New Review Posted: Shadow of the Colossus

[Daniel Weissenberger]

I review Shadow of the Colossus, and have this to say:

"Shadow of the Colossus is a videogame for people who love videogames. To the casual player it may seem like nothing more than just another exceptionally beautiful 3rd person climbing and stabbing simulator, but to gamers who have been playing for their entire lives it's something grander and more significant. Shadow asks big questions about game design, and suggests changes to the way we approach video games."

The meat of the review can be found here.

And then Brad Gallaway offers his second opinion, which begins thusly:

"Videogames that aim to be more than just videogames are few and far between. The vast majority of titles out there aim to sell a million copies, and if they happen to have a message or morals thrown in, well that's just accidental icing on the cake. I suppose it's just easier to focus on entertaining mechanics and mass-market appeal than it is to somehow reach people through basic human feelings, expression and emotion—not to mention the requirement that it also be interactive and enagaging, and not just a passive, controlled experience like books or films."

And finishes here.

[Snack Eater]

Good reviews.

However, I would dispute the point about the frame rate. On my copy slowdown is all over the place. It barely ever detracts from the experience, but it does serve to remind me that I'm playing a game, which is precisely what I don't want.

[Jerm]

Agreed, awesome reviews. I thoroughly enjoyed reading them.

I'm with snack on the frame rate, though. My copy slows down almost constantly (even while riding around the land). They did a pretty good job of making it seem like slow-motion, but it was still pushing the PS2 to the brink. Which is also why I don't necessarily agree that SotC couldn't benefit from some more horsepower. If this were a next-generation game it could've been mindblowingly amazing (instead of simply amazing). In fact, I would bet that the artists who worked on the game would disagree with your sentiment that "Shadow of the Colossus led me to wonder whether there's any need for a PS3." You could tell they had to cut a lot of corners in the name of the PS2 (check out the hair on the horse's neck, the cloth 'simulation', the low polygon and texture resolution). Trust me, artists always want more!

Still, what they created still drops my mouth to the floor. Which is why I'm pretty excited to see what a team like that can do with 10x the power.

[Camus]

Originally Posted by GC_Danny

When you have art design, who needs processing power?

AMEN! god, it's not like I have played SotC, but god, I wish more people agreed with this statement, it is so utterly depressing for me to see people complain about texture mapping and antialiasing, I still can play games like SoulReaver1 to this day and not mind the graphics at all because the art direction is so awesome.

both your reviews are very insightful, and have me wetting my mouth for it too.

[legendarypegasu]

How are the controls? I played the demo and the controls felt really sluggish.

[Snack Eater]

I beat the game, and for some reason the ending didn't do that much for me. I was expecting some huge emotional payoff and instead what I got was pretty good, but not on par with the ending of Ico. Certainly not a bad ending, unlike some other game I bought along with it, that being Indigo Prophecy, whose plot starts off as mildly compelling, becomes cliche, then becomes completely silly, before finally becoming muddled, incoherent, and unsatisfying. David Cage can go fuck himself, because he talks the talk and yet barely stands up to walk the walk before falling flat on his face. What a waste of a good gameplay concept and an Angelo Badalamenti score.

[SolidSnake0627]

Dear Mr. Fumito Ueda,

I bought this game and finished it, everything was amazing and I managed to squeeze it in to my busy schedule. I was enthralled by the passion and the commitment that was displayed by the main character which is a small but very determined boy named Wanda. I knew the reward of accomplishing the somewhat insurmountable task of slaying all those towering giants would be the revival of his beloved girl lying there. It blinded him to the dangers that awaited him. I was expecting the sweetest ending or perhaps a rewarding replay value, but what do I get... a bad ending, a total let down.

Now, it could have been good if you'd consider altering the bad ending the second time we finished the game. And the more a player finish the game, the better the ending becomes.... the more a player will be encouraged to play it again and again, because it leads to something more rewarding. Why do you have to be so tragic? I'm giving this title perfect 10 points just so you would reconsider making a revised version of it. Think for a moment, it could've been better anyway. Bring Wanda and the girl together. Make the players feel good after playing your game.
I strongly suggest you make a good sequel by bringing this heroic Wanda and the girl together.

[Evan Evanson]

Dear SolidSnake0627:

I strongly suggest that you play a different game.

Respectfully,
Fumito Ueda

PS: Or maybe just spending all day staring at one of those posters with the cute kitties on it would be more your speed.