Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=490https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2979Gameplay I have to say that despite all the drawbacks of this game, it still is a fun game, although maybe not quite as fun as the first three. I really enjoy solving puzzles and beating time trials, and all the things that Spyro games challenge you to do. I really just like completing these games 100% and Spyro games usually make it a little bit challenging at times, but it us definitely possible to beat everything. I didn’t get that far in this game, but I was engaged enough in the “I have to beat EVERYTHING” mentality that I got pretty far, which I think, in itself is a pretty good game design technique to show the player the percentage they have completed. It did seem to me though, in this game that there were glitches that made this impossible to do everything. It could be because I hadn’t played very close attention to the narrative, but it seemed like there was a part where I was told that I could go fight Ripto, that where they told me to go didn’t do anything once I got there. I actually tried to restart the game and read it over again, and it might just me being lame but it really seemed like it was impossible to do, and that was really frustrating for me. It also seemed like there wasn’t much flow in this game, the whole “you can fight Ripto now” seemed to me like it came out of nowhere, like the game depended a lot more on you to work out the story on your own, which definitely bugged me. Even though I have a tendency to skip over the narration, it is still nice to have cut screens and everything, because it does give you a sense of flow, so all and all this game was pretty much a disappointment to me. Design The level designs on these games I think are always fantastic, very sweet and fun, and give you a lot of different creatures to fight, or to help. They also use the same “friends” as they do in all the Spyros. This game uses a good example of reward elements also, you collect lots of gems in each level as your short-term reward, and every once in a while you collect your major goals, the dragonflies themselves. The game also gives you incentives to collect all the gems, because you must use the gems every once in a while to give to the bear “Mr. Moneybags” and he will let you into new areas. This game also makes it relatively easy to stay alive, when you get hurt, Sparx turns a different color, and if you get hit enough, you will eventually lose a life, however there are little animals all over the levels that are harmless, but when you hit them they turn into butterflies for Sparx to eat and he regains his higher metered color. I find the race against the clock challenges the most difficult, although it usually involves blowing fire on a bunch of objects, and so once you’ve done it a couple of times and find out where the items are, it is usually pretty easy to beat them. I have always sort of assumed that Spyro was aimed towards kids because the challenges aren’t usually as tough as similar platforms, like Crash Bandicoot (at least the original one), and in general they keep it very rated G in the game design, no blood, no real violence, or sexuality whatsoever. There really isn’t that much conflict in this game, you do blow fire or whatever at people to get gems, but it felt less conflict oriented then the other ones. It really is the variation in level design that keeps this game fun, I thought a really cute element was in a snowy level, Spyro uses his ice breath to turn some of his little friends (don’t worry, the ice melts after a few seconds) into icicles so that he can progress through the level. It’s touches like these that make the game a lot of fun to play. That being said, the creativeness of this game was really hampered by all the annoying glitches and loading times of this game, it really did seem a bit ridiculous at times, and no matter how much I enjoyed the art design of this game, I hated the technical elements of this game.Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:29:00 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2979&iddiary=5603https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2979Game Log# 1 Spyro Enter the Dragonfly Summary This Spyro is the 4th in the series of Spyro games, and the first for the Playstation 2. Spyro and his dragon friends are celebrating the rite of passage for young dragons to obtain there very own dragonfly (although this isn‘t the case in the first 3 Spyros because none of the other dragons besides Spyro has one), like Spyro’s dragonfly “Sparx” who essentially serves as a life meter. However, Spyro’s old nemesis Ripto shows up and attempts to kidnap all of the dragonflies, however is plan backfires, spewing the dragonflies in all sorts of different areas, leaving it up to Spyro to find them all and return them to their dragons. Gameplay I really love the Spyro series, I think the art is great and is very much how I would like to design my game for this class. To be honest however, I didn’t really pay that much attention to the narrative of this game because it really isn’t at all necessary or beneficial to the game play. You can figure out all the things you need to do without actually listening to the story, or any of the little intros from Spyro’s buddies. This game, like the others, is very puzzle oriented, but a new element of this game, which if I recall correctly, is his ability to breath elements other than fire, without the use of some sort of powerup. This game is full of different challenges for you to beat, and you are constantly being rewarded by picking up gems, and getting new breath weapons and so forth. The biggest problem I have with this game is purely technical, because I love the game design, and it really engages me into the game. The loading time on this game is horrible. I actually bought this game a long time ago, and was extremely turned off by this, the loading time between levels is literally a few minutes long. The camera on this game is also a big turn off, it makes the jumping and running hard, and in general just hurts your eyes to look at. The flow of this game is definitely hurt by this obstacle, despite all the visual wonderfulness of this game, It’s really hard to want to keep playing because the controls and wait time are ridiculous.Tue, 04 Mar 2008 13:07:30 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2979&iddiary=5602https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2629GAMEPLAY My second time through was mre enjoyable because I had gotten alot more control over the control, however I still felt like the games I enjoyed the first time, were pretty much the only games I liked the second time as well. At the same time, I really got a chance to see how repetitive, and limited this game was the second time. I really think I would feel differently if I had been playing with someone else, but I don't have anybody other than my 3 year old nephew, and he likes playing dance dance revolution more! Definitely my favorite was charge, it was easy to control, and very innovative in regards to the way you control the cow. I thought this was one of the only games that would be just as fun with someone else as it is alone, and really one of the only games I felt like I wanted to keep playing. However, these games are so limited because there aren't very many stages and they are exactly the same everytime you play them. I didn't get a perfect score on this game, but I think it wouldn't be very hard at all to get a perfect score, because they rewarded me with a old medal only after playing the game 3 times. Again, games like fishing and shooting range are just so limited that I don't feel like this is a game you could play alone for more than an hour two and not be completely bored with it in no time, I felt pretty bored with this game by the end of my second hour, even with the games I thought were really fun the first time around. DESIGN This game does work with the mechanics with the Wii well, and I think it works in some innovative ways, although I haven't played many other Wii games to compare it to. However, I feel like the novelty of this game gets worn out pretty quickly, as opposed to Wii sports, because it seems like a much more controlled environment. With games like Wii bowling, it is structured, and repetitive, but it still feels different every time you play it, whereas with the shooting range, it's exactly the same everytime, and I didn't really feel like I was getting any rewards for continuing to play it. The design of the games had a definite impact on me, my least favorite was the tank game, as I mentioned because the art is boring, on top of being very limited in levels. The space is so limited, and there is nothing visually appealing, if I saw this game on a shelve alone, even if it had more levels, I would not have any incentive to buy it because I base so much of my enjoyment of a game on visual appeal. The charge game has a much more visually appealing level, but as far as I've seen, there is only one level, and once again, it seems like it's really easy to beat it. This game is definitely, one that would be aided by social interaction with other people, which is basically what it was designed for, they even urge you in game after you've recieved a certain score to challenge someone else to a game. The challenge on this game seems pretty weak, and so the incentive to keep playing for me is not very high. However, if you are playing with friends (especially drinking), I feel like that opens a whole new level and aspect of entertainment and challenge. I really left this game wanting more from each of the games then I was given, it was fun initially, but I don't feel like the novelty of the game lasts just because it is too simple, and some of the controller mechanics just don't seem to work quite right. If I were to change one thing, I would just add more levels to each game, because the games with discrete levels were the mosty appealing, but they are just too short and easy.Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:42:28 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2629&iddiary=4997https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2629SUMMARY This game, taking off where Wii Sports left off, again allows your Wii versionized self (i.e. Mii) to play a variety of new games, including real world classics like table tennis, pool, and even air hockey. This game also offers shooting range practice, fishing, finding mii (where you must find certain mii characters from a selection), pose mii (where you must maneuver your mii into a position through movement of the wii controller), charge! (where you ride a bull and move your controller in order to hit targets), and tanks! (where you control a tank and are required to destroy other tanks in your area. GAMEPLAY I was really excited to play this game, my sister just bought it for her Wii, and I had played Wii sports on her console and loved playing it. I tried to get to each and every game in my first hour, so I will go through my experiences with each game consecutively. Lazer Hockey: This was the first game I played and it made me sort of angry. The control seemed super sensitive to the actions I was making, which didn't really seem to occur in any of the games in Wii sports, so I was caught off guard, and didn't play this one for very long, part of the appeal for wii sports was that it was really easy, but fun, especially with others, unfortunately I played by myself for the first hour, and suffered for it. Billiards: Again, the controls on this one were a little bit strange to get used to, and it seemed to make a game that is relatively simple in real life, alot harder in game. I felt like getting the movements down were hard, and that it didn't register well on screen. The remote is also nothing like a pool stick, so it felt very strange, and not very enjoyable. Finding mii: The first game I enjoyed, very simple concept, however I kept clicking the wrong things, and that messed up my score. At any rate, I got a little bit of satisfaction out of this one because i got a decent score, oh the glory! Shooting Range: Again, very simple and to the point. It's just like duck hunt, but without that annoying dog!! As with Wii sports, the controls were really simple, all you had to do was point and shoot, but also be mindful not to shoot at certain objects. It progresses through levels, each a little bit harder. I thought this one was okay, maybe it's my gun control loving mentality that kept me from really getting into this one. Charge: Really enjoyed this game, the art is so cute, I felt like a real cowgirl (or at least my Mii did). Played this one a couple of times, this one was addicting. Pose Mii: This one was kind of fun, kinda felt like it would be more fun drunk, of course what Wii game isn't? Table tennis: Yet another one I was discouraged with because of the motion detection, definitely led me to believe that all of the based on real life games aren't nearly as fun as the gameworld games, but I love wii bowling and tennis, so I'm going to say that I might just need to get used to the controls. Fishing: I didn't really read the instructions going into this one so I didn't even know what I was doing, but it wasn't working... Tanks: Snore. Stuck in a little boring room with little boring objects shooting little boring bullets at eachother. Not fun at all. Also, you have to use 2 remotes for this one, and I wasn't good at it, so I wasn't interested in this one at all. All in all, I figure alot of this first hour was probably like my first hour playing wii sports, and I just don't remember. It was all about getting used to the controller, and how it reacts with the screen. I felt like alot of these games would be alot more fun with other people, but others I felt like weren't fun either way, and that perhaps the novelty of wii sports is wearing thin in this game. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:36:30.)Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:30:58 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2629&iddiary=4988https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2328Log Entry: My Choice #2 Entry# 2 GAMEPLAY My second hour playing Tomb Raider was even better than the first one because I am more used to the new key dynamics now, and I have progressed from being in Peru to now being in Greece, where Natla has sent minions to track down Lara. Even though the story is something that I am completely used to, I still think the story is great, the pinnacle of adventure games, so much of this game lies on the story for me to make it fun, I really get into the mood of being Lara Croft. It really helps since the graphics are so much better it’s more like being in a real place rather than being in a place with a bunch of blocks for you to jump on. One thing that I noticed that I sort of didn’t like was the fact that after you kill something, the body disappears, in the first one it just stayed there and I liked that better because it made it seem more realistic. The longer you play this game, the more magical the setting seems to become, the architecture changes according to where you are, and what I neglected to mention in my first log was that in this game you can find secrets, as in the original which are generally just ammo or health packs, but now you also pick up “artifacts” from the location and it tells you a little bit about the item and the civilization it belonged to. I thought that was a great touch to the adventure/archeology nature of this game. I also felt that the new abilities gave Lara a lot more ways to die, she seems to be able to get herself into a lot more tough situations being able to climb and swing from ropes, go figure. DESIGN As I have mentioned, I feel like that blending of the storyline into the game is a great innovative element, it might just be the ancient history nerd in me talking, but this series is one of the only games I really feel submerged into the story. There are a lot of great design elements in this game, particularly the game level design which lead to this, they did a really great job of making the architecture and surroundings seem like the unfound ruins of civilizations, even though you often seem to be in some cavern with no light source, you don’t really question it. As I mentioned, the levels are varied thanks to the different locations you are in, and it also becomes more difficult as you must fight not only bats and wolfs, but you must also fight dinosaurs, and humans with guns. This game’s challenges are really just being able to pay attention to your surroundings and figure out where you should climb or crawl to get to your next task, the fighting element of this game is probably the most weak element of this game, but I am not a big first-person-shooter type person, so I don’t really mind that it doesn’t play an integral part of this game, this game is a lot more about puzzle solving, and emersion into the world of Lara Croft. This game world quite often feels very large, I think a lot of it lies in that whole driving down a long country road type thing, where it seems like it goes on forever, but it’s quite narrow. They also seem to perform some tricks, like blacking out the sky so it seems like it goes on further than it actually does. I’ve mentioned about the tone of this game world a lot, saying that it is very mystical, and mysterious, I think this is because so much of the ancient world feels that way, even in real life, and they really took advantage of that through their level designs. Eventually you end up fighting mummies and crazy centaur people, so the game progressively emerges you into this amazing fantastic, yet realistic world. The cut screens are also great, because then you can relax for a little while and enjoy the scenery. Again, the reward system lies in finding “secrets” and “artifacts”, and finding these unlocks secrets you can access from the main menu, I haven’t really looked at any of these yet, but I do think that it’s a pretty cool idea, I am definitely obsessed with completing games 100%, so I sort of have my own incentives for trying to find all the rewards. That being said, I really am enjoying this game and intend to complete 100% of it.Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:57:30 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2328&iddiary=4462https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2328Log Entry: My choice #2 Entry #1 SUMMARY Tomb Raider Anniversary is basically a revamped version on the original 1996 Tomb Raider, with a twist. The original Tomb Raider finds Ms. Lara Croft in search for the Scion, a relic from the lost continent Atlantis. She has been hired by Jacqueline Natla of Natla Technologies but soon discovers that her employer my have alternate motives for putting her on this adventure. Rather than being hired for sport, as in the original game, this time Lara believes that using the Scion, which is supposedly a source of infinite knowledge, she can discover the mystery of her mother’s experience. Again, our heroine begins her journey in the mountains of Peru. GAMEPLAY The original Tomb Raider is one of my favorite games, I’ve probably played and beaten it over 10 times. I was really excited for this game because I’d always thought it would be cool to see it revamped, and I think Eidos did a great job sticking true to the first game, while adding on some great new abilities that weren’t technologically available in the first one. This game sticks to the same basic cut screens to get the story across, at the beginning there is a particularly beautiful shot of Lara in the snow laden mountains of Peru. It really got me pumped to play. I am a sucker for this type of game because I love ancient myth, and archeology, especially Egyptian, and although I haven’t gotten to that point in the game yet, it still has a very magical mysterious feel to it throughout the levels. While I don’t think this game is an improvement on the first one, there are a lot more things that Lara can accomplish in this game then the original. In the original pretty much all she had was jump on platforms, shimmy across gaps, and shoot weapons. Now she can climb up ropes, and latters, she can slouch to crawl under things. There are a few mechanics that I had to get used to that they changed, for good reason, but it was a little distressing since I am so used to pressing L1 and having her walk. Oh well. They also changed the format for fighting big bosses, like the T-Rex in level 3, they cut screen and make you push a sequence of buttons (which I was surprisingly bad at) to escape from him, then there is a big fight where he has a health bar and aggravation bar and you have to lead him into spikes when his aggravation bar is completely red, which is definitely more difficult then the Rex in the original. I really enjoyed playing this game, and had a hard time stopping. There is a definite flow in this game because the game is segmented into levels, and usually there is some sort of big door that you have to open to proceed to the next level. As I mentioned, this game is really a neat spin on the first one, the level designs are very similar, however revamped, and now Lara Croft doesn’t have triangles for boobs! Hurray!Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:41:36 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2328&iddiary=4459https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1976Classics List Game #1- Zelda ENTRY #2 GAMEPLAY So for this second round of Zelda, I really tried to get the dynamics of the game down, and it ended up being a lot more fun. I was really just trying to kill things as fast as possible without thinking about it before, and this time I realized some things that I didn’t notice before, for example, that as long as you don’t attack a creature your shield will protect you from their weapons (DUH!). I also realized that some of the things that I thought were unkillable, could in fact be killed, so it was really a lot easier to get past the first level. I also got far enough that it saved to a new part, where you get to fight your first boss as well. Again, there isn’t really much narrative progression, that I have seen yet, but this game was still fun. It also seemed to me the second time around like I was reaping the benefits of killing creatures because I would get more life drops and fairy drops and was getting more jewels. I was actually starting to feel some satisfaction from this gameplay, and I was actually getting quite addicted to it, regardless of the fact that I probably died 5 times trying to kill the darn dragon at the end of the first level! What was nice though, is that I received a new weapon, a boomerang, and I received my first piece of the triforce. Another thing that I think made this fun was that my boyfriend was watching my play it, and helped me while I was playing it, so we had the sort of “go team” mentality, rather than me just trying to kill things and getting more and more angry every time I died. I would say this game flows because the creatures get tougher to beat, and because you have more weapons to deal with as you continue on. One thing I thought was strange was that at one point, I went through a little tree-portal and it took me to level 2, but I had not beaten the dragon on the first level and received the first piece of the triforce, however I did not investigate this much further, so I think that that also sort of hindered my idea of flow, especially since there hasn’t been any narration. DESIGN It’s really hard to say how innovative I think this game is, considering I was born the year that it came out, but compared to other games of that era, like pacman, I would say the fact that there is a story behind the gameplay is rather innovative. I would also say that considering how limited technology was then, the world does actually seem pretty vast thanks to the panning of the screen, especially compared to a game like pacman where you can only stay on one screen. This game is very similar to games that we have now like Spyro (one of my favorites), because you get to level up your character through upgrades. For example, at the end of the first level you get more life meters. However, this also allows for the game to become more difficult as well. I think this made the game interesting because you have more ways to kill the beasts, but not all of them worked, so you had to decide carefully which method you wanted to use. Even though I was really frustrated with this game, it was still interesting to play because you have incentives. Since you can only buy items from vendors with the jewels that you received from killing beasts, you have the incentive to kill more beasts and continue on to see what other items you can get. They also had little side games you could play, like a game where you can risk 10 jewels to get 50 jewels. I found that I wasn’t very successful with this though, so that just frustrated me more. Again, the large maze-like quality makes this world seem large, even despite the outdated graphics. This game is very light-hearted because it is fantasy-based, you are greeted by faeries and all the “bad” creatures you fight seem less then horrifying. Again, playing with someone made this game more fun to me because then you really can rally together to try and beat obstacles, and when you are super frustrated you can watch someone else take over for a while, and still have fun watching them. I would say that I wouldn't really change this game, because it’s a classic of it’s time, and while it was frustrating, that also made it interesting because it wasn’t too easy. I would say this game is a good example of something that is simple, but still engages you. Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:10:35 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1976&iddiary=3867https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1976Classics List Game 1- The Legend of Zelda Log Entry#1 SUMMARY The Legend of Zelda is a fantasy, action, adventure and puzzle game all wrapped into one. It takes place in the land of Hyrule, you play Link who’s mission is to rescue the princess Zelda from the evil Ganon. In order to defeat Ganon you must collect fragments of the triforce relic which was hidden by Zelda. There are many beasts and obstacles in Links way, however he gets help from little faeries and wizards and stuff with extra lives, and weapons, each beast you kill also drops gems that you can use to purchase weapons from vendors. GAMEPLAY This game has been incredibly frustrating to me in this past hour! I played this game on an emulator on my PC since I don’t have a game console and all the consoles at the library were checked out. I actually had to look on wikipedia for any information on the characters in this game, so the story behind it really was not at the foreground of what I was doing. The game (at least this version) didn’t really give any background into the story, it just starts off with the maze-like play. I remember watching my sisters playing this game growing up so I thought it was going to be sort of nostalgic, but it was really just very frustrating to me. This game has such simple graphics and commands, so I thought for sure it would be an easy game, but the whole puzzle part of the game and having to start off at the beginning of the puzzle every time I died basically meant that I spent my whole hour in the first level. There are lots of little monsters that you need to kill to move on through each screen, some of which it seems like you could only move, and not destroy. I was able to pick up some bombs, but I found them to be sort of weak as weapons because they disappear after a few seconds if they don't get run into. I really tried to get a strategy going with this one, although I was so completely frustrated that I kept dying. At first I was trying to kill everything, and get as many jewels and lives as I could, but I think after dying so many times I became so engulfed in killing things quickly that I was getting sloppy. Then I tried to just get as far as I could and just forget about trying to kill things, which got me far, but then the beasts would get harder and I didn’t have any good weapons or anything because I hadn’t collected any jewels. All in all, this game just made me mad, and I’m not really looking forward to playing it for another hour. (This entry has been edited4 times. It was last edited on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:38:57.)Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:25:28 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1976&iddiary=3863https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1663ENTRY #2 GAMEPLAY As the game progressed I got to know more about the first half-life through cut scenes, and dealt with my first “portal malfunction”. I was submerged even more into the plotline through these cut scenes, and got to know a little bit about the characters and my mission, which made this game even more fun. I still felt the pressure of getting used to controlling the character in this game, and it gets even more difficult as the game adds more obstacles for you to overcome, so I was definitely hindered by being a newbie. Up until now there had not been any real fighting or interaction, because while you can throw stuff at the guards, you can’t throw punches. As I continued further into this game, I got addition weapons, in addition to the crates and bottles I had been throwing (without much success) at the guards. You start off with a crow bar thanks to one of your friends, as it seems you often do in these types of games, and then after using this crow bar on a guard or two I was able to pick up a gun, and bullets, and thus the game starts you off on your health meter. From then on it really gets into the shooter mode. All around there are things to blow up and make your job easier to get away from the mobs and to your next, safe destination. DESIGN Again, I mentioned in my first entry that I really feel like this game is innovative because of how interactive it is, you can move and react to everything, and this design element was particularly fun for someone who isn’t that used to playing video games. Even the way your weapons react with the environment are neat, you have to work to use your crowbar, for instance, things don’t just break away easily. This game doesn’t have very concrete levels, it continues in parts, I was playing the first part, and there is also a part 2, I think the idea of smaller games that you can buy separately is pretty cool, especially because it allows more work to be put into each part. Since I am such a new player, I didn’t get very far playing for 2 hours, but the addition of weapons makes the game more difficult, but also more fun, I mean who doesn’t like blowing up stuff? The narratve explains that you are on the run, so that keeps the conflict strong, and urges you to do whatever you can to get away from people. I was also particularly happy that they allow you to choose between easy medium and hard in order to kill people. I was on easy because I am lame. As I mentioned, I am much more about the visual though, and there’s just so much in this visual world that it’s hard to get bored. The space in this game does seem very large, I felt like I was in a real world, it really is an amazingly rich environment. I would say the only thing frustrating for me is that I am really not a very good gamer, so I am still really struggling with shooting stuff and not falling off of buildings, however it was nice that when I did die, they brought me back in a very close proximity to where the fatal event occurred. As for ideas for my own game project, it kind of tells me to try something simple because I feel like a game like Half-life 2 is so completely time consuming to make, however amazing it is. I felt like I didn’t get many rewards yet from this game, but I guess that being able to kill the guards with the help of my new guns is a reward… it also was another challenge to keep from wasting my ammo by shooting at everything to see what would happen. The cut scenes were great for art sake, but I do feel like the dialogue would have been more successful to me if I had played the first game. The loading time was also very short, so that was awesome. (This entry has been edited3 times. It was last edited on Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:51:58.)Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:50:08 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1663&iddiary=3818https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1663SUMMARY Half-life 2 is a first person shooter which takes place directly where the first half life left off. You play Dr. Gordon Freeman, a research scientist who in Half life 1 accidentally opens a portal which allows aliens from the planet Xen to Earth. After escaping from the Black Mesa Research Facility , with the help of a character we know only as “G Man”. Freeman is then given an ultimatum to work for G Man, or be killed, and thus the job is taken. Your first encounter in the game is on a train headed for City 17, where the alien powers known as The Combine have taken humans prisoner. Gordon Freeman is met by colleagues from the first game, and they basically form a resistance against The Combine. GAMEPLAY I actually have never played the first Half-life, but by friend gave me the jist of the first game so I could understand what’s going on with this one. I honestly don’t play very many video games, but I really enjoyed playing this game. You can talk to basically every human in the game, and if you bump into the guards they beat you up. For most of this hour, however it was really about getting used to the controls, this game was very interactive and I really enjoyed that. You can pick up basically everything from cans, bottles, boxes, to telephone receivers. It was really hard for me not to keep throwing stuff at people because I’ve never played a game like this before. I found it amusing that if you threw televisions at people they would only say stuff very casually like “Stop that”. What I loved about this game, was that even though I had not played the first, I still felt completely submerged into the story line, especially since there are a lot of in game bystanders and action going on around you. For example, at one point you enter a building and see security officers raiding a room and you can walk into other rooms and witness the reactions of the humans. There were also a lot of little things, that made the game interesting like just outside of the same building is an old play ground with a tick tack toe type toy which is missing a piece, and it’s inside one of the rooms inside the building. I still feel like it will take me a while to get used to the controls because I’m used to playing games like the original Tomb Raider where there isn’t very many controls to use at all, but I really thought the control of movement was nice on this game and the graphics are amazing. I am an art major, so I was really drawn to that aspect of this game, I wanted to look at every surface and every object. Again, the interactivity made this game great for that reason, because you can pick up bottles and when you drop them they break and you can subsequently pick up the broken pieces. There are so many little things in this game, and I can really appreciate that kind of devotion. Even though I didn’t get that far in this game in an hour, I felt that the characters were engaging because the voice acting was well done, however I did find some of the characters to be a bit cliché. I do find that a storyline is what usually keeps me wanting to play a game, and I do find myself wanting to play this game some more, however. I also feel like the storyline helped keep the flow going, otherwise I would feel like I’m running around aimlessly. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Sun, 13 Jan 2008 17:27:06.)Sun, 13 Jan 2008 16:22:48 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1663&iddiary=3381