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Burnout: Revenge

Title: Burnout: Revenge
Platform/Game Type: Xbox - Arcade Racing
Date First Played: November 2005

Thoughts: Much like its predecessor (Burnout 3: Takedown), Burnout: Revenge packs a lot of punch by thoroughly expoiting the idea of vehicular mayhem/racing. I've noticed that there's a kind of exponential increase in available challenges/events for each increase in rank. What this leads to is a kind of branching experience, where choice seems to blossom out of each victory. I find myself thinking that this might even be similar (though more transparent) to the narrative structure of the GTA games, which start with one story mission but quickly branch into many possible missions.

I also have found more complexity in Revenge (as opposed to Takedown) which sometimes frustrates me. I've noticed more places where the developers have made choices that seem to counteract the idea that every aspect of the game be fun (for instance, stalling in single player crash mode seems pointless). And the load times still suck.

Why I stopped playing it: I don't foresee stopping anytime soon, except to play other games.

Burnout 3: Takedown

Title: Burnout 3: Takedown
Platform/Game Type: Xbox - Arcade Racer
Date First Played: November 2004

Thoughts: This game demonstrated an almost perfect cycle of challenges and rewards. With every event, it seemed a new car or track was unlocked. The game gave me a constant sense of acheivement. Combined with the fantastic learning curve, the string of rewards pulled me further and further into the game. It was easy to pick up, and very hard to put down. Fun permeated the experience. Even crashing (normally a bad thing) was fun due to the "Aftertouch" mechanic. This is a great example of using every moment/feature/mechanic of the game to enhance the player's fun.

Why I stopped playing it: Eventually, I had to play other games. However, I still put this one in every once in a while.

Kill Dr. Lucky

Title: Kill Dr. Lucky
Platform/Game Type: Board game
Date First Played: Spring 2003

Thoughts: The fascinating thing about Kill Dr. Lucky is that the titular character isn't controlled by a single player or by the rules. Dr. Lucky is in fact controlled by any and all of the players. He is an abstract game mechanic, but at the same time, this game hints at alternate narrative possibilities in games, going beyond simple one player for one character mappings.

Why I stopped playing it: I'm sure I'll play Kill Dr. Lucky again some time.

Blackjack (in Vegas)

Title: Blackjack (in Vegas)
Platform/Game Type: Casino card game
Date First Played: January 2003

Thoughts: The major eye opener for me was the extent to which the external experience is designed to affect the game play. The architecture and interior design of casinos is an artform in and of itself, but game designers would do well to study it, even just a bit. The less concrete stuff is important too. For instance, I was up about $50 (a lot when you're starting with about the same amount), and I was planning to leave the table and move on. However, I had ordered one of those "free" drinks. I lost $60 before my drink came around. Brilliant.

Why I stopped playing it: While I can't say I'll never drop cash on the felt again, I do think I have better things to do with my money.

Killer 7

Title: Killer 7
Platform/Game Type: GameCube - Action
Date First Played: September 2005

Thoughts: With a fantastic, non-realistic visual style and a surreal story, Killer 7 sounded like the perfect counterpoint to all the cookie cutter blockbuster games out there. Unfortunately, the control scheme was extremely difficult to use, let alone master. My main takeaway from Killer 7 is the issue of accessibility. Great art is pointless if you can't engage with it.

Why I stopped playing it: I gave Killer 7 three tries. I never made it more than 20 minutes into the game because I couldn't get the hang of the controls. I'm disappointed, because it looked so cool.

World of Warcraft

Title: World of Warcraft
Platform/Game Type: PC - MMORPG
Date First Played: August 2005

Thoughts: I've played a few MMOGs and World of Warcraft is by far the most polished. The thing that stands out for me is the concrete-ness of the world. It feels real beyond the generic fantasy trimmings of Guild Wars or Ultima Online. I'm not sure why yet, but I think the art style has a lot to do with it.

Why I stopped playing it: I haven't stopped yet. ;)

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - Online Co-op

Title: Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - Online Co-op
Platform/Game Type: Xbox - Stealth/Action, Co-op
Date First Played: August 2005

Thoughts: This is the first online co-op game that I've played through Xbox Live that really seems unique from it's single player component. Cooperation is a requirement. There are situations that must be faced by the players as a team. Also, the sense of immersion is really superb, leading to excellent levels of tension and release. Having your actual voice affect the game world is nothing short of spectacular. On the down side, it's pretty hard.

Why I stopped playing it: I haven't stopped yet, but I suspect that when I do, it will be a combination of difficulty and finding a co-op partner.

Star Wars: Republic Commando

Title: Star Wars: Republic Commando
Platform/Game Type: Xbox - Squad-based Shooter
Date First Played: May 2005

Thoughts: Republic Commando did a fantastic job of making the player feel like part of an elite squad of commandos. It was easy to pick up and immediately feel competent. The interface, which used contextual cues/actions, felt seamless and immersive. Finally, the transmedia nature of RC really enhanced my enjoyment of the final Star Wars movie, which included little references to the game and vice-versa. After seeing General Grievous in the movie, my memory of having him in my sights in the game became much more vivid.

Why I stopped playing it: I finished it. Multiplayer didn't really interest me, so finishing the main campaign was enough.

God of War

Title: God of War
Platform/Game Type: Playstation 2 - Action
Date First Played: March 2005

Thoughts: This simple, linear game demonstrated the power of easy combos and fluid animation. Much like the recent Prince of Persia games, the player character is a pure pleasure to control. Plus, the sheer amount of brutality in this game is almost gleeful.

Why I stopped playing it: I finished it. It should be noted that I haven't gone back to play on harder difficulty levels. The promise of unlockables isn't enough for me to play through the same content again.

Guild Wars

Title: Guild Wars
Platform/Game Type: PC - MMORPG
Date First Played: June 2005

Thoughts: Guild Wars was interesting to me first and foremost because it didn't have a subscription fee. This figured into the decision to play that I made with a friend and my brother. It struck me as rather generic. However, the simplicity of play was pretty compelling.

Why I stopped playing it: I don't know if I've stopped for good yet. I've definitely tapered off in favor of other pursuits (not the least of which is World of Warcraft). Basically, Guild Wars didn't offer a world that felt real and specific to me. Plus, dying was a bitch.

Breakdown

Title: Breakdown
Platform/Game Type: Xbox - First Person Shooter & Action/Adventure
Date First Played: June 2005

Thoughts: This game stayed relentlessly in first person perspective. Even non-interactive cutscenes just tugged your view to the appropriate place, forcing you to watch but never pulling out of the first person point of view. This was fairly effective, giving an immersive feel to the game. Fist fights were particularly visceral. The use of hallucination events was effective in creating a sense of narrative mystery and curiousity.

Why I stopped playing it: Despite some innovative touches, Breakdown was a pretty pedestrian experience. The pacing was slow, and there wasn't enough action (or other events like the hallucinations). Ultimately, other games won out in the competition for my time.

Why Am I Doing This?

During my studies at the Entertainment Technology Center, I took a Game Design class from Professor Jesse Schell. The second assignment was called Toolbox. The idea was to list as many games as you could remember playing throughout the course of your life. Here's an except of the assignment text:

The goal of this assignment is to dig up the game design treasures in your own mind, dust them off, and have them ready to use when you need them.

In a table or spreadsheet format, list at least 100 games that you have played sometime in your life. These games may be of any type: board games, computer games, playground games, etc. Along with each game you list, state clearly something important that you remember about the game, or a situation that arose when playing it, that you think might come in handy sometime later in your game design career. Also list the year that you first played the game.

This assignment was really handy at the time, forcing me to look back and remember games I hadn't played in years. Thinking about those games, especially those from earlier in my life, from the perspective of a game designer turned out to be incredibly useful.

As I continue to play games, I want to capture the experiences in a similarly useful manner. I won't be writing full reviews, but just a few thoughts or observations about each game. The blog format may not be ideal, but at least this way, I can share my experience with others.

In general, I will try to follow similar rules (as laid out in my Rules post). I'll be adding games as I play them, but I will also be adding games from the past with the ultimate goal of cataloging every game I've played. Of course, they won't be in chronological order, but I'll try to add a search function to get around that.