I'm always wary of over-hyped games. I first heard about Spore almost two years ago when a fan in one of my classes drooled over an early video. I smiled politely at him and nearly forgot about the game until it surfaced on blogs in full force a couple months ago, in anticipation of its release.

Spore is one of those games like Halo where it's been marketed to the point where even non-gamers have heard of it. I get annoyed when I tell people that I study video game design and they immediately associate it with adolescent boys wasting their lives away, mindlessly shooting each other over an internet connection. Spore is probably a better association, but I'll admit that I've never been a member of Will Wright's legion of fans. I've heard that a lot of girls play The Sims. However, when a girl tells me that she only plays The Sims, I nod and smile and often change the subject. The Sims players seem more similar to those who only play casual games, so it's often harder for me to discuss the finer points of game design and narrative with them.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when the first hour or two of Spore played like a casual game. The beginning was practically a copy of flOw, Jenova Chen's brilliant thesis project that was recreated and released for the PS3. He was hired as a designer on Spore, but it still seemed ridiculous to me that I was playing the same game when I liked the music and aesthetic of flOw better.

After I got out of the initial stage, I was able to move onto the land. The game then became confusing. As a player used to complicated RPG interfaces, Spore was befuddling in its simplicity. Everything had been reduced to a visual representation, but this created a ridiculous amount of tutorial to explain what button to use for each function. Then there was a system to "make friends" with other creatures. I didn't understand why some creatures would be my friends and others wouldn't. Why did some creatures have such steep requirements to be friends? It took me a long time to figure out that each friendly action, such as dancing or singing, had a level. If I had a high dance level and a low singing level, it would be hard to make friends with creatures would wouldn't dance with me. This was completely determined by chance, which was frustrating.

Spore was largely praised for its character customization as well. This aspect also became frustrating. I like forming an attachment to my character and I try to make them as cute as possible. In Spore, however, your character's attributes (such as dancing level or health) can be directly tied to the parts you put on them. I became upset as I had to trade out parts I liked, such as a cute set of ears, for a different set just because it had better attributes. I began to see why a lot of games, such as RPGs with upgradeable armor, will either hide the armor or give you the option to equip cosmetic armor. I wanted more control over my character's appearance without having to sacrifice my character attributes.

Spore has been relatively frustrating for me so far. It hasn't been terribly difficult, but I feel as if it wasn't made for me. I respect what the Spore team is trying to accomplish and I understand their desire to make the game accessible. However, that doesn't mean that it will appeal to a more hardcore gamer like me. I would like to continue playing Spore to see if it improves in later stages. I've heard the real game comes after evolution is complete. I just hope that this game is compelling enough to catch my interest before I get to space.  

When I tell people I’m majoring in video game design, they often ask me about Halo. The Halo series has penetrated mainstream culture in a way that most games never will. I think it is great that this franchise has made the entertainment industry take notice of the purchasing power of gamers, but I am not a fan of Halo. FPS games aren’t my favorite, since they usually lack the story, characterization, and lovely graphics that keep me glued to RPGs and adventure games.

When Halo 3 came out, I heard the co-op mode was decent. Hoping that this would mean better chances of survival for me, I grabbed a friend who hadn’t played much Halo and sat down with him to play Halo 3.

The opening sequence was decent but not terribly impressive by my standards. I soon found myself controlling an alien who had grudgingly become an ally of Master Chief. I found this somewhat amusing, as I was a taller than the human but much shorter than my co-op partner in real life. It was fun to tower above him and watch him running ahead of me.

The console FPS controls were somewhat confusing compared to the PC mouse and keyboard. This is a common issue for those used to PCs, and those used to consoles will often have the opposite problem. It seems that it’s merely a matter of preference for most people. However, I often found myself running into the ground or swinging the camera wildly in my attempts to determine whether or not the camera was inverted compared to my intuitive idea of controls.

Due to my difficulties in controlling my character, my partner would often run ahead. We established a nice system where he would jump into melee combat and I would stay behind, sniping off some enemies and providing a re-spawn point. This worked well for a while, but soon became somewhat boring.

The enemies were mostly mindless. A certain group of aliens had ridiculous voices that made me laugh at the game…because it was so stupid. I didn’t like the idea of the enemy being completely idiotic. I prefer games where war is about fighting for what you think is right, but you still realize the consequences due to the humanization of the enemy.

The biggest problem I had with this game in general was the fact that I just didn’t care. There was little cover, sporadically placed, but it didn’t seem to matter much if I died. Ammo was in good supply, so I never had to consider conserving my resources. I could just shoot everywhere if I wanted. Also, there was an A.I. controlled team that we first rescued and then joined. They provided little help; I didn’t really notice if they were around or not.

Compared to games like Half-Life, this game was incredibly dull and lacked a decent story. The story was sprinkled in small doses after completing certain objectives, but it wasn’t very interesting. Since I didn’t care about my team and those around me, I found myself lacking motivation.

Finally, I was frustrated with Halo 3 due to its unrefined design. There were enormous enemies with huge shock sticks that were ridiculously powerful. If these enemies ran at you, you would die, even if your partner was shooting them in the back. This type of imbalance is something I aim to avoid in my games. Then there was little guidance in the form of maps, making it hard to figure out where to go. Unlike the refined level design of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the level design in Halo often left me lost.

For such a popular game, I was very disappointed in my co-op Halo 3 experience. I hope that the appeal in this game comes from the multiplayer aspect, because I was sincerely disappointed in the story mode. Halo 3 seems like an unrefined, mediocre experience.  

The arrival of Eternal Sonata has meant the end of a phase for me. I played Eternal Sonata for a few hours, and the next day I found that feeling that I had missed so much: video game craving. Just as I had hoped, this game was turning into the type of experience I had been wanting since I finished Okami and Elite Beat Agents earlier this year.

I understand that Eternal Sonata isn’t the type of game that everyone wants to play. For me, it is finally a world that I want to escape to in my free time; unlike the horrific environment of Bioshock or the dangerous Halo, Eternal Sonata makes everything lovely. When I have a stressful school life, I want to spend my free time in a glittering dungeon or a majestic forest. It’s relaxing for me to escape into a world more beautiful than my own.

The combat system in Eternal Sonata appeals to me much more than many other games due its turn-based roots. While there is still a battle timer, the game still gives you time to think through the moves you want each character to use. I enjoy games that give me a little time to strategize. That way, it’s more like a puzzle and less like a test of gut reactions.

I was hoping that Eternal Sonata would be more like an adventure game, with a straightforward plot and puzzles that don’t require too much time. Unfortunately, my friend and I spent a ridiculous amount of time on a puzzle that was almost entirely based on trial and error. Like previous RPGs, I decided to purchase a strategy guide, as the game is full of ridiculously winding pathways and has some tricky puzzles.

I was a little bit upset when, after purchasing a guide with adequate pictures, my friend and I still got lost in a level. The official guide is poorly worded in some parts, and for someone as literal as I am, it can be an issue. I began to realize that part of the reason I enjoyed games like Final Fantasy VIII was the fact that I had a solid guide to help me through it, like a mentor that helped me make the best decisions. I was able to complete many RPGs with strong characters and little frustration due to the help of many well-written guides.

While I still think that I will enjoy playing Eternal Sonata, I am still slightly disappointed in the puzzles. However, most RPGs have some sort of ridiculous puzzle that, in the words of my friend Jettoki, “is made to be so difficult that you have to buy a strategy guide.” I hope that Eternal Sonata can continue to be a relaxing experience for me and that the rest of the game turns out to be as fantastic as its visual design.  

As a female gamer, I often get singled out in my classes and at work. I’ve heard comments such as, “It’ll be great to have a female opinion on this,” “I’m so glad to see that you’re here,” and “What kind of games do girls play?” I have a hard time with the issue of appealing to girls, as I have had a lot of traditionally nerdy male hobbies, from reading comics to collecting action figures.

I was surprised to see this article on Gamastura, claiming that parents are more hesitant to let girls play “hardcore” games (as opposed to casual games). I think that one of the only reasons why I got into games was the influence of my dad, who never had a son. He introduced my sister and me to games and never made us feel like it was odd. For a long time, I knew no other girls who played games, but I was encouraged by my family to follow my passions.

I have begun to wonder if it’s the parents who are keeping the girls from the hardcore games or if it’s the girls themselves that are avoiding games. If all the games I had seen were Halo and Madden on a brother’s console, I probably wouldn’t be too excited to play. Gaming is an expensive hobby, from steep PC requirements to the fact that most consoles cost over $100.

Even as someone who loves gaming, I have had a hard time finding a game that I could really sink my teeth into lately (until the arrival of Eternal Sonata and other great games for the holiday season, it had been a dry spell for me). Aside from the DS, a lot of games require a decent time commitment and knowledge of previous games can give you an incredible advantage. I took a break from gaming in high school, and found that I needed a good few months to reeducate myself before I could call myself a gamer again.

While I do enjoy working in a male-dominated industry, I find it sad that many girls are so averse to gaming. Women’s magazines like Cosmopolitan encourage girlfriends to allow their male companions time for games, even if it’s hard for them to understand it. I hope that someday girls can realize that games can be a great hobby as immersive as a love of fashion or gourmet food. While there are fewer games that appeal specifically to females, I believe that it is only a matter of time before women realize what they’re missing.