Games Not Beaten 2014

[BogusMeatFactory]

Well, I have games I have not beaten this year:

Shadow of the Colossus: Can't do it.

Oh no! Why? I am curious to know your thoughts on the game.

[IrishNinja]

http://backloggery.com/IrishNinja

^so, so many games i just gave up on too

[dunpeal2064]

Well, I have games I have not beaten this year:

Shadow of the Colossus: Can't do it.

Oh no! Why? I am curious to know your thoughts on the game.

It was probably just my mood causing me to not enjoy the game as much as I shoudl be. But, I'll share my thoughts anways!

The game is all atmosphere. If you want to get lost in a game, a Flower-like experience, it is very good for that. Controls take some getting used to, but they do the job once you get a hang of things. Graphics are great, music is fitting.

As for the actual game play.... well, the game feels very pre-set. In that, I mean, after downing just one or two colossi, I got this feeling that I knew just how the majority of the game was going to play out. Shine sword, follow shine, find sun, shine sword, follow light, find colossus, shine sword, climb, fall, climb, kill colossus, repeat.

Of course, the actual killing of the colossus is the main draw here. But, what I wanted (and expected, which may have been wrong of me) from these fights, was some sort of puzzle aspect. While it is there, for me each puzzle was blatantly obvious as to how to solve. The actual gameplay, for me, seriously felt like a mechanical bull simulator. Your biggest challenge is RNG making a colossus decide to shake around for too long. If this doesn't happen, you will kill everything with no issue. If you do, you just have to repeat the same puzzle with the same answer, to get back on the colossus, which takes time.

... which is really what the game felt like, after killing over half the colossi in the game. A few really cool moments, surrounded by a lot of ways to extend what really is only an hour or two long game into a "grand experience"

Then again, I spend a lot of time cracking the whip over my own back playing stuff like shmups, Beatmania, God Hand, etc. I imagine it would be like someone fresh out of a Fight Club trying to appreciate a fine wine. The senses are dulled after all the assault, and instead of being drawn into the atmosphere and journey of the game, I just felt.... like I wasn't really playing a game at all.

I haven't completely given up on it, but I won't try to play it until I rally feel like I am in the proper mood for such things.

... for what its worth, I did enjoy Ico, even though you could lob a lot of the same complaints at the game. In Ico, though, I never really knew what was around the corner. I mean, I did, it was going to be more platforming, puzzles, and shadow dudes... but I didn't get the sense of "I know this entire game already" that SotC gave me. Also, Ico actually had puzzles, and it felt far less like an "extended adventure". Maybe I was just in the perfect mood for Ico, and if so, when that mood strikes again I will rush towards SotC.

[BoneSnapDeez]

SotC is okay........ Always found the camera and controls to be clunky.

[BogusMeatFactory]

On SotC, I understand your stance there Dun, because, in all honesty, your commentary on the colossi is true, there are some change-ups thrown at you, but not much to make it seem incredibly diverse. The draw is the atmosphere and how the game ties in with ICO (which it does). You really do have to be in the right mood to play the game, much like you have to be in the right mood to watch certain types of movies.

Like with Bone said, the camera is terrible and the controls are clunky, but I always felt like the controls felt more real. Riding the horse is clunky, because a horse can not react with pinpoint accuracy.

The game is not perfect and relies heavily on themes that differ greatly from a lot of games, which makes it difficult to hunker down into and dive into the world. I love it and the world they were creating and it makes me sad to continue to wait for more, as the Last Guardian may never see the light of day, which is just my luck as my most favorite game series may never see continuations (Shenmue, Myst etc.)

[Fragems]

I enjoyed SotC a lot it has some of my favorite boss fights of all time. While some of the bosses are a little bland there are some really good ones mixed in I especially liked the flying/swimming bosses. I wasn't to big a fan of the final colossi for a variety of reasons .

While I hated the clunky controls at first they serve there purpose. Your character is not a warrior from the get go and the clunky controls serve the same purpose as the strength meter. You are supposed to feel like weak little human conquering massive obstacles to reach your ultimate goal.

Think I have played it through 2-3 times now. Got the HD remake of it a while back and have been meaning to blow through it again.

[TSTR]

I gave up on Malicious the other day. I really wanted to like this. It has a wonderful art style and engaging music, but I just could not get over the floaty combat and the god-awful camera. I wasn't going to force myself to spend any more time on it when I have plenty of other, better games in the same vein.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I gave up on Malicious the other day. I really wanted to like this. It has a wonderful art style and engaging music, but I just could not get over the floaty combat and the god-awful camera.

Oh, so it's a lot like Shadow of the Colossus then?

[TSTR]

I gave up on Malicious the other day. I really wanted to like this. It has a wonderful art style and engaging music, but I just could not get over the floaty combat and the god-awful camera.

Oh, so it's a lot like Shadow of the Colossus then?

Haha, yeah, in the "made of big boss fights way" I reckon. I haven't played SotC yet, so I'm hoping I'll have a better experience with that.

[Luke]

Battletoads.

The snow level must have to be memorized in order to beat it, and I'm not quite there yet. I'll beat the game by the end of the year, I think, but I may start switching playing it on the nes and the Genesis.