Video Game Review – Shadow of the Colossus for the PS2

Remember that game I reviewed by an ambitious team of developers?  You know, that game that was considered “the first video game to be considered art” by, oh, a bunch of people who may or may not know a thing about video games, since, well, they don’t look like the type to be that active in playing them?  You know, the game that, for some reason, had a whole slew of gamers agreeing with these people and not even considering games peripheral to this game or not as being art themselves?  Well the developers did it again.  Only this time, they gave us a prequel that, for the most part, had the right idea.  And then, it might or might not have lost the idea along the way.  Oh, and get this, it was considered the “Adventure Game of the Year” for 2005.  From the people that brought you ICO, here’s Shadow of the Colossus.  Would it be as pretentious and lackluster as the first?  Let’s find out

Graphics

First thing you notice is the graphical upgrade this game has, compared to its predecessor.  The developers were starting to definitely get a grasp of the power of the PS2.  To their credit, they did a pretty good job.   The environments looked lusher, brighter, clearer, and more detailed than ICO.  The bosses also look very defined, ominous, and very detailed.  If there are any tripping points of the game, I feel the graphics take a bit of a hit when it comes to the figures in motion.  There is significant slowdown on screen in places.  I’d say it was a loading issue, as it just seems like everything moves slower, but I digress.  Also, the facial features on the characters are much clearer and more defined as well.  I can actually see who it is I’m dealing with.  Off to a good start.

Sound

Like ICO, there isn’t much music during the actual game.  You can hear the animals, the water, the wind, and other forms of environment.  It’s a very interpersonal feeling as you probably wouldn’t be hearing music when you have an adventure to do (unless you have an MP3 player handy, which doesn’t exist in this world, so my point remains valid).  However, you do hear music during boss battles, as the scores differ in pitch and delivery pertaining to the situation.  If you are in immediate danger, the music becomes dire.  If you have found a modicum of success in your efforts, the music sounds uplifting and positive.  Sound effects are also spot on and accurate.  Voice acting is limited to Japanese actors speaking the language of the land the game is set in, or just Japanese and gibberish.  To sum up, the sound has improved, capturing the atmosphere of the game.

Control

If you remember my review of ICO, I told you how I had a problem with the controls by and large.  Does this game improve on it in any way?  To be honest, yes.  I think the best reason behind this is because you aren’t doing much attacking in a group setting.  But, the same problems are still there.  You can attack, jump, call (yes, there is a call button here, too), and hang onto things.  Now, you’d think that after a slew of good platform games coming out, they’d improve on the platform jumping in a sense.  The truth is they didn’t.  You still have to press the grip button to grab onto a ledge.  You still have to hold said button to hold onto the ledge among other things.  Oh, and you have a meter, too.  Yup, you have a grip meter.  If it runs out, you fall.  And trust me when I say this, you will find yourself having to deal with this impending threat, more times than needed.  Just as the call button was the focal button of the last game, the grip button is the focal button here.  It doesn’t help that you have to use the jump button while holding the grip button to jump from spot to spot while grabbing.  There will be instances where you can’t do that, when you have to.  There will also be times where you want to do it, but the game never allows you to do it perfectly.  I have found myself getting very frustrated trying to jump from a ledge to a ledge behind me while hanging.  I mean, really.  How am I jumping at an angle when I’m jumping right behind me?  Oh, wait, that’s right.  The one thing that renders all controls virtually inept: camera controls….which are TERRIBLE in this game.  For once, there’s a targeting system, but even that’s hampered by shoddy camera work.  It takes a year and a day to get the camera set up right.  And, once you do, since there’s constant movement at work, you have to set it up right again.  No, there’s no button to set the camera right behind you, like in Zelda or Mario games.  Oh, and yes, the camera will take on a will of its own.  So, if you are in the process of jumping from one spot to another, like say from left to right, and the camera decides to just shift around for dramatic effect, you have to change the direction to match where you are supposed to jump.  All of a sudden, left to right becomes down and left to up and right.  I’m not even going to use the “minimalist” excuse or joke here.  I’ve lost many an hour and brain cell trying to figure out what to do next.  And to top it off, the call button is used to call your horse, Aggro, to you.  And, as sure as I’m writing this, he’s as stupid as Yorda.  Instead of actually moving in the direction you want to with the analog stick, you have to press the call button to get him moving, while the analog stick just changes direction.  I’m sure riding Epona wasn’t this annoying.  Also, the slightest twinge of the controller in another direction, and he’s going that way.  Sure, he’ll stop, but when there are spots where he could plainly make the jump, he doesn’t.  Don’t bother complaining.  That’s how the game was made.  And, how can I forget traversing the boss battles?  One minute, I’m sure I’m going to fall off since, you know, I’m not exactly standing on a flat surface if I’m on top of a boss.  Next thing you know, I survive.  However, there are times when I’m sure I’ll succeed, and I fail because of how the bosses are moving around.  Wow. Team ICO: have you learned nothing?

Etc.

Ok, now that I brought up the word, minimalist, again, here’s the story.  You play as a man named Wander.   The woman in your life is dead.  With her in tow, you ride to an abandoned castle, housing some very conspicuous spirits.  Upon hearing these spirits can grant your wish if you fulfill their task, Wander sets out, with an ancient sword and a reliable bow, to finish the challenge at hand: destroy the 16 colossi that live in the world.  Once destroyed, the wish will be granted, and the girl will live.  Now, that sounds like a pretty neat story, especially when seeing the size of these bosses.  And, I know the approach to this game was actually very unique.  The idea is to defeat the bosses with ingenuity and puzzle solving.  Find the mark on their body, and then stab it repeatedly until they are no more.  Some bosses have more than one mark, and all have them in very precarious places.  Now, considering the sheer size of some of these bosses, this is a pretty impressive idea.  There’s just one problem.  If you are wondering what Wander does between each boss battle, it goes like this:  he puts up his sword to find the location of the boss and searches, killing lizards along the way for food (but no one tells you that you can do that, not even the booklet, and this is useful since this will raise your stamina and grip meters).  You get lost, or you don’t, but you find the boss.  After the boss dies, you save.  You return to the starting point, and you do it again.  No mini-bosses.  No enemies, no save points on the way, not even any further storyline development until after certain bosses…later.   Just find the boss, kill the boss, and do it again.   So, in other words, this is just a glorified, 12 to 14 hour long, boss rush mode.  MINIMALIST!  I was very annoyed to find this out.  And what doesn’t help is that the extras do nothing to discredit that fact.  All you for finishing the game is a harder difficulty mode and time attack to see how fast you can do it.  Your rewards are just different colors of Aggro and stronger weapons.  THAT’S IT!  You’d think after all that, at least the ending would mean something.  Well, I told you it was a prequel, and, the ending pretty much proves that.  I won’t tell you what it is.  But, the payoff after all the frustration in getting through the game isn’t there.  In fact, if you ask me, it opens up more questions about the whole story.  Questions, which I’m sure no one has any answers to, or wants to find.  The only lasting appeal this game has, if any, is your attempt at beating the bosses faster.  Well, after all the control issues, and lack of depth, I say, no thank you.  But, hey, it’s art, right?

Final Verdict

Shadow of the Colossus, like ICO, is OK.  In fact, I found this game to be more enjoyable, when it came to battles at least.  However, just like ICO, it receives mountains of praise, and quite frankly, it doesn’t merit that in my view.  You can get the same amount of satisfaction in a boss rush mode for Castlevania, or better still, in a final level of a Mega Man game, challenge and all.  But, dressing up a boss rush mode with extra things like good graphics, sound, and the like, do not a great game make.  It makes for a lazy attempt at cashing in on your first success.  ICO had all the adventure elements that SOTC was missing, while SOTC had all the improved battle mechanics and bosses ICO didn’t have.  You know what that means, right?  You have two incomplete games, at times, riddled with the same problems as the other.  That’s not the sign of a great game, in my view.  And, yes, I did the favor of looking at people’s thoughts on both, and the reviews are as mixed as Mariah Carey and Jason Kidd.  Personally, I don’t find either game to be better than the other, just on the same level of bad for various reasons.  SOTC had the ability to be a great game, but the game’s lack of depth and horrible controls took me clear out of it.  And this was supposed to be the Adventure Game of the Year?  What else came out that year?  Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones?  Yea, I call shenanigans.  To summarize, SOTC had the right idea after 4 years of development, but had the wrong execution when it came to certain areas.  Is it the greatest of all time?  No.  Is it the other only game to be considered art?  No.  But, it was on the right track.   Too bad team ICO got ahead of themselves and decided to go minimalist…..again, only this time with story depth.  The tedium is just too much.  Oh well, at least we still have the Last Guardian game, right?  Oh, it hasn’t come out yet…or will.