Kinole's GameLog

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GC) - Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:47:49

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:47:49 CDT

GAMEPLAY: I asked someone to play with me for a while. Such a request definitely added to the level of difficulty of the game. Playing with another person helped me develop strategy and also taught me how to use the power boost that I hadn't known about. I also realized that I could hold onto items by switching my characters in order to use them at a more opportune moment in the race. I enjoyed the fact that each character has its own special ability. They served as obvious advantages over other teams. Some were more advantageous than others, but each one was an advantage nonetheless. DESIGN: The music added to the excitement of the game as it sped up immediately as the final lap began, during a race. Also, during the battle levels, the same musical change occurred once one of the players was clearly ahead of the rest. This change also let the players realize how successful or unsuccessful they were performing and served to motivate the players to try harder. The bright colors and simple design of each level, character and item added to the whimsical quality of the game. The statistics and meters around the playing screen were subtle in detail and therefore did not distract the players from gameplay. Rather, they assisted in providing the player with the necessary information about the status of the player's activities when needed.

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GC) - Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:20:44

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:20:44 CDT

SUMMARY: There isn't much of a story line in this game, but the primary goal is to beat each cup with a golden trophy in each level of difficulty. GAMEPLAY: While playing the game, I discovered that the controls and mechanics of the game are incredibly simple. Because they were so easy to work, I quickly became familiar with them and soon was able to win golden trophies in the different levels of difficulty. Such simple game mechanics seemed to act as motivation for me to continue playing. However, I found that I got frustrated with the fact that I continually had to repeat certain levels, depending on the difficulty. I suppose my competitive attitude and determination to win are what kept me going. Also, I enjoyed the fact that the player can switch between two characters throughout each level. It's a fun difference from Mario Kart 64.

Rayman Raving Rabbids (Wii) - Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:35:03

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:35:03 CDT

Entry 2 Gameplay My level of frustration has only increased at this point in the game. Occasionally, there will be one minigame which is straightforward and easily beaten, but there aren’t many of them. It seems that this game requires the use of lots of strategy. Not just one minigame in particular, but all of them seem to require a great amount of skill and practice. I think that my "fun time" might have been inhibited by my many frustrations, but overall, my interest in the game continues to exist. No matter how frustrated I got, I continued to play the minigames over and over until I beat them, showing that determination plays an important role in the replay value of the game. Also, the fact that not every game is as difficult (or more difficult) than the next allows the player to feel more confident in his/her gameplay; the easier minigames lead one to think "this isn't so bad." Design The design elements to this game are fairly simple in that they are all cartoon-like. The characters are plain, solid colors. In contrast, the backgrounds to the levels are somewhat detailed with the presence of fog, clouds, and bubbles. Also, depending on the minigame, the levels of restriction vary, giving the player a sense of freedom. The controls are easy to understand and also easy to carry out. There are, at times, issues with timing (as with the lassoing of the cow into the graveyard), but with practice, the action is successfully performed. Also, I have encountered small problems with confusion of actions between the nunchuck and the Wiimote, but otherwise, the controls are simple enough.

Rayman Raving Rabbids (Wii) - Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:21:54

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:21:54 CDT

Entry 1 Summary In Rayman Raving Rabbids, Rayman is kidnapped by a bunch of rabid rabbits while on a picnic. They intend on putting Rayman through a series of tests, just for fun. Gameplay While playing Rayman Raving Rabbids, I found myself becoming very frustrated with the timing issues and the level of difficulty of some of the minigames. I repeatedly had to replay several of the minigames before I was able to successfully complete them. Also, I found myself getting horribly tired after minigames that required me to spin my arm over my head vigorously. The only motivation at this point, for me, has been to get through with the aggravating minigames so that I don’t have to play them again and again. However, this is pretty ironic in that the only way I can get passed the minigames that I’m tired of is to play them continually.

Mario Party (N64) - Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:29:49

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:29:49 CDT

GAMEPLAY The more I played, the more I became acquainted with better characters. This led me to rank my abilities with each separate character. I also figured that the throws and smash moves were the most critical moves when moving in for the kill. The fact that I was able to battle my friends for so long and on the same levels over and over again shows that this game has an incredible replay value. Although the levels and characters are limited, the fights and character/level combinations are always different. As everyone got more practice, everyone gets better and better, therefore increasing the challenges and instilling a highly competitive mindset. DESIGN This is a good game because of its inclusiveness of everyone. If it were limited to being a one-player game, I could see people getting tired of constantly battling the computer over and over again. Despite the fact that the computer characters change, the level of predictability in the moves of the computer does not. The challenges in the game lay with the human challengers. The level designs are simple, yet they can also pose to provide the player with challenges in their differring sizes and number of platforms. In addition, the Battlestar Galactica level provides an even greater challenge with its differing levels of lava. This level often frustrated the players, but created an good amount of laughter. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:37:00.)

Mario Party (N64) - Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:14:11

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:14:11 CDT

SUMMARY: The basic plot to this game is that a child has toys of the characters in the game and is making them battle each other. The video game player takes control as the toys come to life somehow and battle by themselves. The primary goal seems unlear, although I suspect that the player aims only to win every battle. GAMPLAY: My first few attempts at playing the game seemed meaningless seeing as how I tried button mashing instead of actually figuring out the controls, which turned out to be pretty simple. Once I fully understood the usages of combinations, I started seeing an increase in my number of kills. As I switched characters, though, I realized that their movements and speed varied significantly. This showed its importance as the computer characters changed in every battle.
Soon, people in my hall recognized the sounds of the game and ran to join me. This added to the fun in that the moves made by my opponent were unpredictable, as opposed to those of the computer, which could often be timed. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:38:02.)

Guitar Hero III (PS3) - Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:19:24

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:19:24 CDT

Entry #1 (Correction) SUMMARY:
Guitar Hero III's primary goal is to complete each and every song with the highest percentage of correct notes possible. The player does so using a guitar-like control where they can finger notes and strum to the beat of the music.

GAMEPLAY:
I enjoyed the music because of I was able to recognize songs that I've heard growing up and through high school. I also liked the construction of the guitar because of how realistic it seemed. I found this to be particularly fun in that a person can pretend he/she is a rock star. There haven't been many games in which the I felt as involved as I did playing Guitar Hero III. The characters in the game are not of critical value to the game, but they represent the rockstars in the people playing.

The game was awesome with social interactions, especially since immediately after I turned the game on, people came to watch me play and eventually join in on the fun. The goals are simple enough to reach, with practice, and so the game only encouraged me to continue to play. With all the other people willing to play with me, I felt myself getting more and more competitive with each passing song. In addition, the better I got, the more willing I became to raise the level of difficulty. Because I was so distracted by the intense level of competition, I completely forgot about the ability to purchase new songs, but when I did remember, it was a pleasant surprise. Because there were so many more songs to purchase, the fun seemed continuous and addicting.

Guitar Hero III (PS3) - Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:18:10

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:18:10 CDT

GAMEPLAY:
I found that this game has an incredible replay value in that you are always wanting to get better and improve your scores/skills. No matter how many times I played certain songs, I continued to play them until I passed them with a certain percentile. Even so, I still had the next level of difficulty in which to complete the song. Practice/repetition is the only way to be successful in this game.
The battle games were new and different from the previous challenges of Guitar Hero II. It was fun "wrecking" my challenger's guitar and forcing them to stop mid-song to fix it. It was frustrasting when it happened to me, but it made the game more interesting to play.

DESIGN:
The design of the game is simple. The notes scrolling down are bright colors with dark backgrounds, allowing the players to clearly see which note they are supposed to play.
Comedic entertainment when loading songs. Strange comments regarding the life of a rock star facilitate discussion during loading time. ALthough they often mock the players themselves, the comments are a source of fun and laughter.
Complexity emerges through the bonus songs and the "hard/expert" levels of difficulty. Battle games also provide challenges for the players in that there are more obstacles to overcome. However, since these roadblocks are unpredictable and depend on the challenging player, they are different from any other challenges in the game.
Innovative aspects include the guitar control with the whammy bar. There have been no other controllers like the guitar of Guitar Hero (until Rock Band), nor have they been as easy to understand as that of Guitar Hero.