tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1083509480143917931.post4115640397057653221..comments2023-12-18T12:39:27.533+11:00Comments on Raptured Reality: A Gentle BreezeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00626684107210848128noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1083509480143917931.post-15935358957927093052009-04-14T17:38:00.000+10:002009-04-14T17:38:00.000+10:00A very interesting read.
While I haven’t played F...A very interesting read.<br /><br />While I haven’t played Flower (lack of PS3), I have played Endless Ocean on the Wii and loved its simplistic nature. All you did was explore the depths of the ocean and interact with different creatures. The developers did include a few traditional elements such as a story and various side-quests like taking a photo of a specific fish or going on a treasure hunt, but as a whole it was a pretty laid back experience. Like Flower, it was also beautiful in so many ways – from the relaxing soundtrack to the gorgeous reefs and rock formations – it’s probably one of the most over-looked Wii games published by Nintendo.<br /><br />I feel it’s getting to the point in this industry where we’re seeing a lot of quality games being released, but at the same time they’re not offering a unique experience. Taking a look at Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, for example, it was an impressive game that I thoroughly enjoyed. However, thinking back it had more in common with the Jedi Knight series. Okay, you had force powers and could go ape on Stormtroopers and Rebels, but really you could do a lot of that in Jedi Knight as well. It felt more of a visual update with a few perks here and there rather than a completely original Star Wars game. As for other favourites like Halo and Gears of War, well, all these first person shooters are starting to look a like. I guess that’s why I enjoyed Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts so much. It offered a fresh take on one of my favourite franchises and was unique from everything else I’ve played in a long time.<br /><br />As for your comments about us being spoilt for choice, I couldn’t agree more. As you know I purchased an Xbox 360 in December last year and have been frantically catching up on all the titles I’ve missed. One advantage to this is that I’ve been able to get a majority of the games in my collection at a cheap price, but a disadvantage is that I don’t really have anyone to discuss the games with. Most people have moved on from, for instance, Mass Effect. When I was playing the game it was interesting to note how people would always say “Yep, I loved that game. Was very good” but they’d never go into great detail like they were with Killzone 2 (it was just released at the time I was playing through Mass Effect). Of course I’d get the occasional fanatic who’d talk about it in-depth with me, but otherwise most people didn’t really care.<br /><br />Another thing I realise is that there’s no way I’m going to be able to get through all the Xbox 360 games I want to play and/or purchase. Many of the titles I’d like to play are out of print and are quite hard to find. You’ve also got the expansive Arcade library to think about. Combined with the time it takes you to play through the game properly and the cost of purchase, it’s very easy to become overwhelmed by it all. That’s why I like the “chew your food” expression you brought to my attention a few months ago. I was rushing through a lot of the games I bought simply so I could move on to the next thing. I’ve slowed down now, I take the time to enjoy things. A recent example is Perfect Dark Zero. The game is relatively short, but I’ve been playing it on and off for the past few weeks. I think I’m enjoying it more that way. I get a feeling for the story and gameplay, but at the same time don’t get bored with it. Developers put a lot of time and effort into their work, so we should be thankful for it and take the time to enjoy it.<br /><br />I realise I side-tracked there a bit, but I understand what you’re trying to say in the post. There are so many great games out there with all these features that a lot of us never experience to their fullest. We constantly rush through them to follow the hype-train, and yet occasionally something like Flower or Endless Ocean comes along that makes us sit back and appreciate their simplicity. I guess that’s a reason why I’m also fond of the occasional puzzle game. Many of them have a basic concept that works so well they just click. You appreciate their level design, addictive gameplay and quirky nature. Perhaps it’s because you’re not focused on your health meter, how much ammo you have left, and the dozens of enemies from all sides shooting down on you. Either way, it’s just nice to sit back and relax when we have all these complicated games being released on a weekly basis.Joseph Rositanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901711944316652763noreply@blogger.com