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Ashark's Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
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| [January 15, 2008 02:23:19 AM]
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GAMEPLAY:
I have to admit, after beating a couple more bosses, the game has gotten more enjoyable. While I still don't like that you have to travel far stretches of land except to reach the boss, I would suppose that would be much better than choosing a boss to fight off a selection menu. Though the stretches of land has more significant value when I found out that you can get more health if you kill lizards. This gives me a more easier time if I can't defeat a boss because of my health. I could just go around the land and hunt small, tiny lizards to make my journey easier. Oh yay, I get to go hunt hard to find and equally hard to shoot lizards in an empty land that is well-kept, yet lacks the animals to keep that land grazed (somebody has been doing his gardening...maybe the mysterious voice did it). And I do mean that "yay" in a bad way, but I'm not having any problems defeating the bosses as the puzzles are currently quite easy and the bosses don't really do much danger that it can give you an adrenaline rush.
The regeneration system also makes it much easier as your health regenerates over time, giving the game less of a action feel and more like puzzle-solving feel. You aren't rushed to do anything. The enemies certainly doesn't rush you as they are slow and their attention span is like that of a two year old. The puzzles are quite good, reminding me of other puzzle-like gameplays that are incorporated into games like Prince of Persia. Life situations were solving a puzzle means the difference between life and death. I like gameplay like that, so I do like Shadow of the Colossus. Really, I enjoy the game, but it could have more depth in the gameplay mechanics and A.I. intelligence department. The giant's brain is as big as a peanut...reminds of elephants.
DESIGN:
I have to admit, the jumping and running of the main character is much more realistic. The protagonist is obviously not trained to run and jump, as he is dressed in peasant clothing, so I wouldn't expect him to do double jumps in the air. And the game surprises me by giving the main character a small running start before jumping and awkwardly running. It gives it a more down-to-earth feeling as they made the character more of a normal person than a super human, which there are plenty of games that have such. Especially with the fact that he stumbles backwards after swinging his sword at a wall.
The game provides bosses, after bosses, after bosses, but it keeps it going by making those bosses unique. The basic idea of what to do is the same, but you get a unique problem to solve. That is one of the biggest focus of the game and keeps people coming back for more. The game tries to create a boss-fight atmosphere at times when I noticed that when you reach a boss, changing the music to something different even though you can change it back to normal when you defeat the boss or leave the area. The location of the fights is the main factor in how it tries to give a more gritty or spring-time atmosphere (it changes from boss to boss).
The usage of everything in your arsenal, including that almost seemingly useless bow in the beginning. By the second boss, you are utilizing weapons that you haven't used before, and by the third boss, you are taking the environment into your puzzle solving mind. That usage of everything you have makes for an interesting experience, but it also means that item collection cannot occur in this game. A sound budget-saving idea as making designs and stats for a bunch of weapons would take a long time. It also keeps the problem solving simple, for the people who aren't as good at puzzles since you won't be getting a long list of items that you can use on the boss, but only a small fraction is actually usable.
An improvement that they could have done would be to actually get voice actors to talk in the cut scene...but I suppose that would be pointless as the story is non-existent. Even if they have all these great puzzle monsters, couldn't they have come up with a better story...and maybe give background to our main character who remains nameless after all this time. I might even bet that there has only been one voice actor in the game, saying "Argo" for the main character and distorting his voice along with a female to make the mysterious god-like voice.
Overall, a budget game that pokes holes into the mold. I wouldn't say it breaks the mold, but it helps.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Jan 15th, 2008 at 02:26:41.
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| [January 15, 2008 01:47:25 AM]
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SUMMARY:
Shadow of Colossus is about the main protagonist who is trying to revive a woman that he apparently is in an intimate relationship with. By following the orders of some mysterious god-like voice that talks through the ceiling of the temple, the unnamed main character goes around the land to kill off giant creatures or colossus, for the end-reward of having his lover among the living again.
GAMEPLAY:
I heard so much rave about this game that I had to try it. With that in mind, I started up the game and found it to be somewhat to my expectations and somewhat not. The graphics were talked about as beautiful, but what I found was below what I was expecting. The game does not seem to push the PS2 to its limits in terms of graphically quality as the landscapes and characters are filled with jagged and blurred lines, making it seem slightly more pixelated than I think it should. While the landscape and attention to gritty details obviously took a lot of work, it gave me the feeling that the game was not one of those high budget projects.
The controls were awkward, but fortunately customizable so I changed it to something more to my preference. Even then, the controls itself was unique and took some time to get used to when I was fighting the first boss. The game is devoid of any other creature besides the giant being in the game. While an intention design for the mysterious land, it made the game feel empty and lonesome.
The game was first frustrating as I got used to the controls when fighting the boss. The distinct lack of a tutorial left me with having to figure out how to defeat the boss with the very vague hints that they give. Hints that would be more better served if I had a general idea of what to do in the first place, but once I was able to get a notion of how to get on the boss and search for weak points, the game became much easier and more enjoyable. The game is not logical for some of the design decisions it makes. Why was the only way for the colossus to try to throw me off was to shake like a furious dog? It should have just reached around and plucked me off. It makes no sense. The giant can swing a club, but it's not smart enough to reach around and scratch his back? Well, I suppose it would have made the game much harder.
The story is very basic. Even though I have only fought and beaten the first boss, only to return to the temple to receive the next boss in line, I can tell you that my summary was probably the sum of the entire story. You can't feel much for the characters when they are speaking in a language you don't understand and you can't see their facial expression. Well, more like one character, since only the god-like voice says anything. I don't think the main character has ever spoken once besides to say "Argo" when he whistles for his horse. There can be no character attachment or personality development when he speaks only one word. The story is about as thin as a piece of paper.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Jan 15th, 2008 at 02:27:13.
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Ashark's Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Monday 14 January, 2008
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