As I've said before my PS3 is currently broken and from the looks of it I probably won't get it fixed until the end of the semester. As soon as I start up my summer job I'll be able to pay for the repairs. Until then, my PSP and PS2 have been getting quite a bit more of my attention recently. I've been playing through Final Fantasy IX, my favorite FF game, but that's is a story for another blog post.
I was nostalgically going through my old PS2 games, specifically the Ratchet & Clank and Kingdom Hearts series, until I found my copy of Shadow of the Colossus. I bought this game about two years ago used because of all the praise it gets, but I never had the chance to finish it. I really enjoyed what I did play. The world was beautiful for what the PS2 could do graphically back in the day. The shear size of the colossi when one is first revealed to you makes it seem impossible you could ever hurt it and the sense of accomplishment you get when the creature finally falls to the ground dead is an amazing feeling. That said, I did burn out on it eventually. The game has a great opening and (now that I've beaten it) ending, but the lack of narrative in between makes the game seem like it's dragging.
I only had two colossi left to defeat, so instead of starting a new game I decided to continue where I left off years ago. It took me a while to get back into the controls. I don't think they really hold up anymore. Response time seems slow and the climbing mechanic has been improved in games like Uncharted and Assassin's Creed since then, but the game is still good by today's standards. Luckily the second to last colossus seemed fairly easy. The last one took me close to an hour just to figure out what to do, although it was probably the most satisfying boss fight in the game.
Without spoiling it, I have to say the ending is probably one of the most profound game endings I have ever seen. While the twist was somewhat obvious it was sad to see the culmination of all your work almost be for nothing. Another thing I love about the ending is the interactivity of it. It isn't just a cut-scene like you see in a lot of games, the player is still controlling the character while everything is playing out. The ending to Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood had a similar feeling to me. It gives you the idea that you can still control what will happen and perhaps prevent something terrible from occurring even though it's inevitable in both cases. Interactive cut-scenes aren't anything new, but I feel they aren't always done right. Some of the best game narratives are done with no cut-scenes at all, like Half-Life and Bioshock.
So that is what I've been playing lately. After completing Shadow I can see why so many people consider it one of the greatest games ever made, but I can also understand why some fell out of the experience. I would agree more with the former myself. I think I may still purchase the ICO Collection when it's released even though I already own Shadow. I've never played ICO and would love to go through SOTC again before Last Guardian comes out. Plus I am somewhat of a trophy-whore.
Peace.
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