Backlog: And Then There Were Seven...

My Colossi killing streak continues now that I found number four. I quickly moved on and slayed numbers five and six, soon after.

I find the proportions and sense of scale, in "Shadow of the Colossus", simply amazing. Every Colossi feels huge, but as they get progressively bigger you really appreciate not only the way they look and move, but the way they interact with the world. I'll use Colossi number five as an example.


The deity in the great temple warned me about Colossi number 5. "Blah, Blah, He's no body's fool," he (or it) said. I rode off to find the beast, and while I expected him to be smart, I didn't expect him to be fast. This one was fast, indeed. Number 5 ran through big stone walls, about as high as his abdomen, trying to crush me. This Colossi isn't taller than the third one, but he makes his presence felt and chases me into a small crevice - a place where I can hide and wait to strike.

And strike I did, toppling the large creature despite his attempts to shake me off.

I can't help but notice how well this game immerses players with so little gameplay. The space that the developers have provided is as big as a GTA (maybe), but minus the population. This world manages to feel alive without the pedestrians or the open mission structure. Instead, Shadow of the Colossus deliberately chooses to be linear, and it retains a majority of what GTA manages to provide. The world of the Colossi might feel lonely in comparison, but it still feels alive.

It would be interesting to see Team Ico's next project now that they can develop on more powerful consoles (presumably the PS3). I'd even be interested in their next game if it were developed for PSP.

Backlog: Time to Topple Mountains, Again!

I’m genuinely excited to be playing old games right now, thanks in part to 1UP FM. In the segment titled “Backlog”, the editors and other media people play through older games (ahem..., Squadron of Shame caliber choices) like “Shadow of the Colossus” and other prolific titles to reminisce and ruminate about their experiences in game’s the world.


Although I tend to move from game to game pretty quickly, I admire this segment since it encourages me to revisit games that I quickly flew through years ago, and never gave a second glance. I look forward to the Backlog segment each week, and although they are one podcast away from finishing “Shadow of the Colossus”, I figured now was a good a time to join them as any. So today at Gamestop, I re-bought the game everyone dubbed “a masterpiece” back in 2005.

Clearly, I’ve returned to gaming’s well this past week since all I’ve played is a lot of “Super Stardust HD” (61,000,000 points, and growing), fragged up the place in Halo 3’s Chill Out map remake named “Cold Storage”, and enlisted for my second tour in “Call of Duty 4” campaign.

Maybe I’m just a sour puss but I’m only half excited for for the plethora of announcements that will be unveiled during next weeks E3 in Los Angeles. E3 represents so much to gamers everywhere, and even if it’s significance is slightly diminished, it’ll still be North America’s biggest gaming spectacle of 2008 (unless PAX ’08 comes along and ends up even bigger).

Still, while we all wait and ruminate over the upcoming blockbuster titles that will slowly surface next week, I’ll be slaying mountain sized monster men (if Colossi indeed have a gender - and they might not).


Oh, and I went out and picked up the original “Animal Crossing” for the Nintendo Gamecube. Now, before the where-the-fuck-have-you-been alarm goes off in your head, Animal Crossing is one of the few games that I missed last gen (and I still don’t remember why). Now that I dwell on it, i recall playing “the Sims” and getting fed up with that kind of game. I haven’t tried any simulator till I played “Viva Pinata” this year.

My problem in general with these games is the amount of tedium in managing the micro economies they provide. In “The Sims” (the console sims Get a Life mode), i had to get a job and try to grow and manage relationships, and it all bored me to tears . The whole doll house, sandbox thing was completely irrelevant to me (mind you, Doll house fever and the Sims were all the rage back then), and despite my initial attraction to the concept I grew bored of the game and moved on. Then in 2006, the 1UP Yours podcast enticed me to go out an try “Viva Pinata”, a similar title in the simulation world, but I couldn’t get past the abhorrent packaging Microsoft slapped on that game (if you haven’t seen it, you need to).
A good friend of mine in New York sent me the game for Christmas, and I’ve loved it ever since. Now I’m not sure what changed in me from 2002 to now. Logistically, I still can’t figure it out, but I try to tend my Garden of Love in Viva, whenever I can.

However, Animal Crossing wasn’t an impulse buy. It was influenced by the opinion everyone has that we’ll hear Nintendo announce a sequel on Tuesday. Oh, well. We'll find out soon enough now won't we.