Boom, reviews are back. Would like to thank the ultimate supreme god Z of the Na'vi for making the banner for my reviews. Seemed silly to keep that old "Review series with no name" thing as that is technically a name, and thus I had the "Review series that is lying to you about the existence of it's label to separate itself from other reviewers on this site that was filled to the brim with reviewers and their own respective review series back in the day."
Also, I'm going to be keeping my reviews I write on a blog site to archive them. Any reason? Not really. I'll post a link next review. Bored now.
Anyway, here's the much more simply titled review series.
Also, I'm going to be keeping my reviews I write on a blog site to archive them. Any reason? Not really. I'll post a link next review. Bored now.
Anyway, here's the much more simply titled review series.
There are two games that people have held up at people who dismiss video games as mere toys. ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. These games are brought up and remembered so fondly by people that it makes me guilty that I never got them. I specifically remember seeing Shadow of the Colossus in a shop, interested in it, but ended up buying Just Cause on PS2 instead, which was still good, but all the people on the internet won't stop going on about the awe inspiring nature of Shadow of the Colossus, which made me think my decision wasn't all that smart. Well, now it's been polished so that the two games can earn a bit more money on new consoles, so time to see what I missed out on.
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[HEADING=1]ICO[/HEADING]
ICO is a puzzle platformer that was originally to be made on the PS1, until the creators saw the PS2 and massively over estimated it's power and created huge, epic environments with gorgeous graphics that rivals quite a few modern games thanks to this HD re-release. I think it's fair to say that if they had redone the textures completely rather than upscaled them for HD, ICO would be the most beautiful looking game this generation.
Look at this box art and tell me it isn't special.
See, most of the reason that people call Ico art is because of the relationship between the two characters, how sweet and touching it is despite the fact the game is very minimalist in tone and there is not an awful lot of spoken dialogue. I have to admit, I really like their relationship, and I hate most relationships I see in media. Simply Ico holding Yorda's hand and walking across a bridge is sweet enough as it is, and most the time, the only communication between the two is grunts through jumping. Since Yorda speaks a strange unknown language, the two can't even talk to one another and yet their pairing seems so perfect.
But, this game is not a dating simulator, this is an action adventure, puzzle, hit with stick game, so let's talk about the gameplay. Most of the gameplay is jumping from ledge to ledge trying to progress further in the game. Puzzles exist, and are relatively easy, but actually one of the main problems Ico has to overcome is actually working out how to do things. See, there is no tutorial, so it can be very hard to be trying to solve a puzzle when you don't know how to actually swing on a hanging chain. I didn't even know you could swing on a chain. This was early PS2, technology isn't that great.
There are many touching moments in this game. You
may want a tissue for some of them.
Oh yes, the combat. There are shadow monsters that are trying to steal Yorda for some reason. The combat isn't a strong arm for the game. You're playing a ten year old kid with horns, not Kratos. Around many shadow monsters, you can find yourself finding it impossible to not get hit by them. This is made better by how they can't kill you (That's reserved for the ridiculously large drops around the game). However, if they take Yorda, it is game over, since she's the one with the magical powers the opens doors, so when they knock you down, mash every single button again and again until they finally let you back in the fight and save the girl that they have already inevitably begun kidnapping.
The soundtrack deserves a special mention because it's jaw droppingly good. The song ?You were there? may just be my new favourite song that has ever been put into a video game (Sorry Twister from The World Ends With You), and I'm currently in the process of hunting down an official soundtrack album for it. That's how good it is.
There's really only a few things I can say that goes against this game; it's pretty short. I mentioned it was minimalist in tone, and it is. It is completely possible to complete it in under two hours (so the trophies tell me), but I managed it in five hours, not including times I had to reload an entire section because I jumped off a cliff or Yorda got herself stolen, so it may not be worth the £30 on its own, even if it does have quite a lot of replay value from hidden items, secrets and completion bonuses. It also has a strange habit of not telling the player what does what. I had no idea I could swing on ropes and chains, thank you for telling me, ICO. I guess that tutorial boxes would have broke the immersion, but they could have implemented something to help me.
This game rightly deserves it's place as art. I've never played anything quite like it and I'm not sure I ever will. From beginning to end, I had a lot of fun playing this. Though short lived, it was something I wouldn't have traded with the world.
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[HEADING=1]Shadow of the Colossus[/HEADING]
Now, this is the game I knew most about when going into. I had heard heaps of praise for it, heard some lovely things about its mechanics and actually knew what I was doing before I went into it; killing Colossi.
I knew these things and yet the game still blows me away. An unrivalled sense of scale swept me as I played this: the epic orchestral soundtrack pounding away as I held onto to the twenty foot tall giant mount on all fours, trying to shake me off like a dog for water on his coat. With my last ounce of strength, I clamber onto my feet before catching myself before the tremors of his footsteps throw me off. I raise my sword and force it, with every fibre of my being into the beast, causing it to crash, shaking the earth as it does.
Imagine this, but with incredible music.
The main object of the game is killing Colossi, but that's only a small part of it. There are quite a few of them, but most of the game you will be exploring the wide open plains and beautiful vistas and treacherous paths on your horse Agro. This is a game of beauty, with varied environments from forests, to deserts and deserted mountains. While out and about, why not take some fruit from the trees, or hunt lizard tails? These things are rewarding in the way that they help your character by increasing his strength gauge or health meter. Perhaps you simply want to just roam around and see what you can find? The game lets you do this, and there's quite a bit to see.
The game mainly focuses on grip, with an entire button dedicated to holding on tightly. This button in your best friend and it is impossible to finish the game without it. The game is unique in the focus on it, and this pays off immensely, giving the game a very unique feel.
The story is pretty basic. You are a dashing young lad whose loved one has died, so you are making a deal with an omnipotent to bring her back to life, and, in return, you have to kill sixteen colossi. It's a basic plot, but the game, like ICO, is minimalist in tone and talking only happens when it is really needed, which is not most of the time to be honest.
Wait, that's not what you do against him... DUCK AND COVER!
Ah yes, the length. Obviously, with sixteen colossi, this game is longer than ICO, but the game is still pretty short, clocking in at nine hours for me, but I'm not going to mark it down for that. Oh no, this game delivers a challenge mode after you beat the game and that is something grand to do. It also gives you an optional hard mode to beat the game on, and, like ICO, secrets to discover in the main game.
What I will mark it down on however is the instability of this game. It has an annoying tendency to glitch horribly before going into a horrible crash, usually just as you're about to kill a colossus, and let me tell you, I have yet to experience anything that is more frustrating than 40 minutes worth of a boss fight just thrown down a drain. The colossi's movement can also get annoying with you barely getting a chance to even move on a colossus because their footsteps are measured on the Richter Scale, leading to many frustrating times where you fall to the bottom, such as the miniature sized bull colossus, who kept bucking and didn't give me much of a chance to take a nice stab at it.
My complaints barely make a dent in what is an extremely solid and beautiful game. Clear scratches, but like scratches, you can get past them and respect it for what is is, and that is epic in every single way.
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Is the collection worth it, you may ask? Yes. It is worth every microsecond and every single piece of money you have to spare. I would even recommend this to those that did not miss this the first time around, because I know it fixes the frame rate issues that they had while on the PS2 (And I'm not surprised it did, the environments in both of these are enormous and the quality is stupendous) and who would not want to experience these games again? Honestly, I could not answer that question.
