Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=566https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3054GAMEPLAY As I was writing the previous entry, I kept thinking about how much I wanted to go back and continue playing this game (I left off at a very interesting part). This shows me how much this game keeps the players attention. I have a serious concern for what happens to the main character in relation to the story. I also notice that it a player who just dove into the game without having played the previous game or lack adequate knowledge of the events in the previous games would have some trouble understanding some of the allusions in the narrative to the previous games; primarily, references to characters in the previous games like Mei Ling and Vulcan Raven. My roommate, who was playing Devil May Cry 3 for his game log assignment (my roommate and I are in this class together) made me realize that MGS2 was relatively slower paced in that the player must progress sluggishly through the game in comparison to DMC3 where the player is attacked by hordes of enemies every two steps. The flow of the game makes the player spend a good amount of time in cut scenes or speaking to supporting characters. There is a slow and steady flow to this game. It makes me feel like I am watching a movie. At some points, I would even put down the controller and just watch the cut scenes. Despite the speed of the game, it is really fun to play. The Metal Gear series does for stealth games what the Mario series does for platformers. Creeping around, going around opponents and knocking them out is really fun and give the player a sense of excitement. DESIGN The first thing I noticed about the design of MGS2 is that it holds true to the first game. For the most part the controls are similar and the movement is similar to the first game. The player has to sneak around enemies; hug walls; crawl through vents; hide out of the line of sight of an enemy; and avoid being spotted. The main essence of the game hasn’t changed. What I really liked about this game was its level design. The game is segmented into areas that the player explores. They player can back track from area to area. Another part of the level design that I like is that each area new area that the player enters is unique in challenge and some areas are more challenging than others. A what I really like about the Metal Gear series is that it has a good sense of humor. The game doesn’t take itself too seriously and often indirectly breaks down the fourth wall. There are some instances in the game where the player can open a locker and find a poster of a woman in a bikini or a well built man. Things that tell me the level designers are really fun people who would probably be fun at a party which is why they work for Konami. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:07:01.)Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:06:39 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3054&iddiary=5988https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3054SUMMARY Metal Gear Solid 2: The Sons of Liberty is another game of espionage from Hideo Kojima. The game takes place after the events of the first Metal Gear Solid. Snake, now working for an organization known as Philanthropy, must investigate the threat of another metal gear. GAMEPLAY I mentioned in a previous game log that I had always hated stealth based video games. I would always despise the missions in games that required the player to not be seen by the enemy. My opinion changed when I played the Metal Gear Solid. After playing Metal Gear Solid and beating it, I gained a lot more confidence in my video game sneaking abilities. Upon playing Metal Gear Solid 2 for the first time, I had a lot more confidence and familiarity with the game mechanics having recently beaten the first game. I quickly became immersed in the environment and feel of the game. MGS2 has the same feel as MGS in that the character interacts with the environment in the same way; the camera angles are limit the view of the player; and the games cut scenes are just as essential as the gameplay. All of these attributes of the game made for a captivating gaming experience. Like all the previous Metal Gear games, the story is central to the game. What is really great about this game is that it seems to have just as solid a story as its predecessors. The first five minutes of the game is one long cut scene that establishes the story and the setting of the game. Throughout the first hour of play, the player learns more about what has happened after the events of the first game and show some of the main characters as the introduce themselves in the game. MGS2 can easily be compared to a movie. There is such a rich storyline and well developed characters that sometimes its feels like you’re watching a movie more than playing a video game. I can already tell that I am going to enjoy this game as much as I enjoyed the first game. So far so good.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:25:05 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3054&iddiary=5772https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2766GAMEPLAY It might just be because I am not used to the controls, but I find the dislocation of the thumb stick and the Wii-mote to be a bit frustrating at times. With ordinary controls, the thumb stick that controls motion is usually controlled by the left hand. One would say that it’s no big deal and that the right hand can easily control the Wii-mote but herein lays the problem: I’m left handed! This makes it difficult to control Mario’s movement because I must hold the Wii-mote with the left hand for comfort and the nun chuck with my right. A minor problem but it seems like a minor flaw with the control and game design that makes a player like me have to feel awkward with controls to such a fun game. On a lighter note, I did find my second hour of play enjoyable regardless of discomfort. The game environment made me feel very comfortable and happy. Everything from the way the characters are drawn to the music in the game is meant make the player feel happy. I was easily entertained the way Mario interacted with the environment. One last thing about the gameplay is that it doesn’t seem to get old. I have only been playing this game for two hours but I have not gotten tired of anything so far. Every level that I have played so far seems to be just as fun as well as slightly more challenging than the last but at the same time it doesn’t get too hard too fast. I have been entertained so far. DESIGN The first thing to take notice of in the game is the level design. I can easily compare this game to Psychonaughts. In both games the main character navigates different levels that have their own physics or feel to them. In Super Mario Galaxy each level consists of the player going from planet to planet navigating obstacles on each planet that has its own gravity. Sometimes the physics of the game can really make someone sick. The physics engine is amazing in itself. One thing that kind of bugs me about the game is that even though Super Mario Galaxy has lots of room for good cut scenes, it still resorts to out of date text boxes. The funny part of the whole thing is that there is still some voice acting in the game even though its takes the form of phrases, grunts, and roars. That part of the game really bugs me. I don’t think that anyone can use the Link card on this one. We already know how Mario sounds like every character has a familiar voice that people recognize. So why not just have good voice acting instead of obsolete text boxes? I think its Nintendo being cheap. So that would be what I would change about the game: the voice acting, or lack thereof. I really feel that Nintendo has no excuse for this and that they should get with the times. But of course this is my own personal grudge and has nothing to do with how awesome Super Mario Galaxy is.Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:50:18 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2766&iddiary=5360https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2766SUMMARY Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii is a platform game that puts the player in control of Mario, the lovable plumber in red. Mario must cross the galaxy visiting numerous planets in search of power stars and rescue the princess from the evil Bowser. GAMEPLAY Like most Nintendo games, the story for Super Mario Galaxy is very similar to its predecessors, or at least astonishingly similar to Super Mario 64. Mario gets invited to the castle, Bowser as kidnapped the princess, and Mario has to save her. The game story hasn’t changed much from the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES. If there is one complaint that I have about Nintendo is its lack of imagination when it comes to basic story. While there is an independent story in the game that is unique to this game, the basic formula hasn’t changed much. While the basic formula for each Nintendo game hasn’t changed, I wonder how long they can keep using the same formula before players start wanting more out of each game. The camera angle in the game was a bit disorienting at times. I found myself struggling with the camera and trying to see where I was going or what was ahead of me. Although there is a button to adjust the camera angle, it sometimes flips the camera backward making it even more difficult to see what is ahead of you. This is most evident when the player is trying to navigate a planet. The even though the camera can get annoying at times, the gameplay more than makes up for it. Even though Super Mario Galaxy is meant to be a one player game, it has a feature that allows a second player to collect star bits for Mario. Collecting star bits may not sound like much fun but it can be much more fun than one may think. The designers made these star bits made it so that they come from everywhere at anytime. This makes player 2 keep an eye out for star bits. Along with collecting these star bits, player 2 can also shoot them at enemies. To be continued…Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:08:31 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2766&iddiary=5174https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2428GAMEPLAY So it would seem that I either need to improve in my sneaking skills or I’m not cut out for a game of tactical espionage like Metal Gear Solid: the Twin Snakes. I spent a good half hour in the same room getting caught repeatedly and killed endlessly. After I finally cleared the room, I felt like I was getting a better feel for the game and began to appreciate the story a little more. The storyline is very rich through out the game and it seems like every cutscene is too important to miss. What I find very enjoyable about the game is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. In the dialogue between Snake and his superiors, both sides seem to have a sense of humor in that not everything they say is serious. Snake even hits on one of the characters upon seeing how attractive she is. This witty dialogue makes the game much more enjoyable and keeps the player interested. One thing that I do not like about the gameplay is that it is so slow. Sometimes the player may have to stay in one position or area for a long time until the enemy stops looking for them. In that case the player could just change the channel and watch an episode of family guy because it takes forever for them to stop searching for you. Another problem I have is that I don’t really look at the screen too much. Because of the limited camera angles, player ends up making good use of the radar system which almost makes the game seem 2D. DESIGN I think that MGS: TS is great for what it is: a stealth game. Each map feels like a different level in which the player must find a way to get from point A to point B without being seen or killed. There are many obstacles that are designed to get you caught including puddles and your own foot prints. That really makes the game challenging and very enjoyable. The controls for the game are also sometimes hard to manage. To begin with, there is no set display of what the buttons are. There is no real in game options that tell you what the controls are. After playing the game for a while, however, one can get used to the controls and begin to truly enjoy the game. One thing I didn’t like about the character design was the way Snake moved. Snake can only sneak so fast and doesn’t seem able to sprint or run in any real way. For some reason, Snake can’t beat someone up when they are knocked on the ground. That would make the game so much easier if the enemy could be kicked while on the ground. One thing that was excellent about the game was its use of cutscenes. While there is a lot of interaction in the game, the cutscenes also take up a good deal of time. What makes this game so great is that it really proves that games can be artistic and cinematic. The cutscenes are really what make this game interesting. It has a strong storyline and keeps the player interested from the start. I really cant wait to keep playing.Fri, 08 Feb 2008 23:19:22 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2428&iddiary=4712https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2428SUMMARY Metal Gear Solid: the Twin Snakes is a remake of the classic PlayStation game Metal Gear Solid. MGS:TS is a stealth based game that makes the player use stealth tactics to infiltrate areas and kill enemies silently. A renegade Special Forces unit known as FOXHOUND has taken over a nuclear weapons disposal facility and is threatening to launch a nuclear strike against the US. It’s up to Solid Snake, a retired soldier, to infiltrate the base and save the day. GAMEPLAY I have NEVER played a Metal Gear game in my life until today. Metal Gear games have always seemed intimidating to me; I am more of a run and gun, First Person Shooter type of guy. The idea of sneaking around corners and not being seen for fear of certain death sounds too hard for me to do. For some reason I decided to give it a try this time and I am glad that I did. MGS:TS may be outside of my safety zone, but I think that so far it has shown me that stealth games are not as hard as they initially sound. The unique thing about the gameplay in MGS: TS is that the initial cutscene at the beginning of the game is pertinent to the beginning of the game because it explains what is going on in the game unlike other games like Halo or Assassins Creed that only show you what the game looks like. Unlike other games where the title screen is separate from the game, MGS: TS integrates the title of the game into the game and actually appears only after the player has cleared the first map. This gives the player a more cinematic and artistic feel for the game. Because this was my first time playing a stealth game, I was really nervous about sneaking around and initially felt conservative in exploring the maps. One reason was that the camera angles were designed to hang over the player and limit the visibility of the player making them more dependent on the radar. This made the game really tense and made it me even more anxious. Needless to say I died a lot. What makes the game even more challenging is that the player is completely unarmed at the beginning of the game and therefore has to find weapons, ammunition and health along the way. This acts as an incentive to be extra sneaky and not be seen. I am having a lot of fun with MGS: TS and cannot wait to pick up the controller again.Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:58:09 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2428&iddiary=4601https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2166GAMEPLAY II: Well I spent a good twenty minutes trying to remember what I was supposed to do. This was mostly because the game has no menu that tells reminds the player of his/her objectives. Another thing that was a hassle to deal with was the save system in the game. Saving the game means you pick up at the beginning of the map you are currently in but whatever puzzles you have already done you do not have to deal with. The problem with that is remembering what you did before. After I pick up where I left off though the game was pretty fun. After a second round of gameplay the controls start to get easier to handle and you really learn to appreciate the item layout that is set up. The one thing I noticed about this gaming session from the first was that right off the bat I was already enjoying it. I think the big difference that I noticed was that I didn’t have to put up with a tutorial like first ten minutes. I just went straight into the adventure. The big thing that I liked was that I finally fought a boss. It seems that the boss fight was meant to give the player a feel for what the future boss fights will be like as well as a feel for how the game is set up. The Story arc is well done and well told. Each character starts to feel more and more real as the story progresses. While it is story that is not very different from other Zelda games, it still has helps the player get into the game. The player gets into the grove of the game and helps give the player a sense of magnitude for how long the game will be. DESIGN: I am conflicted about the way the action buttons are displayed on the upper right corner of the screen. While I see that they are useful in that the player always knows what each button is assigned to at a given time, I dislike the fact that it is always there and that it is opaque so that it clutters the screen, therefore limiting my view. Overall I think it is a good feature, but I wish that the designers either made it more transparent or allowed the player to toggle on/off the button icons. Another thing that I am mixed about is the map system. While I do like the fact that there is a map in the game, I think that the mapping system could be fleshed out. There is no sense of texture in the game so it makes everything on the map look the same making it hard to tell where the player is. The map in the inventory menu is also very hard to read. It doesn’t tell the player where they are on the map but it does show the area in more detail. In my experience, I have noticed that the map system has improved with each game, but that isn’t saying much for this game. It is very easy to get lost in a new map or not be able to tell where to go. One thing that I originally thought was a drag but have grown to like was the fact that Link cant jump; or at least the player can not press a button to make him jump. By not making Link able to jump on command, the designers make the maps harder more difficult to solve and making the game more fun. I really enjoy playing Ocarina of Time and look forward to beating it.Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:47:31 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2166&iddiary=4201https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2166SUMMARY: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is an adventure game that takes place in the fictional land of Hyrule. The player takes control of Link, the main character, as he sets out to rescue princess Zelda from the evil clutches of Ganondorf. GAMEPLAY: Ocarina of Time is revered as one of the greatest games of all time; however, I feel that the gameplay is way too convoluted. The game starts out with Link getting out of bed and being told to go to see the Great Deku Tree, but no one tells you where to find the Great Deku Tree. Even with your map, there is no indicator telling you where to go or where to find the tree. It took me twenty minutes to find it and after I did, for some strange reason, I still had to find a shield and sword in order to go past the guard standing by the entrance to the Great Deku Tree. In retrospect, even though the tasks I had to complete in order to obtain the sword and shield were mundane, they were significant in game design perspective because they allowed the player to become familiar with the gameplay mechanics; I still think that the designers could have come up with a better way to do that. The story seems to be the same as every other Legend of Zelda game. You are Link; you must same princess from evil bad guy; in order to save princess, you must go to dungeons A-Z.; Defeat the bad guy, the end. There is little variation in this game from the others. Despite the repetition in the story, the gameplay is very fun. The third person perspective and the gameplay is a big difference from the original 2D Zelda games. The puzzles solving aspect makes the game very interesting and keeps the player on their toes. While the story hasn’t changed much from game to game, the gameplay is still entertaining. The flow of the game was only interrupted by the sometimes lengthy script that had to be read throughout the game. Even though the game itself was fun, I felt that the lengthy script was very annoying to have to sit through. Although most of what I had to read was important, I thought it was so much that it got annoying to read after a while. One question I had to ask in particular is why does the Great Deku tree speak in Elizabethan English? NO ONE ELSE IN THE GAME SPEAKS THAT WAY! Maybe they wanted to make him special. Overall I really am enjoying this game. I know that I am giving this game a harsh critique, but I can see how this game would be considered a classic that is worth putting time into.Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:35:33 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2166&iddiary=4127https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1692GAMEPLAY II: My experience a second time around with Metroid Prime made me see things that I didn’t see the first time. The story is really non-existent; but that fact doesn’t really affect the gameplay that much. Metroid Prime is a relatively non-linear game so it doesn’t matter where you go on the map as long as you explore everything eventually. The aspect of the free roaming environment really makes the game fun and feels like anything can happen. After a second session of Metroid Prime, I have found some kinks that could have been smoothed out. First off, I didn’t like the idea that everytime I entered an area that I had previously explored, the aliens that I killed came back. Another thing was that there was no fast way to get from point A to point B. If I hit a dead end and I wanted to go all the way across the map, I had to trek through each section that I was previously at and fight the same things over again. In all honesty, I find the game fun and challenging. But there are some things that get repetitive. DESIGN: What makes Metroid Prime a good game from a design perspective is that it has its own unique feel as a first person shooter and in its controls. Metroid Prime makes the player feel like he/she is actually in the characters head. The helmet HUD is really a creative way to incorporate a part of the character into the game. I’ve been told that once I get used to the controls that I would enjoy maneuvering around the environment and really get more out of the game. The more I play and get used to the controls, the more I see that it is true. Although I still think that Halo-style controls would probably be more efficient in maneuvering, I can see that the existing controls are just right for this kind of game. What I really liked about Metroid Prime is that the level design really held true to the older games. Much like the older Metroid games, the maps are non-linear and involve the player jumping onto ledges and fighting Metroids. I feel that it is a fitting addition to the Metroid series as a 3D game. It does what Super Mario 64 did to the Super Mario franchise. While some may argue that making a first-person, 3D Metroid game is defilement to the Metroid series, I would argue that a first-person shooter was a logical step for the Metroid franchise. The original Metroid games were platform shooters, it would make sense that when games went 3D that the Metroid series would come out with a game that puts the player in the perspective of Samus. What better way than to make it first-person? I think that Metroid Prime is a solid game that really takes shooters to another level; It is as open ended as its predecessors and just as fun. I can’t wait to beat it an go on in the series.Tue, 15 Jan 2008 03:05:49 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1692&iddiary=3783https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1692Summary: In Metroid Prime the player takes control of Samus Aran, a galactic bounty hunter that fights space pirates and parasitic creatures known as Metroids. The game takes place between the events in Metroid and Metroid II: the return of Samus and takes place primarily on the planet Tallon IV. Samus must explore the planet collecting power ups for her suit while battling space pirates. Gameplay: Metroid Prime makes good use of its first-person perspective. Unlike other games that make the HUD seem detached from the player, Samus’ helmet visor acts as the HUD. This makes the player feel like he/she is actually in the characters head. Metroid Prime goes even farther by having the visor react to its environment. For example, if a mist hits the player, the visor begins to fog up. These subtle details give a sense of surrealism to the game. The narrative of the game is told through the cut scenes and by scanning the environment. While there is no actual dialogue so far in the game, I have derived the story by using the scanning ability to analyze my surroundings and learn more about the space pirates and the environment of Tallon IV. The cut scenes give the player some idea as to what is going on at certain moments as well. Overall the story doesn’t feel like it needs to be paid too much attention in order to appreciate the game. One problem that I had with the game was the control scheme. It feels like I would have appreciated playing this game on a PC more than on the gamecube because of the difficulty I had controlling the movement of the character. If anything, I would have liked to have one stick to control movement and another to control where the player looks. I feel that this small problem made it difficult to lock on to targets and avoid enemy fire. I don’t think that it was a big enough problem that it dragged down the entire experience. So far I have enjoyed playing Metroid and I look forward to completing the game.Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:46:56 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1692&iddiary=3629