When I worked at GameStop, back in the day, I was told constantly how much Shadow of the Colossus and Ico should be included in any serious gamer's repertoire. I never got around to playing them until the HD versions recently became available on the PSN. I decided to try SotC. I then made my purchase, waited anxiously as my download chugged and, when it was finally installed, prepared myself for gaming glory.
What greeted me were sluggish, unresponsive controls, wonky animations, some terrible design choices, and a minimalist story (I assume if I would have played the "sequel" Ico I would appreciate at least this aspect more). My disclaimer is this: I am judging this game based on its merits today, not from the time of its release. Unfortunately, this title must simply fall under the broadening category of "didn't age well."
First, the controls. This was really my biggest colossus to do battle with and it felt like the fiercest. I'm not even referring to the button layout (which is fully customizable, a huge plus in my book), I'm referring to the blatant disregard Wander (the "protagonist") seemingly has for my commands. I press the jump button and he might jump. The jump button shares the triangle button with the "mount Agro" command. Agro (should've been named "Agro-vating"*...) is your faithful and dim-witted steed. I can't even count how many times I would be circling Agro trying to mount-up only to have Wander hop around like a buffoon. Not that he was alone in his idiocy. Agro must have shared the seat next to Wander on the short bus because he controlled even worse. If you press X while pushing the left control stick up, Agro is supposed to start walking. Pressing X multiple times (or holding it down) is supposed to make Agro run. Except that, although Agro has no stamina bar and this doesn't seem to be intentional, Agro will go from full-throttle to leisurely park-strolling in a second without any real reason. Not to mention that he corners like a cruise ship. Seriously, controlling Agro through some beautiful, winding, mountain trails was one of the harder parts of the game. If Agro even sensed that he might be coming up to a cliff he would immediately change direction and would become even more unresponsive, as unbelievable as that may be. Let's not even mention the number of times that I would be calling to Agro for him to come to me only to have him run past me and keep jogging just out of my reach with Wander in tow. Ah, fun times indeed.
About that running: I live in Southeast Asia and I've never seen anybody run as ridiculously as Wander. I cannot even describe the lunacy that is his gate. Even when Wander is standing still he stands hunched-over like a member of the Donkey Kong family, his arms dangling from his shoulders dumbly. Hell, the only time Wander moves well is when he is hanging-on for dear life from the back-hairs of one of his gargantuan adversaries. Which brings me to the game design choices....
Let me be very clear in this: fighting and taking down each and every one of the colossi was both interesting and extremely well thought-out. I love the ideas that were apparent in every battle, but I believe that they could've been executed much better if only the game was a bit more user-friendly. My biggest, controller-chucking frustration came with battling the 14th colossus. Without spoiling too much, the trick to this guy is getting his armor off before you are able to damage him. The fight takes place in some ruins and you have to do a series of acrobatics and coaxes to get him to knock-down a wall and, eventually, a platform that crashes onto him thus removing his armor. I brought him to just before the armor-removing part seven times and every time I went to start the climb to the top of the aforementioned platform, he would knock me to the ground and kill me. Was it quick? No. These were seven of the most excruciatingly slow deaths in my video game history. See, if Wander gets knocked-down he takes a cat nap. Seriously, the guy just won't budge for about five or six seconds. This gives the colossus plenty of time to ready and execute his next attack. All you get to do is watch Wander get wailed-on for a solid minute before the game allows you to restart the whole boss fight. I've never thrown a controller, but this brought me the closest I've ever been. Some people who bash this game also say that you spend too much time hanging-on to these beasts while they flail about in hopes of throwing Wander off. I am in the opposite camp in that I believe this aspect to be wholly believable in regards to the plight of the colossi. If anything: sometimes I think that they are a little too complacent with you stabbing them in the head repeatedly with your sword.
This brings me to the story. Oh, the story. If I said anything more than I already have (you play as Wander who, with his cruise ship Agro, is trying to murder 16 colossi) I would be spoiling the plot. That is to say: it is bare-bones. It leaves you with more questions than it gives answers. That, however, is the end of my grievances with this aspect of SotC. One thing that this game does well is make you search your soul to rationalize exactly why it is that you are going on a colossi-slaying rampage. Of course, the conclusion that you inevitably come to will really make you feel like a total scumbag. Even Wander's appearance changes from the first time he rides into the camera. By the end of his journey, it is clear that killing all of those marvelous beasts has taken a tremendous toll on the "protagonist" (a term which must be used loosely).
All-in-all, Shadow of the Colossus is a perfect example of how some "classics" just can't continue to stand up to the standards in an ever-changing industry. That industry, by the way, is the game industry and, at the end of the day, it is a title's game-play that will make or break it. It's really very unfortunate that SotC couldn't get its act together to entrance a new set of gamers who missed the first ride.
Make sure to post all of your hate comments below!
*This play on words is not nearly as face-palm inducing as Agro's controls... or lack thereof.
(Photo from Lusipurr.com.)
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