Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=706https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2267Gameplay: For the second forty-five minute session I continued to play against my friends on the Wii. The games after a while start to become a little bland. Some of the games fall victim to being really boring and repetitive. For example, the baseball game is a bore to play. In the multiplayer version of the game, one person is the pitcher while the other is the batter. For the pitcher, all they have to do is throw a change up or slider every single time and they can get a strike or fake out the batter. Without fail, I have seen this go into action almost every single time. When a player is losing to their opponent, they turned up the amount of sliders and changeups in order to even out the playing field. Other games were pretty fun although. My personal favorite was the bowling game. This was the game that allowed the most users to play simultaneously. The reason this game was fun compared to the drab baseball is that there are many ways to do well in this game. One finds out pretty quickly that there are certain position and amounts of spin one should apply in order to obtain a strike. Even if a strike doesn’t go through, you can still pick up spares and those are sometimes pretty interesting to knockdown. My friends who weren’t playing the game all brought up an interesting point: saying we looked like losers who needed to get out of the house. Whats even funnier is that Wii suggests doing the same. Design: This game is basically the first game that displays the wii remotes capabilities. The game has you mimick the motions of the actual sport in which you are playing, ranging from baseball, bowling to even boxing. The games main dependants of replay ability is its gimmicky controls. The controls aside, the game itself isn’t very fun. There isn’t much depth to it, it seems like the game was quickly designed and thrown together for the sole purpose of showing off the remote. The lack of realism and lack of attention detail makes this game an easily dismissible game. It also prevents the gamers from wanting to keep playing. The overall feeling of this game is that it is very childish. It just seems that the whole wii system is for the younger demographic, as opposed to ps3 and xbox’s more older male dominated systems. The appeal of the Wii is very general, and therefore extends it out to the casual gamer. Even girlfriends of ours who hate video games were able to get into the game. This game does not offer any rewards structures besides from increasing your “PRO score” which is basically useless and its all in vain.Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:06:52 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2267&iddiary=6086https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1905Gameplay: In this second session of Call of Duty 4, I decided to play mainly online. This online version offers the gamer a completely different level of gaming. In this new realm, players are able to play online against an endless amount of players from all over the world via Xbox live. This version varies from the regular gameplay the user is used to. Game modes vary from team death matches to individual and solo matches or even games of capture the flag. In my opinion, this is the most exciting aspect of the game. I love the fact that I am facing random people that I have never met can give an ass-whooping . With the addition of the Xbox live headset, you can actually talk to the people who are in the same room as you. To me that is the ultimate weapon for getting underneath an opponents skin. Most of my attention was focused on the solo deathwatch. I like this version because it is most similar to counterstrike, a game in which I was pretty obsessed with. I also like the team deatmatch as well, but prefer the less chaotic nature of the solo player action. Design: Since most of my focus was to the online portion of the game during this session, I will also speak to the gameplay in regards to its online counterpart. As I mentioned before, the online capability enables the user to interact with a vast community of like-minded players. This makes the game a truly interactive endeavor for the player. The online aspect of the game creates new situations for the gamer so that nothing becomes too repetitive. This constant creation of new situations keeps the game play fresh and keeps gamers coming back for more. The more you play this game, the better you become. Throoughout your progression you acquire new special features for your character to use. A combination of the online gameplay and the gamers gradual progression throughout the game keep the gamers interest piqued . A cool aspect to the online world is variety of maps. Each map definitely has its own feel and there aren’t too many recurring objects between the maps, adding to the unique feel of the game worlds. The levels range from being inside a former U.S.S.R. style encampment to an abandoned airport silo. Each level makes use of its unique characteristics and creates its own distinct feel. One aspect to the online playability that focuses on the maps is the fact that when a player kills five opponents they are able to call an airplane strike, and after ten kills in a row without dying, they are able to call in a helicopter. This to me was a pretty cool little aspect to the game which encourages players to do well so that they can get additional kills and make extra use of the maps. Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:27:15 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1905&iddiary=6085https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2831SUMMARY: - Mario Galaxy is a one-person game in which the user utilizes the Wii remote controller and its nunchuck addition in order to navigate Mario through a three dimensional galaxy gathering stars to progress through different worlds and ultimately free the Toad Princess. GAMEPLAY Going into this gaming experience, I did not know exactly what to expect of this game. I had heard that this game was basically like Mario World for the Nintendo 64, but with an interesting twist. That twist, is one of the most exciting features of this new game. What sets this Mario game apart from others is the unique Wii remotes interactive ability. The game however, is a lot like the Mario World in terms of game rule. The level progression is very similar to the N64’s version in that you run through the same level a couple of times, each time being a different challenge in order to obtain a star. After a certain amount of stars are collected from a level, a new level is unlocked. The game from what I have experienced is pretty fun to play. The new aspect of this game is that you are playing in a virtual galaxy, which enables for some interesting new level concepts which have not really been explored yet. For example, jumping into a portal takes you to a room in which there seems to be a distorted gravity field. You enter the room and start running on the floor perpendicular to the ground you think you are supposed to run on, and the controlling of the game is relative to your position among a given surface. That aspect certainly gives the game more room within the game world to explore and manipulate. The character development on this game leaves a little to be desired. So far from what I have experienced, you don’t really get to know the characters all too well. You learn that the floating stars enjoy it when you shoot stars and we also learn that the Princess has been stolen and is relying on Mario to release her from the throws of evil. Nintendo at this point assumes you know Mario and what his deal is. Even my father knows who Mario is and that he is a plumber, if you knew my father you’d understand how unbelievable that is because he cant even turn on/off a console. The story of the game progresses as you receive more stars. Being that I have only played for a short while, all I have been hearing is that I need stars in order to get closer to the Princess. Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:38:51 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2831&iddiary=5280https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2267Summary: Wii sports is a multiplayer sports based game that utilizes special controllers to simulate sports-like motions. Included in the game are a variety of sports games ranging from bowling to tennis. Gameplay: Well, my younger brother scored a Wii for his birthday today, so I decided to choose the Wii sports game as my classic choice. Naturally, I was stoked that my brother was getting a Wii because I have been pretty interested in how the controllers work. I have had some experience with the Wii, but it was only momentarily at the Wii kiosks at the Valley Fair mall in Steven’s Creek. Nothing feels better than taking a new system out of the box, but it seemed like forever until we set it up on the tv, which for reference is a 42’’ LCD television. The cool thing about the Wii system is that you can create some pretty accurate cartoony-looking replications of oneself. After my brother and I took some time making our Mii’s, we embarked on playing the only game we had available at the moment, Wii sports. As far as story and game progression, there is not much to be had here. The games are pretty straightforward and are taken at face value. The games have no underlying consistency, beside the fact that you choose your Mii character in whatever sport you choose. The more games you play, the more points you accumulate for your character, but so far I cant figure out what this does. The games themselves are pretty fun at first, but I could see them becoming quite boring afer a while. Although we played every game, my favorites were bowling and tennis. The bowling game plays as if you are physically bowling in real life, although in a lot more confined and relax manner. You can move your bowling position, angle your shots and even apply spin to the ball, much in the same ways you would in real life. And even though you throw from the same position with the same speed and style, the outcomes vary, but it is not too difficult to receive strikes. This allows virtually anybody to bowl a strike, which means that people of all gaming intellect can compete in this game. The Wii Sports game is not a game one can really enjoy by themselves, but instead should be played with a group of friends to fully capture the games spirit. Soon after opening the console, we had some friends come over with their two Wii controllers and thus commenced in 4-way tennis matches. Lets just say that was a pretty interesting thing to watch. What makes this game so fun is the camaraderie of being in a spot together playing a game in which no one person has a real advantage. It was interesting to see our girlfriends battle each other in the baseball game. Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:19:43 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2267&iddiary=4313https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1905SUMMARY: Call of Duty 4 is a first person shooter game that takes place during a fictional war. In this game, you go throughout each level(map) accomplishing missions in order to progress in the battle. Ultimately, I don't know where all this progression leads you as I am an inexperienced gamer with little knowledge of this game. GAMEPLAY: Although I don't really play video games too often, I almost never play first-person shooters. This game to me was a little bit different than other games that I have played that are similar. The only real game I played that is similar to this one is Counter-Strike. Unlike Counter-Strike, this game immerses you in the story line by making the game a team effort. In this game, you aren't the main character and it seems as if the only way to progress in the game is to stay with your troops. By doing this, it gives the gamer a sense of companionship and fraternity with the other men in your battalion and engrosses you in the game. Playing this game, I can't help but think about the current situation overseas in the Middle East. With each of the missions, you can't help but wonder how accurate this game is. Is this what it feels like for the troops in Iraq? Are they constantly ducking in abandoned buildings and seeing their perceived enemies through the scope of a sniper rifle? Are their deaths just as nameless and faceless as the artificial intelligence of the game? It's amazing how close this game hits to home given the world's current situation. As for the gameplay of this game, it is very addictive! The graphics and smoothness of the games movements are unreal. The situation was made wonderfully better when combined with my friends 56'' plasma television! During my gaming session, I played this game in both story mode and online versus mode. The gameplay is vastly different in these two modes, but equally addicting. In the story mode, you want to complete missions because you want to progress throughout the maps. You become enveloped with the other men in your botallion and become angry when one of them goes down and you take it upon yourself to try and protect them. In the online multiplayer mode, it's just sheer chaos! In this mode, you play online against your peers over the internet. Instead of going through levels and completing missions as in story mode, in the online multiplayer version your main objective is to kill, kill and kill. There are two teams which engage in a free-for-all, normally during timed matches which switch between maps. The best part of playing online is trash talking your opponents and peers via the Xbox Live headsets. Now you can actually talk to the people you play with, giving it that extra personal touch. Overall, my brief time with this game was awesome. I really think I want to purchase an Xbox for the sole reason of owning this game as well as Rockband. This game has a high replay value because there are a decent amount of levels that make the game pretty diverse. If one becomes bored with the story mode, then the online multiplayer game is just as good as any PC shooter, Counter-Strike included. The social interaction between peers is also an added bonus, creating a sense of community. I really want to go to Costco to purchase an Xbox 360. I just think I might! Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:01:40 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1905&iddiary=3722