The Gaming Experiment

I realize that the experiment is/was mostly for games that I have not completed in the past. But, I’m going to break my rules a little bit. This week I was able to complete, again, one of my favorite games of all time; Shadow of the Colossus.

This game, like Team Ico’s previous game Ico, is really the answer to anyone that asks the question, “Are videogames art?” This game in stunning, from the environment design to the combat mechanics, all are presented in a cohesive way that really allows the player to feel as though they are in this beautiful land.

The story seems to be pretty sparse of the background details of the protagonist. You play the part of the Wanderer. A young man that is trying to save the girl he loves. You ride in on your horse, Agro. He is loyal, and a great friend to you. Agro will be right by your side as you venture into the Forbidden Land. The Wanderer brings his love to a temple, and speaks to the Gods to resurrect her. She was sacrificed because she had a cursed existence and destiny. I won’t spoil anything else, but all I will say is that there is something that The Wanderer can do; kill 16 colossi, some the size of a tall building.

The things we do for love. These colossi are huge, some are just humongous, some fly, and others swim. You’ll have Agro at your side; sometimes you’ll need his help to get close enough for a good shot. Other times, you might need to jump off Agro, and hike to where you’ll need to be.

I’ll let you dive into the Colossi for yourself. They are just fantastic, and some the most creative boss battles ever.

SotC is a little different from your average game, no trash to kill and no collectables. Just straight to business, if you want to save Mono go and kill the 16 colossi of the Forbidden land. You will ride Agro, using your path finding sword, to the colossi and defeat them. You’ll need to climb them, scale their armor, and kill them. Killing some of the colossi gave me mixed feelings. The first in particular was tough, because he was just in the land. But if I wanted to save Mono, he had to go down, it was a part of the quest that brought me to the Forbidden Land.

I remember the first time I fought a colossi, and how epic that feeling was. Even after a couple years, that feeling of defeating a colossi is something that I rarely feel in games; an epic-ness that is tough but extremely rewarding.

This game is, without even a second thought, an Add to the Pile game. I would really love it if there was some way to update the graphics for the PS3. It looks great, the gameplay is amazing, and the story, though simple, is deep and rewarding. This is a must have for anybody's collection.

Stop everything that you’re doing. Buy this game, play it, then play it again. You won’t regret it, I promise.

Check out Team Ico's next game that was officially announced at this years E3 conference.