This was my was one of my first handheld games (I think it was the first), and for some reason I decided to dig it out again after a couple years of not touching it. The basic premise of the game is to take care of a variety of fantasy pets. This is done via three minigames, one for feeding, one for play, one for grooming. A fourth mini game (known as the "magic world"), unlocked when all needs are filled, allows the player to unlock new pets if they score high enough. It's either one of two types of obstacle course or one of two types of "bullet storm" games, depending on the pet's "element" (there are four). The feeding minigame requires the player to color in as much of the food item as possible in the time limit, with a time penalty for drawing outside the lines. The grooming minigame requires the player to spray the pet with a hose (or similar) while they run around, jumping in what are apparently interdimensional portals in an attempt to hide. The playing minigame has the pet transforming into essentially a living basketball hoop (I was somewhat alarmed the first time this happened) as the player attempts to throw the toy into them with the stylus. No explanation is given for why any of this works the way it does. The minigames (at least the play one and the magic world) get harder the higher on the progress tree your pet is. I'm not usually much of a minigame person myself, but for some reason I enjoy these. I think they require just enough effort to keep me interested. More about progressing: the player starts with a choice between two eggs, which will hatch the first creature. Completing the magic world game unlocks two more eggs. This is organized on a chart similar to an outcome tree. The end goal is presumably to hatch all the eggs and unlock all the pets. It makes sense, but despite incentives to stay on a single pet for a while such as discovering a pet's "favorites" (toys, food, etc), it can be tempting to just race through the tree–and it gets pretty easy to do so after you've practiced. The pet care minigames do get dull after a while. The aesthetic design of the game is very good in my opinion. The graphics are decent, but what it lacks in shiny hyperrealism it makes up for in creativity. The eggs are cool looking (a must if you want the player to be eager about hatching them), and the pet designs are charming and unusual. There are a few recognizable creatures–dragons, flying horses–but most of them are just weird fuzzy animals. My first pet was a lion with wings. Not a griffin, a lion. With feathered wings. At any rate, they're cute. They come in four varieties, presumably "elements" (though it's never stated directly). These appear to be sky, fire, water, and earth, but of course this is never explained either. This mainly affects the type of magic world minigame they play and their appearance as a living basketball hoop. I have not noticed any correlation between element and favorite items. The obstacle course magic world games are definitely better looking than the bullet storm games, if only because of the fantastical 3D landscapes. The sound design is good but nothing extraordinary. Overall, the game is fun for a while, but it can be very tempting to just rush through, as it gets repetitive. It's a good way to kill time, and considering the way most real-time mobile games are played, I think it serves its purpose. So, to summarize:
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I got it over winter break, and I have no regrets. What's better than 2D exploration and questing...in space? This game is similar to Terraria, which I've reviewed before. The goal, at least initially, is to gather resources and survive in an unexplored world. It branches out from there, however. Once you gather enough resources and complete a couple of quests, you can leave the planet altogether and set off into the galaxy to do more quests, fight bosses, create colonies, or just do whatever's possible within the bounds of a survival sandbox. There are seven unique species the player can make their character, ranging from humans to carnivorous plants to walking clouds of gas wearing cowboy hats (no, I am not making this up). Each is based on a different part of history, and each has its own armor, weapons, and ships–which come with unique pets. Even the dialogue when the player examines an object is different depending on the species (this is how I found out my glowing gasbag man was, in fact, a cowboy). I love little details like this. In addition, the questing, fighting, exploring, and survival aspects of the game are all interwoven very well into the story, combining dangerous away missions, boss battles, and excursions in search of lost artifacts into a single cohesive story.
In terms of design, I adore this game. Large variety of wacky planets with a diverse set of biomes (including a forest of eyes)? Check. Unique creatures with their own attack mechanics? Check. Weather systems with actual variety? Check. Randomly spawned NPC camps? Check. I think that's really the best part of this game, that everything is so weird and varied. There's just so much stuff. I have real respect for the developers on this. And to top it all off, a great soundtrack. I do have some complaints. The main one is that parts of the main quest can be confusing, because it doesn't exactly lay out what you're supposed to do, to the point I had to go to the wiki and contact a friend who had played the game to figure out how to do relatively simple things like leaving the planet and following vague quest guidelines. "Scan Floran artifacts" doesn't help much when I'm given no information on a) what a Floran artifact is supposed to look like, b) how many I need, and c) where I find them. The answer to the last point is "not on this planet," which also did not help as it probably took me ten to fifteen minutes at least trying to figure out how to do so. At least some kind of instructions on how to use basic functions of my spaceship–you know, like navigation–would have been nice. My other pet peeve is that it lets you pick out an outfit (those suspenders look fantastic) and then tells you you need to wear your uniform all the time. Disappointing, but at least there are cosmetic armor slots in case you want to wear a tuxedo over you super high-powered space armor. Overall, I love the game. First game review of the year: Fantasy Life, a Nintendo 3DS game I played when I was younger and still play now. The basic premise is that you're an adventurer who has to choose a "Life" (profession) and save the world. These Lives all give the player different skills, which tie into each other, giving the game a lot of replay value and encouraging the player to explore the game to the fullest. This is especially evident in Lives that help the player produce or acquire items, as it allows the player to eventually become totally self-sufficient. There is also some overlap in benefits of certain Lives (namely alchemy and cooking, or any of the combat-based options), which allows the player room to play how they like. The combat system is well integrated and well built, giving different enemies different weaknesses and making the fighting style for different weapons suitably different. I like the "quick inventory" vs regular inventory aspect, which can come in handy during fights. The game also rewards players for progressing in a variety of ways, from giving them a selection of benefits to choose from for completing side quests, to allowing them access to new areas based on player level.
The art style for the game is great. It's cartoony, high-impact, and hard to forget. There's a lot of options for player-character customization, even later in-game. The NPC designs are unique and eye-catching. The soundtrack is incredible, and the game even allows you to listen to the tracks at any time you please, should you spent points on the radio option. The same goes for cutscenes. The story is well-written and engaging, and the plot twists are done very nicely, giving just enough hints for an observant player to begin putting the mystery together before revealing it. The characters are compelling and unique, and you can even invite them on your adventures. Overall, it's a great game. I do have two complaints. One is the fact that certain pieces of gear are restricted based on the player character's gender for no apparent reason. I could understand if the models were different enough that it was cause issues and require making two different versions, but they aren't. It seems like an unnecessary restriction. The other criticism is that the DLC is only available when the player hits level 50. I understand that this encourages continued play, and that a player under level 50 probably wouldn't survive the DLC (it takes place in a very dangerous area), but it seems like bad design to restrict it completely. It takes a long, long time to get to such a high level (I still haven't made it), and I was already willing to fork over my money to find that it wouldn't let me. That's the company's loss. This is my final game review of this school year, so it's only fair that I review PVZ. It's one of the first games that really got me into gaming. My dad was actually the one who discovered it, and we accidentally stayed up until 1 AM playing it the first night we had it. It was especially exciting since I was pretty young at the time, and I think it's impacted me ever since. The basic premise of Plants vs. Zombies is to defend the player's suburban home from encroaching zombies, using a variety of whimsical (and apparently sentient) plants to kill said zombies. The zombies will try to eat their way through the plants to get to the house and eat the player's brains. It's essentially a 2D, grid-based tower defense style game.
I usually start with gameplay, but I feel the need to mention right here how much I love the soundtrack to the game, especially the end credits song. It's all incredibly catchy, and the different songs fit their associated modes and minigames very well. Now, on to gameplay! The game starts off very simple, with only a single row of lawn to defend, and walks the player through. I really like this, since it keeps the game from being overwhelming at first. Once this tutorial level is done, the game starts increasing in difficulty. Players unlock more powerful and specialized plants and zombies as they progress through adventure mode (the main story), and new items become available in the shop. These new zombies have unique methods of attack and unique weakness, and the zombies types are picked somewhat at random between rounds, at the same time the player picks which plants they will use. This helps prevent the game from repetitive and means the player actually has to strategize, considering what plants are most important and where they should be placed. Overall, I think the game progression is very good. The one thing I don't like is that once the player has unlocked everything, the game starts to get a little boring. It's still entertaining, but the excitement of unlocking new things and facing new challenges dies away. I have to admit, this is a very hard problem to avoid in games with unlockable features, so I don't think it's really that big of a deal. One can always start a new save file, after all. As players move through adventure mode, they unlock new minigames, challenges, and survival mode levels. Survival mode allows the player to simply try to last through five rounds on normal difficulty (one "wave" of zombies per round) or hard difficulty (two waves per round). The player can pick between different level types: day, night, pool, fog, and roof. Day is essentially the default, while the rest have unique gameplay elements added. The one thing I feel is lacking here is that there are a few more unique level types in adventure mode that are not included in survival mode. I do feel that there could have been a little more added under survival mode, but I'm still happy with the options given. One of the other features is the "Zen Garden" that can be unlocked in the shop. This allows the player to occasionally get a gift box during adventure or survival mode, which contains a mystery plant. This can be grown in the Zen Garden, and when taken care of will give the player coins for buying more supplies in the shop, including more Zen Garden areas. The final area is the Tree of Wisdom, which gives the player cheat codes to unlock some pretty hilarious easter eggs. This is definitely a fun feature and I'm glad it was included. Overall, I think Plants vs. Zombies is a good game. It's fun, stimulating, not too complicated, and requires strategy on the player's part. The art style is delightfully cartoonish and fits the game very well, and the general feeling of whimsy in the game is really enjoyable. I'm not a huge fan of tower defense, but Plants vs. Zombies will always hold a special place in my heart. Some ridicule it for being 2D, but personally, Terraria is one of my favorite games. I think it's about time I did a review. Terraria is a 2D survival/adventure game. The main point of it is to fight monsters (especially bosses, which there are loads of), search for materials, find and make cool gear, and build up whatever sort of stronghold you want.
First of all, I think the progression of the game is very well done. A lot of materials and features are restricted until the player has achieved certain milestones (many of these are boss fights), especially with the inclusion of Hardmode, which comes after a major boss battle. Hardmode adds new materials, new bosses, new enemies, new gear, and the challenge of keeping two biomes from taking over your world: the Corruption or Crimson (you'll get one of them upon creating a new world), which is there from the beginning, and the Hallow, which is created after reaching Hardmode. Personally, I really like this approach, since the players always feel like they're moving forward. You have to get progressively better gear, and to do so often means fighting enemies that your current gear won't offer complete protection against, so there's still an element of challenge. Enemies get harder after Hardmode, which helps to avoid the unfortunate situation of being far more powerful than everything around you. The game won't get too easy, because it gets harder as the player advances. However, many of the easy enemies still exist, so you aren't robbed of the satisfaction of destroying them easily and remembering when you couldn't. The bosses are all unique and there are a lot of them, all of which give the player access to new items. There are also some different enemies (bosses included) depending on whether the player has a Crimson or Corruption biome, which gives the game replay value. The gear you find in chests is also fairly random, which also adds replay value. I really like that your player characters aren't tied to specific worlds, so you can create new worlds and explore what they generate without having to start entirely from the beginning. This is also useful for accessing materials that have been added in updates and might not be found in your usual world. My one gameplay complaint is what happens once the player has gotten enough NPCs, which will show up at random if there is a room for them and if the player has fulfilled certain requirements (having a certain amount of gold, having explosives, et cetera). If the NPCs are concentrated in one area, enemies will attack that area much less often. As I progressed in the game, I started to miss the fun of fighting the mobs of zombies showing up outside by doors. I understand that there is a point to this, since it would be annoying to lose a lot of NPCs at once, and playing defend-the-castle can get boring when the enemies are no longer as much of a threat (and obnoxious when you're trying to build), but I do miss that aspect of the early stages of the game. I also really like the soundtrack. I've said before that I think sound is very important in a game. The tracks aren't too similar to one another and fit the situation they play in; this is especially true of the Dungeon track, which features marimbas reminiscent of the skeletons found in the Dungeon. It's one of my favorite songs from the game. There is also the feature of music boxes later in the game, which allows the player to record tracks from the game and play them in other locations. This is a feature I wish more games like this would have. Music can also serve as a good indicator of events or entering new areas if the visuals aren't immediately obvious. In terms of art style, it's not super high quality graphics; it's very pixelated. However, the design of the enemies and gear, as well as the level of player customization, has won me over. Of course, I do like the simple art style. Speaking of player customization, the game includes purely aesthetic gear that can be worn OVER the player's regular gear, as well as a variety of dyes (that don't permanently change the appearance of gear). This avoids the familiar problem of "look cool or have good stats" and is another feature I'd like to see in more games. What's possibly my favorite aspect of the game is how whimsical it is. Sure, there's no real NEED for a confetti gun, or a sword that fires cat-shaped rainbow projectiles, or a pirate invasion, or a Santa Claus NPC, or paint and wallpaper, or the ability to pile all your gold on the floor, but this is all in the game. There are numerous pop culture references and plenty of items that are just there for the fun of it. It sometimes seems to me like some features were added because one of the developers had a dream about it and then thought, "Hey, that would be a cool feature." The amount of work it would take to add so many things that aren't totally necessary seems almost unreasonable, but it adds to the adventure and discovery of the game, and overall it makes the experience way more fun, especially because it gives the player something to strive for in the later stages. I'm incredibly grateful as a player that the development team was willing to put in so much effort for things like this. There are plenty more features I could go into, but then I'd be here all night. Overall, this is one of my favorite games out of everything, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys adventure/survival games, especially ones that involve a lot of fighting. I've got almost nothing negative to say. Released in 1978, Space Invaders is one of the most famous arcade games out there. Naturally, I had to play it when I got the chance. I'll start with a summary. The player controls a small spaceship than can move left and right, as well as shoot upwards. The point of the game is to shoot the little aliens that are moving back and forth across the top of the screen, getting closer to the bottom with every passage they make and dropping small projectiles. This starts off slow and gets increasingly faster over time, and continues until the board is clear and resets (though it will start off faster this time), or until the player dies. This will keep repeating until finally the player dies. If the aliens reach the bottom it's game over, and if the player loses all lives to alien projectiles it's also game over. The player can shoot the red saucer that occasionally flies across the top of the screen and gain a bunch of points, but it requires quick reflexes and good timing. The player can also hide under protective structures, but these will be worn away from alien projectiles, as well as the player's own attacks, should they strike the covers.
While simple, the game is challenging and engaging enough to keep me interested. The graphics work well because despite their simplicity they're distinctive, especially the alien sprites. Because of the ever-increasing difficulty, the game doesn't get repetitive. The main problem is that the game gets increasingly stressful as the aliens speed up, which can be disruptive to flow. The fact that the sound the aliens make speeds up with their movement doesn't help. Overall, however, the game is entertaining despite its simplicity, and I can see why it became so popular when it was released. In class, we've recently been talking about game theory and zero-sum games. When playing the Prisoner's Dilemma, I wondered what the best strategy was, so I'm going to solve it with expected values. First, some explanations: zero-sum games are games in which there is one winner. The Prisoner's Dilemma is one such game. In this game, there are two players, who are the prisoners. Each must decide whether to keep quiet or confess (that the other player is guilty). If both keep quiet, each gets a year of jail time. If both confess, both get five years. If one confesses and the other keeps quiet, the quiet one gets ten years and the confessor gets off free. The goal is to have the least amount of time. While the true odds of the opponent's choice depend on the individual opponent, it's fairly safe to say none of us are mind readers, so we can't truly tell what they'll do. So, for simplicity's sake, I'll say there's an equal chance of the other player confessing or keeping quiet. Now, to calculate the expected value, I'll multiply the probability of each possible result by the number of years it will result in, then add those values together. The expected value of keeping quiet is 5.5, because: If the other player keeps quiet: 0.5 (chance) x 1 (years) = 0.5 If they confess: 0.5x 10= 5 5+0.5=5.5 The expected value of confessing is 2.5, because: If they keep quiet: 0.5x0=0 If they confess: 0.5x5=2.5 2.5+0=2.5 Based on expected value, the player is much better off confessing. As I said before, the chances of what the other player will do depend on who the other player is, and must be estimated. However, it's still better to confess, and here's why. The goal of the game is to have the least jail time. If both players keep quiet every round, they'll tie every time. In order for one to get ahead, someone has to confess. Whoever doesn't confess will lose unless the other player decides to keep quiet in a later round, and the losing player confesses. Since there's no good reason to risk keeping quiet, the winning player probably won't do it. So, in the end, the best strategy is to throw the other player under the bus–and hope they don't do the same to you! So, to summarize:
One of my current favorite video games is The Sims 4. In general, I like the game because of the open-ended gameplay and in-depth customization. I consider myself to be a storyteller, and the game is great for that. In addition, the ridiculous possibilities are quite amusing. Now, down to the specifics. The game has three modes: character creation (known as Create-a-Sim), Build Mode, and regular gameplay (Live Mode).
I like Create-a-Sim for its level of customization. The "detail edit" mode allows the player to zoom in and customize the features of their character (known as a Sim) to the point that no two creations are the same. It also features numerous presets for all features. While there is no color wheel like some of the previous Sims games have, the color swatches are generally well done. I do wish there were more hair and eye colors, though, since the selection is admittedly rather limited. It's possible to download custom content, but I personally would rather not. The amount of wardrobe options and hairstyles is nice, and leads to a lot of very unique combinations. Create-a-Sim also allows the player to customize a Sim's traits, which affect behavior and interaction with other Sims. I wish there were more options, since I sometimes find myself struggling to truly create the character I have in mind, but the ones that exist are still good. Voices can also be customized, as can the way the Sim walks. Overall, I like the amount of detail that is possible. The next main mode is Build Mode. It allows the player to create custom buildings or modify current ones, as well as download them from the Gallery, where players can share their buildings and Sims for others to play with. I like the amount of possibilities in this mode, and the controls are easy to use. I like the inclusion of various ridiculous objects, like the many strange garden gnomes. They're completely unnecessary, but hilarious. I'd also like to mention that building in this game made me notice real-life architecture a lot more than before, and I fell that I really appreciate it now. Live Mode is where the game really comes to life. Players can control the life of their Sim(s), from career, to relationships, to skills. As I've said of the other modes, I love the amount of possibilities. It's completely possible to have your Sims live an average life. It's also possible to raise large, carnivorous plants, do magic, be a ghost, and travel to space. One expansion pack even adds playable alien characters. Sims have emotions, which are caused by various factors and affect behavior and interaction. Some traits make Sims prone to certain emotions, a feature that I very much like. I mentioned before that I wish there were more traits, and that includes more emotion-related traits, since not all emotions have a corresponding trait. Icons known as "moodlets" determine emotion and explain what is causing it. I like that you can tell exactly what's affecting your Sims. Sims can perform numerous interactions with other Sims, which affect their relationship. One of my complaints with this is that Sims who utterly hate each other will sometimes start acting friendly, which can be annoying when trying to create a story. My other complaint is that Sims' relationships degrade over time if they don't interact, to the point that they'll forget each other entirely. While this does make sense, and can be useful, it makes creating friendships amongst large groups very hard. I had one memorable experience trying to do just that, but the Sims kept forgetting each other within a day or so of meeting, and I had to keep reintroducing them. Other than these two things, I like the interaction aspect overall. The one other thing I don't like about Live Mode is the lack of career options. Though the ones that exist are quite interesting, and career isn't as big a deal as one might think, it's still annoying to have so few options, especially for a storyteller like myself. In the end it doesn't make too much of a difference, though. As I've mentioned before, I think sound makes a big difference in games. I like the soundtrack in The Sims 4 because the individual songs are similar enough to create a sense of continuity, but different enough to not be repetitive. Each mode has its own soundtrack, as well as the loading screen, title screen, and more. I also like the music clips that play when a Sim's emotion changes, and the numerous radio songs. Overall, the soundtrack is one that I can (and will) happily listen to for hours. Another important thing is the graphics. I must say, I really like the art style of the game. It's clean, somewhat cartoonish, and overall nice to look at. I especially like the new lightning, though it unfortunately takes a very good computer to run the highest setting. Even on lower settings it still looks great. In all honesty, I don't have anything negative to say about the graphics, other than perhaps the lag it can cause. The final thing I want to talk about it DLC. On one hand, it's nice to be able to pick and choose which things I want to add and which ones I don't. On the other hand, the packs are expensive, and I highly doubt I'll ever own them all, especially considering the rapid rate at which they're released. I don't have any proposals for how to improve upon this, though, so I don't have much more to say about it. Overall, I really do like The Sims 4, and the sheer amount of options within the gameplay. I recommend it to anyone who likes storytelling, character creation, design buildings, and life simulation games. Since we've been discussing ethics in the game design field, I've decided to reflect on the age-old argument: Do violent video games really cause aggression? In 2015, the American Psychological Association's review indicated a link between playing violent video games and increased aggression, as well as decreased empathy. However, there was not enough evidence to indicate whether playing violent video games leads to criminal violence. It was also acknowledged that there was a lack of research on the effect of violent video games over the course of development. According to this year-long study from the Netherlands, violent video games do not cause violent behavior. Playing violent video games showed no connection to psychosocial changes. This article suggests that it is frustration with a game and not violent content that causes aggression. Based on my own experiences, I think it's a fair point. I find that playing fighting games to be a cathartic experience when I'm doing well. When I'm losing, however, it's infuriating. The article points out the large number of "rage quits" seen on YouTube. I've seen, in person, fairly nonviolent games like Zuma and Angry Birds cause people to grow hostile when losing. In addition, the term "violent games" is highly subjective. Almost anything could be considered violent, and context varies, as the article pointed out. So, to summarize:
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AuthorI'm moving on to my 4th (and final) year as a Game Art & Design student at Durham School of the Arts. I'd like to call myself an artist, but I'm a programmer at heart. Archives
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