Category: Action

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Video Game #15 (Mass Effect)

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Let be clear that this TRILOGY was entertaining to the last. My experience of Mass Effect went off the charts when it came to story progression and its gameplay elements. Based on decisions that you as the player made throughout each game affects the story which was really something. Of course not everything isn’t as specific as you might think it is because it leads up to the same course of action on the long run. So you can consider it filler at given times of dialogue and scenes witnessed, but still considered to a fantastic experience nonetheless.

The first game was a nerve wreck as graphics and mechanics weren’t perfect but surprisingly held up. Great climax and ending overall so no doubt it is worth playing. Though I will admit that the water animation (physics) were surprisingly the best I’ve seen in a video game so applause to EA (Electronic Arts) on that. Mass Effect 2 was jaw dropping from start to finish thus the graphics were fixed for the most part. Excellent DLC’s (namely The Lair of the Shadow Broker) and striking ending of the 2nd installment. Between the guy pulling the strings from the 1st and 2nd game, I enjoy the 2nd the most in the transition to the 3rd installment.

Now onto Mass Effect 3. Very enjoyable from the start up to the confrontation of the Illusive Man (2nd guy string from earlier). The ending of the trilogy was a particular nerve wreck that decision making is no longer existent to which I understand perfectly. Was not thrilled of the outcome, but it could have been worse I thought to myself. One things for sure: The Illusive Man was right all along (if that ending was chosen).

So what was your memorable moment of the Mass Effect Trilogy? Good, bad, neutral? Have a great week.

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Video Game #8 (Tales of Legendia)

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Staying on the Tales series for a few more posts. This particular Tales game isn’t as good as Symphonia, but still worth a game to play from start to finish. Surprisingly enough, people don’t go beyond the 2nd part of the game because they believe in their eyes that it is too much they discontinue the game which makes no sense that there’s more content to explore. Some people I think see this Tales game as not as powerful as various Tales games so far, which to say it is THAT terrible. I’ll go into the details that can reinforce the reasoning of this post.

I begin to talk about the gameplay. Playing on a straight line is very difficult since this is one of the few Tales games in the series that you have no flexibility which I understand people’s anger. On top of that, attacking and using abilities/spells couldn’t have been stressful enough either. I press the button and turns out it will do it again without you even wanting to use it two consecutive times,  Trust me, I was one of those people when it started out but quickly got use to the game’s mechanics.

Storywise wasn’t bad, it just turned out that characters knew what was going to happen more than half the time which is a bad habit in video games. Meaning that everything regarding information of past friends, enemies, events, places, etc. I think they enforced that too much which made the game dead at times because everyone including you should be surprised when something occurs in the game. Various video games do that, but not in every situation cause that can lead to bad habits of letting characters say their line that they already knew the fate that befalls upon them. If you play this Tales game enough, you will understand this argument. Otherwise, I just thought I place my thoughts on this concern.

I’m not going to say much about change, but the only thing was what was said above. So what do you think of this particular Tales game? Good, bad, odd? And as always, have a great week.

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Video Game #7 (Tales of Symphonia)

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Now this is a video game that can be described as a perfectionist type. Everything about this is a rare occasion that goes by saying there is nothing wrong with this game whatsoever. The story of it keeps you on the edge of your seat, it is over 200 hours which includes sidequests (yes, that much gameplay to explore). Suspense is mindblown from start to finish.

Really the only thing that could have been better, just one thing, was a character by the name of Kvar. A character that pretty much explained the story and goes beyond saying that he knew what he was talking about. Too bad he had no screen time afterward, just a plain bad guy that needs to be put down before more stuff bad happens. Otherwise, the game was a fantastic experience beyond my wildiest dreams and is marked as part of my Top 10 if not Top 5 best video games of all time.

Those of you who haven’t played it, I highly recommend it for JRPG good at heart and witness to wonders beyond your dreams. Others who have played it, what was your experience like and what impact did it make you think of video games we play today?

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Video Game #6 (Kingdom Hearts)

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One of my many childhood memories was this game franchise. Will make it short and sweet for all who are curious of my perspective.

First and foremost, Square did the impossible and made this a reality. What I mean is that they came up with an idea to show off its potential story of various Disney characters and put them into a RPG beyond our wildest dreams. Of course getting teased with the 3rd installment in numerous years but then something magical happened: a trailer and brief gameplay to show proof that it was not forgotten.

Coming to something that I would have changed or developed earlier was the reaction commands. Imagine if KH1 had reaction commands the moment new game mechanics were developed. KH2 was amazing on its own level, but it would have marked KH1 as THE best KH game ever. Ratings would be going off the roof beyond heaven.

Looking forward to what it is about to transpire this year and love to end this with a question I think everyone has been asked before:

What was your experience of Kingdom Hearts?

Until then, have a awesome week.

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Video Game #5 (Fable)

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A franchise that should be recognized more often. I would say that it had something going for a while, then it fell off the tip of the iceberg.

First and foremost, the good thing was it was a open world so it meant you can explore anywhere when it becomes available. Unfortunately, looking at the first game goes by saying that you as the player need to figure out how to get there with no instructions or map (sorry it’s been a long time since I played it). Figures as such that it is best forgotten since progression was futile.

Moving onto the 2nd game. I really enjoyed it, the worst of it which is more towards doubt was it was too short of a game. Completing tasks and the main storyline felt a cut short type scenario.  This was promised to be longer in the 3rd installment which made me more satisfied of the development.

Which brings me to what could have been better of all three games that I played. The first Fable is a no brainier: make sense of progression than empty after a cutscene or knowing where to go on a existing map. Following up to the second game, it could have delved into more depth of each character and getting to spend time in various areas more. It felt rushed afterward but was a really good game nonetheless. The third and final Fable was a “Wow” moment that it proved to be getting better from previous games and learning from it. Not much of change, but it could have been more precise on the menu interface since I thought it was too vague, but still a great game.

What are your thoughts of this franchise?

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Video Game #2 (Infinite Undiscovery)

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I have just finished this game today and it had its moments. I was at first skeptical because it was presented at the start, but it moved forward like any other game I played. However, in my thoughts about Infinite Undiscovery was it turned out to be many game markers in any traditional ARPG’s (Action role-playing game) during the time. Adapted in several ways that was intriguing, but I encountered elements that was difficult to withstand in today’s gaming and looking back from various games during that time. It has been ten years since the game came out that Fall.

I will say the good thing and biggest one of them all was storytelling. This is a game that started off key but eventually picked up. We video gamers experience this from time to time so this isn’t anything new. When talking about Endgame, oh boy it was a thrill ride and just enjoying every moment of it. This brings me to the bad things.

First being that it is difficult to get upgrades when you only have X amount of Fol (gold in this game) since you don’t get much until the start of the endgame. It turns out I had to really grind the Fol and pray for the entire party to survive because enemies and bosses alike were not easy to encounter. Secondly, the gameplay was a little delayed when asking for assistance, attacking, using abilities, and guarding (which proved little since timing was a little wonky).  Lastly, a minor thing I was curious was the ending was rushed a bit. It did show events in its aftermath, however, there was empty space and scenes that could have been filled in more. Otherwise, it was a good game do not give me wrong. Lets just say it’s one of those games that is best played once.

What did you think of the game during the time you played it? Was it able to keep up to standards or it wasn’t there yet in the game genre of ARPGs?

Have a great Week!

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Video Game #1 (God of War)

We’re going to start off with a franchise that has returned to the fold recently. Which means the new God of War will NOT be applied to the scenarios that are going to be presented in this blog post because it is not out yet.

So God of War is a game that you treat it as a game that you enjoy or release your anger on if having a bad day (give or take of your perspective). What I see in it that is good is that you as the controller (the player) to follow Kratos and witness special techniques such as grab, ability, or the button mini game. They’re a lot of unique events that occur when trying out moves, abilities/spells, that I always enjoy discovering when I’m playing. Each game is distinguished by the scenery (Greek Mythology based prior to the new one coming out this year) and characters you meet which is engaging, however, this leads to the bad cases.

One of the particular things I find bad about the franchise was when someone appears and really nothing happens. It is either they had a purpose but was given a short time slot on screen, we wonder about these characters and thought if they had could have done more, or throw in someone that had nothing to do with game story overall. I understand “due to time constraints”, however, one must have a conscious to know of what to do with them than to just throw them in and hope it works ordeal. Greek mythology has many characters that had an impact from reality and game reality that we could have witness and the developers could have experimented with more. Killing bosses don’t have an outro, they just die and you take the spoils with no direction. It is the saying, “Here’s something you can work with and have fun.” I can understand if you can’t always emphasize each one of the items, but make sure it makes sense in the game genre.

This now brings me to what could have been better in a perspective of the player that caught an eye on this game franchise:

  1. Expand on each item with a brief paragraph describing what it does ahead of time in development.
  2. Spend more time on the endgame content to have enough things to see in a  transition to the next game or the ending itself.
  3. Have connections on characters beforehand rather than throw them into the game without character development.
  4. Examine each Greek individual (Characters, creatures, and expanded architecture).

What were your thoughts about God of War that could have been better?

PS: This is my first blog post and will be challenging for me to give out my perspective as a video gamer.