bigdaddygamebot
Member
hokahey said:
Because you fail at gaming and need to...
1. Stop playing games
2. Go away.
3. ???
4. Profit!
-
Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!
LTT...wat? Shadow of the Colossus
- Thread starter hokahey
- Start date
Because you fail at gaming and need to...
1. Stop playing games
2. Go away.
3. ???
4. Profit!
Dyno said:
I only say that so that there is perspective on my opinion. If it was the first game I had ever played then that would drastically change how informed my opinion is no?
rhino4evr said:
But Shenmue had a story. An epic story at that, and massive areas to explore that felt as real as being in an actual city. It immersed you in it's world.
In contrast, SOTC felt barren and incomplete to me. Like someone had a great idea for a boss and made an entire game around it. When they realized they needed more they simply remixed that same boss over and over.
Dr. Zoidberg
Member
hokahey said:
Dude. This was a bad idea. This game is one of those "sacred cows" on GAF where dissenting opinion is attacked viciously by mobs with pitchforks.
If it helps, while I can certainly see the artistic appeal, I too felt the game was repetitive and ultimately boring. I personally judge games on the "fun factor" first and everything else a far second. I hate lengthy repetitive multi-phase boss battles in games, and that's basically all this game was. So it was not for me. But I can appreciate the appeal for others.
Lets see ...
Mario Galaxy: drop into a galaxy, jump around , get a star..
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Gears of War: Start at point A , go to point B. & shoot everything in your path.
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Ninja Gaiden: from pont A to B , and kill everything
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Silent Hill: get into a place, get out of that place to another place.
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Zelda: get into a dungeon , kill a boss, get out of the dungeon into another one
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Final Fantasy: random battles, random battles, random battles .. boss battle
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Sonic: run
ruuuun , then jump
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Halo: shot alien, shoot another one
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
SotC:
you see what I'm trying to say :lol
READ BETWEEN THE LINES.
Mario Galaxy: drop into a galaxy, jump around , get a star..
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Gears of War: Start at point A , go to point B. & shoot everything in your path.
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Ninja Gaiden: from pont A to B , and kill everything
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Silent Hill: get into a place, get out of that place to another place.
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Zelda: get into a dungeon , kill a boss, get out of the dungeon into another one
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Final Fantasy: random battles, random battles, random battles .. boss battle
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Sonic: run
bitch
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
Halo: shot alien, shoot another one
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.
SotC:
over and over and over again .. what a boring game.hokahey said:
you see what I'm trying to say :lol
READ BETWEEN THE LINES.
bigdaddygamebot
Member
hokahey said:
So then you've never actually been in a real city...kudos.
hokahey said:
Ok, I agree with the Shemune comment, but the SOTC is WAY off base.
1. There is plenty of story here, just a lot of it is left to your own interuptation. The ending of this game is heartbreaking. In fact Id say it has one of the most emotional "stories" of any game ive played.
#2 How far are you in the game, because saying that the bosses are "remixed" is probably the most offensive statement of all. Every boss battle plays completely different structure and strategy wise. Sure, you have to destroy the same glowng blue spot, but how you reach that blue spot is completely different on each boss.
I think you need to just stick with it...you'll come around eventually.
NeoGAFFer said:
That's silly. Those games, especially Zelda, feature a wide variety in weapons, levels, techniques and characters.
I understand those that defend this game on it's own merits. I say it's barren. You say it's artistically desolate. But don't compare it to every other game. It's certainly a unique product, for better or worse.
AranhaHunter
Banned
FAIL
bigdaddygamebot
Member
rhino4evr said:
And if you play on hard...beating the bosses and they way some of them respond can be quite different from the initial run through.
Some of you should relax. The guy played the game, disliked it and elaborated on the reasons. I like SotC a lot but the defense force can be pretty insane, it's not like he made a post that consisted of "it's shit" with the sole purpose of trolling. No game appeals to everyone.
hokahey said:
Listen dude, you're posting on Neogaf. I assume you play a fair bit of games. You didn't get this link from MTV or American Idol forums.
The insecurity you diplayed though is all to common. I wonder why we feel that way and need to explain the obvious? Just picking up a game like Collosus excludes you from the casual market.
Earthpainting
Member
Oh heavens no! Don't you realise what you've done? Be prepared to get accused of the following for the next 15+ pages:
*edit*
Like clockwork, GAF. Like clockwork.
- having a factually bad opinion and taste.
- being bad at videogames.
- only liking gorey shooter games (bonus points if the word 'matoor' pops up.)
- being soulless.
- being inable to appreciate art in any form.
- being a troll.
*edit*
Like clockwork, GAF. Like clockwork.
hokahey said:
I understand that the horse is a major point of contention, but there's a very key reason the horse controls that way. Agro behaves similarly to how an actual horse does. A horse is a creature with a brain that can think to some degree as you and I do. Controlling a horse means essentially suggesting a general plan of action and then hoping the horse will find the best way to execute. That may mean a horse doesn't always do what you want it to do. The reason Agro controls this way is so that you eventually develop a sort of emotional connection to him. Agro is your one and only buddy in this desolate world and so you're meant to appreciate that relationship. As with all things in life, you can't truly appreciate the good without the bad. Even then, I found that controlling Agro never became a problem after a couple hours in.
The game isn't mindlessly repetitive. It's essentially 16 boss fights. Each one is different and requires a different plan of action. Some of the colossi may look similar but the mechanics for getting on one of them is totally different from that of another.
Yes, the frame rate is pretty bad. I concede that. This game was created on hardware that wasn't fully ready for it.
Maybe you don't realize it, but these two things directly contradict one another. You couldn't figure out the strategy to defeat some of these guys on your own. That means you weren't doing very good.
I'm not suggesting you suck at video games. I'm suggesting you suck at Shadow of the Colossus.
hokahey said:
I am a huge Zelda fan, but man, even I realized that Agro was years ahead of Epona both in terms of controls and animation. Sheesh. The key is that you are never actually in control of Agro, you are really only controlling Wander as he tugs on the reins. There's never that disconnect between the player and the character. It was freaking brilliant, man.
KevinCow said:
Gameplay and fun it has in droves, so what if the frame rate sucks? Normally I'm a frame rate whore who wants 60 fps but given what this game is doing it was totally forgivable.
bigdaddygamebot
Member
Fuu said:
Before you start preaching the whole "live and let live" thing, actually take a moment to read what he wrote regarding what is wrong with the game.
He doesn't know what he's talking about. If he was trolling, atleast that would be entertaining. This isn't trolling. This is about being a unappreciative savage that really has no fuckin' clue that he's playing something special.
He's part of the problem.
hokahey said:
I've played Shenmue. I own Shenmue. I'm glad I own Shenmue.
Your hyperbole regarding SotC and Shenmue is what's asinine.
hokahey said:
I suppose on a basic level I can see your point. But in truth? SOTC has one of the best stories of last gen. Its minimalist to be sure, your basic "save the girl" from the big monster. But its more then that...SO much more. Imagine the world where these creatures must have belonged to. Imagine a time when these majestic beasts had an actual purpose. For worship or for praise...its amazing.
By the time you, as the wanderer, seek them out, they seem to have no real reason to exist. The colossi don't attack you unless provoked...there is something so powerful about the emotions in the game.
Its an experience...APPRECIATE IT!!
hokahey said:
exactly!
SotC might not have these things, but it does have a beutiful story, Epic design, innovative approach in the video gaming industry.
It might sound a little bit shallow, but actually its a lot more than that.
each colossi has it's own epic adventure, it's own ways to defeat it.
I think you might be playing the game in the wrong way.
just accept the fact that this is a different game.
It is a unique experience
PataHikari
Banned
hokahey said:
But you see.
They're not.
I have to side with the OP on this one. I wanted to love everything about this game but the controls kept me from it. I think it was because I had heard nothing but praise for the game going in. If a game has flaws and I know about them in advance, I can deal with it. I went in expecting a flawless experience and it was far from it. It's a real shame because the art direction and atmosphere are some of the best I have ever seen.
PataHikari
Banned
RoboPlato said:
So some of the best controls of any game I've played kept you from it?
RoboPlato said:
I disagree that the game has any gameplay flaws. The PS2 may have trouble with the frame rate, but the game itself doesn't need to be fixed in any way, shape or form.
hokahey said:
:lol come back and tell us what you think of #5. You are only a 1/4 of the way into the game. Congratulations on completing the tutorial and your first couple of colossi.
Zerodoppler
Member
I don't get it. The controls are part of the rules of any game. They are what they are for a reason, so adapt to them and enjoy.
Fair enough, you have your reasons for not liking the game. I have mine for loving it:
Story
Many may be thinking "what story?" The premise is very simple: a wanderer travels to a far away land looking for a way to bring back the soul of a girl. You might think that the whole plot is revealed in just two cut-scenes. You'd be wrong. Contrary to thousands of games, Shadow of the Colossus tells its story through the gameplay. As the game unfolds you start noticing things and feeling others. You see the wanderer ready to do anything for this mysterious girl, you see him climb up high and then fall. You see him change and lose his humanity. You make friends with his horse and feel for him when
(Don't read this before completing the game.
The ending is there to tie up things. "But it's so confusing" you say. The whole secret behind the story in this game is that it's a story of your own. You can make what you want of it. How many games let you do that?
Setting
The whole game takes place in an area called forbidden. Whatever happened here left no one. All there is, are hawks and lizards. It is a beautiful land with waterfalls, lakes, forests, deserts and temples. The mystery surrounding it makes you explore every corner of the map. The architecture is something primitive, yet grand. The central temple might be the biggest building every constructed in a game. And the bridge that leads to it takes 15 minutes to cross. Everything in this game is there for you to admire, whether it's a gate several storeys high, or a bunch of little turtles hiding in their shell.
Characters
In a game of twelve hours you'll meet five characters. And one of them is dead from the very beginning. Other games have hundreds of characters, maybe taking a stroll in the market - like in Oblivion - or flying airships - like in Final Fantasy XII. But none of those hundreds feels alive like the characters in Shadow of the Colossus. A charismatic main character, his loyal horse, a dead and inspiring girl, a god who needs a mortal and a leader who was betrayed. Every one of those makes you feel something different. You'll love some and hate others. The characters feel alive.
Enemies
There are just sixteen opponents. But these are not creatures which will go down with mere button mashing. Every colossus, bigger than everything else you've ever seen in a video game, is a challenge - a puzzle. In fact, to quote the game's director Fumito Ueda these are puzzles "which live and die."
First you look for a way up and then you bring them down. Why, you can't imagine. Most of them do not try to harm the wanderer until he trespasses their dwelling, and some do not attack back even when you're plunging your sword in their head. It's as if you're the one doing something wrong.
Every other game known to man tells you "you have to do it; you have to kill your opponents because it's right - you're right." This game tells you "you have to do it; you have to slay these giants. It may be wrong - it is wrong - but if you want what you want there's no other way. Hurry up."
Audio
Most of the voice acting is done in the introductory and final cinematic sequences. The language used does not exist. It was done to give the game a feeling of unknown and mystery. Dormin, who speaks in a dual, male and female voice is imposing, clearly telling you who's the one in charge. The wanderer sounds respectful. Emon is given an impatient and strong voice. Mono is scared. And Agro, Agro sounds like a horse. While in many games actors sound bored and demotivated, in Shadow of the Colossus each one is different and distinctive.
When you're wandering around, looking for the next colossus all you hear is your surroundings. Whether it's the wind blowing, hawks sweeping by or the roaring of waterfalls, the ambience keeps things toned down.
And then you find the colossus and within 12 seconds you're climbing his sword while an orchestra is performing the most amazing and motivating piece of music you've listened in any game. The contrast is overwhelming.
I guess even if you're not liking it, you should play it till the very end. It might engross you at one of the later colossi.
Story
Many may be thinking "what story?" The premise is very simple: a wanderer travels to a far away land looking for a way to bring back the soul of a girl. You might think that the whole plot is revealed in just two cut-scenes. You'd be wrong. Contrary to thousands of games, Shadow of the Colossus tells its story through the gameplay. As the game unfolds you start noticing things and feeling others. You see the wanderer ready to do anything for this mysterious girl, you see him climb up high and then fall. You see him change and lose his humanity. You make friends with his horse and feel for him when
he gives his life to save that of his master.
The ending is there to tie up things. "But it's so confusing" you say. The whole secret behind the story in this game is that it's a story of your own. You can make what you want of it. How many games let you do that?
Setting
The whole game takes place in an area called forbidden. Whatever happened here left no one. All there is, are hawks and lizards. It is a beautiful land with waterfalls, lakes, forests, deserts and temples. The mystery surrounding it makes you explore every corner of the map. The architecture is something primitive, yet grand. The central temple might be the biggest building every constructed in a game. And the bridge that leads to it takes 15 minutes to cross. Everything in this game is there for you to admire, whether it's a gate several storeys high, or a bunch of little turtles hiding in their shell.
Characters
In a game of twelve hours you'll meet five characters. And one of them is dead from the very beginning. Other games have hundreds of characters, maybe taking a stroll in the market - like in Oblivion - or flying airships - like in Final Fantasy XII. But none of those hundreds feels alive like the characters in Shadow of the Colossus. A charismatic main character, his loyal horse, a dead and inspiring girl, a god who needs a mortal and a leader who was betrayed. Every one of those makes you feel something different. You'll love some and hate others. The characters feel alive.
Enemies
There are just sixteen opponents. But these are not creatures which will go down with mere button mashing. Every colossus, bigger than everything else you've ever seen in a video game, is a challenge - a puzzle. In fact, to quote the game's director Fumito Ueda these are puzzles "which live and die."
First you look for a way up and then you bring them down. Why, you can't imagine. Most of them do not try to harm the wanderer until he trespasses their dwelling, and some do not attack back even when you're plunging your sword in their head. It's as if you're the one doing something wrong.
Every other game known to man tells you "you have to do it; you have to kill your opponents because it's right - you're right." This game tells you "you have to do it; you have to slay these giants. It may be wrong - it is wrong - but if you want what you want there's no other way. Hurry up."
Audio
Most of the voice acting is done in the introductory and final cinematic sequences. The language used does not exist. It was done to give the game a feeling of unknown and mystery. Dormin, who speaks in a dual, male and female voice is imposing, clearly telling you who's the one in charge. The wanderer sounds respectful. Emon is given an impatient and strong voice. Mono is scared. And Agro, Agro sounds like a horse. While in many games actors sound bored and demotivated, in Shadow of the Colossus each one is different and distinctive.
When you're wandering around, looking for the next colossus all you hear is your surroundings. Whether it's the wind blowing, hawks sweeping by or the roaring of waterfalls, the ambience keeps things toned down.
And then you find the colossus and within 12 seconds you're climbing his sword while an orchestra is performing the most amazing and motivating piece of music you've listened in any game. The contrast is overwhelming.
I guess even if you're not liking it, you should play it till the very end. It might engross you at one of the later colossi.
hokahey said:
They're 16 boss fights and yes, all of them involving figuring out how to stab them in the right place. But each one requires a unique strategy. Some fly. Some swim. Some walk. Some run around quickly. As people have said before, you can reduce the premise of any game to a single sentence and make it sound repetitive.
LOL NO WONDER.hokahey said:
Guys, let's leave this thread to the guy who thinks he could judge a game's variety without playing the whole game.
Oh yeah, if you really don't care about the game, Boss Five is your variety.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2dMnc-B1Xs