Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=596https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3206Two Gameplay In this gameplay session i was able to finish the game, but the last 4 levels took much longer than the first 6. The game added many difficult shots including levels that had sections that were only accessible with portals. After beating the game i was left wanting more. I had played a good amount of Peggle Deluxe before playing extreme, so The starting ability just isn't sufficient. There are many other abilities that make the game so much more enjoyable. The game was a free entity tacked on to the best deal in gaming history, it was pretty shallow, but it is original content. The game is enjoyable, and even if all it is is an advertisement I am glad Valve threw it in their pack. The game even made me laugh at times. Design The design is one of the game's strongest points. The levels are designed after the orange box. The Cartooney feel of deluxe is removed and replaced by a darker, funnier valve version. The levels are easy enough for anyone to beat, but difficult enough to keep me, a peggle vet, interested. This game was clearly designed to get people who grew up with Halflife to buy and play this ridiculous game. i enjoyed the way they integrated many aspects of the orange box into this game. In deluxe if you do particularly well with one marble, a little gopher will pop up and say nice shot. In Extreme a Heavy Weapons Guy from TF2 will pop up and say well done in his heay slavix accent. This game is elevated by playing the other contents of the orange box first, if a personw as to jump straight into peggle many of the references would go wasted.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:08:56 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3206&iddiary=6035https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3206One Summary Peggle Extreme is an advirtisement for Peggle Deluxe located within Valve's Orange Box. The game takes some of Deluxe's elements, simplifies them, then adds a few new things like portals. The game is only 10 levels and is very easy for anyone who has played Peggle before, though it will take a novice several attempts to complete most of the levels. Gameplay The gameplay is almosy identical to Deluxe, except there is only one playable character instead of the many from deluxe. The goal of the game is to shoot a marble to pop all 35 orange pegs locatted on the game screen. The game uses realistic physics for the ball's bounces. There are also other types of pegs, blue, green, and purple. the Blue Pegs are just extra points, you do not need to break any to beat the level. The green ones are worth points as well as activiate your character's special ability. The purple pegs are some of the most important, they are a score multiplyer and there is always one purple peg in the field. After you clear the orange pegs the bottom of the field is replaced with 5 scoring sections worth either 10, 50, or 100 thousand. If you manage to clear every peg each section is worth 100,000. the game opens simply, but quickly gets much more complex. In my first session I was able to make it all the way to level seven.Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:59:40 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3206&iddiary=6034https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2683Two Gameplay: For my second part I jumped over to my favorite level (as I have previously beaten the game) Frigate. This level has you backtrack around a boat. It consists of a lot of close quarter fighting and includes my favorite Golden Eye weapon, the Phantom. It closely resembles some kind of assault rifle, and it is just fun to use. The gameplay can be described by the philosophy the halo developers took, it takes 30 seconds of fun, and repeats that 30 seconds over and over again. Obviously there are different segments put in, but for the most part you are replaying the same fight in different places with different weapons. That is the plight of every first person shooter, most are very similar so they need things to make it stand out. I mentioned ease of play, but this game also follows the story of Golden Eye, the movie. Everyone loves the movie which in my opinion means it is one of the best films of all time. Playing the game is like watching the movie, only you become more immersed as you control the main character. Design From a design standpoint this game is as close to perfection as we're going to get. For it's time the graphics were amazing, especially considering 3d polygons and complex animations were a new field. The game was impressive. It has good looking videos that keep the plot together, and brings you across many familiar faces, finally leading to an epic climax against Alec Trevelyan on a satellite dish. It is the movie in game form, and people love it because of that. The designer's decision to make the controls so user friendly easily made the game from cult classic to epic footnote in gaming history. Games like Turok the Dinosaur Hunter took a different approach with the controls, and it clearly hurt the game. Golden eye pretty much has you using the joystick for all movement, then you can also use the joystick for advance aiming by holding down the right bumper. These control decisions allow almost everyone to enjoy this game to its fullest extent. It appeals to the casual and the hardcore equally, and is fun to play.Wed, 20 Feb 2008 03:43:57 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2683&iddiary=5068https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2683One Summary: This game is based on the hit movie 007 Goldeneye. It was released many years ago, but even today it is still a high quality game. For this review I will only be commenting on the single player mode. The missions are fairly open, but require you to follow a mostly linear path. Each mission is a part of the movie, which is a good thing because playing the game reminds you of it's Hollywood counterpart. There are several difficulty modes and several bosses, which are for the most part people who take many hits to kill. This game revolutionized the first person genre for consoles, it was the first fully 3d fps on a console that anyone could play. Gameplay: The game control is one of the two factors that made this game into what it is today. Anyone from a hardcore vet to a 10 year old can pick up anN64 controller and begin to play this game. The game allows for two targeting modes, one which allows the player to precisely aim by sacrifice their movement, or be able to move freely, but have far less accuracy. The first three missions of the game take you through the opening sequence. They added parts that turned a 3 minute intro into 30+ minutes of potential gameplay if you die as much as I did. I chose to play on the hardest difficulty available. As I believe overcoming a challenge is always worthwhile, and that the hardest difficulty is how developers believe games should be played. I found that the aiming feature wasn't too necessary as auto aim is prevalent, but if you want to get head shots you have to aim manually.Wed, 20 Feb 2008 02:22:02 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2683&iddiary=5059https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2447Two Gameplay For my second attempt at the game I started on the fourth level which culminated with a very difficult boss fight. The boss would go through various patterns, but would switch things up when I got comfortable with his current pattern. Beating him took several tries, but finally I over game his evil ways and vanquished the mighty foe. This game was meant to be played through multiple times, but with the difficulty I have, and my inability to play the game for hours on end I will probably beat it only once or twice before never playing it again. One feature that I'd like to delve into is the revving the sword. It is similar to Squall's gunblade where a carefully timed trigger press and your attaxks will do more damage. The biggest difference is DMC moves much faster, making it worthwhile for me to simply spam the left trigger and hope for the best. That method more often then not yields better returns then me thinking about the trigger and when to squeeze it. Design This iteration of DMC was made to show off the power of the current gen systems. The game runs beautifully through fast moving scenes with many entities on screen with no notable framerate chops. The game can do this by providing usually smaller, static spaces, with minimal camera control. The art direction and the quality assurance people must have worked very hard to create a game that is so visually pleasing and virtually no bugs. One major design decision that has been prevelent in all of the games (except maybe 2) is the scarcity of health. Upon levels changing you get a recharge and before bosses you usually pick up a fuull health orb, but for the meat of the game you are running with what you have. Enemies rarely drop health, so it mostly comes from breaking pots or other inanimate objects. Because of this the player does not want to get hurt, and when fighting multiple enemies of different types this can be very difficult. The game was made to be difficult, and Capcom did exactly that, they give an easier difficulty for the feint of heart, and let the rest trudge through usually with difficulty.Sat, 09 Feb 2008 00:05:07 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2447&iddiary=4739https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2447First Summary This game is jawesome, it has everything from almost naked women to flaming swords. The game is amazing graphics, with multiple difficulties that lead to almost never ending replay value. The game has two difficulties to start, human and demon hunter, the former is only chosen by old people and women. The game combines fast action swordplay with projectile weapons with unlimited ammo. As you progress through the game, you collect different orbs which allow you to buy items and abilities. After playing through on the demon hunter difficulty a new difficulty opens and you carry all the items from your previous play throughs. Gameplay The gameplay is astounding. When a skilled player is at the helm Dante's and Nero's attacks are seemless, no matter the enemies you can juggle, and just completely trounce looking like a pro. As you beat down on enemies the game gives you a letter grade that you can increase by performing quick combos, and the meter resets if you get hit. This lets players know how they are doing in real time. All enemies drop red orbs, which buy items and some enemies drop green orbs, which give you health. After each mission you're given a letter grade based on how much time you took, your style points, and how many red orbs you collected. You then get soul points which can buy abilities based on what letter grade you got on that level. The game starts out with a somewhat enigmatic character named Nero and his interactions with a group that looks like the catholic church and Dante, the hero from all three previous games. The game starts out with an epic fight between Nero and Dante where both learn the other has demonic powers, and Dante is clearly the stronger of the two. The player then controls Nero who adds several new abilities to the table. Most notably his right arm is called the devil bringer and can be used to phantomly grab enemies, and hurl them with superhuman strength. His sword also can be revved up and used to burn enemies in a fiery explosion.Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:08:44 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2447&iddiary=4637https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2077Two Gameplay The gameplay of second run of Donkey Kong Country two was just as fun and frustrating as my first. I played the second area whwere the theme is lava. Levels here consisted of jumping on alligator's heads and getting blasted from barrels avoiding bees. Some new enemies were introduced here like kremlins who shoot barrels and cannonballs at you. There are also pirate hat wielding birds who seem to be related to the previous boss. I found myself dieing a lot on a level with a lot of barrels because of those damn bees. The few levels that had the spider, were much easier as he had a fast moving projectile that completely destroyed all of the enemies. I sadly never made it to the boss of this area as I kept on running out of lives. What I played was very fun, but also impossibly difficult, for me anyway. Design The design of this game is revolutionary for its time. It was one of the first games to include 3d sprites, and have ridable creatures. You also have the two character dynamic where you can hurl your teammate to kill enemies and pick up items. These design ideas put this game on an entirely different level than the standard platformer. Most games of its time revolved around one character fighting enemies in similar environments, while in DKC2 you have 2 characters who can interact with eachother taking you through all kinds of levels. Probably one of the most fun and memorable levels is a mine cart ride. The level combines speed, enemies, and point gathering to make for a fun worthwhile experience. Design ideas like that are what makes this game into one of the best of all time.Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:54:50 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2077&iddiary=4357https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2077Part Uno Summary This game is a classic platformer, where the player controls two monkeys in a quest to collect bananas and banana related paraphernalia. This game is the sequel, and usually considered an improvement of Donkey Kong Country. Captain K. Rool has captured Diddy's friend Donkey Kong and you must save him, with your sassy sidekick Dixie Kong. Diddy finds help along the way in the form of fantastical animals like a slinky snake and a tennis shoe faring spider. Your elders may help you out if the price is right. Gameplay In this first play through I vanquished the entire first world, which takes you through all kinds of different environments. The game starts you out on the deck of a pirate ship, but quickly takes you to underneath the water, then up to the top of the ship. One level stands out in particular where you have to jump on the riggings avoiding bees and other pests. This level gave me an extreme amount of trouble, and my roommate much enjoyment. I used most of my lives playing the latter half of the level, but on the plus side I got a lot of banana coins. I found it a little annoying that Dixie can float in the air, while Diddy does not have that ability. I found myself trying to float with Diddy, and dieing because of it. On the other hand character variation gives players the option of character preference that is more than just aesthetic. Much of the gameplay relies on you picking up barrels or other objects and using them as projectiles to kill groups of enemies or sometimes is the only way the enemies can die. The animals are an interesting choice because for the most part they make the game simpler and much easier. I wonder how much more difficult the game would be without their addition.Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:59:21 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2077&iddiary=4004https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1733Gameplay This session I focused entirely on the low level PvP in one of the game's battlegrounds. I started at level 10 and by the end of my session I was level 12. This place is the easiest way to find a group, and even when there are little-no player enemies there are many npc monsters that can be killed. Leveling up in these battlegrounds is much more fun, but it does take a bit longer than simply grinding npcs. The idea of these battlegrounds are on one hand ingenious, but it would be much better of it was only a place where people came to fight each other trying to level up. Too many people make characters for these battlegrounds at the maximum level, and have the best items possible. It seems that all of these people are never on my side. I feel like my class is gimped and it requires more people to win. I think the problem is the game is so situated that everyone who plays has already gotten to the level cap. Design As far as MMO's go the design of this game is damn near flawless. The main poblem is the pve is boreing and the game is dated. There have been graphic updates in various expansions, and even one engine change. The game uses a three way war, which sometimes is irritating, especially when 2 realms provide a silent truce and gang up on the other. The three way combat keeps things fresh, and it means you are not stuck fighting the same enemies over and over again. The melee combat system is very deep and well created, that uses styled attacks to do additional damage and provide various status effects. Casting magic on the other hand is retardedly done, and is an experience where you press the one button over and over again until your enemy is dead. This is the game's largest flaw. The casting is uninteresting and overpowering, while the melee is fun, but inferior in player vs player combat. The game would have been much better designed if they decided to not include magic at all, or severly limiting it. The level design is fantastic, the game consists of 3 realms with 2 open zones, 1 underground tunnel each. The realms also share the frontiers, where they fight, and a zone called the Ruins of Atlantis. They also share several RvR enables dungeons. The places to go are almost limitless, and each zone has enemies that can be fought to level up from one to 50. The enviornments are all varied, except the underground sections are slightly reused in each realm.Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:56:09 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1733&iddiary=3506https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1733Description Dark Age of Camelot, or DAoC, is an older MMO that focuses on player vs player fighting. I am playing the free trial and am currently enjoying myself. The games graphics are somewhat dated, but still looks quite nice. Other than the pvp the game is a pretty standard mmo, except the pvp is amazing. The game has three realms; albion, hibernia, and midgard. The game takes place in Medieval England in an alternate reality. The three empires are at war, and you chose a side, and the game gives you the chance to fight other realms as you level up. Gameplay After my first 45 minutes of the trial, I made an acolyte with the idea of becoming a friar. Friars are a hybrid melee/healing class that specalizes in quarterstaves. I played this game a long time ago, but many things have changed. It is interesting playing on a server again, not knowing anyone, and just being a total noob. The low level pvp is pretty well done, but nothing like the real thing. I haven't had too much luck with pvp, but I'm playing a class that I'm not very used to, and maybe I'll play more. The game is very addictive as it is supposed to be. It lost a lot of popularity when World of Warcraft came out. A 14 day trial isn't much time to delve into the game, but the creators are doing a very good job of introducing new lower level things to do, so it is not all end game. I have been working on doing quests, but so far it has pretty much been medial grinding. I enjoyed playing it, but I don't feel the desire to grind as much as I used to. I think I would enjoy the game much more if I was playing with some people that I actually knew. When I did get into it a bit I really enjoyed the satisfaction of leveling up and gaining new abilities, even if the whole process was too slow for casual playing. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 01:15:42.)Mon, 14 Jan 2008 00:03:49 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1733&iddiary=3467