So I haven't played Shadow Of The Colossus...

[Sonicron]

It's not the best game ever, but it's still amazing and it is unique, something which has become as rare as it gets. You probably won't go to gamer hell for not having played it, but it'd be a shame if you missed it.

Meh I didn't like it. I found it to be a rather dull experience while trying to trick me into thinking it was so deep. Why give me a huge world and no reason to explore it?

The colossi in the second half of the game tend to take a lot of health and stamina out of the main character, so there is a reason to explore the world, namely finding all the fruit growing on trees and the lizards with the white tail (to increase your health bar and stamina gauge respectively). Plus it looks amazing, and the fact that there are no enemies around gives it a rather serene atmosphere, which is a nice change from the usual.

 

[Marlun_42]

It's a really great game. If you ever see a used copy somewhere, buy it. Not really the best game ever, but one of the more artistically inclined.

 

[GundamSentinel]

While I personally think it's the BEST GAME EVAR!!1!!one!!, it's all a matter of taste. If you like a bit of artyness and have enought brains to not just play shooters you might want to pick it up (somewhere, I dunno. I spent 3 months tracking my copy down). It's a great game, with a great feel to it. Don't play it for the gameplay, don't play it for graphics or sound. Play it for what it is. An impressive journey, that might bring out a lot of emotion.

 

[soulasylum85]

Neither have I.
I've been meaning to pick it up, but I keep getting distracted by Final Fantasy games.

Strolling through a Game store,
"I have to find Shadow of the Colossus. Have to find Shadow of the Colo-
...Tactics, ey?" *picks up game*
"Let's have a look... *inaudible mumbling* Hmmmm."
"I'll buy this my good man!" *slams Final Fantasy Tactics on the desk*

excellent choice. tactics is definately in my top 3 if not #1

Doesn't beat FFX... in my opinion.

i respect your opionion however they are two completely different types of games. however ffx i beat once, fft i beat 3 times on the ps1 and twice on the psp, yes i thought i was so good that i bought it twice once in 97 and once whenever it came out on psp. both are great games but i think tactics wins because of the replay value as it can be played many different ways.

however this thread is about shadow of the colossus which was another excellent game and one of the best things about it imo was the massive scale of the enemies and the risk the devlopers took by making a game made of only boss battles with no lesser enemies. also the way that you fought the creatures was very innovative and i havent seen anyone do anything like that since.

 

[JoshGod]

i played it most of the way through and didnt find it very to my taste
find boss, kill boss by climbing up its back to a circle, watch statue break,repeat untill all bosses gone then final battle.

(i know most bosses require a bit more but its never usually too hard i was probly 10or 12 when i played it)

(not to say it's bad, but just not as epic as ulld expect mayby ico was so good fanboyism lingers?)

 

[OddOzZy666]

As the title implies, I haven't played Shadow Of The Colossus, which is quite disheartening and odd as everyone deems it as BEST GAME EVER!!!1

I wouldn't call it best game ever.
You can beat it on a short rental (I beat it within 24 hours) as there are only boss fights. Yes, I said ONLY boss fights. There's that and a big, empty world devoid of anything fun. No little creatures to kill, nothing to find, nothing to do. Frankly, you're not missing much.

Instead of SoC, get Demon's Souls, which is Castlevania: SOTN (or Metroid) crossed with Shadow of Colossus. Huge environments filled with creatures, traps and puzzles. And boss fights that are very memorable.

I've been wanting Demon's souls, I dunno if its region locked though. Sucks living in the UK

 

[Volafortis]

Demon's Souls is great. The boss fights are solid, and it's difficult, but you learn from defeat.

 

[SantoUno]

I haven't played it either because I never owned a PS2 and none of the people I knew that had a PS2 played it. I'm going to buy a PS2 later on so I should get it eventually.

 

[squid5580]

It's not the best game ever, but it's still amazing and it is unique, something which has become as rare as it gets. You probably won't go to gamer hell for not having played it, but it'd be a shame if you missed it.

Meh I didn't like it. I found it to be a rather dull experience while trying to trick me into thinking it was so deep. Why give me a huge world and no reason to explore it?

The colossi in the second half of the game tend to take a lot of health and stamina out of the main character, so there is a reason to explore the world, namely finding all the fruit growing on trees and the lizards with the white tail (to increase your health bar and stamina gauge respectively). Plus it looks amazing, and the fact that there are no enemies around gives it a rather serene atmosphere, which is a nice change from the usual.

You are not doing well if you are trying to convince me it was better than I think it is. Collectibles suck. They suck even more when you are trapped in an empty world. I do give it credit for it's graphics and the overall uniqueness of the game. It had a solid idea behind it. It just didn't appeal to me whatsoever. And I will admit there was one scene that broke my heart towards the end. Anyone who has played it will know exactly which one I mean so please don't ruin it for those that haven't. And this is just my opinion. I understand why others fell in love with it. I just didn't.

And no at the time I wasn't a shooting frat boy looking for non stop action. Infact at the time I was a complete Japanophile and had played maybe 2 FPSes.

 

[Cherry Cola]

Neither have I.
I've been meaning to pick it up, but I keep getting distracted by Final Fantasy games.

Strolling through a Game store,
"I have to find Shadow of the Colossus. Have to find Shadow of the Colo-
...Tactics, ey?" *picks up game*
"Let's have a look... *inaudible mumbling* Hmmmm."
"I'll buy this my good man!" *slams Final Fantasy Tactics on the desk*

excellent choice. tactics is definately in my top 3 if not #1

Doesn't beat FFX... in my opinion.

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

[sub]In case you where wondering I was making fun of the laughing scene in FFX... I have nothing constructive to add[/sub]

OT: It's my favorite game ever. And you must play it.

NAO!

 

[llafnwod]

Nor I. I've never had a PS2 and don't particularly want to buy another console. Still, I sorely wish to play that game.

Console exclusivity can go fuck itself.

I too am an ardent PC gamer, but some games simply need to be played with a controller. SotC is one of them. A borrowed a friend's PS2 (which I've had for like, a year now) for the sole purpose of playing this game.

 

[rokkolpo]

the re-release is going to be out soon.

so wait for that.

 

[metalmmaniac]

good storytelling, epic boss-battles.

ebay sells all....but i have heard they may be re-releasing it.

 

[BlumiereBleck]

graphics are probably the best and same with controls. Story is so so, all you do is fight giant monsters. It's hard but good is what i'm getting at.

 

[Monshroud]

As the title implies, I haven't played Shadow Of The Colossus, which is quite disheartening and odd as everyone deems it as BEST GAME EVER!!!1!

Which brings me to my question, what am I missing out on? and where can I find a decent copy? (Same questions apply to Ico aswell)

To paraphrase from Yahtzee's review of Psychonauts:
It depends if you are the sort of misty-eyed 'games are art' hippie or are you a ritilin popping xbox owner who falls into a coma after not killing something for 5 seconds.

The scenery is pretty and vast but devoid of life. The boss fights are interesting but a bit repetitive. (e.g. walk or climb boss, find glowing weak spot, stab, rinse and repeat.) You kinda have to make up the story since it doesn't really tell you why you are doing any of this and the ending will likely leave you scratching your head. It's more of an artistic statement to me.

Actually, if you want to re-read a thread that I wrote on SotC which has probably some of the best views on the game, check out:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.132293#2947789

Evilbunny's views are quite in-depth and thought provoking.

I think the game is worth playing, just understand what you are going to be walking into.

 

[similar.squirrel]

Nor I. I've never had a PS2 and don't particularly want to buy another console. Still, I sorely wish to play that game.

Console exclusivity can go fuck itself.

I too am an ardent PC gamer, but some games simply need to be played with a controller. SotC is one of them. A borrowed a friend's PS2 (which I've had for like, a year now) for the sole purpose of playing this game.

I was actually bemoaning the fact that the game is Playstation-exclusive, as I have an Xbox360. Still, I'd ditch it had I the funds for a PC. So I'm with you on this.

 

[Treblaine]

statistically speaking it makes sense most of us haven't played it, it wasn't the biggest selling game of all time. Even then if you want to pick it up today you'd be hard pressed to find a copy unless you troll around ebay for a while.

I want to play the game but as long as these rumours of a HD re-release a la God of War Collection, I'm tempted to wait for that.

Then again I could just be procrastinating because deep down I'm a dumb philistine who just wants to shoot things and wants predictable games and am worried this very Japanese game will end up just a bit too pretentious

But I LOVED Zelda so much, and I hear Shadow is one game that gets closer to that feel than so many others... but the graphics get so ropey (from screenshots) I'm still going to hold out till these HD-remake rumours go somewhere or die.