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Feb 9th, 2008 at 01:21:06 - BioShock (360) |
Aesthetics are a Moral imperitive.
Why does a man need two eyes, when their is simply one eye of the beholder?
Creepier words have never been spoken by a Mister Steinman.
Summary:
In my second three-quarter increment I explored and mastered the medical pavilion. As well as providing key story elements, and a creepy insight into the progression of the cities madness I was gifted with knowledge of the games multiple weapon, Splicing, and Death sequences. The Vite-Chambers seem to revive you at no penalty upon your demise, which takes away a large part of the horror factor of this game, and death having at least a simple punishment seemed like a necessary Evil. The splicing system has multiple types, ranging from physical (increase speed of attack, increase melee damage etc.) to mental (regain life every time you hack) but allowing the player a level of customization. This factor gives the character their own personal take on the story, and makes them put effort and care into the character. The weapon system is pretty standard from any other shooter, with the exception of the Splicer combination with weapons that can be accomplished. For example fight grenades with Telekinesis.
Gameplay:
This level began creepy and ended creepy. With splicers dissapearing and reappearing with the light changes and the overall Medical Pavilion's creepy social psychopath doctors giving slogans around the clock on how to make you as pretty as a goddess. saying you could do what Picasso did with a painting to a human's face is a definate plus of the first boss.
The multiple splice system is a very ingenious idea for a video game that created a "powerful skeptic" character. The ability to choose between saving a little girl, or killing her for more power allows several different types of players to get their fill out of this game and obviously leads to different endings.
I was egged on to kill the girl for power. and what was said in the resulting speech is exactly what I think about this game.
"You made the right choice."
I give this game 4 stars.
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Feb 9th, 2008 at 01:06:53 - BioShock (360) |
Is not the man entitled o the fruits of his labor?
No says the man in Washington, it belongs to the poor.
No says the man in the Vatican, it belongs to God.
No says the man in Moscow, it belongs to everybody.
I rejected these Ideals, and instead wrote a gamelog.
Summary:
The first thing that I knew coming into the game is that the gameplay was a psychological horror from a point in the 1960s. The second thing I knew was it was nearly a direct imitation of Deux Ex, except steam punk instead of Sci-fi.
The writing, graphics, and first-person shooter system allows for nice gameplay and connection to the main character. The "Splicer" concept explains the "superpowers" you and your opponents get throughout the game via advances in Genetics. The satire on Ayn Rand's theories of a completely free market society throughout the game is subtle enough to interest gamers in a completely different story, but blatant enough to make the connection.(such as the Meglomaniac of Rapture being named Andrew Ryan) The rewards system is sweet, though the Hacking system seems a bit boring, and is hard to accept scientifically (Changing the steam vents allows you to bypass computer systems?) Based on the rate of occurrence I will probably need to use it many times throughout the game.
Gameplay:
From opening to Medical Pavilion (where I am currently) This game has captivated and scared me on multiple levels. The trauma in the town of Rapture and The insanity of it's inhabitants while you are being led by Atlas might make this game a classic. The Splicing of superpowers into your bloodstream give the player some sense of godliness, however the fact that every opponent int he game possesses similar powers and has some mastery over the environment gives the horror another edge. The exploring of every room seems necessary, both in finding journals of residents of this Atlantis, or for simple First Aid kits to save yourself. At the end of my first forty-five minutes I managed to find myself hacking two turrets, a personal flying bodyguard and a healing station, which basically dominated a room. Nothing fulfills your blood lust like watching enemies go into your blood soaked room. So far the game deserves five stars, however I can see that changing easily.
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Jan 24th, 2008 at 03:31:21 - Chrono Trigger (SNES) |
2780 A.D.
THE END HAS COME FOR US ALL! Poting on all site the end has come for us! The zombies are coming, if only we had learned in the year 2008 that we could-
Bzzzztztztzt!
2008 A.D.
2nd Review of Chrono Trigger
4 and a half hours of total gameplay.
-Summary-
After four and a half hours of play on Chrono Trigger I know why it is a classic. There is never a point in the game where you aren't doing something new! Nearly every level has its own minigame and the plot-
INCOMING FROM YEAR 3008 A.D.
The mystics command you humans to disregard the statement two paragraphs up. Just keep on with your lives and everything will be fine.
-continues to entice me. The story seems to have very distinct points of stopping, but the continuation of the story seems continually necessary. The fact that as soon as you get the fourth member of the party you can attack the last boss is a major innovation, the fact that you get an ending for losing against Lavos-
INCOMING FROM YEAR 3008 A.D.
Correct the grammar of the above statement to "Great and Mighty Lavos."
-is an unexpected path that added learning curiosity and replay elements to see how many different endings I can get. The fact that nearly every boss requires a unique strategy that you must learn through practice and story is interesting in itself.
GAMEPLAY
That being said the tyrannical rain of Gandhi from the last game was stopp-
-Gameplay-
As you can see by the above messages in time travel I'm highly surprised I hadn't grabbed a copy of this game earlier. The time travel aspect is of course impossible by every scientific means, but then again with a game this fun does it need to?
YES FILTHY HUMANS EVERYTHING MUST HAVE A PURPOSE!
There's the answer I suppose. In any case where we last left off Crono had just traveled 400 years into the past and gotten lucky with Princess Marle. Since then she invited Crono over to meet the folks for dinner and one thing led to another and he was eventually thrown in jaihormation you need to defeat your first "boss monster" but nonetheless sets you up with what to expect for future fights.
After Crono Goes mdieval and aparently cuts tank armor off with his sword you get chased out by the guards... into th year 2300! (how can you not love this)
This post apocalyptic future gives you insight into what you need to stop, what the human race is becoming, and what events in history it is your duty to change. But while we're in the future... might as well pick up a robot!
The magic system is introduced as a simple concept at the End of Time and the game keeps its appeal even after I gained my first ending by losing the fight against Lavos. The wacky game mechanics, and statistics that make no sense (Rock sword is stronger then a Ray gun, no exceptions.) adds an unrealistic, but fun element that is enforced from the very beginning by the fair. This combine with a large assortment of mini games and new battle systems makes this game revolutionary from level 1!
DESIGN:
Apparently UCSC screwed up thus far in getting my e-mail correct. Thus I didn't check when the comments came in for the game log, now that I have recently fixed this issue it is time for the Design section!
Innovations in the game included an Active Time Battle System or the choice of a traditional RPG system. The story elements that allowed for many different endings or play troughs of the game. Last was the amount of mini-games which allowed the player to play completely different games inside the core mechanics of the game, while this isn't new to this game, none take it quite to the level that Chrono Trigger did. The game creates conflicts by setting a disturbance in history, rather the desire to change the future is what causes the characters to act. The gameplay keeps changing the mechanics of the game, or requires more then brute force to defeat even common enemies later. Forcing the player to think about how to defeat the opponent, rather then just clicking attack. The space within the game is intentionally limited, however what occurs there keeps shifting due to the different timezones you visit them. The actual space of the world map is somewhat small for an RPG, however the fact that you visit it over and over again in new and vibrantly different scenarios makes it seem exciting each time.
The tone, as stated above is somewhat cartoony, but serious enough to get the player involved int eh story and caring about what happens to the characters. The very beginning and sheer amount of mini-games helps create this tone. The game doesn't really do anything for social relations other then provide a fun story, and providing decisions for multiple characters, which as all RPG players know is still really 1P game.
This game did help us come up with some goofy concepts for the future game project, the amount of mini-games and very goofy characters and villains helped us conceive some of our own creations.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Feb 19th, 2008 at 20:35:39.
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Jan 23rd, 2008 at 01:50:26 - Chrono Trigger (SNES) |
2007 A.D.
1st Log of Chrono Trigger.
1 hour and 30 minutes of gameplay.
-Summary-
The RPG that deviated from several of the archetypes of RPG play and created its own sophisticated type of Role-playing game combat. The game itself starts you off with the choice of Active-Time Battle (ATB) system or the standard system (Wait). Considering it's early appearance on the SNES it may even be the first game to do this, with the only thing that strikes even close being the Lunar series. The ATB battle system allows a player a little time to focus and talk between commands, while the wait function gives it a more classical RPG feel. The fact that it gives you the choice between these two options is revolutionary in itself. The character models are all hand drawn by professional and popular artist Akira Toriyama (famous for Dragonball, Dragon Warrior concept art and recently the acclaimed Blue Dragon.) adds a unique less serious feel to the game, and an aspect that makes the plot seem alright to be cartoony.
-Gameplay-
First of all this game is borrowed, so upon borrowing it I learned information like there are around 80 different endings to this particular game. Second, this game is an RPG in every sense of the word meant for a one-player scenario. Third, it doesn't really matter, because right from the get go the game interests you in a virtual version of a exciting normal life event, going to the fair.
The game starts you off as the character Crono with around 7 mini-games in the carnival, and gives the main, silent character a romantic day with a girl named Marle right off the bat. Usually you gotta go through at least 8 castles to get that particular point in the story. Anyways the fact that you can do the variety of minigames, such as Ring-The-bell, The Three Horror shows, and Prove your worth against combat robot Geto (who is also a wonderful singer.) provides fun in game mechanics to start the game off with a cheery carnival-like aspect which appeal to the character. The quick development of every major character, and some of the carnival people, including Geto, allow for a quick decision about the character's personality, from the few lines they speak (or don't speak in Crono's case) and a deeper connection to the cartoony world.
Especially with Geto.
The time travel focus on the story after the initial carnival seems cheesey as you are thrust back into the past where a Frog (prince?) aids you with a iron blade to save your (girl)friend Marle by saving her ancestor. Time paradoxes abound Batman! Being thrust into a 400 year old war because of your girlfriend's pendant with a nerdy girl and a frog prince has never felt so good!
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