Haven’t seen a thread about this yet, and I think it’s important. There’s a new PS2 game from the makers of ICO coming out this fall. Here’s the official site: http://www.us.playstation.com/Conten...US-97472/Site/
The basic premise is you’re forced to seek out 16 different colossi on your horse, climb them, and destroy them. Pretty simple, but the Colossi themselves look fantastic.
Here’s a decent size comparison:
The current Official Playstation Magazine (note, not Playstation Magazine) has a demo of one of the colossus battles. I’ve played it three times now and it’s been great every time. Go check it out.
I’ve heard once you get past how pretty it looks, the game is pretty sparse and boring. Like there’s nothing to do between the colossus fights and when you do get to the fights, they’re pretty easy. Is that the case with the demo?
I have the demo that came on the latest OPM disc. It is pretty, for sure, but the controls are terrible. Huge beautiful environemnt- totally devoid of anything to do but look at. Some fairly typical climbing and jumping terrain that is unecessarily difficult to traverse due to a shitty camera and wierd controls. A huge, and I mean HUGE, giant to fight that, again, presents more of a challenge to your patience with the controller and camera than anything.
To be fair, I am sure the controls do have a learning curve and with practice could be used with more finesse- but the camera- which is key to successfully climbing and jumping across obstacles and up the giants- sucks ass. Also, though very cool to look at, the limited color palette makes discerning the subtle differences in texture quite difficult- i.e. what type of materials can be grabbed onto for climbing etc. The blooming light effect, again is very pretty, but further obscures the detail necessary to discern the correct climbing path.
Some of those issues may not be as bad on progressive scan monitors, but how many console gamers are playing on HD sets? Not many. If there was a PC version, it may be more worth the effort. If you are playing teh game on a regular NTSC interlaced TV, don;t expect the image to look anywhere near as clean and clear as that screenshot.
I was impressed with the looks, bored with the map contents, frustrated by the controls… they get points for trying, but I ain’t buying…
I was frustrated with the camera and controls too. Keep in mind this demo was created for E3, and they’ve since (I’ve heard) improved the camera movements. I’m guessing the battle in the demo is one of the first colossi you face, and is easy enough so that you get the hang of the controls early on.
Yes I know I’m being apologetic, but I really want this game to be awesome. I’ll certainly be keeping my eyes on reviews.
The demo was great, I loved it. It’s true that there’s nothing to do when your not fighting collossuses, but it’s also false because the beauty and exploration of it is actually an important gameplay feature.
It’s like taking a virtual vacation inside a living painting, but also you fight giant creatures when you choose to.
I’m very excited for the game after playing the demo, it made me want to buy it, and the other reason I’m going to buy it is to support ORIGINAL games.
OPM already reviewed it in the latest issue with a 4.5 out of 5 discs.
Originally Posted by Jacob Singer By the way, here’s a nice little video that shows off all the improvements made in the game engine since the release of the demo. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/654/654180p1.html The game supports progressive scan and 16:9 widescreen.
Yeah great. Where’s the free version of this video?
I’m considering picking this one up soon, mostly because I’m afraid that if I wait it will be hard to find when I want to get it. Ico sort of disappeared for a while and was hard to find (then I think it became easier to find again). So who knows what the situation will be with this one.
Most games just look and feel like ‘games’. This one has a different kind of feel to it.
EB here has sold out already (I got the last pre-order). That’s not terribly surprising, since video game stores tend to only order enough to fill the pre-orders on release day, with one or two extras, for everything except the guaranteed large-volume titles. They’ll get more later depending on how many sell chain-wide and how many requests they hear.
Still, according to the store manager, Shadow of the Colossus had quite a few pre-orders and they moved out unusually fast. Demand appears to be high. I’m sure you’ll be able to find a copy at one of the big box stores (Best Buy) in the next couple days… don’t procrastinate.
I picked up my copy, as I said, over my lunch hour. I haven’t had a chance to play it yet. All I can comment on is the manual, which shares design sensibilities with Ico and is a little piece of art itself. Everything in the manual COULD be covered in a four-page pamphlet- the story introduction is scant and the controls are straightforward. They accomplish it in 22 pages of minimal text carefully describing each in-game action punctuated by half-page full-color screenshots. It sets a mood.
I popped into an EB before I ate my lunch just to see what was going on. Unless they had more in the back of the store they were down to their last one or two copies of the game, and one of those went to someone on the line. There were a few other folks on line too, but who knows what they were going for. If I went back later I’m guessing they’d be all gone.
I’ll probably try and pick one up somewhere tonight or tomorrow.
It’s not literary at all. Through player involvement, it questions assumptions about heroes and heroic action, especially as they usually appear in games. That’s something only a game can do, and it does the job well.
