For some strange reason, jewpin's thread couldn't be found on Search.
I'll try to keep this brief.
Shadow of the Colossus is really really really really good. I could go on for hours kissing this game's ass, but then if you asked me why it rules so much, I would have to try and explain the awesomeness of the boss battles, and that would require talking about each colossus, which would ruin the boss battle for anyone who hasn't played the game. Maybe I'll handle this by breaking the game down into categories.
Graphics: I played this game on my giant home theater screen, and while I could notice sometimes that the ground is a cheap texture or spot a hawk with blocky polygons, I would have to be blind to not call this game beautiful. While my friend who let me borrow it says the occansional frame drop bothered him, I have beaten the game and never noticed any framerate drop. My conclusion to this is that if are able to notice things like framerate, you are not letting yourself enjoy the game and you're purposely looking for problems. The world you explore is supremely well-crafted with lots of prettiness, and the game's camera has this great motion blur that gives the game a superb cinematic feel. The animation of the main hero is really great, because immediately you get a feeling for his character and personality, and you identify with him. The fact that his name is never spoken and he's only spoken to as "you" helps you, well, BECOME the hero, and when you're running away from a colossus and the hero looks over his shoulder at it with a facial expression of nervousness, suddenly you feel nervous too. Trying to explain how awesome the colossi look is just as hard as describing a Mozart piece to a deaf person (especially hard since they're deaf). But I think it's fair to say that almost every Colossus puts the "awe" in "awesome."
Sound: There's not many sound effects in this game compared to others, but for what they are, they are cool sound effects. The home theater's subwoofer had a really great time going off every time a giant foot hit the ground or an explosion went off. And I gotta say, if there's one thing about this game that's left a lasting impression on me, it's not the Colossi but the music. The music in this game is top-notch orchestrated awesomeness. There are NOT many songs that actually make me feel an emotion, and the music pulls this off exceedingly well. I'd buy the soundtrack for $15 if it was right in front of me right now.
Gameplay: The other day I was babbling to Squeek about how he NEEDS to get this game, and he was like "Moogy said it gets old after a while." And deep, deep down, I probably agree with him. You figure out how to get on the Colossus, and then you stab him, rinse, and repeat 15 more times. But couldn't the same thing be said about, say, Ocarina of Time's bosses? You figure out how to make them vulnerable, and then you cut up the weak spots with your sword until they die. Right? You travel to each colossus with the help of your sword, which creates a beam of light in the direction that the colossus is. It's up to you on how to get there. The travelling part of the game is kind of cool, but only in that world is really pretty and good for sight-seeing. Unfortunately, there's no rewards for going off track and exploring on your own, as there's no hidden bonuses or anything. Any exploring done is basically just for the sake of exploring, which is a damn shame. Even if it gets old, it's STILL worth playing just to have experienced the coolness of defeating monsters that would normally make you crap your pants and run crying home to mommy.
Aaaaaaaaaand that's all I got. This game is super-mondo-mega-righteous, and gets the Omega Medal for Excellence In Ass-Kickery.
Seriously, what happened to Jewpin's review?
I'll try to keep this brief.
Shadow of the Colossus is really really really really good. I could go on for hours kissing this game's ass, but then if you asked me why it rules so much, I would have to try and explain the awesomeness of the boss battles, and that would require talking about each colossus, which would ruin the boss battle for anyone who hasn't played the game. Maybe I'll handle this by breaking the game down into categories.
Graphics: I played this game on my giant home theater screen, and while I could notice sometimes that the ground is a cheap texture or spot a hawk with blocky polygons, I would have to be blind to not call this game beautiful. While my friend who let me borrow it says the occansional frame drop bothered him, I have beaten the game and never noticed any framerate drop. My conclusion to this is that if are able to notice things like framerate, you are not letting yourself enjoy the game and you're purposely looking for problems. The world you explore is supremely well-crafted with lots of prettiness, and the game's camera has this great motion blur that gives the game a superb cinematic feel. The animation of the main hero is really great, because immediately you get a feeling for his character and personality, and you identify with him. The fact that his name is never spoken and he's only spoken to as "you" helps you, well, BECOME the hero, and when you're running away from a colossus and the hero looks over his shoulder at it with a facial expression of nervousness, suddenly you feel nervous too. Trying to explain how awesome the colossi look is just as hard as describing a Mozart piece to a deaf person (especially hard since they're deaf). But I think it's fair to say that almost every Colossus puts the "awe" in "awesome."
Sound: There's not many sound effects in this game compared to others, but for what they are, they are cool sound effects. The home theater's subwoofer had a really great time going off every time a giant foot hit the ground or an explosion went off. And I gotta say, if there's one thing about this game that's left a lasting impression on me, it's not the Colossi but the music. The music in this game is top-notch orchestrated awesomeness. There are NOT many songs that actually make me feel an emotion, and the music pulls this off exceedingly well. I'd buy the soundtrack for $15 if it was right in front of me right now.
Gameplay: The other day I was babbling to Squeek about how he NEEDS to get this game, and he was like "Moogy said it gets old after a while." And deep, deep down, I probably agree with him. You figure out how to get on the Colossus, and then you stab him, rinse, and repeat 15 more times. But couldn't the same thing be said about, say, Ocarina of Time's bosses? You figure out how to make them vulnerable, and then you cut up the weak spots with your sword until they die. Right? You travel to each colossus with the help of your sword, which creates a beam of light in the direction that the colossus is. It's up to you on how to get there. The travelling part of the game is kind of cool, but only in that world is really pretty and good for sight-seeing. Unfortunately, there's no rewards for going off track and exploring on your own, as there's no hidden bonuses or anything. Any exploring done is basically just for the sake of exploring, which is a damn shame. Even if it gets old, it's STILL worth playing just to have experienced the coolness of defeating monsters that would normally make you crap your pants and run crying home to mommy.
Aaaaaaaaaand that's all I got. This game is super-mondo-mega-righteous, and gets the Omega Medal for Excellence In Ass-Kickery.
Seriously, what happened to Jewpin's review?
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