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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

"Shadow of the Colossus" blows.

Discussion in 'Archive: Games' started by Sithman, May 15, 2007.

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  1. Sithman

    Sithman Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 6, 1999
    I've heard amazing things about this game. I've read heavenly praise about this game. Everyone said it was amazing.

    So I bought it yesterday.

    One question:


    HOW CAN ANYONE STAND THE *&$%# CONTROLS IN THIS GAME?


    The camera absolutely sucks. The controls for the horse absolutely blow.

    I like the concept of the game, but my GOD, I am pulling my hair out just to get from point A to point B.

    Please, someone tell me why this game doesn't suck and why I should actually try to play through it.


    I'm wishing I had just shelled out the extra cash for God of War II. And as for right now, I'm going to go back to playing Katamari Damacy.

    Shadow of the Colossus... I poop on your controls and camera views.
     
  2. Sn4tcH

    Sn4tcH Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 22, 2004
    You are wrong.
     
  3. SoloCommand

    SoloCommand Manager Emeritus & GTA Coruscant Developer star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 15, 2001
    Shadows of the Colossus is empty.
     
  4. Sithman

    Sithman Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 6, 1999
    Please tell me how to make the controls not suck.

    I want horsey to go in this direction. I should be able to just point the damn analogue stick in that direction and GO.

    But no, you have to jerk and tap the stick around 5 times to point the horse in the right direction, THEN hit X to make horsey go, and then once he's going, you can't easily adjust his direction without yanking on the reigns.


    Look, I WANT this game to be fun, but it's really making that difficult.
     
  5. JAWA64

    JAWA64 Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 20, 2006
    I agree thwe camera seems to try and give you the worst view possible, but the controlls for the horse worked fine for me. Once you get to the colossus You usually get off the horse to fight it so keep practicing or something.
     
  6. BartSimpson-SithLord

    BartSimpson-SithLord Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 24, 2002
    The horse was one of my favorite parts of the game, actually. Once I got used to the horse having an AI of its own and thus me having to control it thusly, I did fine. Epic battles were had on that horse. EPIC. Nothing greater than trusting my horse to go in the direction I point him in while I arrow a symbol on a Colossus.


    I think I'm going to get my PS2 out again now.
     
  7. Sithman

    Sithman Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 6, 1999
    Well, I just got back from Gamestop. I returned the game.

    What an utterly unfun experience.

    Not to mention the outdated graphics, choppy framerate, and mediocre visuals. Oh, and story? What story?

    It's too bad. I was really, really looking forward to playing it.

    I'll save my money for God of War II.
     
  8. Sn4tcH

    Sn4tcH Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 22, 2004
    Outdated visuals to what? A PS3 game? Seriously, I can't count the times I just sat there and looked at that game. It's gorgeous, not to mention the art direction is equally awesome.

    Anyways, I'm sorry you had a bad experience with it. Every game has a learning curve, and the horse was this games problem. But none the less, once you defeat a few monsters, it does get easier to control. Just don't go riding it like you would a motorcycle in a GTA game, it's not going to work like that... it's a horse.

    As for the camera, I didn't have any issues with it at all that I remember. But a lot of games I tend to use the camera the way most people would simply walk forward. But I mean if you want to have a camera that follows your every move, then God of War is definitely for you.

    Shadows of Colossus is a short but great experience. I recommend it as a rental, but I bought it myself. The game is just too good looking to not show off on my TV, it's one of those game that transcend "game" and move straight to "art".
     
  9. Bodknocks

    Bodknocks Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 25, 2003
    Highly overrated game, but I wouldn't say it blows. The battles were incredibly epic, EPIC, and I loved not having to grind through dozens of grunt baddies to get to the bosses. It basically takes out all the boring parts of what is perhaps the greatest video game cliche of all time, i.e. fighting lots of weenies before getting to a boss. Instead, you go straight for the bosses, and they're some of the coolest boss fights imaginable.

    Yes, the world was empty, but that's part of what made it beautiful. While playing the game, I felt like I was living some sort of mythological dream during at certain moments. It has that Clash of the Titans sort of feel, and unlike God of War it actually captures what I consider the true spirit of classical mythos/fantasy. (Although I should add, God of War is IMO a much, much better game on the whole.)

    However, SoC is not without its flaws. The controls are awkward to master, and the physics of the game go for realism but sacrifice a lot of playability. Some of the boss fights quickly went from epic to annoying once you figured out how to beat them but couldn't get the puzzle right because of the wacked out controls. The camera was just plain bat**** wonky. And as David Sirlin once put it, the game should have won the award for "Worst Controls for Riding a Horse in Any Game Ever".

    The movie-esque music, the gargantuan bosses, and the overall spirit of the game made it a vastly unique and enjoyable experience for me, but at the time I played SoC I was also playing similar games like Twilight Princess and God of War. There was no comparison; SoC had really lackluster controls and felt empty and repetitive compared to the other games. As much as I tried to like it as a game, it came off as being a better poem than it did a videogame. The concept looks great on paper, and I really wanted to fall in love with the game, but it's just not quite up to the task of delivering that keen, epic experience in the end.
     
  10. Sithman

    Sithman Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 6, 1999
    Fantastic post, Bodknocks! You very eloquently just expressed every emotion I felt about the game. Thank you for putting my thoughts into words!

    There were things that I loved about the game: the huge scope, the look of the colossi, the music, and like you said, the excellent "fantasy" feel of the experience. I don't want it to seem like I outright hated the game. There were many qualities that attracted me to buying the game (not to mention the scads of gushing reviews). In fact, I think much of my disappointment from this game was due to the fact that two simple things ruined all those excellent qualities and made this game an utter throw-the-controller-against-the-wall-in-frustration experience: the baffling controls for the horse and the terrible camera view system.

    And I think that's true across the board. No matter how beautiful the visuals, or how engrossing is the story, or how action-packed are the battles... If a game's controls and camera views aren't natural and completely unabtrusive, then all those other qualities are compromised.

    As an example: God of War. The game had some pretty freakin' frustrating parts and crazy boss battles. But in the end, I could stand to play those parts over and over again because the mechanical aspects of the game (the moving from point A to point B, the combos, the attacks, etc.) were utterly natural. In essence, I forgot that I was playing a game, and if I wanted to make Kratos go here... He went there. It was so natural. With Shadow of the Colossus, I had to logically think out how I was going to get my character from point A to point B, and then think of how to press the correct buttons to make him do that. In short, I always knew I was playing a game.

    I'd love to type a bit more about this, but I've got a train to catch.

    Your thoughts?
     
  11. Bodknocks

    Bodknocks Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 25, 2003
    Heh, thanks.

    I think you make some good points about God of War. Miyamoto once said the number one rule in game design is to make the characte jump when the player hits the button to jump. I know that sounds silly, but you'd be surprised by how many games could learn from this. When you want to make a character do something, it should come natural. God of War exceeds at this, among many other things.

    What I would say to all the designers who gushed all over SoC is this: Learn from it. Fighting hordes of boring badguys to get to the uber-cool boss fight isn't fun anymore. Games filled with multiple menu screens, countless items that must be fetched, and enough pointless dialogue to fill a dictionary are bad. SoC wasn't a great game, it was an extrodinary idea in the form of a mediocre game.
     
  12. Axle-Starweilder

    Axle-Starweilder Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 6, 2005
    in response to the "emptiness" of the game...


    it had birds and salamanders.


    oh, and coconuts. [face_chicken]


    but yeah, the most fun i had with the game is drinking beers on the weekend and watching my best friend's little brother's friend beat up the giants. it's a great spectator game when you're watching somebody play it that really knows what's going on, but as a player myself, it didn't keep me enthused. i'm glad i only payed twenty bucks for it.
     
  13. rogue_wookiee

    rogue_wookiee Jedi Youngling star 6

    Registered:
    Apr 24, 2004
    You overreacted. I agree the game's controls and camera are frustrating. Not to mention that trying to figure out how to defeat some of those bosses went beyond enjoyable thought and moved on to me going to gamefaqs and going "How the hell was I supposed to figure that out?!?!?"

    But the game is still worth a playthrough because about half those bosses are so incredibly fun to fight that it's ridiculous.
     
  14. Bodknocks

    Bodknocks Jedi Youngling star 2

    Registered:
    Jul 25, 2003
    Despite the numerous problems I have with the game, I would agree that it's still worth the full playthrough.
     
  15. Sithman

    Sithman Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 6, 1999
    I'll consider purchasing it when they change the camera feature and the equestrian controls. For now, I'll stick with God of War, and look forward to God of War II.

    Let me rephrase. You can fight big epic monsters in either game.

    Here it's wildly exciting:

    [image=http://ps2media.gamespy.com/ps2/image/article/565/565992/god-of-war-20041112030121564.jpg]


    Here it's enfuriating beyond any notion of fun:

    [image=http://www.stoneschool.com/Work/E3/2005/Colossus.jpg]




    Anyone here know of any fantasy/action/adventure games similar to God of War? I hear things about "Prince of Persia"... Is it good?
     
  16. Sn4tcH

    Sn4tcH Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 22, 2004
    That second picture is one of the fun ones I think. The more frustration I had trying to beat a Colossi, the better I felt when I figured it out and beat it.
     
  17. Axle-Starweilder

    Axle-Starweilder Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 6, 2005
    yeah, even i thought that boss was easy.
    if you can't beat that colossus you probably are sucky at videogames.
     
  18. Sithman

    Sithman Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 6, 1999
    I googled "God of War" and I googled "Shadow of the Colossus".

    The idea was to use pictures to represent each game, rather than words. You weren't supposed to read into the actual skill levels required to beat them. (Likewise, you stupid PC greeks, the God of War screenie is from the first level and is likewise very easy to beat.)
     
  19. rogue_wookiee

    rogue_wookiee Jedi Youngling star 6

    Registered:
    Apr 24, 2004
    The only one that was frustrating beyond any level of fun was the one in the lake with the pavillions. After 45 minutes of trying to figure out how to get on the back of the beast I gave up and went to gamefaqs.com calling the SotC level designers some choice words.
     
  20. BartSimpson-SithLord

    BartSimpson-SithLord Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 24, 2002
    Frankly, my favorite Colossi were the Turtle with the geysers, the two flyers, the two tigers/cats, and that final Colossus. Talk about epic. Getting to it, then climbing up to the top...EPIC. But I enjoyed ever single battle. And getting to the Colossi was extremely fun for me. I found myself just riding around the countryside for hours not even searching for colossi to battle.
     
  21. MarcusP2

    MarcusP2 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jul 10, 2004
    You mean the one you have to shoot and then jump on as it flies past? It was more annoying falling off.

    Or is there another oen I haven't got to yet?
     
  22. Sn4tcH

    Sn4tcH Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 22, 2004
    That sounds right. I don't believe you could not fall off of him. By the time you get to his wings, he's doing the crazy loops and twists, It's impossible not to fall off. He was the only Collisi that was annoying, IMHO, but absolutely amazing in concept. If they had made it possible to somehow hang on after you got on the first time, it would have been fine. I enjoyed the other flying beast much more.

    Edit: The final boss, I was expecting to be just another Collisi, because none of the others seemed to have a rhyme or reason of what order they were in. Like the first flying one is probably the most complicated one to beat, and he's pretty early on. So, when I got to the final boss, I did not expect him to be as huge and EPIC as he was. I mean in a game where you are already fight 50 foot tall monsters by the third level, I could not fathom that they could still wow me at the end with the size of the final boss.
     
  23. Sithman

    Sithman Jedi Grand Master star 7

    Registered:
    Jul 6, 1999
    You see, reading what you all have to say about the different scenarios and colossi battles in the game make me want to go out and play the game again. But then I remember the infuriating controls and camera. :(

    I wish I could play Shadow of the Colossus with the controls of God of War. The things that you get to do in SOTC seem pretty cool.
     
  24. Boba_Fett_2001

    Boba_Fett_2001 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Dec 11, 2000
    I really wish these types of games would come out on the PC as well.

    *sigh*
     
  25. Richard-Drahcir

    Richard-Drahcir Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 18, 2004
    I really like this game even if it isnt the best one - my fave PS2 game is still Ico. That was just amazing in every way but having completed Ico I really need to finish this to see how the 2 games are related.

    Ive took down about 8 or 9 beasts and it is so well done. I like the horse controls and they feel more realistic than in say Zelda. Story-driven games like Shadow and Ico are definitely the best kind.
    I also love how there are no random fights to deal with. Just getting from A to B without worrying about fighting minor bosses is a great idea and the lack of joy you get from taking down the poor beasts is so affecting.

    It has its faults - more than Ico definitely - but is still a great game.
    9/10
     
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