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Saturday 26 January, 2008
Gameplay Session 2
GAMEPLAY
And here I am on my second hour of the game. I managed to kill another 2 colossi making the total 4 out of 16. What I forgot to mention in the last entry was that there is a kind of stamina gauge that determines how long your grip will last when you're clinging on for dear life on the back of 1000 feet tall monster trying to shake you off. The graphics for the game are quite amazing, considering that its for the PS2. The colossi are very detailed as well as the world that you play in. Frame rate stays surprisingly consistent for the amount detail and action that goes on while you're battling a colossus. Not much more to say about the gameplay other than that it does get a little repetitive and kind of formulaic after a while because you're basically doing the same thing over and over again 16 times.
DESIGN
This is probably one of the more innovative games for the PS2. The whole concept of not having any dungeons to explore or regular ragtag monsters to kill was something not done before by any other game. The world is very beautiful and well designed with an emphasis on big, just like the bosses. Boss design is top notch as well, with the colossi resembling fusions of animals and building structures. Challenge increases little by little after the defeat of each colossus. Each one requires a different strategy and have different weak spots that you have to find and exploit. One of the things I really love is how the AI functions. The colossi have a very animal-like nature about them. They'll realistically buckle in pain when injured and sway violently back and forth trying to shake you off. Each battle just seems epic.
As amazing and innovative as the game is, there are some bad points worth pointing out. First off is the story. There really isn't a lot of it and that really detracts the player from the whole game experience. I never really cared for the plight of the girl that I was trying to save, mainly because I just didn't know anything about her. Not adding dungeons and towns was creative, but it also created a flaw in the storyline. I think putting in a few NPCs to give more background and insight would have been nice. The game also has very little replay value. There aren't any side quests that you can complete adding to the shortness of the game. It does have some unlockables and a boss time trial run, but that doesn't really give much incentive to play the game again. Overall, Shadow of the Colossus is a game that I'd recommend everyone should try. It's one of the more unique action adventure games out there and it definitely won't disappoint.
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