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Jan 31st, 2007 at 15:16:26 - Shadow of the Colossus (PS2) |
Wow...I'm gonna split this gamelog in half because I have a few things to talk about this game.
First, my official, detailed analysis of this game--I have very mixed feelings about this game because of my gameplay experience with it. I was easily frustrated by the difficulty of defeating the massive colossi, and was ready to literally throw the controller at the screen at many moments (especially with number 16....ugh).
The look and feel of the game is second-to-none, especially in the immersive nature of the massive environment and how it quite literally makes you feel miniscule in comparison with the mammoth doors, ruins, mountains and, well, collosi themselves!
I think the game is considered a classic because it is an excellent example of innovative use of bosses as the ONLY enemies. There is no leveling, no collecting, and the only weapons you get are the ones you came with--a sword, a bow, and your massive (and very temperamental) horse. It takes away the traditional hack and slash and turns enemies into levels in and of themselves. I think they could have taken more time with the camera, as it turned out to be the 17th colossus (I lost count how many times I've died or got taken back because of a crazy camera angle...) and from a developer's perspective, with the engine found on the PS2 hardware, you could have very well been able to make fewer "invisible wall" style camera switches, and left a lock-on for the bosses in order to enable the player to have a fairer camera while preserving the challenge.
A classic-defining feature of this game is that it turns what would have been a straight adventure game into a platformer, adventure game, and a strategy game all at once--the fusion of the genre would have made it a spectacular game had they made it less frustrating thanks to the camera.
I'll talk about the rest later...I should think about how to describe the colossi and the storyline...those deserve their own time.
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Jan 19th, 2007 at 03:21:27 - Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) |
Well, this is roughly my 58th time playing OoT, although this has been the longest time I've been without it. This DEFINES classic gaming, and the mere fact I've played it so often for so long proves a point--infinite replay value.
I feel that this earns the label of classic game because of many reasons, but one of the main facts about it, from both a player and budding designer's standpoint, is its excellent structure--the world itself is superbly designed, as to minimize frustration while maximizing difficulty, even after 50+ game runs. Although there is a certain aquatic dungeon that earns my extreme annoyance, its level design was perfectly done...I suppose I should give the Water Temple a little love later, but for now, the generics.
Level design has always been a Miyamoto priority since the first Zelda title, and Ocarina of Time has taken the puzzle/structure rules of old dungeon crawlers and taken the fact that it is the first Zelda title to utilize the N64's 3D capabilities while enabling such a revolutionary change to the rules environment in gaming to be a part of the game rather than a "Oh my God, we can make the same game...in 3D!" like in Nights into Dreams or Sonic 3D Blast. I remember all of the intricacies involving the right camera angle and attack perspective to solve a puzzle or defeat a boss.
An example of good level design is found, ironically enough, in my least favorite dungeon of the game: The Water Temple. Yes, the dungeon that has earned the title of "Most confusing dungeon. EVER." has some of the best level design in the whole game for a few reasons.
It is more than challenging for a gamer of any level, but it always has a solution (or solutions, depending on how you view it) to every obstacle, whether it is finding the keys, or beating Dark Link, and any mistake is always rectifiable, unlike certain Mario games *cough64cough* and although it annoys me, it feels so amazingly rewarding when you *finally* get to the boss and beat it.
There's also a steadily rising level of difficulty in each progressive dungeon, with more complicated puzzles, more difficult-to-beat enemies, and overall a more difficult feel to it. The amazing part is that it FEELS like it's natural, and you don't feel like you're in level-by-level in how hard it gets.
I'll talk about more when I finish other parts of the game...
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Jan 11th, 2007 at 02:39:04 - Kingdom Hearts II (PS2) |
Remember what I said about posting once I got Final Form? Well, here I am posting...in commemoration of my acquisition of perhaps the most beautifully kill-tastic form Sora possesses in his enchanted clothing, I'll focus my attention on Drive Forms, not necessarily a critical element of the plot of the game, but a shining hallmark of the newly revamped battle engine.
In a nutshell, the Drive forms, special states of being Sora enters once his drive gauge has maxed out (and I'll talk about the cheater's way to do that darn quickly) where he sacrifices (thank GOD!) either Donald, Goofy, or both, and instantly acquires a new ability list and increased stats based on which character was sacrificed (Valor Form, a melee-based form with combo and strength as its focus, sacrifices Goofy, for example). Now that I've summarize essentially what it is, allow me to recount to you my experience with its effect on my gameplay experience.
The reason I attempt to level up Drive forms in the first place is NOT to just experience the kill-fest when I "kick into" a form--there is an associating skill that the normal Sora obtains that ends up making the Organization XIII battles a great deal easier. High Jump, Quick Run, Aerial Dodge and Glide are all incredibly useful functions (and they end up being practically required to beat the newly strengthened Sephiroth, whom I am working on as we speak) and I had to go through the rule-specific means of leveling each form to acquire them...
It's annoying, to say the least, and as much as I love the sense of accomplishment of getting these leveled up, I think the leveling system was too annoying to register as "fun"...it was a chore, to be honest. The most fun I had while leveling was getting Final Form in the first place. For those of you who have not yet gotten this form, here's what you do--during the Xigbar fight, whittle down 2.5 health bars (at least 2, preferably halfway down the 3rd) and make sure you have disabled Donald's Cure abilities and equipped auto-Master...let him kick your butt to the point where you have the option of auto-master as a reaction command...USE IT. Instead of going into Master Form, you'll flash for longer and voila! You are the proud owner of the coveted Final Form! That was a genius move, making it nearly hidden in the game, giving a definitely pleasant surprise for using different strategies than one would normally use in a game. It also unlocks 2 more drive gauges in each of the other forms, and best yet, NO ANTI FORM PENALTY!!!!!!
That is perhaps the dumbest move Squenix made in the Forms--adding the Anti-Form. It is a death sentence in most boss battles, and is nothing more than fanservice for those who remember Shadow-Sora from the first game. It is triggered by overusing a single drive form (can we say "leveling"?) and will waste your much-needed drive gauge. Perhaps vets of the game enjoy the surprise, but when I am attempting to max out High Jump, I don't want to have to re-collect Drive Orbs because Sora decided to go all wannabe-Heartless on me. I really hope the other drive forms stay in KHIII but anti-form gets left in the dust.
There, enough said about my hatred of anti-form. On to the storyline.
In a word--AWESOME.
The storyline is the major draw for writers like myself in a videogame, and if the storyline stinks, I'll more often than not throw the game to the wayside, no matter how incredible the gameplay is. I like a conflict with richness and surprise, and KHII gave me just that. The implementation of the Nobody into the Heartless Saga makes logical sense, and gives a heartstring pull or 2...hundred when one realizes that the "enemies" in the game, with the exception of Manse---not gonna bring up THAT anagram of Xemnas' name...
Yes, each character had a role to play in the game (though most were killed off in KH: Chain of Memories for the GBA) in underscoring the nature of the "Heart" and its importance to a being's means to existing. It explores the true nature of the Light/Dark complex and proves that Black and White are rarely absolute...there's a heckuvalot of gray area.
As an element in the game, it provides with more enemies to fight and more skilled/powerful/interesting bosses...c'mon, Demyx, despite the timed doppelgangers, was just plain fun to fight...I was humming "Mullet Maaaaaan" the whole battle!
It also provides a glimpse into Sora's true nature, as HIS Nobody (as a result of his decision to release his and Kairi's heart in KH) Roxas acts as a second protagonist and his search to exist completely, and the fact that he is a part of Sora...big points to Squenix for providing another interesting element, if a bit overblown (We did NOT need 6 days of tutorial!!!) of the story...it was what counteracted the Disneyland (pardon the pun) feel of the worlds. It drove the conflict and provided emotional attachment to the characters and made me WANT to continue playing the game.
Still haven't finished the game completely, so I'll save more of my worthless ranting (and analysis of Reaction commands) until I beat Xemnas, at least. I mean, right now I'm just leveling.
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Jan 8th, 2007 at 16:05:46 - Kingdom Hearts II (PS2) |
I just entered the 30-hour mark for playing this game (which, incidentally, I started 2 days ago...do the math people) and to be honest, I was not expecting the level of refinement this game had.
I had played Kingdom Hearts 1 for the express purpose of being able to understand this one, at the behest of my good friend. (and she is one of those people who enjoys watching Axel and Roxas do fun stuff in the back room)
I'm going to quote her on this one and say "Imagine all of the problems of KHI fixed and all the good parts of it added onto" but with an adjustment: to be honest, the role of the worlds, at least so far, is underwhelming. It really does give an amusement park feel in spots, as other bloggers on here have mentioned, but it is an easily ignorable flaw, as the sheer size and interactivity of the worlds ballooned in comparison.
A good example of this, is by far Halloween Town. As a fan of the Nightmare Before Christmas, I am a harsh critic of the world when used in other things, and in KHI, I was angered by how pathetically developed it was in it. Someone in Squenix must have felt the same, because the design has improved, with a few annoyances (Why couldn't they have improved the soundtrack for the world? They were playing "This is Halloween" in Christmas Town!)but otherwise, it was so much better and thus more enjoyable for a fan.
The crowning glory for this game is the battle system...I'd like to say this to Squenix--THANK YOU! Going from the claustrophobic camera and the insufferably annoying obstacles that were Goofy and Donald in KHI, they now have a comfortably airy camera enabling more intelligent decisions mid-battle to -gasp- intelligent comrades-in-arms...Goofy will do his decent techniques mroe often and Donald will actually heal you without you begging the screen while fighting Ansem!
My favorite element of the new battle system were the drive forms...that was definitely a creative way to add spice to fighting and leveling, and it is a much better goal to achieve than a certain cricket's journal.......
I'll add to all of this, plus a few other elements later...I haven't unlocked the fabled Final Form yet, and once I do, I think that'll be when I think I'll post as well...the storyline deserves its own entry.
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GBL337 has been with GameLog for 17 years, 3 months, and 15 days |
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