A True Epic, An Experience that will have a special place in your heart..
i look back at the moment i walked into that game store..
i wanted a different game, different from the metal gears, jak & daxters
need for speeds, grand theft autos, socoms, and so on and so on..
so i decided i'd do something different in picking out a game
than i usually do, this time i'd let the cover decide.
so lookin back and forth over the zillion of games
my eye fell on a dark green-ish piece of art.
where u could see an intimidating picture of a young man on a horse
standing in front of a biggest walkin creature you've ever seen.
Shadow of the Colossus..
"i do like the name" i said to myself, noticing that the package department
really put effort in the title.
on the back it said, from the makers from "Ico"
i started thinkin
Ico.. that was a good game.. to bad everybody slept on that one..
without a second to hesitate i just went for it.
i mean i wanted a different game than usual,
and cause of the fact i already knew the line-up for the up-coming months
and knowing that there was nothing interesting in there (2004/2005 best game years)
i actually was already happy that i found a game what really seemd interesting.
The Game..
i always find myself relaxin when starting a new game up
i've got my drinks,snacks as i sit comfortable infront of the tv,
anxious to story driven intro i would see (prince of persia trilogy anyone?)
which i find very important, very important..
an eagle flies across beautifull landscapes, as we later on see
an young man on a horse on a journey, a journey he will never forget.
the young man goes by the name wanderer, who is joined by his best friend trustfull steed agro
i say best friend, cause here a part in the game where your jaw will fall flat
in front of you cause of the fact that you cant believe what you've just saw.
(which i won't reveal, since some of you poeple still have to play the game)
your long journey from away ends in a temple, where you can see
that the wanderer has a person with him.
a female who past away, a female that seems to be is his loveone.
a he places her on a plateau, a flashback story is being told about
that there a temple far away,
where one can bring people from the dead, givin the right resources.
as the intro goes , we see that the wanderer is thinkin about his loveone
promising her to bring her back, where seconds later this light
comes out te sky and a god-like voice starts speaking to the wanderer,
asking him why he's here.
as the wanderer answers that he wants to bringhis loveone back to life.
the god says that it is indeed possible, but certain things needs to be done in doing so.
the god tells about 16 spirits that holding the key of life
and by killing them, that would bring back the his loveone
but since the spirits are not from this world it's impossible to do so.
but there is another option. it seems that these spirits are incarnated
in an other form and roaming these lands, and if one finds them and kill them,
you actually kill the spirits that live in the other world.
but there's a warning says the god,
the price you have to pay in bringing back the dead, is far beyond acceptable.
but since the wanderer is devoted in saving his beloved, the god must be speaking to def ears,
as the wanderer says he will do anything and sacrefice everything to save her.
the god says, then go on journey finding these collosi's
and deal with them.
equipped with a bow and arrow, a sword and your trusty companion agro
your new journey begins.
the gamplay is different than your probably used to
you press the O button to raise our sowrd and let the sun shine on it
which directs to which way to go in finding these colossi
but since these lands are very huge, it can take a while in finding them.
roaming around these lands is a beautifull thing to see.
the landscapes are really animated, and from to time while looking for a
collosi, you find yourself in an forests, wide open fields, waterfalls,
acient fallen cities, canyons, gravel pits, rivers, bridges and of course
our dark areas.
these landscapes are setting the right tone to the entire game..
i remember i was lookin for this particular collosi
and i came from a beautifull green field to a dark gritty misty swamp
just being in that place gave me the shivers, as i started easing up on speed
and really taking step by step cause as an experienced gamer
i know that in some games things could happen to you when you not
expecting it.
and when your walkin into dark misty place almost got me scared at some point,
eversince i dont want a zillion feet tall collosi jumping me.
and trust me these collosi are big. i remember fighting one
and i was as big as his eyeball.
the game works in 3 sets per collosi
1- find them,
2 - find a way to actually get on them
3 - find a way in killing them
all of the collosi have weakpoints
these weakpoints will lead to another way for getting to the next weakpoint.
and you will eventually find the last one and strike your sword into them.
however, at times this is not easy as it sounds,
as you will find a weakpoint, but have to combinate that with elements
in the enviroment surrounding you to get to the other one,
which you have to find aswell..
every collosi is uniqe and original, as you find in different surroundings each time
the gameplay and the setting of slaying will be different as well.
as you will have fights in the air, on solid ground, in water, buildings
you name it.
from a graphic point of view this game looks amazing
at times the framerate is a lil less, but the developers
compesate it with a sorta lighting, which may sound strange
but in some way it really sets the tone.
after all the ps2 is an old veteran, so im not worried about these framerate drops.
in fact im still so amazed that the ps2 still kick out these graphics.
the character models are great and original, especially
agro the horse.
the way he moves and looks like, is to real for words.
even the main character is not this great. not to say that he's bad or anything
im just want to point out that the horse is really stunning..
the collosi's are original as well
the developers have put real thought these guys out
to make them intimidating, and making them a puzzle in killing them
as each have diiferent enviroments, the options are endless for the developers
to let there creative minds go and make each colossi a unique gameplay.
the sound of the game is cool as well.
you will hear no music when your riding around.
till you are in the presence of a collosi
and then it starts and your heart starts pounding since the music
is really good composed it fits the setting.
but the music really kicks off when fighting the collosi itself.
thats when it gets really driven, dramatic action movie score orchestra packed.
it almost gets you not focussed. cause the music is so breath taking
you will get nervous, cause u dont wanna screw it up
and offcourse seeing a big collosi lookin at you, and wants to kill you
is not a real comfortable thought..
what can i say..
this is a game you must've played atleast once in your life..
it's definitly an experience you wont forget.
some may say it a weird thing
"oh so you have to save the girl by killing 16 dudes?
where is the rest?"
or
"oh so you kill an collosi and straght away move on to the next one?
and thats the game? is that it?
where the fun in that?"
all i can say is.. yes.. thats true
this story doesnt lie
you have one mission, and that bring your beloved one back
and in doing so you have to kill 16 collosi's
each collosi is a level itself, its a puzzle
eventough its just fight..
but its experience is what makes it..
its amazing, its a one of his kind
you've never experienced a game like this
trust me.. your jaw will drop..
as you go on your journey..
well thats it.
thanks for reading
cheers !
mac