Gregory Bullshits about Video Games Episode I: Shadow of the Colossus · 5:11am Sep 11th, 2015
Before I begin, I should come clean about something: I've played almost none of the games I know about. I really don't have anything to play them on. Instead, I learn about them from various Let's Players, the Game Theorists, and a certain fast-talking Aussie. So maybe I'm biased. So maybe I'm just parroting other people's much better informed opinions. So maybe I don't give a shit, and just want to tell people about some games that really deserve recognition. Whatever the case, I should really stop faffing around and just talk about a damn game already.
Shadow of the Colossus was released almost exactly ten years ago by the illustrious Team Ico, although you wouldn't necessarily know that from looking at it. I mean, just look at this shit:
And this is the very first boss of the game. Pay attention to the bosses, because that's what the game is. It's unusual in that there are sixteen boss fights and nothing else. When you're not fighting a monster so big that the sword you use is essentially an especially deadly toothpick, you're riding around on your horse, Agro, with absolutely nothing trying to kill you. One might think that with nothing else, you'd either get bored because of the drawn out periods between the bosses, or bored because the bosses are too samey and formulaic. This isn't the case, though: the pacing is actually really one of the game's greatest strengths. At the very least, it's a nice departure from games like COD or Halo where something has to explode approximately every three seconds lest you lose interest.
The battles with the Colossi, on the other hand, are all terribly exciting. Generally, these fights have two stages: first, you have to find some way to actually climb onto the monster. Then, you stab it in the face with a butter knife while it tries to shake you off like a particularly persistent mosquito. However, the bosses are all different enough that it never gets boring. The first four, for example, are all huge terrestrial guys who lumber around slowly enough to let you jump on them (more or less). Then, just when you're getting comfortable with that, the game throws this guy at you:
And suddenly, you have to hold on while this asshole is doing flipping aileron rolls and flapping his big silly wings. The fights are also lent a certain amount of tension by the gauge that shows you exactly how much longer you can hold on to their armpit hair before you fall off and have to start all over again. See, guys? This is how you do boss fights (Arkham Asylum, I'm looking at you).
The storytelling is also quite strong with this game, even though everyone speaks in complete gibberish with subtitles. I'm not going to talk too much about the story to avoid spoilers, but you've decided to kill sixteen giant monsters for an imprisoned entity of some sort who says he'll bring your dead girlfriend (?) back to life. It's a classic story, but the subtlety with which it is told is something rarely seen in video games. Even the horse is somehow incredibly well written, and she can't even talk. Basically, this game is the shit. It's got fantastic storytelling, great pacing, and beautiful visuals. Play it, if you get a chance.
So, how did you like that? Should I do more, or should I shut up? Let me know.
I played The Shadow of the Colossus on a whim and was utterly blown away. Granted, the controls were at first arduous to adapt to, but overcoming that was really worth it.
The soundtrack is utterly fantastic. I literally said to myself when I played it to the first time, "They're actually playing an entire orchestra to my battling!" The majesty of the game is so in your face, you can't help but marvel at it.
However, I disagree regarding the storytelling. The plot itself was tolerable, but I was extremely put off by the vagueness and lack of dimensions to all the characters. They struck me as very "indie," and while the rest of the game made up for that, the deliberate obscurity and bland characterization really weren't to my taste. I know it's a popular method, especially in J-RPGs, to have that obscurantism when the events and setting are as simply constructed as they are in TSotC, but the prevalence of it just struck me as being edgy.
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Ok, then. Not going to argue about any of that. After all, I made my lack of experience with the things I'm talking about exceedingly clear. What I want to know is whether you'd be ok with seeing more of this kind of stuff. Incidentally, episode 2 would be on the topic of inFamous and inFamous 2 (not Second Son, though, because FUCK that game and it's plot).
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I wasn't looking to argue; it's just that I don't think Shadow of the Colossus was a perfect game. As for your next blog post, I don't know. Honestly, I've never played the InFamous series, so I probably wouldn't have much to say in response. Do what you wish, though; some might be more interested than I am. I usually don't go for video game reviews anyway, but since this was a game I really was into, I felt compelled to share my thoughts.
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Cool. Hopefully, you'll learn something about an excellent series. That's my goal with this: going "HEY! LOOK AT THIS! THIS IS PRETTY COOL!"