Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=493https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3132Gameplay For the most part, little has changed over the course of my first couple sessions. There are of course bigger, shinier guns and new kinds of enemies, but at its core this remains a solid platform game that really doesn’t want to redefine itself a whole lot. The “free-falling” mechanic is pretty cool, but other than that this seems to remain true to its roots, and is definitely a lot of fun to play. This title seems to follow the idiom “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Design Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction remains at its heart a platformer. You control your character in 3D, be it the “Lombax” Ratchet or his robot counterpart Clank, and you navigate through environments by jumping around or skating on rails. You come equipped with a whole arsenal of guns, and they’re pretty fun to play around with. The Tornado Launcher in particular speaks well of this game’s design, by utilizing the motion-sensitive capabilities of the Sixaxis controller. As far as innovative design goes, or at least as far as I can tell so far, all innovation hinges around the PS3’s Sixaxis controller. There are some “free-falling” sequences where you tilt the Sixaxis to guide Ratchet as he falls, and the tornadoes you shoot via the Tornado Launcher are also controlled by tilting the controller. Other than these neat twists, so to speak, Tools of Destruction doesn’t break a whole lot of new ground. It’s yet another installment of the Ratchet and Clank series, which is nothing to be scoffed at, but this game doesn’t really break down any walls as far as level design or game mechanics. It’s a platformer, you run, jump, shoot, and collect arbitrary amounts of Bolts. But, this made for great games before, so there’s no reason that it can’t work again. I’m actually pleased with this game, even though it doesn’t do a lot of new things, it does what the other Ratchet and Clank games have done, and it does them well. What else does a game need to do, right? It’s fun, and that’s really all that counts.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:56:21 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3132&iddiary=5863https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3132Summary This iteration of Ratchet and Clank reminds me of why I first got interested in the series. The original was quirky, funny, and completely over-the-top, and Tools of Destruction seems to deliver on all those levels. I like the witty dialogue, and the story sets itself up quickly and effortlessly, allowing players to get right to the game play. The game itself throws a lot of enemies at players at once, and the first level is filled with explosions and mayhem, providing the perfect segue back into this series. Gameplay Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction does not appear at first glance to be very different from its predecessors, but this is definitely a good thing. As an avid fan of the first two games for the Playstation 2, I was pleasantly surprised to pop this game into my PS3 and immediately get right back into the fray. Right out of the gate, the screen was filled with enemies and bullets and bombs, most of which were mine. The first couple of guns this game gives you, a fireball shooter and a grenade launcher, are quite effective and visually impressive. I wasted no time in blowing the robotic enemies apart and racing around the level on the high-speed rails. Many of the common mechanics from the original Ratchet and Clank were right in the first level of this game, but the scale was hiked up. This game looks like it plans on taking advantage of the PS3’s processing power with an insane amount of foes and particle effects from bullets on the screen. Oddly enough, this actually makes for a really fun game. The scale of this platformer immediately sets itself up for a lot of fast-paced action and some pretty crazy moments which I am definitely looking forward to getting back to.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 01:21:51 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3132&iddiary=5820https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2675Gameplay As the game progresses, it never stops accelerating until the final credits roll. From the addictive tunes playing in the background to the witty banter of the cast to the innovation of “Timed Hits”, and what that does to combat, this game remains one of the greatest RPGs of all time. The quirky characters, from the marshmallow-esque “Mallow” to the foreigner “Geno” to a few surprise guests along the way, Super Mario RPG both utilizes established characters that players can recognize as well as introducing some new faces to the world. The story is surprisingly complex for such an early title, this truly is a game for the ages. This game is, simply put, fun to play. Something about it just works, and its success led to the development of more RPG-style games in the vein of Mario RPG (Paper Mario (N64) and Super Paper Mario (Wii)), but neither of these hit quite the same buttons that this title did. Some of the magic lies in the nostalgia of the SNES system and its quirky midi files and graphics, while some of the magic remains in the originality and innovation at play. Many factors combine to make Super Mario RPG simply spectacular, and it remains a game that I will continue to come back to as long as I remain a gamer. Design Why is this such a fun game to play? How does a side-scroller translate into a turn-based RPG system? Simply put, because there is something about the Mario universe that lends itself to the RPG format. The multitude of enemies, the various moves Mario can perform, the never-ending supply of wacky allies he always seems to run into. All this adds up to a huge amount of resources available to the dev team, all that was left was to tweak some of the basic actions from keystrokes to strategy and you’ve got yourself a Mario RPG. But they didn’t stop there, they took it a step further than they needed to and created the “Timed Hits” functionality that makes this game stand out from other RPGs. Whenever a player attacks or defends, they can hit a given button at the right time to increase the strength of the attack or increase their own defense, which can hugely shift the tide of battle. This mechanic can get a little unfair for veteran players, at a certain point combat becomes much more about skill than luck, a factor in many RPGs. And yet, this contributes so much to the thrill of the game. Combat never gets frustrating, as with many RPGs where luck is a huge element. A skilled player will probably never lose a fight, and yet this makes the game so much more enjoyable. The ease of play and the low stakes allow the player to put less at stake while playing, and game sessions become about fun, which should be at the core of all gaming after all. The humorous dialogue and enchanting storyline continue to drive the player forward, and the whole package just comes together nicely to make for a thoroughly enjoyable play experience. This game is, to be blunt, a success story. When it comes down to it, this is a great game. Great games are incredibly rare, and having so few it is hard to come up with the vocabulary to describe them, but I can testify to this game’s greatness whole-heartedly. Something about this game just works, and it never disappoints. I have probably completed upwards of 10 run-throughs of this game, and I am certainly planning on revisiting it again as soon as I get the chance.Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:56:45 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2675&iddiary=5050https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2675Summary Since the early days of video games, Mario has been a household name. Most often associated with side-scrolling craziness and stomping on goombas and koopas, it cannot be questioned that this stout plumber's 'stache is one of the most recognized video game icons in all of video game history. In this title, the fiery, mute, red-clad hero dons his RPG gear and sets out on one of my personal favorite adventures in video games. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is by all means a classic and is worthy of the highest praise in gaming. Gameplay Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars truly is a legend among games. From the moment I turn the game on, I am enchanted by the familiar-yet-different midi that plays over the title menu screen, and I can tell that I am in for a great gaming experience. The first level entails the standard Mario scenario: the princess Peach has been stolen away by the villain Bowser, and the hero Mario must scale Bowser’s tower, thwarting his minions along the way to save the day. And save the day he does! The princess is safe, the tyrant is defeated, and all is well after the opening number. But then a twist: Bowser is not the “big baddy” in this game. A huge sword pierces the sky and crashed into the tower, sending plumber, princess and turtle flying in different directions, and the stage is set for this epic game. The opening sequence is so familiar and nostalgic, with throwbacks to the Mario games of old while introducing the combat system, and yet it turns all of that on its head as it begins to change what a Mario game is about and point it in a different direction. The first few minutes of gameplay truly speak wonders about where this title will go along the course of its story, and what it will do to the Mario universe.Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:48:54 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2675&iddiary=5049https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2349Gameplay After having some more time with Mass Effect, I am very pleased with this game as a whole. It has some pivotal RPG elements combined into a shooter game, and it works well. There was never a dull moment while I was playing, whether during some of the intense fighting sequences or some of the longer dialogues, because you are in complete control the whole time. You can really shape your experience with the game through conversation, and many of your choices affect the rest of the plot hugely, so that you can feasibly replay the game multiple times and never have the same end result. Design From a design perspective, I am completely thrilled with Mass Effect. The incorporation of two distinct genres into a functional title is a rare feat, and yet Mass Effect has no flaws as far as I can tell. The experience system for leveling up is interesting, and characters are customizable as much as one could expect. Having 6 different possible party members makes for many possible combinations of skills that directly affect combat, and I am really looking forward to going back and trying some of the combinations that I missed the first time through. Mass Effect, simply put, works. It is an exceptionally ambitious title that makes very bold claims: an open, customizable world that combines both RPG and shooter elements seamlessly makes for a great tagline, but is significantly difficult to execute. Bioware accomplishes this handily, and Mass Effect comes out with both an incredibly strong and engaging storyline as well as fast-paced combat that keeps players on their toes between battles. This game is evidence that there is still room for innovation in games, and it opens new doors for possible combinations of other genres in the years to come.Thu, 07 Feb 2008 21:44:46 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2349&iddiary=4514https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2349Summary Mass Effect is an expansive role-playing game akin to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (and sequel). The player controls Commander Shepard, and can dictate Shepard's personality via an initial set of descriptors and dialogue throughout the game. Shepard gains allies and progresses through levels in a 3rd person shooter style play with the ability to use skills outside of standard shooter parameters, dubbed Biotics. Mass Effect hinges on its flexible storyline, and play is determined by the choices players make as they progress. Gameplay My first experience with Mass Effect was very enjoyable. Immediately after starting, I noticed the parallels between it and Knights of the Old Republic, but can’t complain since I really enjoyed that game when it was released. The combat is simple enough to not be frustrating while challenging enough to stay interesting, a hard combination in role playing games. I am not sure that I can classify this experience as a Shooter or an RPG, it acts as a fusion of the two really. While the combat from my style has been mostly shooting, the story elements and customization of characters alongside the leveling system with XP add too many RPG elements for me to say that it is simply a shooter with some RPG twists. Really, Mass Effect looks like a combination of my two favorite kinds of games, and I am really looking forward to playing more of it. The story also looks incredibly complex based on my first session with the game. I can already tell that it will be a long game, and anticipate several interesting twists along the way. Because I am familiar with the function of these kinds of games, I have been carefully making my decisions to craft the experience I want out of it, but am definitely already looking forward to going back and seeing where making different choices will take me. After only an hours of Mass Effect, I am hooked and ready for more.Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:32:34 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2349&iddiary=4487https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2079Gameplay This game is hard to describe. You run around a lot, you steal a lot of cars, you shoot a lot of pimps. What else is there to say? The mechanics are all artificial, there is no real incentive to keep going. The story is plain and not compelling, and none of the gameplay feels fresh or innovative. Simply put, it's a game to vent with. It succeeds at that, certainly, but has little other value at all. Design From a design perspective, I consider this game a failure. There is nothing in it that I haven't seen, and most of it I have seen in better games, with better execution. The function of this game appears to be to present itself as controversially as possible to gather a fan base. And according to the rave reviews and prestige surrounding the title, it did in fact succeed at that. I suppose there has to be some value in a game that does nothing new but garners attention worldwide, even pulling out all the stops with the "Hot Coffee" scandal. As such, this game succeeds in creating a Culture, but fails at creating valuable Play or interesting Rules.Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:53:16 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2079&iddiary=4001https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2079Summary It's Grand Theft Auto. Again. This just feels so overused and overhyped, I am so stunned by the fact that people continue to play these games. There just isn't anything compelling about the mindless acts of violence and illegal activities that make this game worth playing. It just doesn't do anything for me that I can't get out of another game. How disappointing. Gameplay Mechanical judgment aside, the humorous dialogue and ridiculous situations make it worthwile to keep going, just to see what I can get myself into next. Simply being able to do any number of things with no real consequences (dying simply results in spawning to a hospital and losing $100) means you can leap off of cliffs in stolen cars among other crazy hijinx. The fact that I can use "hijinx" to describe a Grand Theft Auto game is a testament to the humorous potential of this game. It is not to be taken seriously, but mocked. In this way, GTA: SA is a fun and entertaining play.Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:41:36 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2079&iddiary=3998https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1630Part 2 Gameplay After continuing with Chrono Trigger for some time, I quickly got tired of wandering around in circles in the World Map. Unfortunately, the combat system alone is not enough to make up for the lack of coherent directions or dialogue, and the plot is, simply put, not compelling. I did appreciate some of the newer skills that you can learn along the way, and I like the Combo system that becomes available with some of these skills. (Two pary members can use different attacks on the same targets as long as one of them uses a Combo move) That was exciting for me, because I am used to a "combo move" entailing multiple party members using the same attack to great effect, but this Combo system is much more engaging and mutable, since you can use any other skills you want with the other characters. Design Chrono Trigger may well have been cutting-edge in 1995, and I appreciate it for what it is. Of course it does not stand up to some of the next generation games as far as graphics or sound, but as is the case with many older games, is still somehow fun to play. Chrono Trigger's combat system is engaging and fun to play with over and over again. And since you will be playing with the same combat system for a very long time with this game, that is definitely a plus. A good RPG requires two things, however: a good combat system and an engaging storyline. Unfortunately, Chrono Trigger's story is bland and uninteresting. After the initial shock of going backwards in time a few hundred years to the town you started in, nothing really happens for a good amount of time. Long enough for me to lose interest in the characters involved, sadly. Chrono Trigger is useful in that it shows us which conventions of older RPGs have been recycled and which ones have been pruned. It would seem that game developers would side with me regarding the story, as many more compelling and immersive games have emerged in recent years. Still, Chrono Trigger's popularity at the time shows that the truly essential piece to a solid game is the gameplay itself, not the fiction surrounding that game. Sun, 13 Jan 2008 01:06:44 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1630&iddiary=3364https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1630Summary Chrono Trigger is a classic RPG that utilizes many common practices from that era. Players navigate the game through a main World Map, with various locations that they can enter to progress the story. Enemy encounters are fought via a turn-based battle structure using an ATB (Attack Time Bar) system, and utilizes enemy location for special attacks. (ie, certain attacks hit enemies that are closer together or lined up, etc) As such, combat is fluid and tactical, with many moves taking precious seconds before execution so the enemies line up perfectly. Gameplay At first glance, Chrono Trigger is very clearly the predecessor of the Final Fantasy series. That combat takes advantage of mobile enemies adds a bit to fighting, but for the most part seems pretty straightforward. Cheesy dialogue appropriate to this time period (the game was released in 1995), and the limits of graphics that follow are not distracting in the least, rather they create a nostalgic feel for the game that produces most, if not all, of this game's value. Yet the nostalgia evoked certainly feels right, and Chrono Trigger is still fun to play. Noticing the relevant mechanics that have been adapted into more sophisticated games in the following generations makes playing the game feel appropriately like a step back in time, seeing as the plot itself follows the hero backwards in time. Nostalgia aside, my initial experience with Chrono Trigger is somewhat dissapointing. After progressing through very little of what I presume to be an expansive plot, I find myself stuck without any idea of where to head next. The lack of a diary or quest log makes many games of this time period difficult to understand without prior experience, and that problem seems to be highlighted in Chrono Trigger, because the characters' dialogue is insubstantial at best. To say that this is a great game would be an exaggeration, but to say that it is terrible would be unfair. Chrono Trigger appears to be a good representation of the technology and inspiration that available when it was made, and that is just about the best that can be said about a game from the First Generation of gaming.Sat, 12 Jan 2008 19:45:24 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1630&iddiary=3345