Shadow of the Colossus

[Special K 0]

Anyone else looking forward to this game? Comes out in a week.

 

Frankly it's the only game I've been excited about in ages.

 

If you haven't heard about it, you're a character with a bow, sword and horse, and pretty much human attributes. That's it (to my knowledge) for your powers.

 

The goal of the game? 12 stages, each one consisting of seeking out a colossus, and killing it. No other enemies. The trick is, the colossi are fucking IMMENSE. Biggest enemies I've ever seen in a game.

 

 

The exploration is supposed to be lots of fun, packed full of little secrets. The graphics are absolutely beautiful, not just good, really beautiful. It's from the makers of ICO, and if you've ever played that game you know what I mean.

 

The previews from gamesites, and from people who've played the demo all seem to indicate that the gameplay's incredible fun.

 

 

Somehow, i think this game has dropped under many peoples' radars. Perhaps because it's PS2 only?

[Guest ABOBO]

Been waiting for this for a long time. The title they ended up using is certainly better than Wanda and the Colossus. I do have the feeling that it will be a bit short on replay factor like ICO, but also sure that the first ride through will be golden. This and Okami are the only PS2 games I'm really looking forward to.

[Ravenbomb 0]

Good God...

[Guest ABOBO]

I'm disapointed that more people haven't posted in here.

[Guest Zarock]

I'm in awe, which is the first time I've ever thought that about a videogame. Kudos.

[Special K 0]

There's supposed to be some links to ICO, too.

 

It anyone hasn't played ICO, now's a good time to get it. I just bought it for $10 on eBay (after having beaten it on a rental) It's short, but it's a trully beautiful, unique game. Basically, you lead a frail princess around an enormous castle (designed by an architect for the game), it's sort of like old-school Prince of Persia. It controlled very well, too. I'm hoping SotC does the same.

 

As beautiful and large as ICO's castle was, the scope of the landscapes in SotC look staggering. Apparently they've gotten the draw distances really, really high, which should be a big plus in a game like this.

[chirs3 0]

I've been looking forward to this since it was first announced. Looks absolutely stunning.

 

Note - it's 16 Colossi, not 12.

 

I can't wait to see what kind of final boss a game full of bosses will have.

[AndrewTS 0]

(MikeSC) Ico sucked. (/MikeSC)

 

Now that that's out of the way, what's the heads up on a playable demo? Last I heard it was supposed to be on the new Jampack (which I plan to check out for the Curse of Darkness demo), but I haven't seen it out yet.

 

Seeing still screen shots does it no justice. You have to see it in motion.

[Team Angle Pusher 0]

Have you played God of War? Now THAT has huge enemies.

[AndrewTS 0]

*raises hand*

 

So far haven't played much of GoW, but did fight the giant Hydra.

 

The Jampack with the demo of this game is out. I've got to go to work, but when I come back I'm going to play through a ton of the demos and give my impressions.

[Exslade ZX 0]

(MikeSC) Ico sucked. (/MikeSC)

 

Now that that's out of the way, what's the heads up on a playable demo?  Last I heard it was supposed to be on the new Jampack (which I plan to check out for the Curse of Darkness demo), but I haven't seen it out yet.

 

Seeing still screen shots does it no justice.  You have to see it in motion.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It's the Playstation magazine from I believe...2 months ago? Might be one.

 

But anyways, I have it, have played, have played that one level about 20 more times. It really is a fun game. And while the replay value may be seemingly a little short, I actually don't think it is to much. For instance, on just the demo, first time I played, crawled up his hammer, and arm, and onto his shoulders before stabbing him in the head, then the next time I crawled up his leg and onto his back and stabbed him in the back, and the other time when for the chest first etc.

 

It's just really fun, and looks amazing. And I can already tell the diffulculty will probaly be a little up there with some of the colossus'. (or si, w/e) as when I first tried, without looking in the book, it was pretty damn hard. But anyways..I can't wait for this either, only downside is..this is 50$ isn't it?

 

And Id rather just pay 10 for Ico, cuz my money will probaly be gone on SD.

[Special K 0]

Giant Hydra's by far the biggest boss in the game.

unless you count Ares, who isn't so much a huge boss as they just made the background really small. (You're as big as him)

 

The giant hydra, while a really cool boss fight, was just a big guy you climbed up a tall platform to whip away at with your chainblades. It has nothing on the colossi.

 

Cover art's out.

 

 

good to see they didn't pull an ICO.

[Guest lousms]

Good God...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I just wanted to quoteyou because LOST RULES

[chirs3 0]

Giant Hydra's by far the biggest boss in the game.

unless you count Ares, who isn't so much a huge boss as they just made the background really small. (You're as big as him)

 

The giant hydra, while a really cool boss fight, was just a big guy you climbed up a tall platform to whip away at with your chainblades. It has nothing on the colossi.

 

Amen to that. GoW's creatures can't compare to the Colossi.

 

 

 

[Guest Evolution]

http://www.snopes.com/photos/tsunami/colossus.asp

 

This page on Snopes links to Shadow of the Colossus, so does anyone know for sure if the "news report" is a advertisement for the game?

[Fökai 0]

I'm disapointed that more people haven't posted in here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I read about this game just over six months ago in a Game Informer preview. As it has been said, I thought the graphics and visuals were jaw-dropping. Since then, though, I had completely forgotten about it, until I read the Jampack demo thread. I'm looking forward to a purchase.

[AndrewTS 0]

Glowing review from 1up:

 

http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3144750&did=1

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Looks neat. Wish they'd make it for Xbox, since I don't have PS2.

[Guest ABOBO]

Um, the game was made by Sony. Chances of it being on a different system are a bit low...

[chirs3 0]

Reviews are starting to come in now (see 'em here). Average is about 90%.

 

Most of the complaints center around framrerate drops when fighting the Colossi and a sometimes futzy camera. The camera thing has been a problem in every game for the past million years or so, so I'm pretty much used to that, and the framerate drop can't be worse than the demo (which isn't that bad anyway), so if that's the worst of it, it's pretty much in the clear.

[haws bah gawd 0]

I've had the demo for about 2 weeks, and this game is looking quite incredible. My only complaint is the camera makes things a little difficult to work with when you are trying to climb some of the rocks. Other than that, cant wait for the actual game.

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Um, the game was made by Sony.  Chances of it being on a different system are a bit low...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Touche. Didn't know who made it.

[Use Your Illusion 0]

IGN.com have a review up: http://ps2.ign.com/articles/658/658991p1.html

 

9.5 Presentation

From the cinematic camera work to the somber setting to the beautifully orchestrated story, this is near-perfect. Minor camera problems hold it back from perfection, but only slightly.

9.0 Graphics

Not the best framerate we've ever seen nor the crispest graphics, but the art direction and animation are absolutely phenomenal.

10 Sound

The effects are light but nearly perfect. The score is virtually unmatched.

10 Gameplay

One of the most original games we've seen in a long time is also one of the best games on the PS2. Combining elements of puzzle solving, adventure and action, this is gaming bliss.

9.0 Lasting Appeal

It's so good you'll pick up again down the road, like a great movie. Plus, there's plenty of stuff to grab and places to explore after you're done.

9.7 OVERALL

(out of 10 / not an average)

 

Shadow of the Colossus is easily one of my favorite games on the PlayStation 2 and ranks highly among my favorites on any system. It is a true masterpiece in terms of art direction and, dare I say, cinematography. From the fights with the colossi to exploring the world to basically just standing back and letting it all soak in, Shadow of the Colossus is an amazing experience and an absolute must-have title.

 

I can't wait till the end of the month.

[Ravenbomb 0]

Where'd you get the demo from?

[Use Your Illusion 0]

Ack! PAL users won't be getting this until February '06 now it seems.

[chirs3 0]

So, I got this yesterday. Most of the boss fights are super and epic and wonderful and yay, but holy hell this game looks like ass. It's noticeably uglier than the demo (which was from E3 - good luck figuring out how that happened), there are animation twitches and glitches galore, and more jaggy lines than I've seen in any game ever.

 

It's like the developers had the sudden urge to stab people in the eyes, but couldn't find any sharp objects nearby so they just made their game do it instead.

[Special K 0]

To each his own. I think it's one of the prettier games I've ever seen. Only really bad thing I've seen is occasionally the higher-res textures will pop in really suddenly.

[EricMM 0]

I noticed both the animation twitches and some of the slowdown, but it does NOT come between the fact that this game has been amazing so far.

 

One of the few games out that I can safely say could NEVER be done in 2D.

[EricMM 0]

I can't wait to see what kind of final boss a game full of bosses will have.

 

As someone who has paused and posted just to get a breather from this guy, believe me: incredible.

 

Let me put it this way: see the guy on the cover of the game? He's basically a guy with a club.

 

It's is not that hard to conceptualize crawling around that guy and killing him.

 

This boss, I don't even have any idea how to get NEAR him

[Skywarp! 0]

There's an article on Penny Arcade where the contributor bashes the game's control scheme. He also finds a strange sense of guilt playing this game, since it doesn't seem right to be attacking creatures that are just docile, curious and even sleeping. Until you hurt them, that is.