Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

**Fragony** · 02-08-2006, 15:10

Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

I played Ico. I didn't like it much. It was a nice puzzle/exploration game with a lousy combat game and a platformer with Bad Camera Angles(TM) (R) (C) crammed in to ruin the whole experience. Never have I felt combat felt so badly out of place in a game before, and never have I hated fighting so much.

Once you get the sword it isn't that bad, but it could have done without it. You are missing out on a great game though, it is just so beautifull in a weird way, you feel detached with reality after a while. You know the movie 'spirited away'? That is how the game made me feel.

**GoreBag** · 02-09-2006, 03:10

Originally Posted by Fragony

Once you get the sword it isn't that bad, but it could have done without it. You are missing out on a great game though, it is just so beautifull in a weird way, you feel detached with reality after a while. You know the movie 'spirited away'? That is how the game made me feel.

Yeah, that's an okay comparison, but with fewer disproportionately large eyes and more giants made of stone.

Frog, chances are that you'll never even make it to the 17th boss. The game officially ends after 16. You can always rent it first and see how you like it, but it takes a few dead bosses to begin to pick up. Fragony's point about immersion is also key.

**Papewaio** · 02-09-2006, 04:52

I don't play the game, I just watch my friend play it. It is fun just watching it... it really does have 'Spirited Away's' feeling... unfortunately I feel sad after killing each of the magnificent bosses... except that small cat one... meanie that it was... it is like you are killing the dragon in spirited away more then evil monsters... that and their dead spirits that stand around you as you wake up each time...

**frogbeastegg** · 02-09-2006, 18:43

Originally Posted by Fragony

Once you get the sword it isn't that bad, but it could have done without it. You are missing out on a great game though, it is just so beautifull in a weird way, you feel detached with reality after a while. You know the movie 'spirited away'? That is how the game made me feel.

Mmm, I did find Ico beautiful, and quite tranquil too. The partner thing was a good idea too, a different twist on the usual 'rescue the girl' formula. Just the combat spoiled that feeling every time it appeared, and it took a while to sink back into the peaceful relaxation of the game, by which point there was almost always another fight. I think I got about half way through, and found I couldn't stand any more; it felt like I spent far more time doing things I didn't like than doing the bits I enjoyed, making the game a chore. Pain; I spent ages hunting down a copy, and had to pay as much for a slightly battered used version as I would for a brand new game. If the game hadn't had any combat at all I'd have loved it.

I still don't know what to do about Colossus. It falls into a category I usually like (inventive/oddball) but it sounds so ... um ... well, like not much at all.

**Voigtkampf** · 02-10-2006, 09:16

I got it yesterday and intend to review it over the weekend. Yes, I am a sellout, I have began reviewing console games for the, until now, PC games exclusively magazine.

As soon as I have spent few hours playing it, I’ll be back around for a heads-up.

**jeffreyLebowski** · 02-10-2006, 22:41

i'm an avid player of pc games as well as the ps2 and xbox... and shadow of the colossus is one of the best games i've ever played on any platform. period. if you like your games cerebral, with a very impressive artistic style, you'll love it. it's basically a work of art you experience instead of simply looking at. the music, the plot (most of which doesn't occur until the end), the desolate setting, the brilliant boss designs, it's all damn near perfect. the only slight complaint i can level against it is that it overworks the ps2... framerate drops are common, but not particularly distracting from the experience.

if you're looking for quick action, however, look somewhere else. anyone with ADD will detest it.

**Voigtkampf** · 02-13-2006, 22:26

Well, as improbable as it may sound, I only got to play SoC for one and a half hour this weekend, but I can tell you it’s marvelous.

The movements of the main hero are as closest thing to realism I’ve ever seen in any PS2 game so far, I think; the way he stumbles, jumps, runs, it’s all very smooth and appears realistic. It appears the only enemies are the giant colossi our hero needs to kill in order to save the soul of his beloved one. The fights with the bosses are…epic, to say the list, and very movie like. The music, the paste, the gigantic colossi that are as lethal as they are magnificent.

I don’t think this game is for anyone who likes fast action - the pauses in between the fights will make it little appealing for the average Joe. But, as for me, I can hardly wait to find more time to play this remarkable and deep game.

**frogbeastegg** · 02-15-2006, 20:04

Hmm. When I finish the Prince of Persia trilogy I will probably pick it up. At the rate I'm playing (half an hour to an hour a week. Makes games last a loooong time, even the short 10 hour ones) the price should have dropped by then, which can only sweeten the deal.