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Sunday 9 March, 2008
(this gamelog is being written LATE)
Gameplay:
Continuing to play Shadow of the Colossus has not brought up many new gameplay elements. I have found that if you find a fruit tree, shooting the fruit off and eating it can increase your health bar, and finding lizards (only the ones with white tails) and shotting them and eating them causes your stamina to increase, meaning that you can hold on to ledges and/or colossi much longer than normal, which is essential for later battles where holding on for long periods of time is a must.
Mostly, I have just enjoyed finding more and more stunning scenery to find and explore.
Design:
The design of Shadow of the Colossus is very interesting when compared to most "similar" adventure games because at this time there really are no truly similar adventure games. there are no regular enemies, or mini-bosses. The only fights are with colossi. This makes the game move slightly less and seem less tedious without the constant killing small minion-type enemies. Each boss is such a different fight from the last, that the game never seems tired or boring.
Another creative design element for this type of game is making sure that the main character's abilities are completely realistic. He can't run extremely fast or jump very high, or (at the beginning) hold on to a ledge for very long. he turns at a normal speed and for the most part is exemplary of very average human abilities. With the exception of his skill with a bow. he is extremely accurate with his bow and arrow. His word skills, even, are very basic. The only real thing he knows how to do (and the only thing he really has need for really) is the ability to stab while he is holding on to a colossus.
The graphics are not extremely impressive. The character is somewhat roughly animated, however, the colossi and the environment are beautiful. absolutely stunning. This is a game almost more like watching a movie (except being responsible for whether or not the main character succeeds or fails). This creates a very unique cinematic experience and makes the game enjoyable to play even when not fighting a colossus.
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