(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.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Mar 9th, 2008 at 14:46:41.
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(this gamelog is being written LATE)
Summary:
In Shadow of the Collosus, you take control of "Wander" a young man hoping to restore the soul of a woman, "Mono". He makes a deal with a mysterious voice, "Dormin" who tells him he must destroy the 16 idols inside the mysterious temple they are in. However, to do this, he must defeat the corresponding colossi, giant mosters which roam different territories outside of the temple. Wander must ride his horse, "Agro" to each colossi and defeat them by climbing on them and attacking weak spots.
The colossi are giant conglomerates of stone, earth and some seemingly man-made architectural elements. Each one has portions of hair, which Wander must grab onto to stab weak spots after scaling the colossus, using the stone parts to climb on it. Each colossus has a different mode of attacking, and range from humanoid shapes to being more like large birds or serpents. Some are aggressive and attack on seeing Wander, while others will simply meander around their area and must be chased and hunted.
(SPOILER) In the end, it turns out that Dormin's reason for helping Wander was that in addition to returning Mono's soul, his essence is restored and he is able to posses Wander, just as a band of warriors chasing Wander enter the scene. The leader of the warriors throws the magical sword used by Wander to kill the colossi into a pool and both Wander and Dormin are sucked in, as the bridge out of the sacred lands is destroyed (after the warriors escape on it). Mono wakes up and finds a small baby in the pool and takes the baby and follows Agro up to a secret garden, and so ends the story of the game.
Gameplay:
The gameplay in Shadow of the Colossus is very different from most games of today. A large portion of the gameplay is simply getting to the colossi on horseback. The scenery is breathtaking and one of the great joys of playing the game is just exploring the world and finding new and interesting places to enjoy.
Fighting the colossi is often challenging and is sort of a modern version of a puzzle game. One must first figure out where the weak spots are on the current colossus (by shining sunlight from the magic sword on the colossus, which reveals its weak points), then one must find a way to reach those weak points. This often involves climbing up onto the colossus (as it tries to attack you), or jumping onto it from a higher point. On several occasions, the player must stay on Agro because the colossus is too fast to outrun or catch on foot.
Control can sometimes seem clunky, however this is only because Wander is not the most agile adventure game character. He runs at an awkward and slow pace, and can't turn very fast. However, this simply lends more strategy to battles, as you must figure out how to overcome these deficiencies to fight the colossi using your sword and bow.
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