The Gamer's Quarter

dessgeega · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 5:01 am Post subject: wonder and the giant statue.

obligatory shadow of the colossus thread.

let's avoid spoilers whilst talking about this beautiful and lonely game.

for starters: changes between the demo and the final version. SPOILERS if you've never fought the first colossus: i noticed that one of the methods for defeating the first colossus in the demo - grabbing onto its club, riding it back to its body, and climbing up its arm - was seemingly removed (the colossus withdraws its arm much more quickly).and the stab-it-in-the-legs solution has been made a lot more straightforward - instead of falling over, the colossus kneels, making it easier to climb up to the terraces on its back.

the second colossus really made the comparison to "zelda dungeons turned inside-out" seem appropriate. i'm really curious how the colossi/stages will continue to develop.

also: have you let the demo play?
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SuperWes · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 8:47 am Post subject:

I've beaten the first four so far. The game is pretty magical, but I have a feeling that my preconceptions are getting in the way of how much I might appreciate it. The world is so sprawling that I find it a little disappointing that no matter how much I explore I'm never going to find anything. I know that's sort of the point, but I'm used to being rewarded for checking everywhere.

It's hard to say much positive about the game without influencing the way someone will feel when they play it so I'll just say that I've been enjoying the battles a lot. The trek to the third one and the third battle itself has been my favorite so far.

Note: I didn't let the demo play, at least not past where Start/Continue/Options shows up. Does anything happen beyond that?

-Wes
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dessgeega · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 10:06 am Post subject:

DonMarco · . Joined: 02 Mar 2005 Posts: 349 Location: 33903

So is my horse red?

Every picture I've seen in magazines and online has it as this dark brown/black color. You guys heard anything about this?
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Collector of over 1,538 strategy guides. That's weird, right?

Mr. Mechanical · Friendly Stranger Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 1276

I'm up to the ninth colossus now and I've been eating these bad boys for breakfast. I'm lovin' at, as they say at McDonalds. At the halfway mark of the game, my clock says 3:20 though each battle is taking progressively longer and longer I'm noticing. First it's getting more and more difficult to actually find the colossi, and then it's taking longer to figure out how to bring them down.

Very fun game. Even if I end up breezing through it(which isn't looking too likely at this point, the last colossus I fought killed me three times) I know I'll be starting a new game, just to be able to fight some of these colossi again. The fifth Colossus was just damn beautiful, the way the whole battle went. The game just gets better with each one you take down.

Playing the demo I thought the sense of epic scale and scope would simply come from the environment, but I'm wrong. It's coming from the colossus battles just as much as from the environment. Taking down a giant lumbering creature of stone and fur and inertiatic energy is just exhilirating with the rest of the presentation factored in.

Also I'm pretty confident that I know how this game is going to end, so it's kind of a pins and needles affair for me until I beat it and find out if I'm right. I'm picking up a serious Romeo and Juliet kind of vibe, even though I'm pretty sure only one main character is going to die at the end.

dessgeega · Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 5:26 pm Post subject:

i like that it looks like this game will be a lot more replayable than ico was. so i won't feel too guilty when i inevitably trade ico.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

ICO is pretty replayable, if you consider buying the UK version and playing practically a different game a replay.

simplicio · . Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091

Got through 14 yesterday; 15's been my first case of sheer befuddlement due to possibly poor design, but I refuse to go for a FAQ cause this is the best game I've ever played and I think it deserves better on a first playthrough.

There's a story in there somewhere, but it seems to show up pretty slowly. At this point I'm still wondering if I'm wrong in thinking of things as a commentary on current affairs.

Points (vague to avoid spoilers but also just due to my awe at the levels of integration here):
Agro is a horse and not a vehicle.
Something else (no spoilers) that is a vehicle.
Catching your breath.
Stunt riding, whether or not you can do anything with it.
Trees you can climb up just to climb something.
Birds.
As in ICO, vibration.
Holding on makes for rougher riding.
Falling pillar sequence.
Flying.
Debris, wakes and splashdowns.
Fear and power.

Damn, everyone needs to finish this so we can talk. But I've never been so satisfied with trial and error in my life. It's the game I bought a PS2 for and it's living up to everything I wanted.

shaper, I hadn't heard about the UK ICO. What's the difference?

Mr. Mechanical · Friendly Stranger Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 1276

UK Ico has two player mode! And lightsabers! Really!

Yeah, I think I'm on my ninth colossus and I just keep liking it more and more as I get further along. It's like running a gauntlet at times, where the world is the dungeon and the colossi are the bosses. The sense of scale and epicness just continues to astound me.

I spent thirty minutes fighitng a colossus today and didn't even notice it until I looked at the change in the game clock. Hell, I was only on the colossus for like three minutes, it was the part in figuring out how to get there that took so long but wasn't aggravating at all.

I'm finding this game is just as much fun to watch as it is to play, in a watching-while-playing kind of way.

dark steve · . Joined: 17 Jun 2005 Posts: 1110

It's really making me insane that I preordered this and it hasn't arrived yet.
so much so that i've taken steps to otherwise obtain the game in the interm
Damn amazon to hell.

Also, somebody tell me more about 2-player Ico.

Mr. Mechanical · Friendly Stranger Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 1276

A second person can play as Yorda. That's about all I know about it.

Swimmy · . Joined: 16 Sep 2005 Posts: 990 Location: Fairfax, VA

My PS2 is broken.

So, how about that there Lost In Blue?

dessgeega · Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 8:29 am Post subject:

SuperWes · Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 8:36 am Post subject:

I beat 5, 6, and 7 last night, stuffing TGQ envelopes in between. Fighting the 5th one was probably the most exhilarating thing I've ever done in a video game.

Somehow they almost seem to keep getting better with each subsequent battle.

-Wes
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Mr. Mechanical · Friendly Stranger Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 1276

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

I am absolutely pissed that I have to wait until February to get this.

I missed out on Ico and Rez over here in the UK, I don't intend to make that mistake with Shadow of the Colossus.

All the trailers have reminded me so far how much I miss horse-riding.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

SuperWes · Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:21 am Post subject:

I would have been willing to wait for Ico in order to get the European version. Us Americans got shafted. Have you seen our cover art?

And didn't you guys get Rez on the Dreamcast? Grrr.

-Wes
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

Yes, I have seen your atrocious cover art. Horrifying stuff.

Sadly now, it is hard to find a copy of either games mentionned above over here. In Rez's case, I bought the DC in its death throes, so I missed that too. I intend to see if I can order either at a later date.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

SuperWes · Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:44 am Post subject:

Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

I have the excuse of being a broke student on my side.

Also, DreamCast currently in a foreign country.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

dessgeega · Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:52 am Post subject:

okay, so that tenth colossus terrified me.

you know, the serpent? with the eyes.

yeah.
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dhex · Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:52 am Post subject:

wes: if you see a shrinkwrapped copy of res for under $75, please let me know. the going rate is 100 bucks or so for an unwrapped version.
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SuperWes · Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 1:35 pm Post subject:

dhex · Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 2:01 pm Post subject:

yeah, i know. you can't win them all. i didn't get into akron family for years, despite living in the same neighborhood, and by the time i did, i only caught one show before their first big u.s. tour.

edit: and i just picked up shadow of the colossus for 30 bucks off half.com.
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simplicio · . Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091

okay, i vote we stop refering to colossi by numbers and describing more.

for the record, 15 is the big guy at the Mayan ballfield.

i think my favorite so far's the dragonflything, just for the chasing and riding of it.

SuperWes · Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 3:04 pm Post subject:

dessgeega · Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 3:33 pm Post subject:

dhex · Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 7:42 pm Post subject:

y'all could start a "STOP: SPOILERS AHEAD" thread.
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simplicio · . Joined: 03 May 2005 Posts: 1091

Sorry, I didn't think of those descriptions as spoilers. I was just trying to get a sense of what people were enjoying. I went through so many of them in one sitting that I wasn't paying attention to numbers.

So I finished it tonight. And it's great. That's all I have to say in this neutered thread.

david · . Joined: 03 Mar 2005 Posts: 170 Location: b, md

dessgeega · Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 3:44 am Post subject:

i like that each time i set out to find a colossus i end up feeling completely lost and wonder if i went the wrong way...and then i find the colossus. i think that says a lot for the game's "level" design.

also, aside from starting or restoring a game, there doesn't seem to be any load time at all. this boggles my mind.
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Dracko · . Joined: 10 Oct 2005 Posts: 2613

dhex · Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 9:17 am Post subject:

it's a rather sad commentary on the craftsmanship of game production when competency and being well-built are rare qualities.
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dessgeega · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 6:34 am Post subject:

i am so sick of falling off this stupid last colossus.
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dessgeega · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 8:43 am Post subject:

...

i finished it.

according to the in-game clock, it took me three hours to fell the final colossus. like, three hours non-stop in front of my television. the final battle was cruel, and frustrating, and it turned out i looked up the same exact part that wes did.

but the ending was great.

my conclusion: agro is the real hero.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

SuperWes · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 8:09 pm Post subject:

Hey Shaper. You're going to HATE Shadow of the Colossus!

-Wes
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Ketch · . Joined: 17 Sep 2005 Posts: 420

Off topic: I found ICO yesterday, I was in the pre-owned section of Blockbuster and my girlfriend moved the Hobbit and there it was!

Sadly, it wasn't the special cover edition (with the slip case and four postcards, but at ten pounds you can't complain!). I'm playing through it with the one-hit kill Xploda4 cheat in. (I really didn't like the repetitiveness of the fighting when I borrowed it,) I should be able to get back to where I left off a year or two ago soon. (The east arena).

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

I beat the 3rd colossus last night. This game is fantastic.

dessgeega · Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:20 am Post subject:

i've finally gone back to shadow of the colossus, and time trial mode is a wonderful thing. i was hoping just to be able to challenge any colossi on demand, but not only can i do that, but each comes with a time to beat to unlock *secret mystical items*. i was worried that the developers might consider something like that "too videogamey" to include. fortunately, i was wrong. time trial mode is fantastic.
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Lackey · . Joined: 11 Jul 2005 Posts: 1107 Location: Canada

I just bought the game and a PS2 to play it on.

So far I've beaten number 3 and I'm really enjoying it. The controls...take some getting used to. It's really not very intuitive, which is the only bad thing I can say about the game, actually.

This game has the most believable and satisfying climbing mechanic of any I've played though. I climbed up one of the save point shrines, and it's actually a lot like climbing a tree. This just makes it all the more immersive.
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| Little bird fighting against a bat sect game |

wourme · . Joined: 01 Jul 2005 Posts: 362 Location: Maridia

Speaking of the third colossus, I've never managed to pull off the "alternate" way of beating it, but here's a video I came across of someone doing it perfectly. There seem to be a lot of interesting variations to the battles, including this one involving the horse in a way I never would have thought of. (Warning, shows one of the later colossi.)

I find it strange that the game can be so much fun but at the same time so unpleasant. I tried time attack a little, but I just have a hard time bringing myself to kill the colossi. Maybe you just have to be the type of person who enjoys (ar at least doesn't dislike) hunting? The only post-game activity I've really done is try to build up enough stamina for the. . .. . .. thing that you need a lot of stamina for that I guess I shouldn't spoil.

In a strange way, I mentally categorize this game with the Silent Hill games. I really like them but I can't exactly call them "fun." This one's unpleasant in a very different way, though, that makes it actually difficult for me to play.

Not trying to sound as if I don't recommend the game. I think it's amazing.

Lackey · . Joined: 11 Jul 2005 Posts: 1107 Location: Canada

I beat the game tonight. I feel both sad and happy about it.

I feel very sad that it froze up in the end sequence and I had to reset.

Time to try that last collosus again.

The undocumented features in this game are wonderful to discover.
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| Little bird fighting against a bat sect game |

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

So SotC was fantastic. Wes failed to see why it was that I hated God of War, assuming that it was some superficial I don't like to be the "bad guy" thing. No, he was completly wrong and I am deeply offended. I am now crying in a corner.

Lackey · . Joined: 11 Jul 2005 Posts: 1107 Location: Canada

So I beat Shadow of the Collosus again and I must have a permanent scratch on the CD in the middle of the end credits because it froze up at the exact same spot again. Does anything happen after the credits? How can I tell that it's registering the end of the game or not? This is frustration! It does kick back to the title screen eventually, after a momentary "reading data from memory card" message.

I'm still finding new things, strangely. I thought I'd combed the whole map when I was putting off actually fighting collossi but I'm discovering some lovely little places.
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| Little bird fighting against a bat sect game |

SuperWes · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 9:10 am Post subject:

Hey Lackey, haven't you heard about the twist ending? It's a Kojimaesque "fuck you for playing." Actually, you need to turn you playstation on its side, stand on your head, count to seven, touch your nose, and hold in the eject button for 3.74 seconds just after it locks up to get the REAL ending.

...

Just kidding. Actually, you've probably just got a scratched disc. The production of Shadow of the Colossus seems to have been particularly lackluster. Shaper has a big tear in the back of his case and I've got some ruffles on the edges of the cover art insert. Looks like you probably got the worst of the lot! You should take it back and get an exchange.

-Wes
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Lackey · . Joined: 11 Jul 2005 Posts: 1107 Location: Canada

Yeah, mine was pretty rough in general as. What's with that sleeve thing? And the book that comes outside the box? One of the prongs for holding the manual inside the case had snapped off when I opened it too.

Anyway, I just got a new copy this morning.
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| Little bird fighting against a bat sect game |

dessgeega · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 10:56 am Post subject:

speaking of the manual, can we mention how awesome it is that it's landscape?
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SuperWes · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2005 11:06 am Post subject:

Lackey · . Joined: 11 Jul 2005 Posts: 1107 Location: Canada

I hadn't even noticed It explains why I was finding turning the pages so awkward though. Now that I think about it though, it's incredibly appropriate.