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.

Game Diary - July 16, 2008

I find that I might have given up on "Alone in the Dark". As much as I want to love this game, I just can't bring myself to play it again. The very cheap one hit deaths have made me scorn the game I was most eager for this summer.

I went looking for the fourth Colossi in "Shadow of the Colossus" today, and that's about as far as I got. The bugger was no where in sight. You think it would be easier to spot a foe the size of a skyscraper, but somehow my massive adversary managed to evade my sword. It would help if the directions to get to each lumbering adversary weren't so cryptic. I mean the whole sword glowing thing is cool, but it doesn't direct me as well as I'd like.

Spoilers contained herin, be warned!
Since I was still in the mood for some epic adventures, I returned to "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" for the first time since forever. I toppled the villain Zant with my powerful Master Sword and resumed an adventure that's been in progress since I bought my Wii back in June 2006. Unfortunately, the quest is not over and you-know-who lurks at Hyrule Castle. I barely find myself up for one more dungeon, but I'll consider returning to this one. I just might finish it before the next one comes out.


Compare the Wii version of Animal Crossing to the DS and see for yourself.

I also played some Animal Crossing: Wild World on DS and felt a vague sense of deja' vu. The presentation is very similar to the recently announced Wii version, a little too similar in fact. My gut tells me that we can expect another Nintendo title with zero innovation attached, another game that's more of the same. I only hope that I'm wrong.

Game Diary: July 9, 2008

After one hour, I've got three Colossi down and thirteen left to go.

The thing that strikes me most about revisiting "Shadow of the Colossus" just one week before E3 is that I'm convinced this game was only successful because of the huge marketing push that Sony put behind it. That's not to say that the game isn't art, but I recall a number of two-page ads, a commercial, and similar endorsements created to generate buzz for the obscure sounding game (and I only hope that they eventually learned this).

My first experience came with a demo sent to me in the mail (prior to that, i never knew what a Colossi was). And what a demo indeed! It captured the first battle with a Colossi (I think it ended actually before you even fought him). You look up at this lumbering creature roughly the size of a five or six story house (actually he's petite compared to his comrades) and BAM! Demo over. End Scene.

But what is it that specifically makes this game feel enormous, even by today's standards? Is it the immense proportions of scope and scale as you battle enormous creatures that can, and will, kill you if they land a blow? Is it the connection to your horse, the only character in the game you'll interact with during the eight to ten hour game? Or is it the futility of the Wander's mission, as he is fooled into believing that his sacrifice will reunite him with the woman he loves?

People on the internets continue to argue that "Shadow of the Colossus" is a sheer representation of games as art, and that's fine. But I argue that if "Shadow of the Colossus" is art, then "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" is our Mona Lisa (and forget the constant comparisons to film, as if nothing ever existed before Citizen Kain). I make this argument because as much as Shadow does so much with very little, it's really a minimalist version of the stuff Link has done for decades. The only detractor being that Zelda bosses never appeared as complex on the surface (they didn't make you feel anywhere as pathetic as some of the Colossi can).

However, Nintendo's constant refinements to the franchise (without introducing anything really new) are slowly making the series lose its luster.

Besides rolling around and cutting up some Colossi, I managed to sneak in some time in Animal Crossing. I named my town Cali (for obvious reasons), and my character doesn;t have enough money to pay the rent. I'll try to stick with this one for as long as I can, but i have a feeling its not going to last.

Maybe I should invest in the DS version instead.

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.