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Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments (PS4) by jp (Apr 21st, 2024 at 00:26:13) |
This game is way more interesting than I initially gave it credit for (and I might even play all the cases, I'm that curious!)
There's a bunch of cases, you're Sherlock and you gather clues, investigate locations, use your special "eyesight", interrogate suspects, and more. So far, this is what you'd expect.
Some clues become more important and they show up in your "brain" where you can pair it up with another clue (if it's the correct one) to deduce something. Once you have enough of those, you can reach a conclusion. ALSO, once you've reached a conclusion you can decide how to act on it (usually it's either call the cops or call Mycroft - i think...).
What's really wild is that in the brain-connecting clues interface, you can reach lots of different conclusions! (I think it's 4 per case, at least it has been that so far and I've completed two cases). OH! And, as far as I can tell, the you can get it wrong! And, you just move on...the game calls some of them moral choices - which I'm confused by. But the idea that you could arrive at an incorrect conclusion and the game just moves on to the next case is pretty wild. So far, I've gotten both right (because there's abutton you can press that even warns you - like "spoiler alert" and it shows my result in green - which I assume is that I got it right).
Anyways, that's super cool!
Oh, and the game haslots of little mini-games that you play once, and they're part of the story (e.g. taking sherlock's pulse, or arm-wrestling with a sailor)..
The 2nd case is pretty neat - it takes place in the UK, there's a missing train...and there are rich Chilean (and Mexican) businessmen involved! Whoah.
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Fights in Tight Spaces (PC) by jp (Apr 21st, 2024 at 00:19:38) |
This one's a bit weird and I'll confess I didn't play it that much (just played one mission - which is like 1/5 of a full run?). It looks like it wants to be SuperHot, but it isn't - that's ok. But, it has a "play the movie" of what you just did in a level that you would think would play fast and smooth and super action-y. But now, it's slow and it even pauses between card plays...so it looks rather boring, which is a real shame.
As for the game, there's interesting stuff going on, but I haven't fully understood everything:
a. There's a typical energy system for casting, but a secondary system (combo) that lets you play some cards with a combo cost. If you move in your turn you lose combo so it's sometimes tricky to get everything to pull off.
b. While playing I was disappointed (because it seemed unfair) that there are objectives (bonus ones) in each level - and I wasn't getting any because I didn't know what they were! Apparently they're actually shown on screen, but in a place I did not see or notice.
c. The game seemed a bit slow - I was just moving and getting out of the way as I waited to draw into a good hand of cards. This cuts the momentum for sure and also made it hard/impossible to accidentally hit the secret (not really secret) objectives. So, I'm curious to go back and try again with awareness of the objectives. They should help a lot - in that I'm more likely to try to "solve the puzzle" of each turn and hopefully get the bonus objectives.
d. It's strange that you have to pay to heal, but I thought it was neat that you can upgrade several cards (if you have the money) and that some cards are cheap to upgrade - there's different pricing for them!
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Hadean Tactics (PC) by jp (Apr 21st, 2024 at 00:11:34) |
Ok, I've now cleared the game (not unlocked everything, of course) and it really is quite fun and interesting. The 3rd character (which I was waiting on to try out because I wanted to clear the game with the 2nd one) is pretty neat as well though as I write this all I can really remember is that it has an orb mechanic similar to one of the characters in Slay the Spire.
The harder ending is basically another 3 levels, but they get shorter! The last one, if I remember correctly, is just the boss. I don't remember what deck I was running, but it was pretty good - in the sense that I had picked up some good combos..traps and all.
I'm going to stop playing, for now, mostly because the list of games too look at keeps on growing - one a week - because of the design seminar I'm teaching.
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Before Your Eyes (PC) by dkirschner (Apr 14th, 2024 at 13:51:13) |
I've been looking forward to playing this, especially after playing One Hand Clapping, which had a singing mechanic. That game activates your mic and you use your voice, raising and lowering pitch, to interact with the game. Before Your Eyes was similar in that the game activates your webcam and uses your eye blinks as input. Before Your Eyes works WAY better than One Hand Clapping, and it's the better game all around. I figure that detecting blinks (yes/no) is easier than detecting notes along the range of human vocal pitch, so kudos to One Hand Clapping for trying.
Blinking in Before Your Eyes doesn't do anything unless you do it over a prompt (mouse over the prompt, then blink to interact) or unless you do it when the metronome icon is visible, which progresses the story to the next scene. The rules are simple, and it became a game in and of itself for me to blink strategically. I imagined that at the end of A Clockwork Orange, Alex's eyes are forced open so that he could successfully complete this game. At times, I felt like holding my eyes open with my fingers. This is because your eyes will get tired/dry/itchy while playing and you will screw up and blink when you don't mean to, skipping dialogue or ending a scene early. That's frustrating enough. Make sure you do the blink calibration, but I think that no matter how well you do it, it will still occasionally register some non-blinks as blinks. This really didn't happen much for me; through calibration, I think I turned the sensitivity way down, and I wonder what effect wearing glasses had. But like I said, it works surprisingly well.
So, the game itself is narrative-heavy. It's an obvious play on the idea that a life can pass in the "blink of an eye." You're picked up by a ferryman of souls who asks you to tell the story of your life. Back in time you go to remember it: your childhood, your parents, your career, etc., blinking your way through each scene. I won't spoil the story, but there is a twist that I absolutely did not see coming (though I should have paid more attention to the mysterious dark scenes) that changes the narrative and the tone of the game. This is one you can spend time reflecting on.
Aesthetically, it's got a simple visual presentation, sort of painterly, with some really nice piano music. The voice acting is good, with the exception of the girl-next-door (who sounds the same at 10 as she does at 40). For some reason, they also used the same voice actor for your dad and her dad, which made the one scene with her dad calling her very confusing ("Why is my dad at her house?!"). But I liked the dad and mom's performances. I was wondering through the whole game if your character was mute and/or on the spectrum because he doesn't talk--only through a typewriter later in the game--and otherwise expresses himself through his prodigious musical and artistic talents. But I think he's just a silent main character, not actually mute.
Anyway, the game won a BAFTA for a reason. It didn't blow my mind, but it's a neat experience that's worth having. It's short too, doesn't waste your time. I'm considering incorporating it into a class.
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Stray (PC) by dkirschner (Apr 13th, 2024 at 12:00:39) |
Patrick and I have been playing this together this semester, and finished it a couple weeks ago. We were talking after beating it about despite how simple and straightforward of a game this is, it manages to be something new. Playing as a cat (and being able to do cat things like curl up and sleep, scratch things, knock objects off tables, etc., so cuuuute) was novel, and the setting and story were interesting. But really, playing as a cat. I smiled a whole lot throughout the game. The lil companion robot was cute too.
On the other hand, I was often tired and bored while playing, and literally fell asleep during several sessions. Patrick would be making dinner or something in the kitchen, and I'd snap awake, cat walking into a wall, and I'd pretend I had not fallen asleep, and that I was just watching the cat walk into the wall and thinking. Like how my dad always used to claim he was "resting his eyes" when he'd fall asleep on the couch.
I would not call the game exciting. It was a lot of wandering around the city and talking to robot NPCs, fetching things for them. The city is a really good-looking dystopia, and the robots are quirky, but I wish they had more dialogue. You don't get a sense that many of them have personalities besides whatever one-note thing they do. I mean, the lack of dialogue makes sense, and it's not really "dialogue" since the cat can't talk. The fact that you are a cat adds a whole layer of silly to the game. Like, why has this lil robot befriended a cat? Why are all these robots putting all their faith in a cat to save them? Cats don't understand what we're saying to them, and cats do whatever they want! Playing as a cat in a game where you're doing fetch quests (fetching is dog stuff!) and doing things to help people is very un-cat-like.
But, you know what? The ability to play as a cat and do cat things trumps how little sense it makes, and I would play as a cat in this dystopia again. Idea for next time: more cats. And what do you think? Were there cats at the end?! Optimistically, I think so.
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they are currently playing. A GameLog is basically a record of a game you started playing. If it's open,
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if you got bored, frustrated,etc.) You can also attach short comments to each of your games or even maintain a diary (with more detailed entries)
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2157 registered gamers and 3105 games. 7607 GameLogs with 13096 journal entries. 5074 games are currently being played.
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Katamari Damacy (PS2) by Rhibecka |
| I really like this game so far and I'm excited to play more and develop a more solid opinion. |
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most recent entry: Saturday 12 January, 2008
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GAMEPLAY
Upon playing the game a second time I have gained a better understanding of the game and have found it much more enjoyable.
First of all, one of my friends informed me that the choppy language of the King is due to unusual translations of the game into English. I'm not sure if this is true, but this would definitely make sense given his strange wording which makes he seem off his rocker. I have also found the game much more enjoyable by not focusing on details of the game I found bothersome before. I realized that I was taking the game too seriously. It is really just a fun game about rolling a ball. What the king says in between your adventures and the cut scenes are not as important as dialogs are in most other games. Not understanding every sentence the King says (something I found bothersome the first time) will not hinder my game play.
I also found this game more enjoyable once I reached larger levels with a bigger Katamari. Since I always had trouble maneuvering, I appreciated having many large areas to roam through and larger items to find (plus it is more exciting to roll over people and cows now than thumb tacs!). As the levels increase, I feel each object's designs can be more appreciated as well as the overall creativity and uniqueness of this game. This time I played around friends, and even they found the game's creativity extremely entertaining (for example, the realistic cries of terrified people as you roll them over).
I still think the story is lacking, even though I know it has little to do with the overall point of the game. I have come to find the King's twisted sense of humor amusing (even though it is extremely depressing when he demoralizes you after failing a level).
After this game play experience, I would have to declare Katamari a very good game. Despite its flaws, it's overwhelming creativity in turning the rolling of a ball into an exciting and intriguing game make it a game worth playing and recommending.
DESIGN
This game is unlike any game I have played. Most games fit into specific categories, but what I admire about this game is that it doesn't. The designers took a simple concept (the growing Katamari) which does not sounds fun or intriguing and turned it into a surprisingly engaging experience. I believe much of this game's charm is due to the interesting environments you are put it. Discovering where you can go with the Katamari and all the sorts of things you can pick up keeps the element of surprise fresh throughout the game. Watching the objects you roll over as you race the clock makes this game both competitive and intriguing (which keeps the player wanting to come back for more).
The design is good in that each level presents new and unique surprises (such as discovering you can pick up fish in the lake). Each place provides a new level of interaction and discovery within the environment you are given, which keeps the game fun and each place unique. Although some levels had frustrating missions, their design creativity can not be ignored. For example, there is a level where I had to pick up bird eggs in hopes of finding a swan. This mission did not interest me, but the level itself was full of interesting places to explore and things to discover (I found out the hard way that a mouse trap will propel me through the air if I'm small enough). The innovativeness of each level (combination of good layouts, peppy music, and interesting objects) truly added to the game's overall fun tone and credit as a well designed game.
I also felt that the game's irony and sarcasm added to the game's fun mood. It was amusing having cheerful music play as you made your path of terror and destruction across towns. The King's sense of humor also added to the game's likability factor.
Although the game excelled in creating a great interactive environment and fun tone, I feel it lacked a solid story line. I found the cut scenes involving the "box people" pointless, and it seemed that what the King said never mattered. I felt the game should have either cut down his speeches and take out the cut scene sub-plot, or developed a more dynamic storyline. (Note:I have not finished the game yet, so I am aware that there could be an amazing ending which ties it all together perfectly and completely negates my criticism.)
At first I felt the idea of the Katamari was not intriguing enough to allow for a dynamic experience. However, once I got past the introductory levels I found it more easy to find the game play experience fulfilling. I feel that a stronger storyline may have helped me get into the game earlier. Despite this game's downfalls, I found Katamari Damacy a fun and rewarding game which succeeds in taking the player through a unique gaming experience by offering them a game design different from many of the more popular games of today.
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