Super Smash Bros. has been a longtime favorite of Nintendo fans and competitive fighting-game players. The first game released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64 console. It was heavily praised not only for its exciting Nintendo character crossover basis but also its solid control scheme. Super Smash Bros has been at the competitive E-Sports tournament Evo since its second sequel, Melee. Recently, Super Smash Bros Ultimate was released and has had great critical reception.
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Overview

Sonic the Hedgehog is a franchise that was started in 1991 by a publisher named Sega. Sonic was created to be the face of the Sega video game platform. The game is focused around a main character, Sonic, who is a blue hedgehog. Sonic’s defining trait is his speed. The Sonic franchise has had 29 releases of Sonic inspired games, including 5 games that were crossovers with the famous Mario franchise. This article analyzes the similarity and differences between the original Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) game and the latest release at the time of this analysis for the franchise, Sonic Mania (2018). For this analysis, both games were played for 10 to 20 hours and achieved to about midway through successfully finishing the game. [Read more…]

Time Spent

Three hours replaying Netrek, around a dozen before both multiplayer and with bots.

Thirty-four total playing Star Trek Online, with around 16 playing new content. Passive level up system enabled the progression of a character to near-max level with modest equipment.

Graphics and Gameplay Summary

Netrek was a 1988 successor of X Trek from 1986 which ran on the X Window System, which was a successor of Empire from the PLATO system which dates back to 1973. The original Netrek used wireframes and was even less visually appealing than the version shown above. The above screenshot is taken from the 2010 updated client, although the gameplay and other settings remained the same. Aside from choosing to use the classic wireframe client or the new client, there are no other options for Netrek graphically besides modding the client.

Netrek is an arena based game, with teams of players working together to accomplish the goal of defeating the other team(s). To do this, it is beneficial to use cloaked scouting ships to monitor enemy movements, use specialized ships for bombing enemy armies and for transporting allied armies, and to use other ships for dogfighting and protecting allies. While strategies might be complex, gameplay is relatively simple and straightforward, it is just a matter of learning all the options available to the player.

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Gauntlet is one of the longest-running dungeon crawlers in the video game industry. In Gauntlet, the player takes control of a class/hero (with specific abilities or attributes) who hacks and slashes his or her way through hordes of enemies throughout various dungeon-style environments. Ideally, the player is one member of a group of heroes who can work together to overcome the challenges of the dungeons, with a simple story giving the characters a goal, and some bosses along the way. Here, we will compare Gauntlet Dark Legacy for the PS2 and Gauntlet: Slayer Edition for the PS4.

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Resident Evil is a game series that defined the genre of Survival Horror.  While there were a few games before the first Resident Evil (PSX, 1996) that would now be called Survival Horror in retrospect, the release of Resident Evil kick-started a golden age that brought forth: Parasite Eve, Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, Dino Crisis, Clock Tower, and inspired many others.  Survival Horror is a genre characterized by: having a player character that is not able to blast away every single enemy they come across, limited resources like ammunition or healing items, exploration through dark almost mazelike environments to find key items to progress through the game, and of course monsters or enemies that actively pursue and or ambush the player character throughout their exploration.  In Japan, Resident Evil is titled Biohazard.

(Author’s note: References will include gameplay element spoilers, some narrative spoilers.)

Resident Evil: Directors Cut (PSX, PC; 1997)

The Director’s Cut version of Resident Evil 1 added two game modes, training and arranged.  Training was for beginners and the primary element that changed was the amount of ammunition the player found was doubled.  Arranged was for people who mastered the original and wanted more of a challenge, the locations of key items were changed as were the types of enemies at certain locations.  Director’s Cut was originally released because of the delay with Resident Evil 2.

(Author’s note: My playthrough was on training mode, I’m still scarred from the introduction to zombie dogs in a particular hallway at the age of 7.)

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Carnivores is a classic dinosaur hunting game that has left its mark on a dedicated group of fans. I can still remember the rush of adrenaline from trying to bring down a charging t-rex by shooting it in the eye. I was not an overly experienced hunter and more often than not ended up on the ground under the raging t-rex.  It was fun and my friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of bagging these prehistoric giants.

Carnivores (Original) Overview

Carnivores was developed by Action Forms and published by WizardWorks software. The original game was made for PC and first hit the market in 1998.

Carnivores has many of the qualities that one would expect to find in a well-developed hunting game. Game play uses a first-person shooter perspective on a prehistoric island. The player has access to a map of the island with a position tracker and wind detection on it. The environment includes different types of terrain with some steep unnavigable mountains and rocks. The terrain includes varying degrees of vegetation for a more realistic feel.

The player has several decisions to make before beginning the hunt. This includes choosing one of six maps as well as an intended dinosaur species. Next, one of three weapons can be chosen, including a shotgun, crossbow, or sniper rifle. Finally the game gives you several optional accessories that positively or negatively affect your score.  Camouflage, scent shield, and a radar for on your map affect your score negatively. By using a tranquilizer instead of live ammo the score will be increased. [Read more…]

Far Cry Instincts was originally released in 2005 for Xbox. The campaign focuses around a man named Jack Carver. Jack owns a small boat that he uses to haul tourists around in. A tourist named Valerie Cortez hires him to take her to Jacutan, an island off the coast of Micronesia. Upon arriving at Jacuton, Cartez offers Jack more money to borrow his jet ski, which he accepts, and Cartez heads off alone. Jack decides to take a nap while he waits. A helicopter that opens fire on his boat awakes Jack. He nearly escapes the fire as he makes his way to the island.

Once on the island, Jack finds a headset that allows him to talk to a man who goes by Doyle. He learns that Cortez is actually a CIA agent sent to rescue Doyle but in turn is captured and now needs to be rescued. Jack agrees to go find her but during his search, he is captured as well.

After being captured, he meets a mad scientist named Dr. Krieger and his partner Crowe. Dr. Krieger has been testing on humans trying to enhance their physical abilities. Dr. Krieger decides that Jack would be a good test subject and has him injected with a serum.

After being injected, Jack becomes stronger and now has special abilities. He is able to go into “instinct” mode to access his feral abilities. This allows him to run faster, jump harder and be able to detect other people’s scent. Jack uses this gained strength to escape and sets out to find Cortez and take down Dr. Krieger and Crowe.

Far Cry Primal was released in 2015 for Xbox One. The campaign follows a man named Takkar in the year 10,000 BCE. The game starts with Takkar and his tribe searching for the land of Oros. A sabretooth tiger takes out Takkar’s tribe but Takkar narrowly escapes. He continues on his way to Oros when he runs into a woman named Sayla. After another encounter with a sabretooth tiger, they make it to the land of Oros. Sayla then inform Takkar that Oros has been invaded by the Udam and Izila who kill the Wenja, the natives of Oros. Takkar sets out into Oros to defeat the Udam and Izila and reunite the Wenja.

When moving to Farcry Instincts to Farcry Primal there is a huge noticeable difference right away and that is the graphics. When looking at Instincts, the overall display has an animated look. Objects tend to look a little blocky when you examine them. There are a lot of distant lines on the edge of objects and objects do not blend together very well. Colors often look very vibrant and distinct such as when an explosion occur, the fire is its typical yellow-orange and red to indicate it is fire but under closer inspection, it doesn’t appear to look like fire at all. Instead it is more of a layering of colors.

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