Zero Punctuation: Shadow of the Colossus

[TheBaron87]

I bet he would like SC2's story, prob not the gameplay, Sad really cause SC2 has a very solid story.

It can easily stand on it's own with alone it's singleplayer. I played through SP and really enjoyed it, it had a good story.

I've no idea why people bother discussing SC2 with people that say things like "It's only mining minerals and spamming the best units".
Would you discuss Team Fortress 2 with someone that said "It's just cartoons jumping around" or COD4 with someone that said it was "just walking around and occasionally clicking your mouse or pressing a button"?
No, you'd understand the person has no clue what they're talking about or are just simplifying an universally acclaimed game for the sake of trolling.
Don't feed the trolls, people. Just be glad you get to play SC2 and experience what is, by all accounts, an amazing game.

I can honestly believe people would be that stupid in this regard. I've met people I know aren't trolling that say things like that.

Now to be arbitrary and post my opinion of this game for the sake of it. *Ahem* I have an active dislike of this game. I remember playing and yes, finishing this horse riding simulator back when it first came out and received critical acclaim. Sure the boss fights were entertaining however I found that I spent most of the game in an empty lifeless world on the back of my horse trying to figure out how to get over those awful mountains. It was just really really boring and IMO a poor design decision and can be constituted as length padding.

I honestly can't understand all the love when half the game is spent doing nothing.

Then again I'm not trying to sway any opinions nor am I going to, just stating my opinion. Now don't quote me! Tired of getting the blasted things in my escapist inbox.

I dont see what makes sotc great, sure some of the colossus and felt, colossal. But there's nothing more to it. Having to ride around a empty game world to get to the next boss is half the game, pretty much pointless, you could have just had a load screen between every colossi and spared yourself the trouble. This game is more a artsy/nostalgic fanboi eyewa..pleaser kind of game then something with actual "game"play.

It would be like running around in God Of War games, no monsters around, no souls or upgrades or anything. Just running to every boss, killing them. OH WAIT no dialogues at all, just some mumbling statue telling giving some dumb vague hint where to go then having to use Kratos'es bald head to gleam into the sun to see where to go.

I bought the game thinking, damn this is going to be a good ps2 game better then FFX in adventure and story... I should have just got FFX.

Haha, quoted you anyway Centrophy. The running around is for atmosphere, ambiance, exploration. The game is meant to be an experience, not a "game" in the literal sense. Zana, the fact you thought of the searches as "trouble" shows that you were intent on looking for something the game was never meant to provide. The game is a stroll through a beautiful countryside, and you're jogging through it with a pedometer and an ipod. Not that that's wrong, I enjoy competitive games as much as "artsy" ones, but of course you won't enjoy a game you go into with all sorts of expectations. Centrophy, you just fail at navigation. It sounds like you spent hours wandering in circles. Do you get lost in new places often? Besides, the searching was another way to express Wander's dedication to reviving Mono. The game would have been less compelling if he rode the magic teleportation bus straight to every fight. It's not supposed to enhance the gameplay, it's supposed to enhance the narrative.

That said, I could never get into Shadow of the Colossus, might be because I'm against white knight protagonist. Also, the fact the story pretty much screams at you you're being tricked into a task that shouldn't be done. I don't like stupid protagonist either, might be the fact I was all these things when I was younger and don't like being reminded of it.

I can understand how people praise it and get sucked in, but for me it was just, "Ok, she can stay dead then because the price is too high." then being forced to do the idiot thing that I didn't want to do from the beginning.

It's very possible he knew exactly what would happen. Maybe not EXACTLY how it would play out, but he knew he was helping something very bad. It's made clear that the whole village knows the area is forbidden, and serves as a seal for some evil entity. Even if Wander wasn't from Mono's village, their relationship was obviously close enough that he would know why she had been sacrificed. I like to think he just doesn't care what happens to the village or himself if it might save her.

 

[RootbeerJello]

Not to mention that the game is so immersive that I almost cried when one of the characters "died" (Not the main character or any of the colossi).

Honestly, in my opinion that "death" was nowhere near as sad as some of the Colossi.

Anyway, I agree with most of the points brought up in this review, although I'm surprised the camera angles didn't get brought up, since they presented some problems in the form of a Jason Bourne eyefuck. SoTC is also one of my favorite open worlds, just because despite all the exploring you have to do, there are very interesting areas and beautiful minimalist touches that are never on your direct path.

 

[MB202]

I swore to myself that I would stop watching your videos after watching your Super Mario Galaxy 2 review. I'm not going to bother to explain why because I know you don't care whether or not I watch you're videos. But to be honest, I've been contemplating whether or not I actually like you're videos anymore ever since you're New Super Mario Bros. Wii/Left 4 Dead 2 review, so the SMG2 was more or less the final straw, I suppose.

However, I decided to watch this video because it's about Shadow of the Colossus... Which I've never played since I don't own a PS2, but I desperately want to play along with several other games for said system.

 

[jayedub7423]

I would have to say I would gladly prefer Red Faction and Onimusha to Ico and Shadow of the Colossus.

 

[garlicncow]

This proves it, it is almost impossible to hate this game.

 

[CK76]

Last Guardian cannot come soon enough. Team Ico should release Ico and Shadow of Colossus like God of War did to satisfy me. I demand satisfaction. Damn good good damn satisfaction.

 

[Pendragon9]

I was wondering why he wasn't reviewing starcraft 2.

Solid review.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

Shadow of the Colossus

This week, Zero Punctuation reviews Shadow of the Colossus.

Watch Video

i would join you in the "No starcraft 2 Club summer House" if it wasn't its getting dangerous to go to Europe with this new Bacteria called NDM-1 (resistent to most of the antibiotics)...

 

[Sanmei]

Arcane Azmadi: I actually went out and hunted down a copy of Ico shortly after finishing Shadow of the Colossus and I've been having difficulty finishing it, mostly because it has a knack of either killing my interest in continuing by a cheap shot I didn't see coming ("Oh, I can't climb on that ledge-shaped protrusion that's actually just part of the background. Hello, floor that used to be sixty feet beneath me!") or just because I keep waiting for some sort of, I don't know, accomplishment of more than just a change in the scenery I suppose. It does a good job of keeping the environment mixed up and unique, but it feels like just empty exploring at times, headed from Point A to an undeterminable Point B Somewhere Over the Horizon.

I suppose I'm just waiting for it to pick up. It doesn't have the same level of "I can't believe I just did that!" that Shadow of the Colossus does, although it does have enough that I don't regret having bought it and I definitely will finish it eventually.


PlasticTree: I got my copy for $10 USD on eBay too. It might shoot up a bit higher after this, though, with more people trying to get a copy.

 

[AkJay]

The only thing I can take from Yahtzee's refusal to review SC2 is
"OOH! LOOK AT ME! I'm bashing a wildly popular game! look! LOOK AT HOW INDEPENDENT I AM! WAKE UP SHEEPLE!"

well. Jog on.

 

[Swifteye]

Now to be arbitrary and post my opinion of this game for the sake of it. *Ahem* I have an active dislike of this game. I remember playing and yes, finishing this horse riding simulator back when it first came out and received critical acclaim. Sure the boss fights were entertaining however I found that I spent most of the game in an empty lifeless world on the back of my horse trying to figure out how to get over those awful mountains. It was just really really boring and IMO a poor design decision and can be constituted as length padding.

I honestly can't understand all the love when half the game is spent doing nothing.

Then again I'm not trying to sway any opinions nor am I going to, just stating my opinion. Now don't quote me! Tired of getting the blasted things in my escapist inbox.

What's the point of stating your opinion in a public forum if your not willing to take the risk of someone questioning you?

 

[Tymathee]

I loved this game. I picked it up from gamespy a few years ago looking for something different and the guy there suggested it.. I didn't like it at first cuz it's just...different but once you get into it you're trapped! It's awesome from start to finish and you can spend hours on it until your hands go raw from trying to hang onto the monsters and still feel accomplished. you start to dream about how to navigate the darn things and you start to love that horse to death.

damn good damn damn good damn good is a great way to describe how good it is.

 

[Azaraxzealot]

Starcraft 2 is on my top 10 list of things to buy (even above certain "necessities") but ill be fucked if its for the story, i want it for the galaxy editor. Ive always been keen on the modding tools blizzard packages with their games, and this one looks like the best yet

i dont even play the normal game, i just create maps and play those yeah, i guess its like buying a lego set for the parts and not necessarily to build whats on the box, haha

OT: as for the review, i still wouldnt play this game if i was paid, i just dont like platforming/puzzle games. i like games that are just wacky and/or over-the-top fun like Saints Row 2 or Crackdown.

 

[The Big Eye]

...except that anyone who plays them is obviously a massive coward, content to order soldiers to their deaths in fiery shootouts that are all taking place on the far end of a space telescope...

Right. Because apparently thumbing analog sticks to achieve the same effect* makes me Mister Chiselled out of Grizzly Bear Heart.

*Distances be damned. You're watching it through a screen either way.

Don't know why anyone is asking him to review SC2, you watch his Halo Wars review? He doesn't like RTS, end of discussion, unless you want to watch a review that boils down to, "It sucks, It sucks, It sucks, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it."

And yet, isn't that what we come here for? (Dumbass?)
Besides, if he doesn't want to review it, that's fine. But he doesn't have to be a dick about it and blame enthusiasts of the genre by proxy. If you don't want to try something out of your comfort zone, the least you can do is man up about it.

 

[Vohn_exel]

Haha, well at least we share some gaming opinions. I'm surprised you don't like Onimusha though. I mean sure it was basically an RE clone but it was an RE clone with swords and was quite entertaining. But you speak the truth about SOTC, so we're cool .

 

[Aarquus]

i would play Starcraft 2 but my computer's processor is so pithy that i'm resigned to playing DoW: dark crusade and Settlers

 

[lifesucksadapt]

So does anyone know where I can buy this game?It sounds really fun and im getting a Ps3 soon so I kinda want to play this game on it

 

[TiefBlau]

I bet he would like SC2's story, prob not the gameplay, Sad really cause SC2 has a very solid story.

Lol, good one.

I really think that if you want to be introduced to the genre, Blizzard's RTS's are the way to go. Yahtzee's not going to review SC2, and that's fine. Doesn't have to pretend he's more courageous or valiant for doing so, though, because he most certainly isn't.

 

[EvilYoshi]

Yay! Yatzee has reaffirmed my love of SOTC. And Starcraft 2 is really really good and does not want to suck it, thought it can.

 

[shadow741]

Well, this was random, was not expecting shadow of the colossus at all.