Shadow of the Colossus

[Necronopticous]

I've been playing through the demo over and over again in anticipation of its release next Tuesday, so I thought I'd make this thread as a countdown and preparation to that.

Is anyone playing the demo? Have you managed to pull off all the climbing strategies for Minotaur? This morning I finally did the chin grab from the ground after you make him fall on his knees, which is the last of the possible strategies for me I believe.

Beside that I've been spending a lot of time launching myself from Argo off of cliffs and inclines. Good times.

This is definately one of my most awaited titles of 2005, and it's safe to say I am dying of excitement now that the release date is so close.

[Rye]

Dan has told me about it, and he made me watch the trailer, and I loved it. I wanna play it real bad now. xD

[Necronopticous]

You've got to play the demo, it's amazing.

Oh, and I know about the Shadow of the Colossus thread from the last couple months, but I just made a new one since that one is clearly not getting any more replies. Beside, this thread has a different intention!

[Lord Chainsaw]

I am pumped for this game. It looks like it will be very good. I'll probably get Curse of Darkness before this one. That's simply my slant towards Castlevania though. I do have very high expectations for this game.

[FF freak]

I played the demo. Fun on a stick! Can't wait to buy it!

[Necronopticous]

Man, I don't even know what to do with myself until this game comes out. I swear it's like all I can think about. I can't remember the last time I felt this way about a non-Square title.

[GooeyToast]

Man, I don't even know what to do with myself until this game comes out. I swear it's like all I can think about. I can't remember the last time I felt this way about a non-Square title.

I know, I feel the same way.

[Jebus]

My cousin pre-ordered it, and he brought over the demo today.

I almost cried. I must have this game.

[Necronopticous]

YES, that's the spirit. I knew I could count on you.

[DK]

I want the game. I want the demo. I hate you Americans for getting this before us. :( I got goosebumps watching the trailer for this game. I must have it! Necron! Buy me an American PS2 and this game and mail it to me. Please. :(

[Slothy]

I want the game. I want the demo. I hate you Americans for getting this before us.

Don't forget us Canadians; I want to be hated too :p .

Anyway, though I am excited about the game and all, and will definitely pick it up the day it comes out, I'm having trouble being as excited as some of you at the moment. Were it not for the fact that I also have to find some way of scrounging enough money for a few other games soon, as well as the fact that I haven't bought anything for my drumkit in a couple of months (it's worse than crack I tells you), I'd probably be excited as all of you. I'm sure by the time I have it in my hands though, I'll be extremely tempted to put off studying for my midterms to play it in all it's brilliantly wonderful..... wonderfulness.

[Sepho]

My love for Ico means I'd play this game even if the screens, articles and trailers didn't have me wanting to build a time machine in order to minimize the wait for it.

[Swordicanus]

Is it a direct sequel to ICO or a different game only the same developers?

[XxSephirothxX]

I want to play this really bad, but I don't wanna spend the money on it. :( Dilemma!

[Dreddz]

I want this game too much....

[Dreddz]

sorry for the double post, but it says that this game is out tomorrow in States, is this true ?, As this would be fortunate for me as Im heading down to NY on the 21st and I thought I would pick it up and play it when I get back to Uk....

[GooeyToast]

GameSpot gave it an 8.7. I'm definetly picking this up.

[Dreddz]

can someone confirm that its getting released tomorrow, or today as its past 12 in UK....

[Vyk]

EGM gave it an 8.5 and 2 9.0s

And yes, all my magazines say October 18th for the release. So no reason why it shouldn't be sitting on a shelf tomorrow.

[XxSephirothxX]

I will be buying this game tomorrow. :p

[RSL]

I had never even heard of this game until I read the review in EGM. It sounds pretty cool. I don't really have money to be spending on games right now, though...

[Dreddz]

I will be buying this game on Friday and playing it on wednesday.....

[Necronopticous]

It gets shipped on October 18th, most stores won't actually have it in their stock until October 19th.

I think we all need to acknowledge how close this game is to being in our possession. I hope you all have your copies reserved. If not, you're a terrible person.

[Dreddz]

do you really think it will sell out, like Ill Be shopping On Friday ( or saturday ) and I dont want to march up and down NY looking for it....

[Craig]

I don't get it. What makes this game so great?

[Vyk]

Its pedigree. ICO was artistically fantastic. It was like Myst for a new generation. Except it was beautifully 3D and more like a mature-ish fairy tale than Myst's weird sci fi stuff. Shadow of the Colossus is by the makers of ICO. Lots of people have played the demo. So we're not expecting great things anymore. We know great things are done again and we want some of it. Beautiful 3D mature fairy tale all over again. And the music is just plain awesome.

[Dreddz]

I think its looks great because it was made by the team that made Ico, Ico was amazing, and the fact that facing these giant monsters makes were drool, and it got good scores so it obviously works well......

[Necronopticous]

I don't get it. What makes this game so great?It's completely original? It's beautiful? It's ridiculously fun slaying giant creatures thousands of times bigger than yourself?

What isn't great about this game?

[Craig]

I wouldn't know, having never played the Demo, nor Ico.

That's why I asked.

[GooeyToast]

U MUST PLAY ICO!

[Destai]

I didnt like Ico. Boring game. Great soundtrack though *readies shields*

[GooeyToast]

I didnt like Ico. Boring game. Great soundtrack though *readies shields*

What soundtrack?

[Destai]

What soundtrack?
http://www.otaku.co.uk/cgi-bin/itemview.asp?itemid=60034d

[GooeyToast]

*Sarcasm*

[Destai]

*Sarcasm*Ive been on my feet since 6.30, give me a break and pretend that never happened ; ;

[GooeyToast]

Ok then :)

*Pretends it never happened*

[Necronopticous]

You should all be ashamed of yourselves for not getting this game today.

[GooeyToast]

Well in the Best Buy ads it comes out Thursday. I'm not sure about the other stores. I'm definetly getting it tomorrow.

So has anybody played it yet?

[Vyk]

I'm broke :/ I am ashamed though... I want it at full price to support those wonderful people behind it. But in my situation I have to wait for a price drop or buy it used T_T

[GooeyToast]

Yeah, well at least it's only $40 brand new instead of $50

[Necronopticous]

I've been playing it since I left that message, so far I've killed 6 colossi.

[Slothy]

You should all be ashamed of yourselves for not getting this game today.

The game didn't get to the stores here until today. I picked it up, but I won't have the chance to play for a few more hours. I've said it before and I'll say it again; school sucks.

[Necronopticous]

I beat the game just now, completely awesome.

Now to beat it on Hard Mode...

[Dreddz]

you beat games insanly fast or play for an insane amount of time.
Is the game short ?
And its Friday, my plane leaves at noon. Im picking this game up tomorrow :D

[Necronopticous]

My game time was approximately 10 hours. I'm not sure how accurate that is though, since I left it on a few times while I did things around the house. You have to remember, this is not an RPG. Beneath its action/fantasy style, Shadow of the Colossus is a puzzle game. 10 hours of game time was plenty. Plus, you unlock new modes when you beat it.

[GooeyToast]

Well that seems like a good amount for the type of gameplay it delivers

[edczxcvbnm]

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2005/20051021l.jpg

[Tifa's Real Lover(really]

My game time was approximately 10 hours. I'm not sure how accurate that is though, since I left it on a few times while I did things around the house. You have to remember, this is not an RPG. Beneath its action/fantasy style, Shadow of the Colossus is a puzzle game. 10 hours of game time was plenty. Plus, you unlock new modes when you beat it.
tell me abou the game and the story line and the unlockable features, i wanna buy it cause u ppl make it sound good

[Vyk]

Forget the game time. You needn't explain, Necro. Us non-shallow people prefer quality hours over quantity hours. If a game is only 7 hours long, and is bad as hell (like say... ICO?) I'm totally choosing it over some boring 30 hour RPG. 'Cause those are 7 hours of awesome. Better than 30 hours of drab.

Some of my favorite games are short and sweet (ICO, God of War, and Beyond Good and Evil top the list)

[Tifa's Real Lover(really]

i still want him to explain :(

[Pauten]

I've heard Europe has to wait until Febuary for this game. :mad2: They wonder why people choose import...

[Sepho]

I'm now holding a copy of this game in my hands. See you guys in a few days.

[Necronopticous]

You're a good man.

[XxSephirothxX]

I bought my copy yesterday. I've taken down the first four so far, with the third being my favorite, I think. Took me forever to find the second one :(

[Necronopticous]

Knight is one of the best of the colossi, I must admit.

[Doomie]

Can someone link me to the trailer, please? You make me wanna buy it... :(

[Tifa's Real Lover(really]

i kno:(

[RSL]

Man, if only I had the fifty bucks right now.. damn starter going out in my car...

[krissy]

http://www.gametrailers.com/gamepage.php?id=1019

[Dreddz]

Well, I went and bourght Shadow Of Collossus today, me being in NYC and all :D
But its in my lap now, and i cant play it till wednesday arrgggghhhhh
Ive read the back many times now........

[TurkSlayer]

Ten hours? And no random enemies, right? Eh, I think I'll pass. I didn't like Ico anyway.

[Dreddz]

I didn't like Ico anyway.
:twak:

[TurkSlayer]

:twak:

Sorry man. I'll admit, I didn't get too far, but I was quickly bored.

[Sepho]

Shadow of the Colossus is a much different ballgame than ICO, but even then, I'm not sure I could recommend it to anyone who'd potentially get bored of riding a horse for ten minutes or so in search of the next colossus to tackle, especially when a large bit of the game's beauty is in the search. That said, liking either ICO or Shadow and disliking the other is completely feasible. Play demo plz.

Two colossi down, and I'm paused during the confrontation with the third. I don't want to be sitting here typing this message right now, and it's been a long time since a game has made me feel this way. For some months now, I was getting scared that I might, you know, actually be growing out of them.

Now I know how silly I was being.

[XxSephirothxX]

I've finished through the sixth battle, now, and, though I still really like it, am wishing it was a bit more challenging. Hopefully that's to come. I did seem to get some sort of glitch in the fifth battle; the third magic symbol refused to show itself for a good twenty minutes, despite the fact I'd already hurt the thing in two places. But it came up eventually.

[Dreddz]

quickly bored.
:twak:
:twak:
:twak:
:twak:

[TurkSlayer]

Shadow of the Colossus is a much different ballgame than ICO, but even then, I'm not sure I could recommend it to anyone who'd potentially get bored of riding a horse for ten minutes or so in search of the next colossus to tackle, especially when a large bit of the game's beauty is in the search. That said, liking either ICO or Shadow and disliking the other is completely feasible. Play demo plz.



Thats true, and I may play the demo, however, you said you wouldn't recommend it to someone who didn't like searching, and that would be me. I don't enjoy puzzle games either, and since thats at least sort of what it is, I doubt I'd enjoy it. That, and the short length, lack of random encounters, and a few other elements just don't appeal to me, so it would be dumb of me to spend $50 on something I doubt I'm going to like.

[Garland]

This is definitely a game unlike any other. Riding the horse seems pretty realistic for a videogame, because of the (deliberately, I assume) less responsive controls. It also seems like at times, the horse has a mind of its own - not in a bad way though. The people who compare this game to a puzzle game are right on the money. I might be pretty inept, but it took me about 20-30 mins to even figure out the concept of killing the first colossus, never mind killing it. I'm still on the second one. I still haven't figured out the second colossus. Well, I have it about half figured out. I'm past the running around confused, looking at it phase.

I kind of like that there aren't swarms of trivial enemies hampering your adventure. Realism might be the wrong word, but I've never found the weenie-hordes in other action-adventure games to be realistic; every bat, rodent and generic soldier trying to block your path for no reason than adding play-time. That's not the case here, and the game is more fun. It's also pretty cool how appropriately unimpressed the towering behemoths are, at the approach of the miniscule hero. Sometimes it's like he's not even there. Great game in every way.

[Slothy]

I don't want to be sitting here typing this message right now, and it's been a long time since a game has made me feel this way.

I know how you feel in a way, though my situation involves tons of homework and studying for mid-terms. I'd kill to just have some time off and play this game non stop. Oh well, a couple of hours a night is better than nothing.

I've gotten to number five now, and I'm loving every second. I can't believe how absolutely awe inspiring every colossus is. Everytime I see one I just can't help but wonder how the hell I'm going to beat them. Seeing each one brings back many of the same feelings I had when I played Ico for the first time; something I wasn't sure another game could ever do.

And Azar With A Hat, if you want more challenge, according to Gamefaqs, there's a hard mode that's unlocked when you beat it, so I'd guess that should give you some added challenge after you beat it.

[Black Mage]

Well, I had heard about the game way way back, and it definitely looked visually appealing, but I never really showed much interest in it.

Just a few days ago, I watched the trailer, and had played the demo. I was still iffy on it, but my interest was definitly perked. I then read this thread earlier today, and went out and picked it up.

I'm at the fourth Colossus, and I don't regret the purchase in the slightest.

[-N-]

I should have figured Jermeh would make a thread on this after forcing the demo down my throat. Not that I minded or anything - it's a beautiful game.

[Necronopticous]

But I never made threads about the other things I forced down your throat.

As for my progress, I've only got one item left to unlock in the NORMAL difficulty time attack battles and I'm on Knight on my HARD difficulty game. I got to Knight and decided to focus on NORMAL until I unlocked all the items, basically.

Also, earlier today I finally made my way to the bridge and secret garden. Good times.

[Dreddz]

well theres nothing that I can Say as i havent played it, but I like the phrase it says on the back

Some mountains are scaled, Others are slain
Damn, Im dying atm, even though im loving NYC, I want to head back to UK to play the game....

[GooeyToast]

Just beat #5.

This game.....wow. The music, the enviornments, the graphics....everything is just so incredible. Not to mention the boss battles are epic to say the least.

Though so far I still love Ico more, SoTC is one colossal *pun intended* game. :)

[Garland]

No other battle in any game to follow, whether boss or not, will give the same sense of accomplishment as any, even the first, of the Colossi. Gotta give a lot of credit to Sony for taking risks, going against the grain, and making a game unlike any other, and succeeding. Many games that take on bold new directions fail on one level or another, but SotC has no real shortfalls. Actually, it has one shortfall. Sometimes, I don't know which is trying harder to kill me: the colossus, or the camera. Fighting the camera is an unwelcomed challenge, but I guess the developers were trying to go for a cinematic experience. Sadly, what's cinematic and exciting as a spectator isn't always great as the player.

[XxSephirothxX]

I've had a few camera problems, but not nearly as many as I was expecting based on what I'd read. I bumped the control speed up a few notches, and it's really fairly easy to use the majority of the time; it's only when I'm in tight spaces that it becomes a hassle, but there are very few 3D games that don't suffer from that problem to some extent.

[Necronopticous]

I only ever had camera trouble on the hands of the final colossus.

P.S. All NORMAL items obtained, glory. Those exploding arrows are awesome.

[raskerino]

This thread has given me a need for this game and gotten me to buy Ico:D

[Vyk]

I only got ICO earlier this year. Even years behind the times it was still a freaking dream. Can't wait till the day I decide to splurge and buy another game. This game. But I've seen mention of random encounters as a complaint twice now. This is not an RPG game dude. It's all-out adventure. And short isn't a bad thing. Long games can get boring, even really good games, if they're too long, there's gotta be a time or two where the momentum drags. There ARE games that aren't RPGs and are still good. And I re-instate my earlier argument. The quality of the hours spent on a game is by far better than the quantity of hours spent.

[Slothy]

But I've seen mention of random encounters as a complaint twice now. This is not an RPG game dude. It's all-out adventure. And short isn't a bad thing. Long games can get boring, even really good games, if they're too long, there's gotta be a time or two where the momentum drags. There ARE games that aren't RPGs and are still good. And I re-instate my earlier argument. The quality of the hours spent on a game is by far better than the quantity of hours spent.

Agreed. In fact, I felt the worst aspect of Ico was the fighting. It seemed to bog down the pace of the game in some places. When I just wanted to solve the damn puzzles, I had to take ten minutes to fight a group of enemies first. I love the fact that there are no random enemies in this game. There are two main draws in Colossus after all; the expansive world to explore, and the various colossi; and the developers were kind enough to let us experience both without pointless fights with unecessary enemies. Kudos to them.

[Sepho]

I saved right before the Titan at about one in the morning. I needed to catch some Z's by then, but I ran ahead and found him before shutting it off just so I'd be able to sleep. Beautiful. I was awe struck.



Thats true, and I may play the demo, however, you said you wouldn't recommend it to someone who didn't like searching, and that would be me. I don't enjoy puzzle games either, and since thats at least sort of what it is, I doubt I'd enjoy it. That, and the short length, lack of random encounters, and a few other elements just don't appeal to me, so it would be dumb of me to spend $50 on something I doubt I'm going to like.

$40, for clarification, but I got'cha anyway. I'm not one to care what everyone else plays and doesn't play, or likes and doesn't like, so I'm not going to try to sell you on this. There's a good chance it might not be for you, but you'd be doing yourself a favor in playing the demo.

About camera problems: I've almost been killed by them, so I can't exactly say they're negligible, but I think I've just had a run of bad luck. They don't tarnish the game's magnificence.



Agreed. In fact, I felt the worst aspect of Ico was the fighting. It seemed to bog down the pace of the game in some places. When I just wanted to solve the damn puzzles, I had to take ten minutes to fight a group of enemies first.

*nods*

[RSL]

Oh sweet, it's only 40 bucks! That helped a little. Anyway, I purchased this game during lunch just a few minutes ago. Unfortunately, I have to wait another 5 hours until I am done with work :(

[Necronopticous]

YOU'RE A GOOD MAN. You won't regret it.

[Slothy]

I had a bit of an interesting time yesterday. After spending about 30-40 minutes fighting colossus number 10 on Monday night to find it's weakness I had to go to bed and didn't finish him. Last night, one stab away from finishing it, the power flickered due to a lightning storm, and the whole battle was wasted. Almost threw my controller at the TV.

And just out of curiosity, am I the only one who feels a little sorry for having to kill these magnificant creatures? Now some such as number 10 I gladly buried my sword in, but I just feel kind of sad after killing some of these, like who the hell am I to kill these colossi that really aren't causing a whole lot of trouble.

And I must say, the soundtrack for the game is absolutely perfect. I love that it not only captures the epic feeling of the battles, but changes as you gain or lose the advantage, which also happens to be a great way to know you're doing something right.

[Necronopticous]

You're on the right track.

[Sepho]

stuff

I'll go along with most everything you've said. Of all the things that make Colossus fantastic, its soundtrack is its best feature, and probably the best I've heard in recent memory.

rsl: Enjoy!

[RSL]

This is the best game I have played in a long time. For those who are lamenting the fact that there are no random lesser enemies to fight, don't. They would ruin this game. I'm having a blast just roaming this world and looking around. Everything is so beautiful!

I've defeated 3 of the Colossi so far. The first two were a breeze to figure out. The third one took me awhile to figure out how to get up on his head. I don't know why, once I made it I couldn't believe I spent 15 minutes trying to figure it out.

This game is just incredible. I haven't even explored much of the map but already it seems huge.

[krissy]

ost is great

ps 2's cheap anybody? anyone?

[Dreddz]

This game is a tad easy, ive beaten 3 colossi atm, but I still think this game is good, but Ico still is better...

[GooeyToast]

This game is a tad easy, ive beaten 3 colossi atm, but I still think this game is good, but Ico still is better...

That's why there's a hard mode

[Dreddz]

Question, those Ico type things at the shrine, are they related to the enemies in Ico ?
I do find this game great, but there are control issues which werent in Ico, mainly when your on the horse...

[Sepho]

I'm fairly sure the controls are intentionally clunky in a way that's essential to the gameplay. I don't usually buy the "controls suck because we purposely made them that way" argument (i.e. Resident Evil games), but it seems legitimate in this case because, despite the length of time for a motion to occur, I still feel like I'm in control.

The game would offer no real difficulty with an Ico-esque system.

[Wiegrahf42]

Question, those Ico type things at the shrine, are they related to the enemies in Ico ?
I do find this game great, but there are control issues which werent in Ico, mainly when your on the horse...
As far as I can tell, no. There doesn't seem to be any connection with Ico. However I haven't finished it yet so who knows. I'm on the thirteenth Colusses currently. This one gets my reccomendation.

[Slothy]

There are a few things that sort of make reference to Ico. Not in a story sense, but things that were thrown in as an homage to it it seems.

[RSL]

Okay, I've killed 5 of them now! Number 5 was pretty awesome, I thought.

[Dreddz]

number 3 was my favourite one so far, number 2 was a little disappointing.......

[Necronopticous]

You guys take too long. http://demented3d.com/nissen/upload/emote/pink/embarrassed.gif

[Slothy]

You guys take too long. http://demented3d.com/nissen/upload/emote/pink/embarrassed.gif

Some of us have things like school to spend most of our day studying for :p .

I finally got to number 16 last night. After falling of of his hands three times I decided I was both too tired and frustrated to continue. He's still one of the coolest looking colossi though.

[Dreddz]

You guys take too long. http://demented3d.com/nissen/upload/emote/pink/embarrassed.gif
Im not spending all the time on this game, I have other stuff to do, Im doing a collossi a day.......
Also, Im playing DDS alot...

[Necronopticous]

Some of us have things like school to spend most of our day studying for :p .Yeah, like me. Oh, and a job, too.
Im doing a collossi a day.......Colossi is the plural term for Colossus, not the other way around.

[Slothy]

While, I did beat it last night. The word wow comes to mind as perhaps the best way to describe it. Amazing game, great ending. And what do I do after beating it? I immediately went and beat the first two colossi on hard.

[Dreddz]

Im near the end now, Im near my 14th collosi....

[Miriel]

My cousin just bought this game for me.

Pretty horsey!

The first colossus just squished me with its foot. I am sad. :(

[Empu-Dragon]

rented it beat it in ten hours thats 2 days. the end roxs wach it threw the credits you will be very surprized. also you should see the 16th collosi it is like 50 stories tall it is awsum i gerenty you will not beat him the first time. you can control the cut sence with the right anolog stick and zoom in with the sholder buttens. if you head back to where you already defeted a collosi you can fight him again if you pray at his corpse.
this game roxs so bad its not even funny i love it so much to bad its so short.
oh and make sure to play time attack if you beat all 16 collosi on hard time attack and normal time attack you will unlock alote of wepons like the sword eco had in ico.the sword kills a collosi in one strike.

[Miriel]

I just beat my first colossus. Fuuuun game. :D

[Markus. D]

wow.... i love being persuaded to get games.

must get this when it squishes australia 0_o

[Dolentrean]

This game had an awsome end, slightly bizzar, but cool, I also like the items you get for beating the time trial. (hunting lizards with explosive arrows^^)

[RSL]

I've only beat nine :(

[Dreddz]

Ive beaten 3 on hard mode, still easy imo ......

[Dolentrean]

Ya, it would be nice if they had made it a little more chalanging, and added a bit more platforming in getting to the collosi themselves.

Also dose anyone know what is at the top of the tempel, there are vines all along the tempel, but at one spot they seem to reach to the top, I managed to clime up until I reached another ledge you have to move around, but it requiers a huge strength meter, and I always fall when I think I am near the top.

[KuRt]

I don´t have this game yet but I´m seriously going to get it!

[Skarr]

Should I pick this game up? I might get it. So before I spend my hard earned money what do you guys think? Yes or No. I'm going to get it...but will it be worth 40-50 bucks? I mean if Electronic Gaming Monthly named this novembers game of the month...it has to be good. Soooo...

[Destai]

Everyone will say yes. Go for it.

[Skarr]

I much as figured that...but I wanted to ask anyway.

[Dolentrean]

ya, unless your an action junky this game will apear to you, most non mainstream gamers will love the unique feel and scope of the game. I have been playing it constantly and if you dont mind the short game time and lack of combat I would recomend it greatly.

[Dreddz]

lol, febuary release for UK .....

[Germ Hamee]

Hmm. I haven't been into video games for a good long while. Silent Hill 4 is probably the last game I remember looking forward to. I was browsing titles today at the store, looking for something to "respark" my interest in gaming. The two titles that caught my eye were Indigo Prophecy, and... this one. I didn't buy either, but after seeing this thread, I don't think I could pass this up. Now I can't wait to get an extra forty bucks. ^.^

And why, oh why, are people whining about no random battles? There is nothing WORSE than random battles, imo. What a gigantic waste of time!