Friday 25 January, 2008

Entry 2:
Gameplay:
For my second gameplay session I defeated three more colossi. I really enjoyed the variation of the colossi. So far there have been some on two legs, some on four legs and one that flies. Figuring out how to beat each colossus is pretty fun, but the learning curve is a little steep. You really have to be observant to beat this game. I spent ten minutes on the fourth colossus just running around aimlessly until I finally figured out that if you hid in the small underground caverns in the area long enough the colossus will lean over to peek inside and you can pop out the other side and climb up its back. So far each colossus has been a challenge, but not so difficult that I got too frustrated to keep playing.

One frustration of mine is the mysterious plot. At first I really liked the withholding of background information, but I still haven’t learned anything about the Wanderer’s motivations or relationship with the dead girl. Where did he get that magic sword? After each battle he gets stabbed by the creepy black tentacles and somehow ends up back at the fortress surrounded by shadowy black figures who can only be the spirits of the colossi as there is one more after every battle. The black figures just stand there and stare at him while he is unconscious but the game refuses to reveal any more of the plot. This is both frustrating and compelling. This game seems unique in the way it progresses. Despite the lack of cinematics I noticed that my character is beginning to deteriorate. His hair has gotten darker, bruises have appeared on his body and his skin has become more and more dull. It seems like as he kills colossi he has been hurting himself somehow. The creepy tone is enhanced by this new development and I think this is a really cool way to let you see that something is happening; but letting you notice on your own without just being told. This game is all about observation.

Design:
The level design of this game is amazing. The world is gigantic and extremely detailed with various terrains from forests, lakes, caves and deserts. There are also many ruins strewn about the landscape and you frequently end up facing a colossus there at some point. I did a bit of galloping around the countryside just for the sake of looking at the seamless world that the designers created. Another aspect of the landscape that I enjoy is that specific kinds of trees have yellow fruits that you can shoot down with arrows and eat to increase your life bar. Having a larger life bar isn’t too important in this game but it helps out when you fall off of a really tall colossus or get stomped on a few times while trying to figure out what to do. There are two gauges in this game, already mentioned was the health gauge but the second and I feel more important is the stamina gauge. You don’t take too much damage while fighting but the stamina gauge is crucial because it determines how long you can cling to the side of a colossus before falling and needing to climb all the way to the weak point again, which can take several minutes in some cases. The size of the stamina gauge also determines the strength of your sword attacks when stabbing the weak points. You can increase the size of your stamina gauge by shooting special lizards with white tails that crawl on the save points that you find around the world. You can kill the lizard and eat it or just shoot off the tail which leaves it alive to generate a new tail that you can come back for later. Though the white tailed lizards are somewhat of a secret as nothing mentions them in the game, as usual you just have to notice on your own or go online, it is essential that you increase your stamina as the game progresses or you won’t be able to cling to the later colossi long enough to kill them.

The lizards and the stamina gauge bring up some of the issues that I had with the design of the game. The lizards are pretty small, especially compared to the colossi. The controls for the bow and arrows are very difficult to use with any accuracy which becomes painfully obvious when you’re trying to shoot the tiny lizards as they scuttle around the save point. The controls in this game are generally pretty loose and inaccurate. Steering the horse isn’t so bad in open spaces but if there is any kind of objects like trees or walls navigation becomes really tedious. I spent a good amount of time with my horse rearing because I kept accidentally steering it into walls.

The other issue I had was with climbing on the colossi. If you are climbing on a colossus trying to kill it, it will try to shake you off, understandably. This aspect can get very frustrating when you are trying to build up a good charge for your stab or even try to navigate on the body. If the colossus shakes too violently your character will stop climbing and cling on for dear life. I like that this feature gives the game a more realistic feel and also adds to the desperate tone I get from the landscape and the Wanderers continued physical deterioration. But after five attempts to stab the weak spot before I run out of stamina, fall off and spend another five minutes trying to get back to the weak spot I want to bash my head in with the controller. Also the physics for the jumping don’t always seem accurate so that when you think you will make a certain jump the Wanderer goes off in a random direction and misses and you must start all over again. These control issues are very frustrating because they make the game hard to beat not because of a good challenge but because of bad and annoying physics. Despite these frustrations I still enjoy the puzzles of each battle and look forward to exploring the world to find the next colossus and figuring out how to beat it, even if I sometimes have to put the controller down for a minute so I don’t throw it through the TV screen.

[Nicolas Kent - grader]

Very well done.

Hey, it's Jessica! I liked your review. Did you know about the fruit in the game? Aside from the lizards, you can collect fruit to build up your health. it's not as useful as the lizard tails, but I thought it was interesting. There are a handful of other secrets to the game that are pretty cool that I particularly enjoyed. Haha, whenever I got stuck, I would just remember what you said about it and it helped me to figure out the puzzles. Anyways, awesome review!