lowens's GameLogBlogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=711Pokemon Red (GB) - Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:43:58https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3196Gameplay 2: During the second day I played pokemon, I didn't have an opportunity to get sidetracked playing with my friends, and instead got to play through more of the game. Catching various pokemon was fairly easy, but choosing which ones to take with me everywhere I went was harder. With many options involving what type of pokemon to use, I found my favorites to be of the psychic type. I think it was well though out to allow the player to be able to progress through the game using whatever pokemon he or she pleases. I enjoyed the amount of computer controlled trainers lurking around the world, and the high amount of experience and money defeating them granted. They make the game world feel much more alive ( although when I went back to old zones where I had already beaten trainers, and there were no more fights around, the zones felt very barren). I also found the frequent and numerous encounters with wild pokemon to not bother me, because my pokemon could just steamroll them and get experience, and they always leave the opportunity for capture open. There are no rules in pokemon red saying you can't use six pidgies! Another part of pokemon that I enjoyed was being able to move around the game world very quickly. Before my pokemon were past level 24 I already had a bicycle, and the ability to teleport or escape rope back to the last pokemon center I visited. Beyond that, I also liked how interactive the game world felt for an rpg on a handheld game system. Having to cut down trees to advance into new zones, or use flash to light up a cave force players to obtain these techniques, but also add an incentive to track such skills down and ultimately make the new areas more exciting, as being granted access to new zones brings forth new pokemon and new enemies to defeat. Design: Compared to most slow paced, more serious rpgs, pokemon provides the player an opportunity to enter a comical world lending itself to bringing out the inner child in the player. For me, the fast pace alone was enough of a breath of fresh air to keep me playing this rpg, as opposed to others. Although the game is intended for children, with shorter attention spans than adults, I still found the game to be very rewarding for myself. I found battling lots of little creatures against one another for money, and to unlock new areas with many more and new pokemon enough reward to keep me interested. However, I believe what set this game apart from other rpgs, and games in general, was the design placed in the pokemon themselves. Pokemon, by nature, I believe lend themselves to being adorable. Humans love keeping animals as pets, and pokemon just took a real world trend and turned it into a game. I found that raising virtual critters, and watching them change and evolve by your hand, ultimately becoming very powerful forces to reckoned with, to feel like a worthy accomplishment for a days work. The only part of the game that I would change would be to make the game centered less around having to play with other people. Although a wise marketing scheme for Nintendo to strongly push players towards having access to two gameboys, two different versions of the same game, and link cable in order to be able to collect all the pokemon, I found this very frustrating at times (for example, I wanted a caterpie, and to evolve my kadabra, but I had to wait until my friend could play with me). Other than that, I found the game overall to be a very satisfying experience. (This entry has been edited2 times. It was last edited on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 07:25:05.)Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:43:58 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3196&iddiary=6011Pokemon Red (GB) - Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:20:06https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3196Summary: In pokemon red version, the player takes on the role of a new pokemon trainer who is sent on a mission to gather data over the various 150 pokemon using a pokedex. While some pokemon do not change, most pokemon can evolve into stronger pokemon, and within these 150 pokemon, the different evolutionary states are considered different pokemon. The trainer the player takes over must also must defeat the gym leaders of eight different gyms throughout the world, leading up to a clash against the elite four, a group of four pokemon champions. Throughout, the player must also deal with various other opponents, such as his or her rival, or team rocket. Gameplay 1: Having played pokemon yellow version as a child, I decided it was time to play one of the two games that started the pokemon craze. I decided to play the game over a period of two days off and on, given that it is an rpg, for a more full experience. Also, I decided to start the game with a couple of friends, using a link cable from time to time to trade or battle, to keep it more interesting, and to add an element of conflict to the game. I was surprised at the pace of the game, and lack of drawn-out introduction that most rpgs have. After playing for only a couple of minutes, I already was on my way to having my first pokemon. After choosing squirtle, the game immediately has a combat walkthrough. Despite the first fight being rather boring (each pokemon only has two abilities), and the computer ai being very poor, the game was still gripping. Instantly, I had an urge to capture more pokemon. Soon after capturing a pidgey and a ratata, I gravitated towards my intial pokemon, as the game lends itself to be much more pleasing when only working on leveling one pokemon at a time. The game continued to move quickly, and it was enjoyable to see all sorts of pokemon start to appear. Despite, computer ai being very poor at choosing techniques with an intent to beat my pokemon in the beginning(the game was designed with children in mind after all), the challenge would arise in the form of choosing which pokemon belong in my lineup. Having a balanced team of pokemon is essential to beating other pokemon. In spite of the computer player choosing poor attacks (for example continuing to use tail whip to lower my pokemon's defense when it has already been lowered a maximum amount of times), in an unfavorable type matchup (say my electric pokemon versus a ground type, which is immune to electric attacks), it doesn't matter if a computer player plays poorly because they have such a great advantage. I found playing with friends to make the game much more enjoyable, and fulfilling within the game (for example I was able to evolve my kadabra because I traded it to a friend and back again). Also, I found battling against my friends, even with our fledgling pokemon, to be very fun. Furthermore, it is much more acceptable to play a children's game when you have a couple of buddies playing with you. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:34:10.)Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:20:06 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=3196&iddiary=6009Wii Sports (Wii) - Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:59:28https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2929Gameplay 2: For the next round of Wii sports, two people left, leaving the match up at one versus one. Therefore, my friend and I decided to play baseball, boxing, and tennis. Not having to field in the Wii baseball was a nice change from most baseball games out there. Instead, my friend and I could just enjoy having a home run derby in his dorm room using the Wii remote. Eventually, however, we discovered that it was possible to pitch balls, although Wii baseball is so simple it doesn’t have a penalty for balls and treats them as if they were hittable, thus unfairly penalizing the batter. I found boxing to be very strenuous compared to the other Wii sports. Instead of actually fighting each other, my friend and I traded off on a practice event for boxing with a bag to see who could get the higher score. The boxing was very exhilarating, as sometimes we could find a sweet spot on the bag where swinging the Wii remote and nunchuck at just the right angle and speed would allow us to land powerful blow after powerful blow in quick succession. However, sometimes the motion sensor wouldn’t pick up a swing quite correctly, and it wouldn’t be registered in the game, causing us to have to swing again, or even use a completely different swing. Finally, we tried out Wii tennis, and I found it to be a great medium for the Wii remote’s capabilities. First off, I enjoyed that Nintendo didn’t force a player to have to somehow move around their side of the net quickly to reach the tennis ball in one versus one, by instead just having two versions of a single avatar spread out on one side being controlled and synchronized up to just one Wii remote. I also enjoyed having the potential for my back Mii to still have a swing on the tennis ball if I missed with my front Mii. Ultimately, I found Wii tennis to be my favorite of all of the Wii Sports. Wii tennis seems to have a nice balance between laid-back play, rewarding timing over power, while still keeping the player constantly in action. Design: Overall, I thought that Wii Sports incorporated the Wii’s innovative feature of a controller with motion sensor capabilities in a private recreational console into five everyday sports, while still keeping them enjoyable and interesting to play. Wii Sports was a lot of fun for me because it allowed me to enjoy activities I enjoy in a new, more easy-going, video game party environment. Also, compared to most sports games, where you press a button and an avatar reacts with a single action, or reacts using a table of actions, in Wii Sports the motion is much less restricted. Being more connected to my avatar than most games, both visually and when our motions were synchronized, was pleasing, especially because the avatar was a caricature of myself. Next, I am not sure if I have played a game that is more suited towards a party scene, and that is as appealing to a wider player base. For example, two of the people I played Wii Sports with during my first game session do not play any other video games regularly, but were just as involved as I was in Wii Sports. Therefore, Wii Sports brought people together to play that wouldn’t normally play video games together, creating a strong social activity. However, I wasn’t completely satisfied with Wii Sports. I found motion sensor problems in all of the sports with my Wii remote. The motion sensor technology wasn’t always dependable, but I found tennis and boxing be the more frustrating in this sense. It was never fun for me to swing at the right time in tennis, and only to have the ball pass by my Mii untouched. Given enough time though, I believe a player could adapt to most sensor issues, and just learn its limits. However, if I would have Nintendo improve upon one part of Wii Sports, it would be to make the motion sensor more dependable.Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:59:28 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2929&iddiary=5524Wii Sports (Wii) - Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:57:54https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2929Summary: Nintendo’s Wii Sports allows for one to four players to participate in simulated sports, using the Wii remote’s motion sensor to control an avatar’s motion in the game. Wii Sports is geared towards multiplayer use, allowing a group of people to compete in simplified, cartoonish versions of tennis, baseball, bowling, boxing and golfing. Also as part of Wii Sports, there is the option to play variations of each sport in practice modes, such as hit the target in Tennis. Furthermore, Wii Sports lets a single player participate in a test of fitness involving several of the sports, allowing the player to assess their competence at the games with a Wii fitness age. Being released at launch with the Nintendo Wii, Wii Sports is a fun way for new users of the Wii to get adjusted to the Wii remote while playing social and enjoyable games. Gameplay 1: For my first session of playing Wii Sports, I got three other friends to play golf and bowling with me. However, before playing we all took the time to create avatars of ourselves in the Wii’s Mii channel, so we could have characters portraying us in Wii Sports. I found the avatar creation to be flexible enough for both creating hilarious, absurd looking characters, as well as avatars that are easily identifiable as the people they represent. I was pleased Nintendo implemented this feature because watching a friend act out the basic or similar motions to the real world sport being played in Wii sports while watching their avatar react with the game world was enjoyable. Although Wii golf was enjoyable, I found its controls to be a little frustrating. It was very easy for me to over-swing, and difficult for me not swing in a straight enough line for all my swings to have the ball avoid going askew of where I was aiming. Also, I found tapping the ball a small distance to sink it in the hole to be annoying. The difference between a light tap, and a swing that will put the ball further from the hole than where it began was very minor feeling. I found Wii bowling to be more enjoyable, and more exciting than golf. There was a lot of flexibility concerning the adjustments for where the ball would roll, and spin could be incorporated. I found bowling to be well portrayed in Wii Sports, and the motion of releasing the ball felt natural. The bowling was more involving and rewarding, and thus got everyone I was playing with more interesting in playing with and against each other, creating a very fun social event. I found that knocking down the pins was easy enough to keep me wanting to play, but difficult enough for me to work on mastering my Wii bowling.Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:57:54 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2929&iddiary=5523Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii) - Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:26:58https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2467Gameplay 2: The next round I played in Brawl, I chose Metaknight. After playing him, I discovered that Brawl has many quick characters to choose from, and that it has much more variation than Melee in that sense. Furthermore, there are many extremely slow characters such as Ganondorf and Ike to complete the spectrum. Playing as a quick character, I was able to outmaneuver the slower characters and defeat them. This raised the question of balance, which seemed tilted in the agile characters favor. Ultimately, I won the match because I didn't lose as many lives as the more sluggish characters, and against the last remaining player I could almost dance around him, all the while dealing damage, until I could clear them off the stage at a high damage percentage. Afterwards, I decided to play Ike to see if I could overcome the speed of other characters with brute force. I found this play style to be very exciting, as one powerful swing could clear a slightly damaged opponent off of the stage. I found that timing my attacks on a slow character was effective enough to beat the lighter, yet faster, characters. However, in competitive play, I would still prefer to use a quicker character. Design: Overall I believe that Super Smash Brothers Brawl is a very well designed game, and will be enjoyed by many. In multiplayer, the game is constantly challenging because the other players are constantly improving with different and new characters. Furthermore, as I learned the different characters, some moves can work in combination with others, making mastery of the game potentially very complex. Keeping in character of the Super Smash Brothers series, the majority of the levels in Brawl present hazards. Such levels can add flavor, but ultimately detract from the gameplay in a more competitive setting, in which getting eaten by a fish on the Ice Climbers level would be very frustrating. For recreational play, I believe that dangerous levels added to the interaction among players, because my fellow players and I could laugh at the surprises. Concerning tone in Brawl, the levels and tones of the gameworlds from which the all-stars came are represented well. I had fun playing on the stages from the characters' worlds, or at least containing the elements and art style of their corresponding gameworlds. I felt in Brawl, they were particularly well represented, and it allowed me to kind of relive Nintendo's other games (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:54:58.)Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:26:58 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2467&iddiary=4791Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Wii) - Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:03:43https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2467Summary: Super Smash Brothers Brawl is the third installment of the Super Smash Brothers series published by Nintendo. Following the style of the other Super Smash games, it is an all-star fighting game based on knocking an opponent off the stage to their demise, rather than depleting an opponent's hit points. Numerous characters with new mechanics were added, while several from Super Smash Brothers Melee were removed, such as Pichu, Dr. Mario, and Young Link. Although a story mode exists where character must progress through various levels, because I was playing the Japanese version of the game (since the North American version will not be released until March 9, 2008) and other friends wanted to play, I opted to try the multiplayer part of the game. Gameplay 1: Upon viewing the character selection screen I became very excited about the many new options offered, but before trying someone new I decided to test out one of my favorite characters who appeared in Super Smash Brothers Melee, Marth. I first noticed that the movement of the characters was significantly slower than Melee, but still faster than the original. Being used to Melee, I felt bogged down, but quickly learned to enjoy the new pace of game. I was glad that Nintendo didn't just remake Melee, and that I could learn how to move and dodge effectively in new environments. Next, it became apparent that Brawl had removed wave dashing (an exploitable mechanic of Super Smash Brothers Melee basically consisting of short jumping and then air dodging into the ground to increase movement speed and to also be able to avoid attacks while still being able to attack) from Brawl. Although useful at a competitive level, I didn't enjoy wave dashing when playing recreationally with friends. Without this mechanic, I was free to enjoy focusing on the timing of my attacks and dodges, instead of having to focus on an exploit to win. While playing with items on, specifically the newly added smash balls, the gameplay centered around acquiring/breaking open the smash balls to pull off a final smash. A final smash is a unique attack for each character(with some repetitions), that allows the user to dominate the playing field. Whenever one of the smash balls appeared on the stage, everyone would stop fighting to instead chase after the smash ball. While, this was fun in a recreational, care-free match, I expect smash balls to be undesirable in highly competitive games because using a final smash frequently ends in one or more other characters getting knocked out, while being relatively helpless to the player who used their final smash. (This entry has been edited2 times. It was last edited on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:30:11.)Fri, 08 Feb 2008 22:03:43 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2467&iddiary=4673Super Smash Brothers (N64) - Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:46:32https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2255Gameplay 2: For my second game session, I played free-for-all mode in multiplayer mode with 3 other players. We set the amount of lives, or stock to 5 lives, and played multiple games. We all stuck with our favorite characters throughout the session. I used Fox, and my friends used Link, Donkey Kong, and Pikachu. We only used items the first game, restricting them to only bob-ombs, mines, pokeballs, beam swords, and home run bats. In the first fight, I stayed in the fray and got killed very quickly, despite dealing much damage. Playing in the fray was fun, but chaotic, as sometimes losing control of the situation with one other player can be due to another character getting in the way. One highlight of this fight was that the person playing Donkey Kong grabbed the Pikachu and committing suicide by jumping off the edge of the stage, killing both the Pikachu and himself. A good player can avoid this happening to them by dodging out of the way of Donkey Kong’s grabs or by avoiding being near the edge of the stage in general. The next stage we played on, I found some of the other players to be very good competition for myself. The Link would beat me when we fought each other, while the other players were on the other side of the map because the player had very good timing, thus his success was based on his skill with the game and its controls. Ultimately in the this 4 player mode, standing off in the corner out of the fray, and being an opportunist will frequently lead to victory. The other players fight and kill each other while the opportunistic player takes little to no damage, becoming advantageous for him or her. I could ultimately win the games if I played more defensively and out of the fray, because I would have a balanced or more likely chance for victory in the final clash between the two last players. Design: I found the overall experience of playing Super Smash Brothers to be enjoyable. It is a very exciting multiplayer game, and proved to be socially a more constructive activity than destructive. I was able to get along with the other players, and appreciate their well timed and well placed attacks, instead of trash talking them. Furthermore, recognizing characters, items, and levels of other games is fun because players can experience more of the characters of these popular worlds by battling against other all stars in a game that uses the worlds old Nintendo games as the basis for the look and feel of the game. However, there are some frustrating parts of the game. There is a lack of multiplayer levels without environmental hazards to interfere with players fighting other players. For purely recreational purposes such hazards can be entertaining, but in a more serious matchup being knocked off the map by an environmental hazard is annoying. Also, throws from grabs are very powerful in this game, making all the other moves of the characters less useful, thus leading to less variation of options for successful play style. On some maps, the distance of a single throw can toss a player off the map, thus expending a life, which a normal quick attack, comparable to that of a melee grab, would produce much less of a knock back effect. So whereas it is frustrating to be repeatedly grabbed and thrown off the edge of the screen, it is also very satisfying to become skilled enough with throws, to implement them against other players. Basically, the challenge offered in multiplayer super smash brothers is overcoming the skill level of the other human players to knock them off the screen. Having success with this challenge was enjoyable for me, and improving at the game by improving the timing of my attacks and by understanding all the characters' moves and how to respond was also fun. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:59:15.)Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:46:32 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2255&iddiary=4354Super Smash Brothers (N64) - Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:58:16https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2255Summary: For the classics list gamelog, I decided to play the original Super Smash Brothers. This game pits many of Nintendo's most famous characters from its most famous games. The game is centered around fighting each other using the classic abilities of each character from their game franchise, and knocking your opponent off the screen rather than defeating them by reducing their health to zero. As one character is attacked and becomes damaged, they become easier and easier to knock backwards, and off the screen. Their are two main modes of gameplay, single player and multiplayer mode, both allowing the player to play using Mario, Pikachu, Link, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Samus, Kirby or Fox with Luigi, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, and Ness being unlockable. The single player mode is designed around beating several of the other characters at different stages, along with overcoming other trials in between fights, ultimately facing up against the Master Hand. In multiplayer, 2-4 human players can fight each other, and any number of computer players can be pitted against each other. Gameplay 1: I decided to play the multiplayer part of the game with one other person. I found it to be a very entertaining and pleasantly competitive game to play. My friend and I set the game to be basically endless, so there was no concern of one player losing all their lives and instead we would only focus on our in game fighting technique. Super Smash Brothers has many items that can be utilized in the game against other players. I found my favorite items to be the Bob-omb, the pokeball, and the home run bat. For the first round of fighting, which took place on Sector Z level from Star Fox 64, I chose Luigi and my friend chose Mario. The two seem very similar at first, but I found Luigi less mundane than Mario. The two had a similar set of moves, but a skilled placement of one of Luigi's moves, made with a combination of up on the joy stick while pressing the B button, will launch an enemy off the screen with a low amount of damage being done to them. It is very satisfying to land a move such as this, as it is overpowering and very destructive if successful. Next I played Link against my friend's Kirby. I found it very frustrating having a ranged, yet slow and risky against Kirby's quick melee range grab. The grab and throws in this game are very powerful. This match we played without items, and I found it to be more enjoyable, as it was a more skill based match up compared to the luck associated with items with whoever getting them having a significant advantage against other players frequently. Despite Link's slow grab, my smash attack using a sword was effective against the light weight Kirby. Finally in 1 versus 1 multiplayer, I selected Fox to fight Captain Falcon without items. Both characters are much faster than the other characters in the game, with Fox having especially quick attacks. Running around the level with a fast character was more fun for me than using Link or Luigi. Also, it was especially fun to play Fox because Starfox 64 was one of my favorite games for the Nintendo 64, thus I could play one of my favorite characters against my friends and their favorite characters from Nintedo's various game series. (This entry has been edited2 times. It was last edited on Sat, 26 Jan 2008 02:23:46.)Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:58:16 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=2255&iddiary=4289Warcraft III -- Frozen Throne (PC) - Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:04:52https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1915Summary: This expansion pack for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, a real time strategy game, furthers the storyline of the world of Azeroth after Archimonde's death at Mount Hyjal, and the Burning Legion's defeat. The player returns to Azeroth, a world where the player can control one of four factions, the Human Alliance, the Orcish Horde, the Night Elf Sentinels, and the Undead Scourge. The player can either play through The Frozen Throne's campaign mode to experience more of Warcraft's storyline, or can compete online in battles controlling one of the factions in teams of 1 versus 1, 2 versus 2, 3 versus 3, 4 versus 4 or free for all for domination of the map and winning the battle. The goal for each map played on is to defeat the enemy computer or player by killing their army with your army, but there is the freedom during online play to attack anyone on the map if you so choose, friend or foe. There also exist modded custom maps, with user based rules. A popular custom game is Defense of the Ancients. Gameplay 1: I opted to play the Undead Scourge in 4 versus 4 ladder play, and testing out a simple, yet rather ineffective straegy against skilled players, based on massing a swarm of a single unit, such as a footman or a ghoul. Playing on a new account in a low bracket I did not find success with my initial strategy of massing ghouls, the most basic light ground melee/lumber harvesting unit of the Undead Scourge. My ghouls did not survive very long in a battle field of higher tier units, even with my death knight hero healing them. I was very attached to my swarm of units, and found the overrun strategy to be very rewarding even when ineffective. Even if the other army was victorious, the swarm or "zerging" scenario of deploying many bunch of ravaging creatures attacking an army of more powerful units still wreaking destruction was very fun. Involving other players online, this style of gameplay within Warcraft III allowed me to be the evil beings bringing forth chaos and causing other players to become frustrated by having to slay many units, all the while sustaining heavy losses themselves to a mindless horde. Furthermore it was fun to watch their strategies for beating the swarm strategy. From their strategies I have learned to deal with other players swarming me, by making use of many area of effect spells to defeat weaker units lacking many hit points. Gameplay 2: Making use of the same swarm strategy again using the Undead Scourge in online four versus four play, I decided to instead mass the strongest undead units, the Frost Wyrm. The frost wyrms, skeletal dragons, were even more fun to play with because they both are a more majestic and powerful unit to look at on screen, and because they have a very powerful freezing breath ability that made me feel like i was ramming a battering ram through my enemies lines, from the air nonetheless. The powerful units, having area of effect breath, destroyed another players swarm of riflemen. In this game I become more connected to my hero, again a death knight, who because of my killing power leveled up higher than in my previous game. The elements of a roleplaying game appearing in this real time strategy really connected me with my army, and made me more involved controlling my units and further increased the fun of the game. Design: The frozen throne is a good game because although it is kind of old, being created in 2003. It has a good storyline, simple and accessible interface for game play, with eye pleasing art and the ability to zoom in on settings. The game also has advanced mechanics and the potential for a player to become more skilled and dominate new players online, while still having to devise strong strategies and control of their army on the battlefield to outplay tougher competition. The game is still very appealing and has a strong player base due to the ever present challanges online with advancing and improving players who provide more and better competition. The reward of defeating one's opponent in a magical world's battlefield with good faction balance and appealing environments is enough to keep me playing the Frozen Throne from time to time. One nice feature that came up in my gameplay implemented by Blizzard, the software company who created the Warcraft Series, allowed control of another players army if they disconnect from the game, allowing the players on the weaker team the capability to match the team with more players in army strength. However, one downside to the online play I noticed was the skill matching system for the Frozen Throne's ladder. It places players of all skill levels together, so a very seasoned player will often be playing with or against a much worse player causing games to be imbalanced for good teams to be fighting bad teams. (This entry has been edited8 times. It was last edited on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:52:52.)Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:04:52 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=1915&iddiary=3723