Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II - Mechanics, Gameplay, goals & objectives

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II

Developer: Black Isle Studios

Released: 2004
Platform: PS2/XBOX

Sequel to Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance series which was released only on consoles.

Gameplay:

It is an Hack and Slash Action RPG and therefore conforms to the genre characteristics. The aim is to complete quests and level up whilst collecting/looting mobs to upgrade weapons/armour, players can travel around the "world" completing missions and side quests whilst also being able to craft armour/weapons and gain skills/powers. Hit the enemy and dint get hit.

Mechanics:

Basic mechanics, the basic mechanics of the game include:
Move + Jump (in any direction)
Move Camera
Attack
Change weapon
Drink Potion
Talk to NPC's
Loot
Use skill

These basic mechanics are the fundamentals for successful gameplay. For example it is essential for the camera to be able to move due to the "maze like levels" and your charecter dissapearing behind objects.

Advanced mechanics, the more complex mechanics include:

Leveling up: with killing monsters comes experience points which level up your character giving the ability to increase attributes such as health or attack power and also unlock special skills to use.

Shopping: you can purchase items/weapons/armour from shops and also sell your loot to earn money to buy new items.

Crafting: you can craft armour and weapons and customise them with runes + gems bought from the shopkeeper or looted in game. This is a mechanic popularised in games like Diablo 2 and it adds an extra element of depth and customisation to the game.

Emerging Mechanics

Feats and spells in combination with certain weapons/runes/gems are an emerging mechanic..for example a combination of a jacinth gem (+fire damage) on a weapon combined with empower (+magic damage passive ability) and player casts Flame Strike (fire spell) would give much more damage than just casting the fire spell. the same applies to each class but with its own twist on it, for example barbarian could have a two handed weapon with a sapphire gem (+dmg) with passive combat reflexes  (+speed) and activate divine strength (+dmg) would benefit the player.

The game in its nature is complex and requires complex game mechanics that work well together, baulder's gate achieves this with little room for improvement except maybe making the world more open and less linear as following a path and slaying the same enemies over and over again can get a little tedious, but all in all it seems a good solid game.. 

Killzone 3 – Interaction model, game structure & story

Interaction Model:

KZ3 has two main control options,

Standard PS3 Controller:

This comes with two preset control layouts and some fine tuning options like look sensitivity and invert axis, these are the standard FPS controls used throughout the genre normally. This is the best way in my opinion as it allows a player to fluently pick up and put down games of the same genre. As FPS are generally fast paced you need to be concentrating on killing the enemy before being killed yourself as opposed to fumbling about not knowing how to throw a grenade, crouch or shoot. Therefore using a different control scheme can be detrimental to a games success if players could not adapt easily.

Alongside this you also have the option of playing with the PlayStation Move and Navigation controller. Couple this with the Sony Sharpshooter and you have a totally different style of gameplay that has been thought through and works with all of the appropriate buttons easily accessible. It turns the game into more of an "arcade" style shooter. It is difficult to begin with but with some practice it is a really good addition to the game and in my opinion not just a gimmick as I think Sony wanted to showcase the Move's capabilities.

Playing Options:

Alongside the single player campaign (with split screen capability) and various difficulty levels KZ3 has an extensive multiplayer with four main game modes:

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Guerrilla warfare:

The objective is simple: kill the enemy. The faction that takes out a determined number of enemy troops, or the most enemy troops before the time runs out, is the winner.

Warzone

Warzone features missions that change every time you play. The missions are:

• Assassination
• Search & Destroy
• Search & Retrieve
• Capture & Hold
• Body Count

Operations

A new multiplayer game type that delivers a cinematic, story-based game play experience, Operation sees the ISA and the Helghast battle for control of specific objectives over the course of three missions. The missions are:

• Search & Destroy
• Capture & Hold
• Search & Retrieve

Botzone

Botzone is an offline multiplayer mode ideal for players looking to get to grips with the controls, the weapons or the map layout before going up against live opponents.


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You are also able to choose a multiplayer "career" or class with different abilities such as: Infiltrator, medic, engineer, marksman and tactician. Eight standard (not inc DLC) multiplayer maps showcase the different harsh alien environments and the use of vehicles such as Exoskeletons and Jetpacks provides more than enough to get lost in. Not taking into account the single player campaign. I actually bought the game just on this basis and have only played the campaign through once on "hard" but have lost hundreds of hours to the multiplayer experience. These game modes are common in FPS today and are somewhat of a genre characteristic but with its own spin on things. This gives players what they want and expect from a modern FPS. The only thing that is missing from KZ3 and will hopefully be added in KZ4 is System-Link and Online co-op modes as the only co-op mode is split screen this is a feature that may be missed by FPS veterans.

Jetpacks

Inside an Exo

Game Structure and Story:

KZ3 single player campaign is has approximately 6 hours of game play dependant on your experience and the difficulty level.

Level 1 Overview:

Approx Time: 15mins

Narrative

In the opening cinematic the game picks up 6 months after KZ2 ended when the ISA killed "Visari". The new leaders of the Helghast are in power and Admiral Orlock is giving a rally speech to all of the Helghan troops. Spurring the start of the fight back against the ISA.

The setting changes to the Helghast "Deep South Facility", where you and 3 other Helghan soldiers have arrived back at the base and you must sign in, you are then assigned to weapons testing. You make your way to the range, on the way a prisoner transport ship arrives and two prisoners are offloaded by helghan soldiers, you then proceed and complete the weapons testing programme.

After completing weapons testing you are told that Chairman Stahl wants you in the broadcast room immediately, so you head there, when you arrive you are told that you are the executioners. Stahl proceeds to do a broadcast, planning to perform a live execution of "Narville" who helped the ISA kill Visari in KZ2.

As you step forward to do the execution you turn the gun at Stahl and take off your helmet revealing that you are actually Sgt Thomas "Sev" Sevchenko, The main protagonist from KZ2. a twist on the way the player thought the game was going. In level 2 you then go back six months.

The story for the game is OK for a FPS, as the genre tends not to have a too complex storyline as it's geared more towards the game play. Like in any game it has its high and low points, for example the first level storyline is good with the twist of direction, and the ending leaves the game wide open for another sequel. but at some points (maybe the third level) in the story goes a bit thin before picking up again, but i would expect this from a game. For me the story in KZ3 is spot on, it keeps you engaged enough to keep playing but is not so complex that it detracts from the point of a FPS (action & bloodshed) so therefore i would not change anything in the storyline as it gives the players what they have come to expect from a FPS.


[** http://www.killzone.com/kz3/en_GB/thegame-overview/multiplayer/game-types.html]

Killzone 3 - Visual Styles 2

Perspective:

Being a First Person Shooter it goes without saying that the best perspective is First Person (looking through the eyes of the charecter). in KZ3 it works really well and there are no problems with it. it works as you would expect a FPS to.

Feedback:

KZ3 has lots of feedback, visual, audio and tactile. it sticks to the main genre charecteristics of feedback and has all that you would expect of a FPS. areas of the game that the feedback works particularly well in include:

When Shooting:
Audio: gunshot (dependant on type of gun)
Visual: bullet leaves gun in direction of crosshair
Visual:  gun animates "firing"
Visual: ammo stocks deplete
Visual: crosshair turns red when targeting enemy
Tactile: controller vibrates

When Being Shot:
Audio: Gunshot (from direction)
Audio: hit/miss sound (bullet flies past of sound of being hit)
Visual: bloodsplatter on screen (red indicator of direction of shot)
Visual: health % depletes
Tactile: Controller vibrates

When Reloading:
Audio: reloading sound
Visual: player reloads gun
Visual: ammo reserves deplete

I could be here forever listing when each type of feedback is triggered but here is a gameplay video that shows all except tactile feedback.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noiGjbWhEOU

The feedback works really well for the type of game as it sticks to all of the genre charecteristics, i think adding any more feedback would be overkill as it works well where it is needed.

Charecters:

The main protagonist is Sergeant Tomas "Sev" Sevchenko who you play as throughout KZ3. he was also the main protagonist in KZ2 but not in the original. he is dressed in the ISA military gear which has been the same throughout the series, wearing military gear/armour is a genre charecteristic so it works well with the game and it has a sci-fi twist to it with glowing blue parts.

the only time you see the charecter is through cutscenes and therefore the animations have been extensively worked on with no glitches that i could see.

NPC:'s

There are 3 ally NPC's that work with you as part of your squad. Rico, Narville and Jammer. all are dressed in the same grey/blue squad gear and animate well. the AI is ok. they do not really do much damage as thats down to the player but they do run alongside you and draw some attention away. i have also never experienced them getting stuck as opposed to npc's in other games i have played. they work well  for the type of game:

 

Enemy NPC's all are wearing the same "Helghast" armour but with a variation dependant on thier weapon (see image below). AI is good and makes the game challenging (especially on high difficulty levels). they act as any enemy in a FPS should and do everything in there power to elimanate you. i have not seen any bugs or glitches of them getting stuck and overall they work really well.

all NPC's have the standard animations, running jumping shooting falling and even climbing in parts. the animations all work smoothly and are triggered in correct parts. the charecter model also interacts with the world well leaving its own shadow but also being affected by the lights/shadows of the environment.

I have a real passion for KZ3 because of how good it looks and how well executed the whole game is.