Journal 3

The Walking Dead
     
     This is a narrative based action game that truly puts the player in control of the story. Throughout the game you as the player are given choices that will effect the outcome of the game and it may impact what choices you can make later on. The author talks a great deal about how this is a psychological game that affects the player a great deal more than regular fast paced action games. I believe this to be effective because whatever decision you make effects the game play that follows. This includes when you choose to let someone die and this is the main choice that will tear the player apart as they try to decide whether the character they need to save is worth the risk involved. Risk is another great thing that makes the player feel stressed and pushed for time. When you put someones life in danger and then add risk to the player when they try to save them you begin to see what a person values, themselves or the lives of their friends. This game is designed to show you what you really are on the inside, it will bring out parts of you that you probably didn't know about or tried to repress, whether that be compassion for the lives of those who have helped you or the cold-hearted self-preservation that can take over in a survival situation. The Walking Dead by tell-tale games is an astounding game that I personally love and enjoyed. It is renowned as one of the greatest narrative games of all time and as you make the choice to play it you will see why.


Warframe

     This game was probably my personal favorites out of all the games played this semester. It had an engaging style to it that keeps you coming back for more even though it gets repetitive. This game is also quite good at pulling the player into the world and making you feel a part of it, while doing so it also makes you feel like a bad-ass because your're a freaking robot killing machine. The author focuses on the fact that your character is gender-less but still retains the sexual features associated with gender. Some characters have breasts that are clearly identified as feminine and others are extremely muscular and built to resemble a man. The question then is, why do the Warframe's have these features if they are robots? Why doesn't the fact of gender affect the play of the game and why doesn't it affect the story-line? While other games use gender in this way Warframe seems to make it just an objectification that the player sees and places on the robots, all the while making the game play experience the same no matter what you look like. In my opinion this is a novel idea and a good move because it sets Warframe apart from other fps games that allow the choice of gender.


Portal

     Portal is an all time classic puzzle game that I hold dear to my heart, it's fun to play and can get quite hard at time which is why I also call it a rage game. This game is one that you can always come back to and play it over and over again and still find little things that you've never noticed before. My personal grudge with the game is the over exaggeration of the companion cube. Yes I understand that some people take things to heart and form attachments to items, I myself have in Skyrim with the spell bound bow, but when the item functions the same as others but is no better then there is no point in keeping it around. The companion cube is nothing more than a cube with a different design from the rest. I incinerated it as soon as I saw that it was what would allow me to go further in the game. The author holds a different point of view and even goes as far as to say that it is vital and teaches important game play mechanics. Really? The other cubes didn't do the same thing? Yes it teaches you that you might lose something to progress but that should be expected and you shouldn't need a painted cube to tell you that. Overall it's a lovely game that I love but for God's sake its just a cube!


Dota 2

     This is a game that I hate, plain and simple. To me this game is just a lazier version of LOL but hey, some people love it and it has a huge fan base. Dota has no story whatsoever and it isn't all that easy to just pick up and play. While it's great for a time killer this game isn't one that I would recommend playing. Just play LOL. The author points out that the game is made for team based play and is one of the most popular on the market but when that's all your're offered it's not worth the time of day. For me there should be a little bit of narrative throughout and there should be a story line with some single player campaign even if it's just a quick few hour play. Overall this game was very disappointing and I didn't enjoy it at all. I can respect the people that do have a taste for these types of games but I do feel that sooner or later this game will disappear and become one of those "Have you heard about Pokemon GO?" Sorry but not really.

Review 3

Golf with your friends is a fun, family friendly, rage inducing game. This online multiplayer, customizable golf course is an amazing experience that will have you screaming bloody murder in a matter of minutes. The courses are made so that they all work in classic mode but once you start to fiddle with the gravity and bounce of the ground, the ball shape and size, and the amount of time per hole and shots per hole then you have created digital hell for your friends and it's enjoyable the whole time. Collision mode is also a fun little add on because you can knock your friends away from the course and screw them over but at the same time it could easily happen to you as well.

This game is a delight to play and one of the more creative versions of online golf.

You can have hours of fun while playing but be careful that you don’t break anything

expensive during the play-through, especially your computer.The game is early access and

is still in an alpha I’m pretty sure but it only cost $5.99 and is worth it. Overall I would give

GWYF a 8/10.

Journal 2

Minecraft: Minecraft in the past 10 years has been one of the most well known and popular games among young gamers. Although Minecraft in and of itself isn’t truly a game but more so a simulation where the player has to set their own goals to achieve a sense of accomplishment. Even people who are out of tune with the gaming world have somehow heard of this game. .  When we played this game in class it was the first time that I had played the PC version but I did have previous knowledge on how to play and what to do, although there was a much more complex items menu than the last time I played it. Since Minecraft is an open world game there is nothing off-limits to the player and whatever you can conceive can be built. There are two options when it comes to playing the game, single or multiplayer. Then you can either survive based on your skill and operation of the game or you can go into creative mode and build anything you want to your heart's content. Overall Minecraft is a fun time wasting game that can give hours of enjoyment if you know what you want to do.
Farmville: First off, I hate games like this. They are a quick easy way to make money but I must admit that they are clever and good at what they do. Farmville will draw you in almost immediately and will make you feel a sense of accomplishment for everything you do and by doing so they get you to a point where if you’re not completing the task quick enough and not feeling like you won then you become willing to spend money on the game to get that feeling of “yay I did it”. This game is fun and addicting but in my opinion is a very cheap way to make money.
Katawa Shoujo: First of all this is a dating sim but not a “normal” one. This one involves a school made specifically for handicapped students and you play through to get an ending. Quite a bit of the dialogue is entertaining for the player but it is perverted most of the time. The game is replayable with several endings but after one play through, dialogue can become irritating unless it is important for a decision for the player has to make. Overall this game isn’t for you unless you want to sit and read for more than a few hours and then get mad when you don’t get the ending you wanted.
Super Meat Boy: This game is what I call a rage game. You can easily beat the levels if you take your time and plan out your moves but that’s not how this game works. You have to move quickly because the music messes with your mind and you try to follow the beat and screw-up. It follows a quick, fast pace that isn’t really required until you fight a boss or have a moving puzzle. This isn’t one of the showy games that can be expected now. No, it goes back to the basics of a game with a goal. The article in “Well Played” gives nothing but praise for the game and how it operates and I have to agree with them because no matter how frustrating it got or how angry the game made me I always came back for more.
Left 4 Dead 2: This is an innovative game for a first person shooter because most FPS are meant for one player to do the story but L4D2 allows multiplayer and at some points almost requires it for the scene/chapter to be beat. It is a fast paced game that requires you to have a good reaction time and for you to be a good team player. You have to be able to plan ahead and react on the fly. Overall this game is very good and allows for the expanse of what an FPS can and maybe should be.

Journal on Limbo

Limbo

Limbo is a beautiful game from the perspective of emotional connection. The game is set in a stark and bleak scene that is void of any color except varying shades of black and white. The author of this section in Well Played 3.0 did a wonderful job in explaining the concept of the game and gave a detailed account of what he felt as he went through his own play-through. The major exception to this was using a walk-through!! This in my opinion ruins the game-play experience entirely and should only be used in dire situations when you feel like you're about to break your setup. A walk-through leaves a sense of something lost when the game ends because you didn’t complete the game on your own and there are some personal experiences that aren’t felt because you followed the walk-through and didn’t do it your way.

The teaching method of the game is hilarious from an outside view but like the author stated when playing the game it becomes tiresome but is unique to the game and it’s play-style. Dying to learn how to play the game is inventive and was generally new since dying instills a sense of doubt and loss that makes the player want to quit but with Limbo,curiosity drives most people on and they have a rewarding experience. Since dying over and over again is a frequent occurrence, your sense of time becomes skewed and as the author felt, time slips away and you can play for hours and it only feel like minutes. Overall the author covered this game very well and did an excellent job on explaining how it works.

BorderLands2

Borderlands 2
7/10

Borderlands 2 is an action role-playing first-person shooter video game that was developed by Gearbox Software. The software program used to create the game was unreal engine 3. This lead to the unique art style and portrayal of Pandora and the characters art style. The art style is endearing and pleasant to the eye, this is part of what draws me personally into the games along with the character design. The characters may seem very simple on the surface but the background that you gather throughout the game shows a much more complex and interesting world that forces you to come to your own conclusions about who is truly trying to help. My personal favorite character is Tiny Tina who is an NPC that is very quirky and attention grabbing. Little quirks about each character is what draws you in and they provide a human connection that captivates us as players and gives motivation to continue the story.

While great in design and art style the audio can be lacking at times and the events are not always in the player’s control. This can lead to being put in situations impossible to get out of with inevitable death as the only solace. The dialogue can often overlap with music and event related noises and at times even overlaps itself making part of the story be lost or misheard. Another irritating fact about the game is how you travel. It can take very long periods of time to get from point A to point B but this is also a nice time to explore. Overall I believe that the pro’s outweigh the con’s  and the game overall is a great addition to an already beloved series.