Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=602https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3189Gameplay: In a lot of shooting games, it becomes pretty clear which weapon or two are the most effective. This narrows the gameplay and make the game less interactive. Halo 3 does an excellent job of making almost every gun useful and fairly equal. You want to go into a CQB situation with an sub-machine gun or shotgun, you feel like the Battle Rifle is the best all around, the Needler is deadly from mid-range, etc. Deciding which weapon you want to use in which situation is half of the fun of Halo 3 multi-player. If you add in the different types of grenades, the possible ways a given combat situation can unfold is staggeringly high. And what else is nice is that this largely applies to campaign mode as well. One gameplay aspect that I'm not sure how I feel about is the meelee lunge. This is a small movement that a player executing a meelee makes towards his target, allowing him to meelee opponents otherwise out of reach. The problem I have with this is that I think it goes against the trend of gameplay Halo already established by making the conflict as player skill-oriented as possible. The meelee lunge basically means that you can have the upper-hand on someone, and they can lunge at you from an impossible distance and steal a kill. Every other action taken in Halo is triggered by the player. Every single movement, except the meelee lunge. It is automatic and not only does it lower the quality of gameplay, it lowers interactivity. Design: I mentioned earlier how the reward system in Halo was optimal because it had the ability to respond pretty much only to player actions and not too many outside variables. Another interesting thing about Halo's reward system is that the player is constantly being rewarded. The player is made aware of every kill they get, including just about any kind of streak or spree. bullets cause a satisfying clash with an enemy's shield, letting you know you've hit. New levels allow new player model customizations as well as the respect among your peers. Halo does an excellent job of "keeping the player playing" as per the second required seduction for any game developer by constantly rewarding the player. I think another underrated design decision in the Halo series is the way it handles Health. Whereas the original Halo actually monitored a player's health, Halo 2 and 3 both use just a shield system. Once your shield goes down, you are in trouble basically. I like this because it changes the way skirmishes are fought. If you nearly finish someone off, but fail to get the kill, that person can re-appear in a few seconds with full shields ready to retaliate. This raises the chance that the better player wins, and not just the one with more health. It helps to balance the gameplay. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 05:06:07.)Thu, 06 Mar 2008 05:00:04 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3189&iddiary=5999https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3189Summary: Halo 3 lets players resume the role of Master Chief. It is the third entry to Bungie's FPS franchise. Halo 3 contains a variety of gametypes. The single player campaign resumes the story after where it left off in the second game. There are several multi-player gametypes, such as slayer, team slayer, Capture the flag, and other objective based games. Gameplay: One thing thats noticeable immediately with Halo 3 multi-player is the trash-talking that takes place in matchmaking lobbies. I was attempting to figure out why it was Halo was such a popular game to play online, and then it hit me during a particularly intense sniper battle. The Halo series, as far as FPS go, is one of the most interactive games in the genre available. By that I mean that the game does a good job of letting the player maneuver pretty much however he/she wants to. Because it adheres to no ardent realism, there are no rules against jumping in the air and sniping someone in the head. And while this might not be real, it allows the player to feel like they can do whatever they want to with their Halo character. And if they do everything they can and demonstrate their awesome skill by jumping and sniping someone in the head, they get rewarded by the game in pretty much every situation. There is as little random interference with player actions as possible. As a result, the interactivity is high, an effective reward system is implemented that is allowed to respond to pretty much only the skill of the player and as little outside variables as possible. One thing Halo does an excellent job with is level design. Levels in Halo focus first and foremost on gameplay. Halo levels are rarely designed with any dead-ends within them, instead implementing circuit-like patterns. This is a design decision that encourages constant movement and provides good flow. Quality weapons are placed appropriately, and great care was taken to make sure that the maps are as balanced as possible. During a campaign session, I got to witness Halo 3's impressive AI. I was shooting a brute, and had almost finished him when he signaled to a fellow brute who proceeded to throw a shield regenerator to his companion. Because of this, I myself had to retreat. It really provides a great gameplay experience when the opponent can actually make semi-intelligent decisions and work together to attack the player. it takes the level of strategy required up. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:28:35.)Thu, 06 Mar 2008 04:24:15 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3189&iddiary=5991https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2745Gameplay: For a game that was designed around these sprawling, open environments, and contains these huge areas between towns & cities, I was hoping for a relatively higher level of free-roaming aspects. FFXII is only slightly more linear than its predecessors, with story elements pretty much dictating the game play path. It seems all this time and effort was put into getting every ounce of power out of the PS2 to generate a world that is rife with free-roaming game play opportunities, and yet that aspect of game play is still relegated to a few fairly insignificant side-quests. And this brings me to the story itself. This could possibly be an issue of me just being picky, but I feel that, at least thus far, it isn't much more than a fairly stale political adventure. In fact, I would go as far as to argue that you could replace some names and places, and it could be Final Fantasy 9 part 2. I'm going to reserve final judgment on this until I get further into the story though. Design: As I mentioned before, I am very impressed with the graphics design in this game. The worlds are huge, the FMV's are stunning, and the in-game graphics are very good, especially for a PS2 game. Another design aspect that is definitely worth mentioning is the musical score. As a musician, this is especially important to me as I often find myself zeroing in on the music during certain situations in order to set the mood. The music in FFXII is very well written and produced, and having that backing symphonic score really is the finishing touch to placing the player in the story. One very obvious plus to the new combat system is the elimination of random encounters, what I would consider probably the single most annoying aspect of RPG's. Gone are random LSD color interpolations signalling your teleportation into some distant battle arena with some clever scenery to fight monsters. Instead, they wander around the world in front of you, the area of which between cities, is huge. The benefit of this is that it encourages exploration, which I think is a huge step in the direction of encouraging non-linear procedure. The only problem is that there isn't much out there to explore. The areas are huge, and there are a few 'hidden' dungeons and some decent goodies, but not too much that is actually significant. Clearly, with the shift in the direction of the design towards a more non-linear progression, some additional dungeons, even significant story elements tied towards a style of progression that is left up to the player's decision would cement non-linear progression as a legitimate part of this game, and not just semblance of what could have been possible.Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:59:35 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2745&iddiary=5204https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2745Summary: In Final Fantasy XII, the player takes the role of Vaan, your typical rogue, young man with large aspirations. The player follow Vaan as his aspirations cause him to get caught up into a larger plot that concerns the well being of the world. FFXII is a 3rd person adventure/RPG. The game employs a 'MMO' style hack-n-slash battle system. It also employs a grid system for unlocking abilities, weapons, magic, etc. Gameplay: After just playing for 1-2 hours, the thing that impresses me the most with this game is the level of interactivity. Cities are actually cities. They are bustling with an incredible amount of NPC's, each of which has some purpose to the overall story or atmosphere of the city. Not only that, but there is an incredible amount of area covered by each city. I could truly believe that Rabanastre is a capital city somewhere. Given the capabilities of the PS2, to have all of this running at a steady clip is quite a feet. As a gamer playing a game of progression, I believe that it is the responsibility of the game to suspend my disbelief in order to better engross me into the story, and this game certainly does that. I like the license system, but don't like how it is used for equipment. I understand the concept behind it: develop your characters into whatever niche role you want (mage, warrior, archer/shooter, etc). That being said. it becomes incredibly hard to try and level up the abilities that correspond with these 'classes' as WELL as the weapons and equipment nodes. There is already so much on the grid, that I feel equipment could have been left off without sacrificing any game play. The voice acting is really well done. One small complaint about it is the quality of the audio files containing it. Its obvious that compression was needed to help fit the massive amounts of dialogue and FMV's onto the discs I can definitely say that even with the change in battle system's, combat is still fairly tedious. The only real difference is that you have make to decisions in real time as opposed to a turn-based system. But the bottom line is combat still seems to be a matter of button mashing. And when its not, the gambits make it even less involved.Wed, 20 Feb 2008 21:21:36 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2745&iddiary=5158https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2613gameplay: Doom + mouselook = pretty much every other FPS ever made. It's true. Let's look at Halo, for example. Beneath the pretty bump-mapped graphics and expansive levels, there is Doom's Rambo-esque gameplay mechanic, which is to charge into a room and destroy every monster in it single-handedly. Sure, a tactical strategy works well, and is even encouraged once in a while, but the overwhelmingly dominant method of advancement is that of Doom. It just goes to show how it has influenced and shaped this genre. Design: My biggest complaint with Doom is level design. let me preface my comments by saying that I think Doom's levels are incredibly fun to play through, and maintain a constant level of action that is satisfying. My problem with them is concerned with aesthetics. Whether it is due to the engine limitations concerning slopes and rooms over rooms, Doom does not do a good job of convincing me I am in the places it claims I am in. Doom environments look artificial. During episode 2, this becomes increasingly obvious, as the levels maintain no common theme of texture, and have a design that often leaves the player wondering, "who on earth would ever have created this building?" It is understandable that certain sacrafices on design are made in order to sustain gameplay, but creating more realistic levels would have gone a long way towards helping to maintain a suspension of disbelief. Part of this problem could also have been addressed by having a slightly more involved plot. As it is, Doom's plot is basically limited to a few text screen's between episodes. Perhaps including some more story-interludes could help the player get a sense of direction and orientation amongst the vast worlds/levels and erase this sense of not understanding his/her surroundings. As I mentioned before, this game has several emergent characteristics. Most of these are based on the fact that the gameplay is relatively simple. This carries over into Doom multiplayer as well. The game definately encourages social interaction, as its gameplay is both simple to pick up, yet difficult to master. In games, where the gameplay is relatively simple, the player feels like he/she has more control over whatever good/bad outcomes he/she experiences. it is because of this, the multiplayer in Doom is fun, as it is based on skill vs. skill, with factors out of the player's control being limited. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:22:52.)Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:16:50 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2613&iddiary=4955https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2613Summary: Make your way through monster-infested military bases in order to try and stop the invasion of hell and to make it home to earth. Gameplay: Doom's gameplay is the first-person reincarnation of a twitch-based 2d fighter. Just like in a 2d fighter, the gameplay is fast, reactionary, and explosive. The player's fast movement speed, combined with the abundance of monsters in a level (especially on the higher dificulties) causes the player to always be moving in a fast, frenetic pace. The object of doom is very simple: get to the end of the level and kill monsters in the process. If you do some research on the history of the creation of Doom, Tom Hall, the lead designer at id Software at the time, wanted to have a complex storyline, multiple player-characters, etc. John Carmack, the lead programmer, made the call to simplify the gameplay and make it more streamlined. I think the right decision was made. Because Doom has relatively simple gameplay, it actually can become a game of emergence, at times. Although it is primarily a game of progression, (make it to the end of the level, find switch) monster fights always unfold differently each time. The simplicity of the combat system means that it is easy for the player to adapt to. What then changes is the way that a player might confront any given battle. Even for a 1993 sprite based shooter, Doom has a pretty amazing atmosphere. The sector-based lighting allows for some truly scary areas. The player might be lulled into a dark room towards a key, only to trigger a monster teleportation. That constant "on-edge" feeling is something that is present throughout the game that really adds to the experience. Visually, Doom is an interesting game. There is plenty of controversial satanic imagery present. Although it is there only for atmospheric reasons, it is easy to see how it has caused lots of controversy over the years. To the casual observer, there is little that is emphasized in this game more than killing, and to come across the disturbing images in this game would likely lead to a knee-jerk reaction by anyone who has not taken the time to understand the purpose of the gameplay. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:45:40.)Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:39:57 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2613&iddiary=4954https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2295Gameplay: I haven't reached anywhere close to the end yet, but I understand this game contains multiple endings depending on certain actions the player takes throughout the game. I think that more RPGs should do this, but it seems like less and less have since Chrono Trigger. I think its a lot more interactive to have the ending be dependent upon player actions. It means I have more involvement in the story. And the way Chrono Trigger executes it, nothing is really taken away from the MAIN storyline. The creator/writer can still implement his idea in such a way that the player has this interactive control over the end. Concerning the story, I think the reason its so enjoyable is that it concerns the apocolypse. It makes the story "heavy" and more meaningful IMO. Design: Chrono Trigger has some very nice graphics, considering when it was produced. the artwork created by Akira Toriyama is distinct and well done. The game itself takes advantage of several special graphics features of the SNES to produce effects such as complex sprite layering. It really pushes the system to its limits. Another nice touch is the active combat system, which makes the timing of player actions more important. No longer does the player have the ability to simply wait (unless they chose the "wait" option), they have to actually decide their actions quickly, making the turn-based system much more realistic. The musical score for this game is also very well done. As a musician, I can appreciate the time and energy that was put into it. Despite the limitations of the SNES sound processor, the melodies and harmonies themselves are appropriate, I feel, to the game and help create the atmosphere. Sun, 27 Jan 2008 21:06:37 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2295&iddiary=4407https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2295Gameplay: I really enjoy Chrono Trigger's story. So much so that even if the gameplay was terrible, I would still probably play the game. That being said, the gameplay is far from terrible and really is quite enjoyable. It is pretty much a traditional RPG, with basic RPG elements such as leveling, special techniques, equipment, and turn-based combat. However, in the context of when it was released, it was pretty revolutionary. Plus, the elimination of random battles makes the game so much more enjoyable. It encourages exploration and prevents the common Final Fantasy Syndrome (FFS) where you rush through every dungeon as fast as possible, and even seem to be rapidly pressing the A button when you AREN'T accosted by a randomly appearing enemy. I like how each area is unique and has many different things to do. These things give the game character and help to mix up the pace and tension. For example, the Leene's square mini-games are enjoyable. Another thing about Chrono Trigger, is that it employs the "silent protagonist." Now, this strategy usually only works if the story is told REALLY well, with some amazing character development. The silent protagonist is a way of bringing the player closer to the story, so to speak. It replaces the protagonist's dialogue with the player's own thoughts. I have mixed feelings about this. In a game like Chrono Trigger, it helps because the story is told so well, and the character development is well done. But every now and then, you are left wondering about the thoughts of the character you control. As a gamer, your perspective often changes from that of being in the story, to being in control of what happens in the story. And as your perspective broadens, you find yourself caring about the thoughts of your character, which in a game like this, are absent.Sun, 27 Jan 2008 19:09:15 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2295&iddiary=4403https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2295Summary: The game is a top-down 2D RPG which follows the adventures of Crono, a seemingly normal enough person as he uses his friend Lucca's time machine to travel through time and help prevent an appocolyptic future. The control scheme is relatively simple, and the game uses most common RPG conventions (IE equipable weapons, items, magic spells). The gameplay is unique because of the time travel function. It lets you see the same area of the world in several different time periods.Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:41:06 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2295&iddiary=4400https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1743GAMEPLAY: I feel like a lot what I write will only be relevant to veterans of the series, as the Silent Hill series is very unique. Most of the games make sense in the context of the game that preceeded it. That is to say the second game has some elements explained by what happenned in the first, and vice versa. As a result, this series has sort of ventured towards this phenomena of where they are generally regarded by fans firstly by how well they go on to add on/clear up what we as fans already know about the central storyline. It is because of this that certain improvements never really get the credit or notice they deserve. For example, lets look at the combat system. I know I mentioned earlier that I wasn't a big fan of it, but as I continue to play, I notice more it grows on me. The large variety of meelee weapons allows for different ways to kill monsters and to approach each situation. There is also a wide variety of firearms that, strangely enough, behave very realistically. You cannot hit anything if you fire more than 2 or 3 shots at a time with the assault rifle. The shotgun has a fairly short range. All in all, the combat system takes on a very infant feel, that is almost appropriate given the lack of combat training for the protagonist. If he could acurately hit targets from 100 yards away, then this isn't silent hill anymore, its Rambo. The boss battles in this game are terrible. All bosses in this game, and the series for that matter, suffer from the same problems. They are all slow-moving, have a lov variety of attacks, and can be killed by standing in one place, shooting, going to the menu to reload, and repeating. After just finishing off the third boss in this game, I can affirmatively say that nothing has changed. jUst another example of the atmospheric beauty in this game. I'm traveling along the ground floor of the alternate world theatre. All around me, I can hear shrieking metal, akin with the blood, rust, and metal creating the environment around me. The music is foreboding, the lighting is low, and the environment is hellish. This game is truly an artistic experience. Quickly, I want to take a quick second to explain the alternate realm. In Silent Hill, most of the levels at some point have the player cross over into another dimension, where he layout of the level stays almost identical, however everything else changes. Instead of floor, you could be walking on a bloody, rusty, metal mesh. The walls can be replaced with bloody, pulsating "flesh-sacs" (for lack of a better term). Basically, the environment "goes to hell." DESIGN: Overall, this game has some excellent level design. There are some flaws, such as there is a high occurence of doors that are "broken" or "blocked." This is an obvious flaw of the design in that it would obviously be too time and space consuming to model every room in an entire mental hospital. That being said, I would say most levels are still mostly explorable (~70-80% so). That being said, the levels are MASSIVE, and very realistically designed. When I walked through the sanitarium, I literally thought that it could have been a real sanitarium somewhere. That it was located high on a hill and fairly isolated was a cliche that did NOT detract from the overall believability to the situation. I've mentioned before about the alternate reality. I just want to take this chance to say how truly well done the alternate worlds are. I've never felt so surrounded by evil as when I was wondering through the alternate sanitarium, playing my PSP in a completely dark room with noise cancelling, bass amplifying headphones. I felt like I could feel the bass of the hellfire boiling. After having played this game now for around 4 hours, I have realized why it is I find it enjoyable. The gameplay itself is fairly average, and does not do much thats special. Instead, its the experience, as well as the sheer creativity and horror of the environments. Playing this game is less like playing a game, and more like listening to a CD or staring at a piece of art. it invokes a feeling that stays with you even after you are done. It is that feeling, plus the amazing story that is fleshed out very nicely that ultimately makes this game an enjoyable experience. Perhaps this explains why the series has grown to be popular, but never beyond into mainstream success. And that, ironically, is the reward system for this game. Deal with this somewhat unoriginal gameplay, and cumbersome combat system, and you get to watch the cutscene's, learn the story, and explore some more of the amazing environments crafted around you. I feel like if the series had ever brought something more original to the genre, something more creative, it would have taken off a lot more. The amazing atmosphere, story, and design are held back by merely "average" gameplay. Mon, 14 Jan 2008 04:04:12 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1743&iddiary=3566