Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=688https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2975Gameplay 2: What I found frustrating about this game was that there was little else to do beside engaging in battles. Usually I wouldn't mind that, but I was just really unhappy with how lacklustering the game was. When I took control of Dororo for the second time, I was suppose to explore two floors of a house to look for items that would help Hyakki prove that a village's "protector" was actually a demon. The rooms that I had to explore were very scarce. The only items that I found were the ones essential to the storyline and power-ups after I defeated the occasional skeleton here and there. There wasn't much else to do in regards to exploring. The game didn't seem to want the player to be able to explore this fictional world, which in my opinion completely defeats the purpose of video games. If a player isn't encouraged to explore and learn about the gameworld than how is that person suppose to connect to the game? I understand that as a third person action game, Blood Will Tell isn't suppose to be as time consuming and indepth as an RPG, but there are other games of the same genre such as The Legend of Zelda that I felt did a much better job with player and game interactivity. I will admit that I may have spoken too soon when I said that the bosses weren't difficult. The last two that I have fought have been harder. I actually haven't beaten the newest one yet, she keeps killing me with her crazy lightening and wind attacks. It's odd because in all the boss battles I haven't been able to heal myself. Hyakki doesn't have access to heal himself and there aren't any healing items to pick up during the boss battles. It makes fighting rather difficult, if not annoying. It's a shame because this game includes some of my favorite things: samurai, fighting, guns and swords violence, and demons....yet I don't really like it. I'm not sure if I'll actually finish playing this game. I probably will, if only to spite those damn demons, but it definitely won't be on the top of my To-Do List, if I even had such a list. Design: The idea of a limbs containing an arsenal of weapons is brilliant and amazing, but the execution of the game as a whole left me wanting. There were some design elements that I really liked such as Dororo's participation in battles. I also enjoyed how even if his health gauge ran out, he would automatically be revived as long as Hyakki was still alive. That enabled me to concentrate on my own health and not have to worry about protecting the A.I. The game also had a nifty map in the top right corner of the screen that marked my destination and where I was on the map. It prevented me from getting lost, which I came to appreciate as I was navigating through a dumpy village with a swarm of monsters behind me and low health. But despite that this game had something major working against it: the level design. Of course the game world is expected to look drab since demons are terrorizing villages, but still, this was just sad. From what I have played so far, the levels looked like they weren't a top priority. How I navigated through the levels was really basic. What's even more is that their physical appearance was lacking. The environment seemed empty and desolate, but not in a way that would help the story. It just came off as a half-hearted attempt at recreating ancient Japan. Maybe things get better later in the game, but somehow I doubt that. ****disclaimer: so GameLog says that I gave this game a rating of 5 stars out of 5.....yeah, it's lying. I don't, more like a 1 or 2. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Tue, 04 Mar 2008 04:44:31.)Tue, 04 Mar 2008 04:41:09 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2975&iddiary=5600https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2975Summary: Blood Will Tell is a a action platform game where the player controls Hyakkimaru, a samurai who has had 48 of his body parts stolen by demons (the Fiends). Hyakkimaru has a mad arsenal of weapons built into his body such as: swords built into his arms along with a gun and a cannon in his kneecap. He uses his skills and weapons to defeat the Fiends and in the process reclaim his lost body parts. Gameplay Entry 1: Alright, call me naive but I actually expected more from this game. Now I remember why it has been in storage for a couple years and not in my PS2. After loading my previous save from 3 years ago?--I realized that I forgot all the controls for the game and what my short term goal was. Luckily this game isn't very deep and complicated. I found that after my first run-in with a swarm of enemies I was able to pick up which buttons did what. Hyakkimaru has some pretty flashy moves in battle, like whipping out his sword arms and spinning in circles to do massive damage to mutliple enemies, but some of his weapons are difficult to use. His arm-gun (one of his arms can double as a gun, you shoot bullets from his elbow. It looks cool) doesn't auto-lock onto enemies and sometimes the aim is really off. His kneecap cannon is my favorite weapon of his simply because it is the most ridiculous thing that someone can think of. It does heavy damage, but unfortunately it takes too long to use. By the time Hyakkimaru bends his knee and I aim for a demon, it's already on me, poking me with its sharp claws and teeth. The battles come at the player in waves, which kept me occupied and entertained for a while. Eventually, though the battles became repetitive and happened too often. The boss battles weren't too difficult. They looked pretty intimidating, but since this game is an third person action game all I had to do was what one does in every boss battle for this genre: run in circles and when the boss has finished his attack move, slash & hack, and repeat. An interesting aspect of this game is Dororo. This little sidekick is mostly an A.I but becomes a playable character at certain points in the game. So far I've only controlled him when puzzles are involved, he's not used much as a fighter. During battle though as Hyakki, the player can issue commands to Dororo. You can tell him to fight, stay close, collect items, or search for items. I found this to be a useful feature of the game, especially since the player can only access the Item Inventory through Dororo's menu. So far I'm slightly disappointed with the game. The idea behind it is very appealing: having a samurai with built in weapons fight demons, but so far the game fails at keeping me excited and interested in finishing it.Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:48:49 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2975&iddiary=5594https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2772Entry 2 Game play: I decided to take a small break from the Free for All action and focused on the other one person options that the game offered, like Break the Target and Board the Platform levels. Each character has a two levels designed specifically for them; one requires the player to break a certain number of targets and the other requires that they touch, “board” platforms. These obstacle courses were fun and challenging. The courses are set up in a way that makes use of the character’s abilities. I found that some courses were much easier for me to navigate through and complete, whereas with some I was never able to beat. Design: Though the graphics are a little outdated, it wasn’t distracting. I thought that it still held up well to present times. The graphics were cute and playful, which works well with Smash Bros. because it is a game that focuses on playfulness and fun. I thought it was really interesting how the environment interacted with the characters. Certain levels had moving ledges, acid(?) that would rise up and burn characters, etc. There was even one level where ships shot at me. This interactive environment makes the battle even more challenging because not only did I have to focus on my opponents, but what dangers lurked in the background as well. The multi person and single person levels were nicely done. Single person levels like the Board the Platform and Break the Targets stress the importance of speed and strategy because both levels pit the player against a clock. It’s a nice switch from fighting and helps to separate Smash from other fighting games.Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:17:56 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2772&iddiary=5396https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2772Summary: Super Smash Bros. is a fighting game that contains various Nintendo characters to choose from. The Free for All mode allows up to four players to fight against each other. Players can unlock secret characters by completing the Training Mode for multiple characters. Game play Entry 1: This game is addicting to play. In my opinion it is among the top most successful fighting games. The fact that the characters are from different games all rolled into one fighting game is very interesting. It’s fun to have well-loved characters like Mario and Link, put them in entirely different environments, and have them interact with one another. Though the fighting stages are somewhat lacking and definitely not as compelling as the Melee version, each stage has unique characteristics that caused me to adjust to the stage and even play with different characters depending on who would fit best in that stage. I spent most of my time playing with my friends in the Free for All Mode. This game is definitely more entertaining when playing against other people. I played against the computer for about 30 minutes, but when I started playing against my friends that’s when the game became more compelling. I liked how I could choose if I wanted the computer to either fight back, dodge, stand, or evade in the Training Mode, but it got boring rather quickly. Playing against other people is just more engaging and required me to put forth more effort.Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:43:54 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2772&iddiary=5226https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2553Summary: Clash of the Ninja 2 has multiply play modes including story mode. In story mode the player controls Naruto and advances through different fights that loosely follow the anime in order to unlock hidden characters. The other modes, such as Versus or Survival Mode allow the player to fight against an A.I or other players. Gameplay Entry 1: The great thing about this game is that you can pick it up and just start playing. You don't have to read much about the controls and it's easy to get right into it. There are certain moves that can only be acted out if you press the right button combinations, but honestly this game is a button masher. If you just hit A and B a random number of times then you can deal out a good amount of damage. The moves are pretty entertaining and match well with the characters. The chakra gauge, which allows you to pull off a powerul move (Special Jutsu) when full, is a nice aspect of the game. You can save your chakra in order to use the Special Jutsu or you can tap into the chakra gauge to automatically counterattack when struck. I've been playing the Story Mode which is rather mediocre but fun none the less. Suprisingly, some of the A.I opponants have been rather difficult. My roommate and I have taken turns trying to beat harder characters. Its's a fun decent fighting game. Gameplay Entry 2: After completing the Story Mode I was able to unlock characters, but not all the secret characters. I like how Story Mode isn't the only mode that enables you to gain characters. New characters are unlocked by placing first in Time Attack and Survival Mode. However the player doesn't automatically get them. The characters show up in the Store and can only be bought depending on how many points the player receives from playing the different modes. The longer a player lasts and the better they perform, the more points the player gets. I though this concept was fun because it allowed me to play through the Time Attack and Survival Mode multiple time useing different characters. The Story Mode can be played a over and over, which was also a nice aspect. However, once I unlocked all the characters I found that there wasn't much else to do in the game. The Verses Mode, where players can play against each other, is fun but doesn't hold my interest as other fighting games do. Since this game is a button masher it gets a little boring if there is no specific goal to attain.Sat, 09 Feb 2008 02:36:02 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2553&iddiary=4863https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2011Gameplay Session 2: Returning to the game wasn't hard at all. I'm so enthralled with this game. I must admit that it is a little overwhelming at times. Side quests such as the Hunts, where the player can accept requests from citizens to go kill certain monsters for rewards, have been my priority for a while. I've just made some progress story-wise, but honestly it was only because a Hunt was located in the same area. The idea of playing "bounty hunter" and fighting elite monsters is extremely enjoyable. It's fun to level up my characters and prepare them for a fight against a monster that won't be found anywhere else in the game. The reward for defeating monsters is also a very good incentive because you can receive weapons or money. Since the player doesn't automatically receive money after defeating monsters in battle, getting money in any way at all is very much appreciated. I feel that the different environments also encourage me to take a break from the story and explore. The designers did an amazing job creating the different levels that the player can go through. Each place is unique with it's own set of creatures, foliage, music, and overall mood. Design: There's no doubt about it that this game is gorgeous to look at. The cut scenes are beautiful and don't drag on forever either. Each city as I've already mentioned is unique, but not just with the environment or the building structures, but with the citizens themselves. For the most part they speak the same language that is used throughout Ivalice, but for certain words they use their "native language". This mixture of two languages reinforces the idea that the characters really are traveling to different parts of the world that aren't their native homeland. The Real Time battle system definitely makes the battles more interactive and less tedious. Though the player still has to wait for the characters' action gauge to fill, the battles seem more fast paced and active. The concept of the Gambits, where the characters can be controlled by a set of instructions when fighting, is interesting and helpful. However it runs the risk of causing the player to be lazy. If all the characters have their Gambits on, then when the player approaches a monster to fight, he can just sit back and watch his characters, who have been preprogrammed with instructions, engage in battle. I find that it defeats the purpose of playing a video game. Fortunately the designers took that into consideration when creating the Gambit system and have given the player the decision whether or not to use the Gambits on the characters. If such a choice was not given to me, I don't think I would like the game as much as I do. The concept of selling "loot" as a means to gain money as opposed to simply receiving money after fighting a monster was an interesting aspect of the game. When I first started it I was somewhat peeved by that fact, but I've gotten over it. This game makes it more challenging for the player to buy items and forces them to focus on tactics such as stealing from enemies and stopping what they are doing and running to items that had been dropped by defeated enemies. In FFXII the characters are not placed in a specific fighting class. The player is able to equip the character with any weapon or magic as long as said character has enough License Points (LP) that enable them to gain the ability to use a weapon, magic, etc. I have somewhat mixed feelings about this concept. While I like that I have more control over how my characters fight and that I can change their weapons to whatever is more conveniant for whatever battle I'm in, I feel that it also runs the potential of losing character diversity and the battles are no longer challenging. If all the characters are using the same sword then what's the fun of that? When characters lose their specific fighting class, then their importance in the party is somewhat lost because everyone is doing the same thing: casting the same spells, using the same weapons, etc. But it's left up to the player to decide what direction he/she wants the character to go. Overall this game is extremely enjoyable. I like the new elements that have been added into this game and if Final Fantasy continues to move in this direction, I would be pleased.Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:55:13 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2011&iddiary=3930https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2011Summary: War has broken out on the world of Ivalice which resulted in the aggressive Archadian Empire conquering many cities throughout the land. Dalmasca, a small kingdom, was one such city. However, an unlikely group of allies made up of two orphans, a fallen queen, a wrongly accused soldier, and two sky pirates, have banded together in hopes of restoring the Dalmascan Queen to her rightful place and ending the Archadian Empire's hold on Ivalice. Gameplay Session 1: Let me just say that I love this game. I have been playing it for a while and it is a very entertaining game. The cities and other explorable environments are huge. This really gives the feeling that I am exploring a world. I was surprised by the amount of free roaming that the game makers allowed the player to have. It was really easy for me to deviate from the story and where I was suppose to go so I could explore areas that weren't on my map. I've often come across places that I wasn't suppose to pass through until later in the game. I absolutely loved this feature because it gave me more options on where I could level up. Since FFXII doesn't have a world map like the older final fantasies, where the player literally runs/pilots an airship around the world traveling from city to city, this idea of having the cities all in someway connect to each other and allowing the player to explore them with few limits is appreciated. Of course there are still restrictions as to where and when the player can enter a certain area. I'm just saying that in this game, it seems the game makers were less restrictive when it came to exploring the world. What had always attracted me to FF games were the characters. I find these characters endearing. It's fun to watch their interactions with one another. I was surprised by how much I liked the voice acting and I feel that that feature really helps the player determine what kind of person the character is. When I play this game with my housemates watching, I find that they are also drawn into the story. They also become interested in what the characters are trying to accomplish and how the narrative turns out. Mostly though, I think they just want to watch me fight enemies. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:08:08.)Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:36:41 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2011&iddiary=3905https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1874SUMMARY: Final Fantasy VIII is the 8th installment in the RPG series Final Fantasy (go figure). It is a single person game in which the player controls Squall, a member of the combat-unit-for-hire SeeD. The world in this game is in danger of falling prey to an evil sorceress and it is up to Squall and his fellow SeeD members to stop her. GAMEPLAY: From the get-go this game had me excited to play it. I've always found the text conversations of the older Final Fantasy games to be entertaining, if somewhat quaint. It's a nice little "blast from the past" after having been playing Final Fantasy XII for a while. Through little snippets of conversations or random bits of information I was able to get a feel for what these characters are like. Right now I don't know much about them, but the fun thing about RPGs like Final Fantasy is seeing how the characters grow. What I really enjoyed about this game was that it let me take control of the character right away. I was able to explore the academy and go up to random people and strike up conversations. The introduction of the card game was a nice little perk to the game, though I must admit that I've lost more games than won. Little minigames such as that tend to get me off track and I found myself taking time out to read up on how to play the cardgame. What I found odd though was that there seemed to be a lack of items lying around the vicinity. Usually in Final Fantasy games whenever you are exploring a town, or someplace you've never been to before, you find "hidden" items throughout the area that could aide you in your travels. I was surprised by my lack of findings, considering that I searched throughout the two floors of the building: running through the hallways, exploring the cafeteria, dormitory, infirmary, etc...I was all over the place. I spent a good amount of my time in the training room so I could acquaint myself with the battle system. The battle system really makes this game unique from the other Final Fantasies. The characters are able to take an opponent's spell from them and then use it against them. Any character is capable of stealing an opponent's spell as long as that character has the ability Draw equipped. GAMEPLAY ENTRY 2 I love how in RPGs you're suppose to travel to a specific destination in order to continue the story, but often times you can just wonder around the world map and level up and go to random towns, basically putting off what you're suppose to be doing. That is what I have been doing for my second entry: running around the world map and getting into random battles. With the older Final Fantasy games like FFVI and FFIX I use to get annoyed with the random battles, but I feel that the battle system in this game makes the random battles more compelling. I've found that since MP (magic points) don't exist in this game and that any character can use magic, I am using magic attacks more than physical attacks. It's a delightful change from how I usually engage my characters in RPG battles. For the second half of my play time my roommates watched me play the game. I found it interesting how even though RPGs are meant to be played by a single player, bystanders are still able to enjoy it. We compared the characters, music, and the world to other Final Fantasies and other RPGs. DESIGN So far I am happy with the design elements of FF8. Visually, it's not on the same level as the newer games, but it is still appealing. I feel that because the gameplay graphics are older and not as intricate, the cut scenes leave more of a profound affect. Those moments become more important. Since there isn't any voice acting the music becomes more memorable. For the cut scenes, since there isn't any text to convey what the characters are thinking or saying, the music has to speak for them. Going back to the battle system, the time-based battles do get a little tedious and time consuming. The battles go a little slow because the characters have to wait for their battle gauge to fill up. However, I am still impressed with how the battle systems are designed. I like how a character's ability to use spells isn't limited to how much MP they have, but how many spells they have stocked up. This unique element is definitely something that sets FF8 apart from the other games in the series.Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:31:02 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1874&iddiary=3748