Game Narrative

Again not really video game related though it is the concept for a little video game.  Here is my project 2 game narrative.  Farmhand.

The Munchables

The Munchables is a strange game for the Nintendo Wii released in 2009.  The story is that on the planet Star Ving there is are legendary orbs that have been stolen by space pirates, who look like veggies.  It is the Munchables job to get the orbs back by eating all the space pirate veggies.  

There are two playable characters Munchy, the girl, and Chomper, the boy.  They both have the same abilities so it doesn’t matter which you pick.  Your job is to navigate through the 8 worlds each consisting of 2 normal stages and then a boss stage.  In each world there are a ton of veggies to eat up and level up your character.  The player must eat the lower level veggies before tackling the higher level veggies or the risk of getting hit is much higher.  There is a chance the player can attack the higher level veggie and break it into smaller level veggies, but you have to be quick with the attacks.  If you get hit you shrink and you have to shake the Wii remote to grow back to normal size.

Overall this is a very simple game and most gamers will find it to be fun but too easy, however it is known to be great for kids. Also, it was released as a budget title so if you do find a copy it should be really inexpensive.

Scribblenauts

Scribblenauts was released in 2009 for the Nintendo DS.  A sequel was released last year.  It is an interactive puzzle solving game where the player writes down what he or she wants in the game and as long as the item is in the extensive in game dictionary it appears in the game.  The goal of the game is to collect “starites” to complete each level.  There are 220 levels to complete with 10 themed areas and each has a difficulty rating of 1-4. 

An example level: there is a cat stuck up in a tree and the goal is to get the cat down and collect the starite.  The player may write down “ladder” and a ladder would appear in the game.  The player can then manipulate the ladder using the stylus and position it by the tree and then climb the ladder to get the cat.  Alternatively, the player may write “fish” and give the fish to the in game avatar which would trigger the cat to come running out of the tree to get the fish.  A more extreme method would be to write “Axe” and give the axe to the avatar.  The avatar could then chop down the tree which would technically get the cat down accomplishing the goal.   There are several more ways to accomplish the same task the limit is your imagination.

Upside Down Tomatoes

Here is a post that has nothing to do with video games.  It is all about how to grow tomatoes upside down.  If you are interested check out the website I made. Here.

Brutal Legend

Brutal Legend was released in 2009 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.  The game is centered around heavy metal and everything from the character’s clothing to the scenery and the soundtrack are all references of heavy metal.  As an added bonus Jack Black does the voice work for the main character.

The gameplay is a mix of action adventure and real time strategy games creating a unique experience.  The single player story mode consists of exploring the vast environment doing various missions to progress the story or side missions for fun and extra experience.  There are hidden items, buried metal, in the game the player can find to boost their abilities as well as add to the in game song bank.  There are over 100 heavy metal songs in the game.

Eventually the player learns how to engage in Stage Battles.  These are kind of real time strategy mini games.  The player protects one stage while the opponent protects the other.  They both have spawning vents that produce “fans”.  Once the player has enough fans they can summon various creatures to form an army and attack the other player.  One of the funniest types that can be summoned are the “headbangers”.  They stand there and constantly head bang their stretched necks.  Troops can target the other player’s troops, resources, or stage.   Planning and timing is the key to victory.  In the multiplayer mode players face off against each other in these Stage Battles.

Anyone that is a fan of heavy metal, Jack Black, or a good game with a unique style should pick up Brutal Legend.  It has laugh out loud moments and slightly more serious moments meshed in one awesome game.

Patapon

Patapon was released for the Playstation Portable in 2008.  It had a sequel soon after and is expecting another sequel this year.  The game is about a tribe, the Patapon, that have been defeated by the Zigoton Empire.  It is the goal of the game to take back the land that has been lost by using the power of the drums to control the Patpons and lead them to victory.

The player controls the Patapons by issuing commands via drum sequences.  Each button is a different drum note and together they issue different commands.  For example Square, Square, Square, Circle is Pata, Pata, Pata, Pon and commands them to march forward.  Circle, Circle, Square, Circle is Pon, Pon, Pata, Pon and commands them to attack. Repeatedly entering commands in time with the rhythm will lead to “fever” which increases attack and defensive bonuses.

Using the various commands the player must defeat various enemy forces and lead the various Patapon troops to victory.  This game gets the player into the rhythm and rocking along with the drums. 

De Blob

De Blob was originally for the Nintendo Wii and released in 2008.  This month it got a sequel for multiple consoles.  De Blob is about a city that has been taken over the monochromatic INKT Corporation and they have forbidden all color, music, and happiness.  It is the player’s job to bring color and joy back to the world by splattering colorful paint all over the buildings and citizens.   The music in the game responds to the color of paint currently absorbed and gets a funky mix for each color.

Gameplay is based on the player absorbing different colors of paint then rolling and bouncing around the city spreading it around.  As the player paints the different buildings the city becomes happier and citizens are released into the streets to be colored.  For all the efforts points are awarded.  But the player has to watch out for INKT forces as they will stop at nothing to keep the city from being colored.  If the player is inked the player will lose points and all will be lost if the points reach 0.  All this has to be done within the time limit as well before the stage can be completed.

All in all this is a great game that will keep the player trying to paint the entire stage and free all the greydians all while enjoying a funky soundtrack.