Gaming Journal -- Z.O.E (Zone of the Enders)

I started on 9/24/11 and finished on 9/25/11.

This game is short, especially for a person who loves RPGs. After about eight hours I was done, and I felt like I was just getting started particularly because of the way the story ended. Which was with the kid escaping from the last boss battle. I thought I had gotten the bad ending, but it was the only ending. And to make matters worse, my used disc from GameStop had some scratches on it that was causing read errors, so I had to skip the last two FMV scenes. :(

While I liked the idea of this mech combat and story, I had some issues with the controls being awkward. I wish they were more FPS like and used both analog sticks for movement instead of the right stick for moving and the left stick for the camera. What irritates me is that game developers don't let you have the option to configure the buttons for however you want.




Gaming Journal -- Z.O.E 2 (Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner)

I started on 10/3/11 and finished on 10/15/11

The story is much better paced than the first game. And all the cutscenes from the first game are viewable as an option to get caught up on the story.

After playing this game for three weekends to finish a game that took 7 hours and 30 minutes, I realized I should of had this done in one weekend. so why didn't I? Because the boss bottles are so numerous that the game is essential story, boss battle, story, boss battle... And each boss battle has its own gimmick in order to beat that particular boss; I would wind up quitting in frustration. It took me several continues to figure out the gimmick, but when the gimmick doesn't work, it feels like cheap AI.

Whats missing in the sequel is the ability to grind and level up. You can't revisit any areas to level up and increase your health bar.

I do wish I had initially played this game on easy. That way I might have been inclined to immediately play again on normal.