Justin's Game Journals

[Professor Gallardo]

Game Journal #15 - Kingdom Hearts II
(Turned in 7/18/2024 at 3:34pm)

Name of Game: Kingdom Hearts II

Game Author(s): Tetsuya Nomura, Shinji Hashimoto, Yoshinori Kitase, Hiroshi Harata, Kentaro Yasui, Takayuki Odachi, Kazushige Nojima

Game Studio: Square Enix

Original Platform & Control Mechanism: PS2 & PS2 Controller

Control Mechanism we used: PS2 controller

Would the experience have been different using the original? How?:No difference at all, since it’s the original.

Describe Gameplay and Mechanics:

The basic mechanics and gameplay of Kingdom Hearts II is an action game with some light RPG mechanics, with everything that a usual RPG will entail. Like quests, side-quests, weapons with different stats and abilities, spells, and party members. Although the game is very light on these mechanics compared to most other RPGs, the mechanics and stats are still present. The main form of combat is using the action menu to either attack with your weapon (The Keyblade), or by using items, magic, or summoning from the menu commands. Combat is real time and action based, and can actually get rather difficult on harder difficulties in the later part of the game. Combat is rather quick and does expect the player to be on their toes with reaction commands, dodging, and guarding. There are enemies that can be fought in the world while walking around and some take different strategies to take care of in an effective way, or can be taken care of optimally by just attacking with the basic attack over and over. There are also bosses as well throughout the game. The game pushes the idea of easy to learn and difficult and rewarding to master very well. It allows people of all kinds of skill level to enjoy the game without being barred from playing.

Describe Strengths & Weaknesses of Art & Design:

The biggest draw of this game for most people is the ability to fight alongside known Disney and Square Enix characters, like Donald and Goofy, or Cloud, and Squall. The art style is still rather good for both sides of the character spectrum in this game. And the enemies have some amazing designs as well that take most of their inspiration from Final Fantasy monsters but with a “darkness and shadow” themed twist to them. One of the biggest weaknesses is of course the sometimes strange dialog and convoluted story that they have made with this game series. But overall that tends to be trumped by the amazing character design, gloriously composed music, and interesting and fun gameplay that can be mindless fun or can turn into an intense battle with critical thinking and fast reflexes, depending on how much you want to push yourself. One of the other strengths is the amount of content in a game on the PS2. This game contains a ton of model changes, alternate costumes (when the characters go to a different world), and weapon changes that really shows how much effort they put in to squeeze out every little bit of memory they could on the PS2 and how much time they spent designing and implementing weapons and characters.

What Made It Fun?:

Kingdom Hearts II is a super enjoyable game just from the simple merit of its concept and design alone. The character designs, the colors, the music, and characters you engage with, is just a millennials dream for living through their Disney childhood movies with their favorite characters. But beyond that, the game brings to the table so much style and action that even someone who was never into those Disney movies as a kid would still have an enjoyable time with just the combat and choices in combat alone. The fluid animations and style of the characters really brings a long to the table when fighting in the game. The main characters' animations all seem to work so well with each other that it really seems like the animators did their best to make all their animations certain frame limits to make sure that there would be no glaring rig or clipping issues. And the combat is so quick and fluid that it makes it just feel so snappy and responsive. Which with later fights and with the harder difficulties becomes a necessity to even win against more simple foes that you mopped the floor with in other playthroughs. That also leads another credence to why this game is so enjoyable, is because of the replay ability, chances to find secrets and bosses, as well as hidden endings that tease future games. Kingdom Hearts was one of the biggest games as a kid that I know of that started the “after credit teaser” for future installments to get players hyped for a possible sequel. There is just so much to love about this game, even though it can be childish and silly while playing it as an older adult, if you let yourself just get lost in the game and try to vibe with the style, you find yourself really growing to like it, and it also helps that the combat is actually just really fun.

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?:

It was one of the more influential games of my childhood and a huge influence in the industry. It was one of the only times that Disney and Square Enix worked together and very closely on a project. It was so influential that Sora (Kingdom Hearts main character) is even in Smash Brothers, as well as that Disney Japan has alternate costumes for Donal and Goofy that are their Kingdom Hearts costumes. This game, even if it was very convoluted story wise and a little silly at times, was a huge inspiration for a lot of design and combat stylization. Even the new Final Fantasy 7 Remake has a similar combat system to the Kingdom Hearts games with how they designed the action menu and combat to work. It also showed the huge power that adding known characters to a property could bring, and also pushed the concept of the shonen main character archetype more into the western eye. This archetype is a kind, more simple main character that isn’t super smart, but makes up for that with kindness and never giving up. And also really brought up the idea of what an RPG could be, and how this game still had those elements while making it more action based and easier to digest for an audience that wasn’t used to heavy RPG mechanics. And was also a good introduction to those mechanics for younger audiences who may not have understood huge stat line-ups but could understand the idea of physical attacks versus magic attacks. For me, this game was a huge entry point for me to get more into RPGs and enjoy the collect-athon nature of finding all weapons, or defeating every boss and secret boss. Which is also the formula for more complex systems like the ones Final Fantasy and other RPG games. So it was a good entry way for me as a kid, and I am sure it was for many others as well.

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)):

I give the game a 4.85 out of 5.

[Professor Gallardo]

Game Journal #16 - Halo 3
(Turned in 7/23/2024 at 11:54pm)

Name of Game: Halo 3

Game Author(s): James McQuillan, Joseph Tung, Paul Bertone, Rob Stokes, Tyson Green, Chris Butcher, Hao Chen, Charlie Gough, Zach Russell, Drew Solomon, Ben Wallace, Marcus Lehto, Joseph Staten, Robt McLees, Luke Smith, Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori

Game Studio: Bungie

Original Platform & Control Mechanism: Xbox 360 & Xbox 360 Controller

Control Mechanism we used: Xbox One Controller

Would the experience have been different using the original? How?: Not to much of a difference, since it is just an upgraded version of the same controller

Describe Gameplay and Mechanics:

The mechanics for Halo 3 is a very standard first person shooter, minus the ability to sprint like in Call of Duty 4 and other first person shooters of this time. They opted to keep a consistent run speed for the player. The game has a few small differences from other First Person games, like not being able to aim down sights with a button press. Unless you have a weapon with a scope like a battle rifle. But other than some minor things the gameplay is rather similar. Pressing the right trigger to fire the current weapon, only able to hold two weapons and swap between them, able to hold two to three different types of grenades and one slot for a current equipment piece like a bubble shield or emp ball, etc. In this Halo game there are also no health packs, you just wait for your shields to recharge and when they do you are at full “health”.

Describe Strengths & Weaknesses of Art & Design:

One of the massive strengths of this game is its continuation of a story from the past two games in the series following John-117 “Master Chief”. The music also plays a huge part in many of the interesting moments and cutscenes that really push emotion and determination while playing. Even though it is a silly space shooter about a super soldier fighting aliens, it really has some nice sweeping and moving pieces of music that are really well done and work well with the task at hand in the game. The weapon designs and mechanics are also amazingly fun to play around with and mix and match since you have two weapon slots to work with. And playing with friends can really up that factor and show you what weapons people really favor in the game. One of the weaknesses of the game is that if you are not used to the style of Halo game this game is, it can be a bit rough. It feels older by comparison to games like Halo Reach or games like Call of Duty 4, by not having quicker movement or sprinting. So if you started with a newer Halo game or have never played on, but have played things like recent Call of Duty, this style of game could be a bit to get used to. But other than that, the game is really enjoyable and fun to experience. This was my first Halo game and it is a testament to how much I love this series that it hooked me without playing Halo, or Halo 2.

What Made It Fun?:

The major weapon variety, interesting locations, and well designed and sometimes cute enemies really help to make the game really enjoyable. Having each enemy being dealt with in a slightly different way also helps to make the game more engaging for the player. The Weapons available help the game bring in a wide variety of players who really enjoy certain play styles with first person shooters. Are you someone who likes accurate slow shooting, they have weapons for that, are you someone who likes big explosives and huge rockets, they have weapons for that, or maybe you like spraying a ton of bullets down range, they have some for that as well. The game really pushes the idea of letting the player enjoy the game the way they want with combat in terms of how you fight the enemy, and it really feels nice. The other thing with weapons is that each weapon has a better time taking care of certain enemies, so when you get used to certain enemies, you will start to shift towards using certain weapons if they are in reach when those enemies are around. Using plasma pistols to take down the shield of an enemy and then shooting them once in the head to save on ammo is a classic of these games, and this style of play moved onto a lot of the other enemies and how you can best handle them. But the game also allows you to just go nuts and just shoot until they die as well. Which makes the game really fun to start, but more engaging to master and learn best tactics to handle each enemy type. The Locations also play into the awe and wonder of this game, and really push the player to want to see all the locations and areas of the game. These moments are usually punctuated by the amazing score, which really feels ancient and almost angelic with its chorus of singers in the main theme, or with the sweeping orchestral that push you to finish the fight.

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?:

This would be considered one of the biggest games of all time by many gamers. It was a pivotal touch stone of gaming for many kids of my generation and even those slightly older than me. The Halo series is just an amazing series and a really good set of games with their mechanics and story. And I still to this day will go back and play these games all the way through with friends. And this is just talking about the Single Player story. The multiplayer was one of the biggest things of this franchise. Halo 2 is still some of peoples’ favorite multiplayer experiences of all time. Some of mine definitely come from playing Halo 3 as a kid. The game was just a fun and interesting experience to play online and was really about out-skilling and outwitting your enemy since the slower movement really made you focus on hitting every shot you could with the right weapon to take out the enemy before they took you out. The game still holds up and looks decently good for its age. And with the later release of “Vid-Master” challenges across Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST (Vid-Master achievements were beating certain parts of the game in very specific and difficult ways that could only be done by really experienced and skilled players). Really pushed me to complete every one, and when I did I really felt amazing for it and it will be something I remember forever. So one of the biggest reasons why this game is so influential beyond its amazing story, weapons, characters, and score, was It's very enjoyable multiplayer, including customized games you could make with your friends. The multiplayer still to this day holds memories for a lot of gamers in this generation that they will always compare current multiplayer too.

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)):

I give the game a 4.95 out of 5.

[Professor Gallardo]

Game Journal #17 - Kaer Morhen (Witcher 3)
(Turned in 7/25/2024 at 2:49pm)

Name of Track: Kaer Morhen

Name of Game: Witcher 3

Track Author(s): Marcin Przybyłowicz

Game Studio: CD Projekt RED

Honorable Mentions (Songs I didn’t choose):

• Never Forget - Halo 3
• Rain - Halo 3: ODST
• The Rebel Path - Cyberpunk 2077

Music Link: https://youtu.be/TJuPBBw-l-M?si=wWDUZdLLhuMBJqTw

Why I enjoy This Song:

This song is from “Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” and holds a big significance in the feel and theme of the game and the area that the song is named after, “Kaer Morhen” which is the Witcher’s stronghold in the game. The song has a very lonely flute-ish/tin whistle sounding instrument with backing strings and a lonely guitar. This really pushes the feeling of a small number of people or a lonely deserted village, people picking up the pieces of a broken place. Or maybe the sound of wind blowing through a hollow and deserted keep, making the sound of mournful whistles that cry for a better time. This song has that feeling, but also has another more hopeful feeling. The lonely cry of the hopeful ones who are still left and continue to spread their song around their domain as they continue to hold the fort, still working and pushing for a better and brighter future. A sound that longs for adventure and sings about past adventures, a very nostalgic sound. That is what I feel when I hear this song. And that is kind of what Kaer Morhen is in the story of the game, and so it works really well to help me feel that feeling while in this area of the game. I really like songs that give a more complex feeling or theme like these. Where it not only works for the area you reside but works for the story and theme of what happened there, as well as what the people in that area are feeling or hoping for. And it is also a very relaxing song to listen to while I do other things like draw and write. It is non intrusive and really sets a scene while not getting in the way of dialog or gameplay, so it works really well for when I am doing other tasks and don't want silence.

Score:
5 out of 5

[Professor Gallardo]

Game Journal #18 - Super Meat Boy
(Completed on 7/27/2024 at 3:36pm)
(Turned in 7/28/2024 at 1:16pm, turned in later due to lost internet)

Name of Game: Super Meat boy

Game Author(s): Edmund McMillen, Tommy Refenes, Danny Baranowsky

Game Studio: Team Meat

Original Platform & Control Mechanism: Xbox 360 & Xbox 360 controller

Control Mechanism we used: Xbox One Controller

Would the experience have been different using the original? How?: Not to much of a difference, since it is just an upgraded version of the same controller

Describe Gameplay and Mechanics:

The main core concept of the game is to use your main character's movement, wall jumping, etc to traverse levels to make it to your main character’s girlfriend and save her. The catch is that the game is very precise with a lot of jumps and obstacle avoidance, and every hit kills the main character right away. And when you die you start the entire level over again. So the whole point of the game is to run a level over and over and over until you finally get the one run that you play perfectly and win the level. And once you complete the level it will show you all the failed attempts next to your successful run all at the same time, which is a nice touch. There are of course extra collectables and things to unlock other characters, but the main draw of the game is the style of gameplay and the trial and error way it makes you get better.

Describe Strengths & Weaknesses of Art & Design:

One of the larger strengths was its simple but silly story, which really pushed itself to a teenage to young adult crowd. I mean there wasn’t a time where someone didn’t bring up the name of the main villain when they spoke of the game to someone who didn’t know about it. The main villains name is “Dr. Fetus”. The story itself settles as a backdrop to the main focus which is the precise movement, jumping and platforming of the levels to really give a “if you die, it is a mistake you made” sort of feel to the game. The tight controls really make it feel like if you failed it is because of something you did wrong and not a mistake of the game or system, which really required players to sit down and take a breath and try something new if they were consistently failing. It is a very “Dark Souls” esc mentality of design. Making something with the express purpose of the player not succeeding the first time through, but having to trial and error until they succeed. Which may not seem like a ton of fun, but for these games it really works to its strength, because once the player succeeds after a long while of failing, they feel like they climbed a mountain, but if they do it first try they feel like they were amazing at that level, which also boosts their confidence. So it can be a win-win either way with these designs. But, one of the biggest weaknesses is its difficulty as well. On the other side of the coin, you will find players who do not enjoy the challenge and drop the game altogether and not come back, and that is mainly due to how harsh the difficulty can be in some of the levels.

What Made It Fun?:

The main fun factor of the game is getting better and better at the movement system that the game gives you to complete the levels better and better over time. Improving at a difficult thing is the main draw and the main reason I enjoy the game. Although I have to be in the right mindset and mood to do so. Like I said with the weakness of the game sometimes driving people away, it sometimes does that to me which is why it is not a game I play very often. It can be fun when I am in the mood for it, but most times I am not. Also doesn’t help that I am not a huge platformer gamer. The game is really silly and pushes the “Lol Random” humor a bit that was prevalent during that time. And I can appreciate it because that was the humor when I was a kid, but it can be a bit grating, annoying, or baffling if you are not in the right mood for it. Which, like the difficulty, I am not always in the mood for. I would say that my most fun experiences with the game are when I go into a level and finish it first try just from quick reactions and luck. And the other fun experiences are when I hit my head against the wall over and over again until finally I fully understand the level, and now if I ever go back to that level I can always finish it in one try because of how hard I trained at that level to complete it. Another way I enjoy this game is actually by not playing the game at all, but watching speedrunners play the game with amazing skill that took them so much time to hone, time that I am probably not willing to put into the game to really hone myself.

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?:

It was a small team making a small but fun and enjoyable game back in a time when that wasn’t very prevalent in the industry. This game came out the same year as the first “Dead Space”. It was simple, and silly, but it was also jam-packed full of levels to complete and a really engaging system of movement and play for people who wanted to dive in and get really good at the game. Even if the game looked lower quality than say the games of the time, it was seen as a huge achievement through presentation and style. And it helped show other devs that you didn’t need a ton of people to make a successful game, and that indie games are something that are viable if you make something that people actually want to play. It was one of the first indie games of that generation and really helped to show that games did not have to be these multi million dollar goliaths, but that as long as the concept and systems were fun then people will enjoy playing it, and give their time and money to it. Since then we have had countless indie games of all kinds of genres and even more in depth and higher budget projects than this. But this and a few other games were some of the first that really led that charge to the indie game space that we know and love today. Without this game I may not have my favorite indie games like “Stardew Valley” because the dev might not have thought it was viable or even do-able if games like Super Meat Boy didn’t show them it was possible, and even more something that can be successful. This game has influenced many other games, even if it wasn’t in style or gameplay, it may have been by example.

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)):

I give it a 4.35 out of 5.Not my favorite, but still very fun.

[Professor Gallardo]

Game Journal #19 - Dragon, Fly!
(Turned in 7/30/2024 at 4:03pm)

Name of Game: Dragon, Fly!

Game Author(s): Hong Kong Based Game Studio (Could not find any name information/ No credit section on the game)

Game Studio: Four Pixel Games

Original Platform & Control Mechanism: Android & IOS | Phone Touch Screen

Control Mechanism we used: Android Phone Touch Screen

Would the experience have been different using the original? How?: Maybe better touch response time, but it was the same as playing it when I was younger.

Describe Gameplay and Mechanics:

The singular and main mechanic of the game is to take your little dragon and ride hills that snake up and down by getting a nice angle on hills. You will pick up speed by going downwards (holding your finger on the screen) and then release to let the dragon go where the physics take him. So the whole point is to get used to how much you need to speed up your little dragon to make the jump to the next visible landing section of a hill to keep your speed going so you can make larger progress quicker. The game overall, like many mobile games is really simple, but the mechanics are nice for a small time waster while on a bus. The mechanics, while repetitive, can be really enjoyable to play and get better at when you aren’t really able to do anything else, but you do have your phone.

Describe Strengths & Weaknesses of Art & Design:

The main strength of the game is its ability to be very simple, there isn’t much to the game besides having your dragon ramp off of little hills and you getting the feel for how long you have to hold the screen to make your little dragon move up and down to line up perfectly with the hill to make them ramp off the past and fly the highest and farthest. There is also a bit more expansion on the gameplay with the number of collectables you collect and noticing what hill ramps will ramp you up the best. One of the biggest weaknesses is that it is a mobile game, meaning the controls will never be like a console or PC game in responsiveness and it is a rather simple designed game more used for a time waster than a full sit down gaming experience. It is hard to really get sucked into a game like this or other phone style games due to the device and control scheme they come on. This game also doesn’t have the greatest art assets in the world and are very dated even for the time they were released.

What Made It Fun?:

The main thing that makes this game fun is more so its ability to almost hypnotically keep your attention while playing it, at least when you begin to get good at it. It is simple and overall not too hard, but it can be pleasing to do well and consistently keep that up for a long period of time. I remember playing this game many times when I was on the bus for band, football, or for field trips and there wasn’t much else to do. It kept my attention for a long enough time (about an hour or so) before I got bored and moved on to something else. Which I would say is not necessarily fun and is more just something to do while you wait. Which is what I think is a larger problem with mobile game design as a whole. The games are never really meant to suck you in, but to keep your attention long enough to siphon a few bucks out of your pocket over the course of a few months. While I may have an okay time with this game, I wouldn’t say it is a particularly good or well designed game. Just that it is adequate enough to hold my attention when I don’t really have much else to do or can’t think of anything else to do. At least the design of the little dragons is cute and doofy enough for me to giggle a bit. But this game and most mobile games that I have played are not really what I would consider fun or good gaming experiences and I tend to stay away from them for the most part for my time wasting during commuting. The game also hasn’t been changed or updated in all the years I have seen it and played it from time to time, so it hasn’t changed gameplay wise enough to incentivize continued play past a certain point.

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?:

While I would not say this particular game is very influential to the gaming space as a whole. I would say that mobile games as a whole have had a large impact on the gaming space and gaming market. And I wouldn’t say it has been in a particularly amazing or good influence. Most mobile games tend to cater their design around the idea of being free and then incentivizing you to pay money for convenience, or for lives to play the game, or cosmetics. And it’s the last one that has had the largest impact on the gaming market and has influenced things like loot boxes, battle passes, and timed cosmetics. Which games like Fortnite have taken to a whole new level separate from the mobile market. These tend to be the reasons I dislike mobile games and dislike their design, because it incentivizes making cruel or bad designs on purpose to push the player to spend money, which can impact the fun of a game or the potential fun that the game could have had. Recent games like Diablo Immortal have been guilty of this strategy by making drops for items take a massive amount of time investment to get the ones you want for the build you need or you can pay to raise that percentage greatly. This game has small micro transactions which is why I can enjoy it more, but overall I believe the design that a lot of mobile games bring to the gaming landscape are some of the worst additions that have been added of all time. These changes and influences I believe have made the design of games worse and worse and made the consumers either more jaded or more complacent in the declining designs of a lot of free to play gaming models as well as other design decisions as a whole in the gaming space.

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)):

I give it a 3.85 out of 5. It’s a phone game and gets boring fast, but it’s a nice time waster.

[Professor Gallardo]

Game Journal #20 - Mass Effect 2
(Turned in 8/1/2024 at 4:10pm)


Name of Game: Mass Effect 2

Game Author(s): Casey Hudson, Jesse Houston, Nathan Plewes, Preston Watamaniuk, David Falkner, Derek Watts, Mac Walters, Drew Karpyshyn, Jack Wall, Jimmy Hinson, Sam Hulick, David Kates

Game Studio: Bioware

Original Platform & Control Mechanism: Windows/PS3/Xbox 360 & Xbox 360 controller

Control Mechanism we used: Xbox 360 Controller

Would the experience have been different using the original? How?: Same controls on the same release system.

Describe Gameplay and Mechanics:

The main gameplay mechanics of Mass Effect 2 come down to two different modes that the game puts itself in. You have the walking around exploration/dialog mode. Where you will look for things, explore, chat with NPCs, and interact with items or objects in the world to start quests or purchase things. The second mode is the third person shooter combat. Sometimes when you are exploring you will come across a situation that turns sour or NPCs that end up making you choose an outcome that sometimes ends in combat. At which part your character will take out their current weapon and you will be expected to take cover and start fighting the enemy with cover based shooting. Not the most complex combat of all time, but the marriage of these two modes of play really made the game special with its marriage of mechanics for rpg and more action based combat. The third person aspects are pretty typical of most third person combat with cover based shooting, but one of the interesting parts is that since the game takes place in the future all the guns have a different ammo system. The guns all have infinite ammo, it is just the heat of the weapon that you manage. So the “ammo” is actually Head Sinks that you attach and detach to the weapons. Meaning most of the weapons will share the same ammo type, because most if not all require the use of heat sinks.

Describe Strengths & Weaknesses of Art & Design:

The biggest strength of this game is the marriage of rpg elements and its more action based combat. It makes the game really fun to play but also really engaging with the characters and storyline because it gives it the time it deserves by allowing it to be a 20 hour plus experience instead of a super condensed 8 hour linear experience. It also helps to flesh out the world and make you really invested in the universe you are exploring. The character designs and character writing is also a massive strength to this game as well as the backing music for a lot of the runtime. The biggest weaknesses would have to be the AI sometimes having trouble in combat and the exploration mode movement sometimes feeling a bit slow and looking a bit dated. The other complaint is that some of the choices can be boiled down to good choice, neutral choice, and mean choice for dialog options.

What Made It Fun?:

The biggest thing that made this game fun for me and even more fun while replaying it, was the feeling of having a larger created world to explore. While the areas are not massive by any means, what I mean is more the created universe itself. Mass Effect 2 was my first game in this series and I would argue some of its best, and it really sucked me in with its story, characters, and world. And so replaying the game really had me feeling that all over again. And surprisingly even though this was my first in the series when I was a kid, I never felt super lost or unable to understand what was going on, due to how well the writing and screen action is portrayed. And the biggest thing that helped that was the character designs and acting by their respective actors. I love the way the characters look and it really helps that their actors know what they are doing with their characters. Every person added to the crew is someone that I can see myself really investing time into getting to know, and it makes me want to do so in the game. Which I tend to do…minus Ashley Williams, because she kinda sucks. Which is why I am glad I could choose a different character to save when I went back and played Mass Effect 1 for the first time recently and chose a different character to save. Which is also a lovely part of this game series and why it makes it so fun to replay. A choice you make in one part could affect if a character is even in the next game for you or not. Which is really awesome that the game lets you make large changes like that can swap out characters or even leave some dead if you do not do things right or a certain way.

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?:

Mass Effect 2 will always be considered a classic and a really big inspiration for a lot of game systems that you see in other games around that time and even till this day. The idea of simple track able morality systems that are color coded was popularized by these games as well as dialog options being tailored to those morality levels. This also started the slow influence of romance-able party members in RPGs and being able to get fully romantically engaged with them during the course of your gameplay. Mass Effect and other Bioware games popularized this and influenced it for a ton of other games that are out today like Baldur's Gate 3 which shares a lot of the same dialog choice structure but removes the morality system in favor of the D&D stat roll systems, but also keeps the slowly romance-able party members by slowly speaking to them more and more. It also brought a more mixed feel to the Sci-Fi futuristic genre of games, which before the Mass Effect series was predominantly run by the Star Wars/Star Trek side of things. (More so Star Wars since they released more games). But this really brought a nice fresh take that was inspired by those two but had a different feel, different species, and a more political based drama that wasn’t found in Star Wars as much and more conflict than that of the utopian future of Star Trek. The designs of the aliens also stand the test of time and really are a lovely bit of creature/character design as a whole. The Turians and Krogans are still some of my favorite alien races till this day, and I would say it is the same for many other people who have played these games and had the pleasure of enjoying this world like I have.

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)):

5 out of 5, love this game.

[Professor Gallardo]

Game Journal #21 - Cyberpunk 2077
(Turned in 8/3/2024 at 4:55pm)


Name of Game: Cyberpunk 2077

Game Author(s): Adam Badowski, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, Gabriel Amatangelo, Jędrzej Mróz, Przemysław Wójcik, Michał Stec, Grzegorz Mocarski, Mateusz Kanik, Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, Paweł Sasko, Piotr Tomsiński, Kacper Kościeński, Marcin Blacha, Tomasz Marchewka, P. T. Adamczyk, Marcin Przybyłowicz, Paul Leonard-Morgan

Game Studio: CD Projekt Red

Original Platform & Control Mechanism: Window/PS4/Xbox One/Stadia/PS5/Xbox Series X&S | Respective controllers for the systems

Control Mechanism we used: I played the game on steam with both keyboard and mouse and an Xbox One controller.

Would the experience have been different using the original? How?: The game would be different than on Xbox One or PS4 simply due to the processing power of the PC vs those systems for this particular game. The game on those systems were known to be slightly lower quality than that of the PCs version.

Describe Gameplay and Mechanics:

The main mechanics of this game, much like many long form RPGs like Fallout/Skyrim/or Mass Effect, can be broken up into phases of play. The exploration and conversation aspects of the game, and the combat aspects of the game. The exploration and conversation aspects work by speaking to NPCs or being put into situations where you are speaking to them, and you choose dialog choices to push the story/quest forwards. There are also timed dialog choices, skill check based dialog choices where you must have a certain number or trait to select that option, and even action choices that will perform an action instead of just words, like punching someone or shooting someone. The other aspect of the game is combat which much like other RPGs are sectioned off into class based styles of: Melee, Ranged, and a form of Magic. Melee consists of bladed weapons and blunt weapons, Ranged is the most prevalent and consists of all the guns and thrown weapons in the game, and the magic like system is the Netrunner aspect which is hacking into other people's brains and equipment since everyone's body in this world is enhanced by cyberware. These two phases and multiple aspects of play are used to explore this very well designed world of the dystopian future.

Describe Strengths & Weaknesses of Art & Design:

The most massive and colossal strength of this game is its world and its attention to detail in the environment. I have never fallen in love with the mere image of the environment quite like in this game. It is so well designed and put together to show the amazing structures and beautiful lights while also showing the squaller that most of the lower rung citizens are put into because of the whims of the large corporations. The sheer realization of this world, its lingo, styles, daily life, and problems all comes to a culmination in every step you take around the city. The art design is impeccable and a true testament to the source material and the artist who made it. The gameplay is sadly a mixed bag in some respects, while it is fun and enjoyable. It is hardly something to be considered groundbreaking on the lower levels. But the game does have some amazing things you can do with what the community has dubbed “Aggressive Stealth” where the person uses everything at their disposal to look as stylish as possible while not taking a single hit and taking out every person in the area without raising any alarms just by sheer speed and skill. Which does show that the game can have some very interesting interactions with combat, but without that dedication to learning the full range of the systems, it can seem rather simple at times. The other issue was the plethora of bugs at launch, that have since gotten better, but are still around at times and can be a tad silly. Luckily most of the bad bugs have been patched out of the game. The story is also a massive treat that surpasses the issues the game might have, it really follows along with the tradition of Cyberpunk style stories being very dour and nihilistic in a sense. The idea of pushing on for the sake of yourself and finding hope where there seems to be none, or creating meaning for yourself in this wide expanse that we call life.

What Made It Fun?:

The main draw of the game I would say is the world. It is the reason I have played the game as many times as I have and continue to do so even four years later. I have perfected the game, minus the DLC and plan to do so with that eventually. The game is a world that draws you in despite the world being ugly and harsh. Its world is fascinating and has a lot of things to say about our current world that we reside in, in the present day. It is a nice commentary on our world while also basking in the silliness and fun of the premise. It’s story is one that I enjoy greatly and really shows that something that isn’t really happy can make you feel a great deal of it. It brings out the notions of journey vs. destination, personal sacrifice for the sake of others, making others lives better even if it doesn’t further your own goals, trusting others, and so much more. And it also shows the harsh reality of those who live above us and who care little for our plights and issues. The game also really pushes a nice choice of character class enjoyment and I found myself playing the game over and over just to try out different weapons and different builds, and the game really helps you push that forwards quickly on multiple playthroughs once you figure out how much freedom you have early on in the prologue to really help you character grow in power. The game is also just super fun to try out some of the wacky weapons or trying out some of that “Aggressive Stealth” that was talked about earlier. The game has a lot to offer, but I think its biggest enjoyment point for me is just existing in this very fun realized world and walking around and listening to all the funny ads and looking at the cool street art and neon signs while looking around for some street thugs to take out.

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?:

It was definitely a game that shook up a lot of the industry when it came out and when it released its DLC. The game was hyped up so much that it would have never reached the expectations of the people. As well as the game having a lot of issues on previous generation consoles. It was basically a colossal failure brand wise when it was released, but much like No Man’s Sky the developers over at CD Projekt Red continued to work on the game and push hard to make the game stable and more playable. Eventually with some really smart moves on the team by releasing an Anime alongside some very much needed updates. The game became more of a good game in the people's eyes and people started to respect the actual effort put into the world because of how much they enjoyed the anime and decided to give the game another shot. Eventually the release of patch 2.0 and the DLC marked the changing point for the game when the players really started to praise the game for making the big changes that the players wanted from the beginning. Noticing that there was actual work put in, but decisions from executives and some poor developer decisions might have just set the game back a few years and it needed more time to cook in the oven. And now it is seen as a phoenix situation where the game has glowing reviews and has done so well the developers decided to work on a sequel project. This game has definitely had an interesting history and it has shown a lot of people in the gaming space to be wary of their own hype and to temper expectations when it comes to video games, and has also shown people the work that goes into making a open world of this size and detail, and that even with bugs sometimes the game still deserves a critical look versus outright dismissal due to still having very good elements inside that might just need a bit more time in the oven.

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)):

4.95 out of 5

[Professor Gallardo]

Game Journal #22 - Beatsaber
(Turned in 8/6/2024 at 5:03pm)

Name of Game: Beatsaber

Game Author(s): Ján Ilavský, Vladimír Hrinčár, Peter Hrinčár, Jaroslav Beck

Game Studio: Oculus Development Team

Original Platform & Control Mechanism: Window/PS4/PS5/Meta Quest| Respective VR controllers for the systems.

Control Mechanism we used: I played on my Quest 2 with the meta quest link to my PC.

Would the experience have been different using the original? How?: it is the exact system it was built for, just a different model than the original VR headset.

Describe Gameplay and Mechanics:

The gameplay is somewhat unique but also very similar to other types of rhythm games. I would say the basic gameplay is that of Guitar Hero, but in VR, with some added mechanical differences beyond that. But the basic mechanical ideas are very similar. But with Beatsaber, you use the VR controllers to swing around big glowing sabers, hence the name. You use these specifically color sabers (red on left & blue on right) to hit the corresponding colored boxes and dots that come flying at you from in front of you. I also learned early on that you can change the color of the sabers if you like. When you are playing the boxes will move towards you in rhythm to the song and you either need to just hit them or if they have an arrow, swipe at them in that specified direction. If it does not have an arrow it can be hit from any direction. You get points for doing this, much like hitting notes in Guitar Hero. There are also obstacles that you need to not hit by moving your head around or sometimes I have seen that there are objects you are not supposed to hit while trying to hit the blocks that look like little spiky bombs.

Describe Strengths & Weaknesses of Art & Design:

The game overall has a good simple style that is easy to vibe with while you are playing. One of the biggest strengths is that having played previous games like this, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, etc. It was really easy to grasp the basic concepts for a lot of the things going on around the basics of hitting the blocks. The color combinations are also really easy to see and make it simple to understand what to do right away. The tutorial also helped a ton for understanding how the game worked at a nice slow pace. It has been a while since I have played a more active game like this so it was nice it took it rather slow. The biggest weakness of the game is that they really stick with the blue/red/black neon aesthetic pretty heavily which means the few songs I played that I started to notice that looking at the background could get a bit boring and repetitive, but maybe there are ways to change the background in some way. I didn’t look too heavily into it sadly.

What Made It Fun?:

The main thing that made it fun was the same thing that made Guitar Hero fun. Rhythm games, while not my favorite, are still really enjoyable and fun to play just for the idea of making music the star of the show and letting the player interact with their favorite songs by being an active participant. I know that is why I had an enjoyable time with Beatsaber, and am happy I purchased it myself. It also seems like a very small way to keep active and get a bit more in shape, which I sorely need. Which I think is really a good benefit to the active nature of VR and this game in general, the idea that I am having fun while being active does make me feel good about playing it. And I will play it even more after this. Minus the background being a bit repetitive with its design, I really liked that I could customize the saber color a bit myself so I could make the experience a bit more of my own. Customization is a big thing for me in games, and even though it may seem like a small thing, it really helps me enjoy and connect with an experience a lot more. By the end of this little 30min session I was sweating and panting when I tried some of the harder difficulty songs. The only thing that I was concerned about was that on the steam page it seemed to have song packs, which usually means a lot of good songs are kept in the paid packs. Which I hope isn’t the case, because I would really love to enjoy playing some nice songs with the base game without having to shill out a ton of money just for a few additional songs, but who knows it could be worth it, I would have to take a deeper look into it.

Now that you’ve played it, Why would this game be considered influential? How does it fit into the evolution of games?:

VR is in a very strange place for me and for the market as a whole I feel. It doesn’t really have a lot of reason to purchase one due to the price points of a lot of the higher end systems. I have just a Quest 2 and connected it to my PC, but some of my friends have greater than $3k setups for their VR, and they only play VRChat with it. This is all to say that these styles of games, like Beatsaber, are not really what I see a lot of my friends playing. While they are nice they tend to feel a bit lean and more like a technical demo of what the system is capable of. I would say the only true AAA VR game I have seen has been Half Life: Alyx and with that being the only one, it makes it tough to want to dive fully into VR. That being said, this game is a good showcase of what is possible with VR tech and how it can be utilized correctly. Sadly I think that you can’t really make something similar without being seen as copying this game, since it is really the only big one that I have noticed on the VR market like it. I am sure it influenced a lot of people to think of VR a bit differently, like I have. This game has made me see VR more as an active device that focuses on immersion to a space, but tends to be a bit lighter on mechanical options for the game. Definitely fun, but I feel like it is more so a test for the system's capabilities instead of a full exploration of interesting new mechanics. Although I think the most influential and interesting part of games like this is showing how the VR brings an immersive component to gaming that wasn’t as present before with normal PC and couch gaming.

How would you rate this game (1-5 Stars (5 stars good)):

4.75 out of 5