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lpvillan's Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
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| [January 26, 2008 01:04:15 AM]
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SESSION #2
GAMEPLAY:
After playing the second session for 2+ hours I was able to get deeper into the game and reached up to the 10th colossus. The plot in the game hasn’t developed much outside of defeating the colossi which brings you closer to saving your dead girlfriend. During this session in the game I did become more and more frustrating with every new colossus that is more difficult than the last. The game’s difficulty did begin to make quitting it a lot more tempting.
One thing I noticed as I progressed in the game was that the colossus went from being gentle to a lot more aggressive. At the beginning because the colossus were so docile and the art work is so elaborate that you can see facial expressions killing them was almost heart breaking because you could see that they were living, breathing, sentient beings. The realistic artwork, graphics and sounds contributed to this, I believe.
Just when I was going to call a quits, I decided to call my friend’s little brother, who has played the game before for some assistance. He told me how to defeat the water-snake as well as let me in on some cheats. If you kill lizards with white tips on their tails and pick up the tail you increase your “grip” circle. Also, if you knock down fruits from trees and pick them up, you make your health bar bigger. These tips really got me getting back into the game and it wasn’t as frustrating.
GAME DESIGN:
Another tip my friend’s brother gave me was showing me were some hidden “save” points (go to temples and press O) were. This was especially useful since the game doesn’t tell you about “save” points and the only way to save your progress is an automatic save point after defeating each colossus. Unfortunately the game always sends you back to the main castle after you defeat the colossus, so when you set out to find the next one you start from the same place and sometimes it gets boring riding out from the same place. This was a small but very annoying problem I had with the game.
Another thing that really bothered me with this game was the camera angles. Unfortunately I think the forced camera views on some parts of the game were very frustrating, other times when you were able to lock on to a colossus or when you moved the camera you still had problems with being able to see either your self or your target. I think this is mainly due to the fact your avatar is so small compared to the enormous colossus.
However despite all this, the over all concept of the design including the breathtaking artwork is all superb. I really liked the idea of this game having no side quests and how each level was made up of colossi each with their own personalities, behaviors, and style. My favorite colossi were by far the bird and the water snake. I thought that the element of fighting while being pulled through the sky or submerged under water while going really fast was very challenging without losing the player’s interest.
Sometimes the colossi did get difficult and since the game offers one obscure clue per colossi, this did put a damper on my experience. I feel that the designers could have given more obvious clues or been a little more helpful with longer text.
The tone of seriousness and realism to support the gravity of the situation of the character (he is fighting colossi with a sword after all) all the more real and really helped to involve me further into the minimal story there was. It awakened the curiosity to find out what will happen after the 16th colossus falls. Will the black aura destroy me? Will the god uphold the promise. Or will the god turn out to be a malevolent spirit? This whole story mystery was also a very clever device to keep the player interested.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Jan 26th, 2008 at 01:05:42.
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| [January 21, 2008 11:15:08 PM]
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"Classic's List" Gamelog #2 I:
SUMMARY:
The Shadow of the Colossus is an action-adventure game. The central plot is of a (so far)nameless boy who is trying to resurrect the girl he loves. She was sacrificed because she had a "cursed" fate. He brings her body into the "forbidden" land to call upon a god-like being with the power to bring back the dead. This so-called god promises to grant the young boy's request if he kills the 16 colossi that inhabit this forbidden land.
In order to reach each colossi you must solve the puzzle of getting to them (climbing mountains, swimming and climbing ruins, etc.). Once you find them, killing them is the second puzzle since the character is only equipped with a sword (that when raised into sunlight will guide you to the colossi, and then to their weak points), a bow and arrow, and a loyal horse “Argo”. Unfortunately Argo can’t always get to the colossi and sometimes must be left behind to await your safe return.
GAMEPLAY:
At first the game felt overwhelming because you are just one boy and the colossi you are fighting are a lot larger than you and they seem indestructible. Once you defeat the first colossi and you get into the format of the game and you see it as puzzle solving the odds don’t seem so terrifying and more like a worthy challenge.
The different colossi come in many forms even that of a horse and a giant bird, and this variety makes the game that much more exciting. I have not defeated all the colossi (I’m at number 6), and so the plot hasn’t really gotten anywhere nor do I think it will until I have defeated the 16th colossus. I have noticed that after each colossus I kill, I am engulfed in black aura from it and I am guessing that by the end of the game all this aura is going to affect the fate of my character.
This game is a ONE-PLAYER game only and it makes sense because the only characters are the young man, Argo, the colossi, the dead girlfriend, and the disembodied god. I believe that the simplicity of the goal (just kill the colossi) and the absence of side quests (that sometimes can get tedious make the game drag) make this game so amazing. The puzzle solving challenge is enough of a challenge to keep the player going.
Also the fact that the player doesn’t have sophisticated weaponry makes the game more realistic and once you bring down the giant colossi I was filled with a feeling of power and invincibility that I couldn’t get to the next colossi on the hit list fast enough! The graphics in this game are also very sophisticated and very detailed which help to make the environment that much more realistic. From the movement of the colossi’s fur, to the sound of the wind, and the light reflected underwater, everything is contributing to the realism of the game.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Jan 21st, 2008 at 23:18:30.
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lpvillan's Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Monday 21 January, 2008
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