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LTT...wat? Shadow of the Colossus

You guys really think the control scheme in SOTC was awesome? I mean, it was the height of unresponsive last I played. It drove me nuts. That said, I like the rest of the game and concept, colors and all. It added to it's creepy "dead world" atmosphere.
 
After playing it for the first time for about 2.5 hours (thanks to this thread, on the 6th boss as I type this) I can understand why quite a few people here enjoy it, but it just feels like a draining experience to me. :(
 
I still cant really see what the gripe is with the controls. The character actually felt more like a human than most other games because of his weight, momentum and such, which in turn made the emotional aspect of it even greater for me. It was such an unrealistic game, with a very realistic character as far as movment and animation. Even Agro had a life to him that made most other characters fall short. You had to make a definite decision of the types of moves you wanted to do, otherwise he would look a bit clumsy, just like a real person does. I love control that lets you really think on the fly with perfect precision such as mario galaxy, but control methods that involve more planning, timing, and understanding of the feel of the specific game, such as SotC, definitely have a place.
 
Angry Grimace said:
You guys really think the control scheme in SOTC was awesome? I mean, it was the height of unresponsive last I played. It drove me nuts. That said, I like the rest of the game and concept, colors and all. It added to it's creepy "dead world" atmosphere.
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When you turn around, do you instantly turn around, or do you have to take time to throw you physical weight to do a turn?

Yeeeeah.
 
abstract alien said:
I still cant really see what the gripe is with the controls. The character actually felt more like a human than most other games because of his weight, momentum and such, which in turn made the emotional aspect of it even greater for me. It was such an unrealistic game, with a very realistic character as far as movment and animation. Even Agro had a life to him that made most other characters fall short. You had to make a definite decision of the types of moves you wanted to do, otherwise he would look a bit clumsy, just like a real person does. I love control that lets you really think on the fly with perfect precision such as mario galaxy, but control methods that involve more planning, timing, and understanding of the feel of the specific game, such as SotC, definitely have a place.
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Yep. The controls were very physics based and you add to "get them". Generally people won't adapt or understand certain physics properly (easily, i mean) and most will simply not grow over their first judgment that will be "poor controls".
Same is happening with LBP right now in matters of control.
 
Galactic Fork said:
It's descriptions like this that bother me. I'll give you a perfect example. take the giant walking island colossus.
You have to get on to its back, direct it towards one of the platforms, time a jump onto the platform. lure it up onto the platform while not getting hit by energyblasts and then finally jump on its tuft of fur and stab it. You have to do this a couple times before you finish it.
That's a pretty elaborate battle very much different than any of the others. The stabbing is really just the ending to it. You guys focus on the finish. The build up is most important. The guy has a magic sword, of course it's going to end with hanging on for dear life while you try to stab.
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Yeah. Like a Ghostbuster, the magic sword serves as your ectoplasmic(?) ghost trap. What I mean is, the battle always ends using the same means. That's not a bad thing. It's a ritual that sets up consistent rules for their world, the story, and the gameplay itself.

For the most part, using your wits and resources to best your opponent is essentially the meat of the encounter. And throughout the game, there's plenty of variety to be had in that department. The "grab and stab" sections are a familiar motif that signifies "you're doing it right", and that you're one step closer to the cathartic climax of an exhausting ordeal.

Besides that, I personally think they're just plain crazy and exhilarating sequences in and of themselves. Having to personally stab these gargantuan creatures myself? It's kind of a heady scenario IMO.
 
Just started playing this again after a long break from playing. Made it past the 8th Colossi, and damn what an amazing game. I find it hard to imagine why I ever put this game down in the first place.

I think what makes this game so great is the challenge, and awesome it feels when you fight one you have that feeling of "what the hell am I supposed to do?" and then after a few minutes you "get it" and know exactly how to take down one of those bastards. It's extremely satisfying and fun!

One question for everyone though, I just realized that killing iguanas and eating fruit raises your stamina and health. How important is it to do this for the end of the game? Is it possible to fight your way through the whole game without ever worrying about these things and still being okay for the final fights, or do I pretty much need a real big health and stamina bars for the last few fights?
 
Adam Prime said:
One question for everyone though, I just realized that killing iguanas and eating fruit raises your stamina and health. How important is it to do this for the end of the game? Is it possible to fight your way through the whole game without ever worrying about these things and still being okay for the final fights, or do I pretty much need a real big health and stamina bars for the last few fights?
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If i remember your stats go up after each fight... and to be honest, i never found any apples or iguanas and beat the game...

After i beat the game i looked at the FAQ to see if i really missed anything, and saw them talking about apples and iguanas and i was like WTH? i never saw any of that... I guess that teaches me i shouldn't have been on the horse all the time... but even after i went back, i still couldnt find that stuff (i didnt look to hard though)

i still loved the game even did some of the
time attack stuff
after finishing the game and unlocking it...
 
yeah I knew nothing about the igwanas and apples you could eat until I checked out a FAQ and saw people talking about them too.

Again, this is one of those games were you truly appreciate it more if you DON'T look at a FAQ for help. Figuring out how to beat the Colossus in this game on your own is a great feeling of accomplishment. :D
 
I actually feel bad for people who can't find joy in SotC. I have a shallow-minded friend who didn't "get it" either, and now I have zero faith in his gaming-related opinions.
 
AwRy108 said:
I actually feel bad for people who can't find joy in SotC. I have a shallow-minded friend who didn't "get it" either, and now I have zero faith in his gaming-related opinions.
Click to expand...

the people I know that don't like it enjoy slashing through hundreds of nearly identical enemies, then facing a boss.

so weird
 
Adam Prime said:
One question for everyone though, I just realized that killing iguanas and eating fruit raises your stamina and health. How important is it to do this for the end of the game? Is it possible to fight your way through the whole game without ever worrying about these things and still being okay for the final fights, or do I pretty much need a real big health and stamina bars for the last few fights?
Click to expand...

I didn't even find out about the lizards or the fruit trees until I had finished the game, and I never died once. You don't need them. They're just something else to do.
 
I heard they dotted the landscape with oddities, like a humongous tree and the like.

I remember reading a "theory" by a gamer that fully explained the world of SotC. It was great.

Man, that game is great.
 
The OP is blowing everything way out of proportion.
The controls are not very good when riding the horse, and some things don't work well when running around, but most things do when you climb. OK, controls are kind of bad overall.
The color pallete? I remember going into underground watery caverns and semi-lush tropical areas, but it was overally pretty muted. But the subtle tones are what set the mood for the many areas of the world without being stupidly obvious.

And don't even get me started on the freaking game+mechanics, its absolutely fantastic and original as hell. If you reduce the game to just "climbing and stabbing over and over again", 99% of the games you like fail even harder with even less variety, guaranteed. Im sure plenty of people already mentioned that "Platformer = collect shit and get to the end of the level", "Shooters = Shoot all the generally similar guys and maybe a boss who is just harder to take down", etc. etc.

This game's MECHANIC was climbing and stabbing. It really made you think about how to DO that within the environment and the collosi. Most of the solutions to the bosses were very,very different, save 3 or 4 (including the first one). It did a fine job turning a rock climbing adventure with stabbing into a puzzler at the same time.

And the game looked amazing, and I played it for the first time on my PS3, after it was years old.

*/rant*
 
250px-Fumito_Ueda.jpg

*waits for Trico* :D
 
JCX9 said:
simply put, Shadow of the Colossus is the best PS2 game.
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ICO says no way! I loved its simplistic nature.


ICO was so much beautiful, but then again SotC had no loading times within the game. In any case they're both beautiful games.



I hope my PS3 get's replaced with another BC 60GB one, since SotC looks so awesome scaled to in HD :?
 
Sapiens said:
I liked SotC...a lot, but fuckwadical, snack-hungry troglodytes like you make me not want to.

It's just a fucking game. Get over yourself.

It's not art. It's a videogame. And I don't say that to disparage it. Videogames are just separate from art.
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I like how you said that in a very manner-of-fact tone. Almost like you're right or something, pretty badass. I love it when people say video games aren't art and never elaborate on why. And no, "because it's a video game" is not a valid reason. Is it because they're interactive? Many types of theater are. Is it because they're too violent? So are movies. Is it because they can't tell a cohesive story? Niether do ice-carvings. Is it because they can't evoke the emotion? A quick google search of "I cried when Aeris died" will show you how wrong that statement is.

"People say that video games can't be art because that don't make you cry. That's like saying ballet isn't a valid form of art because it doesn't make you fart; it's not trying to you stupid thicksicle."

~ Charlie Brooker

Art is subjective, genius. Just because I don't think Pollock's work is a valid form of painting doesn't mean it isn't art.

Trust me, if graphic novels can be considered a valid form of art (and they are), video games can too.
 
Night_Trekker said:
There's no reasoning with people like him. I refuse to even get into the debate anymore.
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If someone can play ICO and not see it as a form of art, then I wouldn't know what to say. Besides, you need artistic skills to be able to draw shapes, people, figures, monsters, etc. It's visual art, in 2 and 3 dimensions.
 
I loved Ico, but got bored out of my mind playing SotC. I'm not going to deny that it's extremely pretty and all, but the whole okay go kill this colossi, rinse, repeat, with nothing exciting happening inbetween gets kind of dull after the 3rd one.
 
Ryn said:
I loved Ico, but got bored out of my mind playing SotC. I'm not going to deny that it's extremely pretty and all, but the whole okay go kill this colossi, rinse, repeat, with nothing exciting happening inbetween gets kind of dull after the 3rd one.
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I liked the game, but I suppose it's not for everyone. I personally liked the fact that that the game did not force "busywork" on you by making you kill scrub enemies. It felt to me like a refining of a normal game, by just providing me with boss fights. It's not something I'd like to see in a lot of games, but it was an interesting idea. I try to sometimes describe the game as Zelda, with just boss fights.
 
this is the game that made me actually care about gaming
before playing this, i would just walk into the store when i had extra money and pick up something that i heard about before or played at someones house or had interesting looking boxart. occasionaly, i'd check for an IGN review

then, my mind was blown, and i realized that gaming could be more than just goldeneye and madden
 
Ryn said:
I loved Ico, but got bored out of my mind playing SotC. I'm not going to deny that it's extremely pretty and all, but the whole okay go kill this colossi, rinse, repeat, with nothing exciting happening inbetween gets kind of dull after the 3rd one.
Click to expand...
The excitement comes from trying to defeat them and trying to figure out how to engage in the battle, it's also just a way to see if you can figure it out on your own. The riding the horse stuff, I think it's kinda fun, I mean you get to go through an empty landscape that's 'forbidden' to everyone, and you're trying to save some girl's life; being the wanderer in this landscape is the whole premise I believe. It's simplistic, but it's engaging I think.
 
Regulus Tera said:
I think that was deliberate.

You're supposed to feel helpless at these little creatures who were trying to kill you. It was a role reversal, to experience some sense of desperation similar to what the colossi suffered when you robbed them of their life.
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wth, what are you guys talking about? I have no memory of
a "17th colossus".
 
AwRy108 said:
I actually feel bad for people who can't find joy in SotC. I have a shallow-minded friend who didn't "get it" either, and now I have zero faith in his gaming-related opinions.
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The only "shallow minded" people around here are the ones that can't understand that not everyone is going to like the same games. For the record, I didn't enjoy "Shadow of the Colossus" either. However, I do plan to give it another try.
 
Forsete said:
I really hope Trico has a huge open world like in Shadow. I loved just going around and exploring.
Click to expand...

I loved SOTC, but one thing I never got is how people "explored" the world. There's nothing there except the Colossi and you can see pretty much everything on your way to them.

Unless of course the game has some secrets I have no idea about.
 
JCX9 said:
simply put, Shadow of the Colossus is the best PS2 game.
Click to expand...

Stop trolling the PS2

<3 Ico

AwRy108 said:
I actually feel bad for people who can't find joy in SotC. I have a shallow-minded friend who didn't "get it" either, and now I have zero faith in his gaming-related opinions.
Click to expand...

Yeah, opinions suck, right? sigh
I didnt like SotC, can´t overlook how shallow the game is in terms of content. But its fans are really annoying, overhyping sucks. That having said...SotC-fans = Killzone 2-fans? :P

Anyway, i loved Ico, that game gets not nearly as much love as it should. Even the boss-battle in Ico surpasses any colossus in SotC. Imo of course.
 
EvaPlusMinus said:
I bought a PS3 for the new ICO game.

I've nothing else to say.
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This.

Ueda created this game and ICO as his own piece of art/masterpiece, therefore it's art. I have my complaints of the game too but this game is not like many others and shouldn't be categorized with the norm IMO. Just wait for Trico, Ueda's mastery of art and imagery will fucking shine with that one.

Can't wait.
 
INDIGO_CYCLOPS said:
This.

Ueda created this game and ICO as his own piece of art/masterpiece, therefore it's art. I have my complaints of the game too but this game is not like many others and shouldn't be categorized with the norm IMO. Just wait for Trico, Ueda's mastery of art and imagery will fucking shine with that one.

Can't wait.
Click to expand...

........so it's not a video game?
 
The horse controls will immediately make perfect sense when you reach the sand snake thing. Couldn't work any other way. Also: hold L2 (or whatever recenters the camera, hazy memory something something) for the traditional third-person paradigm.
 
Shadow Of The Collosus is a complete masterpiece. One of the greatest games ever made

edit: Also, Agro controlled like a horse. He's not a car, you can't put him in reverse and then do a hand brake turn. He controlled perfectly
 
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