Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

[frogbeastegg]

Anyone played it? What exactly is it? Any good? The PAL release is approaching, and I'm mildly curious.

[lars573]

I've never played it either. But I do know certain things.
1.It's from the same team who made Ico.
2.The enemies are Colossi, kilometer tall thousands of years old artaficial constructs.

[Syxx_Killer]

I played the demo. I thought the game was kind of weird. It seemed kind of boring, too. There are no enemies in the game except those large Collosi beasts. I think there are 16 of them in all. The game got good reviews, though, so you might want to check it out. Those types of games really aren't my thing.

[Azi Tohak]

Despite the reputations the professionals get for their reviews, IGN and Gamespot both do well, and give out enough info to let you know what you are getting into before you spend any money at all. However, because it is so darned weird please rent it (assuming you have the option). I hate ICO despite the reviews it got. I will rent Shadow eventually.

Azi

[Zalmoxis]

I'm a person who likes to hunt down huge giants as bosses, and I've followed this game since it was announced, so I'll probably buy it.

[Xiahou]

Anyone played it? What exactly is it? Any good? The PAL release is approaching, and I'm mildly curious.

I thought this game looked great. Once the PS3 comes out, Im hoping to get a PS2 on the cheap- this is one of the games Id get it for.

[GoreBag]

My friends who've sat down to play it have all raved about it. Apparently, the game makes small, intuitive changes to the controls and gameplay depending on certain things, but I find that hard to believe. There are 16 bosses in the game and an unlockable 17th boss, and you'll want to play the game if you got into Ico. I'd recommend it.

[Fragony]

It's out in europe? I'll be all over it!

[frogbeastegg]

Feb 17th is the release date.

Hmm. So it's basically a game with 17 boss fights, and no more?

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.

[Fragony]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[GoreBag]

You're determined not to like this game, aren't you, Frog?

[frogbeastegg]

If that were the case I wouldn't have posted the thread. I don't get excited about games before I play them, and haven't for years. Maybe I'm too old, or perhaps just too cynical. I don't follow the hype, or the previews; I start to take note of a game when it is released. I say the game being cheap will help because that is the simple truth: the less I pay for something the less pressured I feel to love it, and if I don't then I do not feel bad about it.

Besides, I don't hear anything about Colossus which makes me want to drop Prince of Persia, which I am enjoying. I don't have time to play two games at once.

[Dorkus]

i've played this a bit. did not like it. follows the unfortunate trend, of late -- way too much "immersion", way too little "game." More like a movie than a game.

If you like games that make you go "Ohhhhhh!", then go for it. If you like games for the gameplay, I think this game is rather disappointing.

[Papewaio]

simple truth: the less I pay for something the less pressured I feel to love it, and if I don't then I do not feel bad about it.

I call that the caviar effect. If you pay that much for something it has to taste good. Rather then just enjoying something for what it is, we feel we have to enjoy something based on how much we payed for it.

[Fragony]

Ok, I played some of it at a friend. This game is amazing, it has the same tranquil mood like ICO, beautifull lightning, AWESOME landscapes and architecture, just like ICO it looks like a moving painting. I only saw one collosus, and it's kind of cruel to kill it because it obviously has no beef with the hero. All I can say is, I wish it was monday for a change because I so want this game. This is ICO meets Ocarina of Time

// kicks his xbox360: see that you lousy boring noisy machine? What that old granny can do???

[Fragony]

Update,

AWESOME This is the best game I have played in years. This game is just unbelievable. The collosus I saw at a friend of mine was a frigging dwarf compared to the others, these things are huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge. Anyone who has a ps2 should get this game. wowwowowWOW

//gives his xbox360 another kick

[Papewaio]

Do you feel a bit regretful after you kill the Colossus? It seems a shame to knock them off... except the cat beast...

[GoreBag]

The only one I really hated was the lizard-type one who climbed the walls of the 'arena' where you fought him. He was beyond irritating.

[Fragony]

Do you feel a bit regretful after you kill the Colossus? It seems a shame to knock them off... except the cat beast...

Ya, most aren't that aggresive, and the way they die is just nasty. Still, someone has to do it

[Voigtkampf]

Do you feel a bit regretful after you kill the Colossus? It seems a shame to knock them off... except the cat beast...

Yes, indeed; there is something both glorious and utterly sad in those triumphs over them. The music, the adrenaline of the fight…and then its death, seeing the giant break down… It is sad, but also filled with the grim determination of the main hero, who will persevere to bring back to life his beloved one, who might know he is not doing the exactly right thing, but who will do anything for his love. Something like shooting your horse with a broken leg.

Epic, all I can say.