frustrated then emotive in playing as Phoenix Wright. Looking at the game as a whole, I can safely say that the writing is top notch. It not only contains pop culture references, its characters are so outlandish that it becoming both charming and engrossing to read what each person has to say. With a character who’s last name is Butz, a bumbling detective known only by his last name, Gumshoe, and a girl who is literally named April May, these characters will keep the story interesting. Furthermore, their animations exaggerate their emotions so much that it is a charm to watch them move. One character’s wig flies directly up when he is shocked and when he was charged with the murder, the throws his wig and exclaims “Shutupshutupshutup! I hate you!”. These animations only highlight the personalities of each character and of the game as a whole. While I did not enjoy this game as much as I had hoped, I recommend that people interested in this genre seriously look into this game. Ace Attorney offers a charm that is lacking in many games and the game puts a unique twist to traditional point and click games' storylines. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 19:08:30.)Sat, 12 Jan 2008 03:42:07 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1610&iddiary=3329