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but getting to each seemed laborious

It didn't seem, it was. That was the point - a sprawling land, isolated from the rest of the world to contain the beasts.

and I found the lizard tails to be trivial distractions.

Again, they were, exactly. I only collected a handful that happened to be in my path. Any more than that weren't necessary. Most things to be collected in videogames are trivial. Coins or stars in Mario, anyone?

I play games for entertainment. Laborious travels aren't entertaining.

And I enjoy collecting coins and stars in Mario 64. I can't say the same of lizard tails. In fact, coins are a staple of the Mario series and stars are now the meat of the games. Lizard tails are nothing but a trivial distraction that seemed tacked on to detract from the linearity of the game - and as such, didn't work very well.

So I'm playing through Ico atm. I'm loving the puzzles, I'm not loving the fights. At this part of the game there seems to be a lot of puzzlesinvolving leaving Yorda on her own, which fills me with dread. Does it carry on like this for the rest of the game?

Currently I just passed a windmill, a stone tower and a sewer, now im in a big new area in the east arena.

alienjesus wrote:So I'm playing through Ico atm. I'm loving the puzzles, I'm not loving the fights. At this part of the game there seems to be a lot of puzzlesinvolving leaving Yorda on her own, which fills me with dread. Does it carry on like this for the rest of the game?

Currently I just passed a windmill, a stone tower and a sewer, now im in a big new area in the east arena.

Don't want to give away the rest of the game, sometimes you do have to leave her behind. Keep going, lots to see.

crux wrote:I play games for entertainment. Laborious travels aren't entertaining.

And I enjoy collecting coins and stars in Mario 64. I can't say the same of lizard tails. In fact, coins are a staple of the Mario series and stars are now the meat of the games. Lizard tails are nothing but a trivial distraction that seemed tacked on to detract from the linearity of the game - and as such, didn't work very well.

I'm not debating the merits of either activity in either game. I'm simply revealing the reason that you "couldn't appreciate Shadows of the Colossus as much as I thought I should".

People appreciate it to the utmost BECAUSE of the sprawling landscape, not in spite of it.

CRTGAMER wrote:

alienjesus wrote:So I'm playing through Ico atm. I'm loving the puzzles, I'm not loving the fights. At this part of the game there seems to be a lot of puzzlesinvolving leaving Yorda on her own, which fills me with dread. Does it carry on like this for the rest of the game?

Currently I just passed a windmill, a stone tower and a sewer, now im in a big new area in the east arena.

Don't want to give away the rest of the game, sometimes you do have to leave her behind. Keep going, lots to see.

Don't leave her alone for too long though........

Anyway, I loved the fights. I think they conveyed a great sense of struggle. I loved seeing Ico knocked to the ground, then getting up and running towards Yorda and pulling her out of that portal just at the last second before she would have been gone. Little boy with a stick fighting off shadowy, nightmarish creatures to protect someone he barely knows or even understands. And the hand holding is one of those little touches about the game I liked too. Ico conveys a sense of togetherness between Ico and Yorda at all times that is lost in most games when they try to do the whole escort thing. Like Yorda's gasp if Ico falls off a high ledge. It's all in the details, that's what makes Team Ico stand out. That's what makes these games art in my opinion

God I love that game, my fave PS 2 game and that's really saying something given the PS2's enormous number of quality titles

alienjesus wrote:So I'm playing through Ico atm. I'm loving the puzzles, I'm not loving the fights. At this part of the game there seems to be a lot of puzzlesinvolving leaving Yorda on her own, which fills me with dread. Does it carry on like this for the rest of the game?

Currently I just passed a windmill, a stone tower and a sewer, now im in a big new area in the east arena.

I think it's brilliant how the game world is designed so that you can't solve certain puzzles without leaving Yorda's side. It adds to the connection you feel for her. You worry for her safety when she's out of sight, and you feel relieved and happy to see her again when you finally work out the roundabout way to opening some door and letting her in from the other side. Once again, this is an example where Team Ico uses the advantages of videogames as a form of media to improve their story. In a movie, when someone gets left behind, they are often forgotten by the audience because they are off screen and the action has shifted elsewhere. They may reunite with the main character, or they may be killed by an attacker, but there's nothing you can do but watch to see how the story plays out in a movie. In Ico, when Yorda is off screen, you are always aware that she depends on you to quickly figure out the puzzles and get back to her. It creates tension and concern in the story in a way that only a video game could do. And in the cycles of separating and reuniting, you develop a deeper connection with Yorda and you want to see the two characters survive to the end.

I really like the art and the shadow of the colususs just cause it was so dang pretty. hopefully this trend continues.

Latest Game informer issue 207 musta been inspired by Original_Name and JT's art post.
See page 40, PS2 Shadow of the Colossus is on top of the art controversy.

Original_Name's post.
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=124743#p124743

JT's post.
http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=124846#p124846

Game Informer "The Great Debate"
http://gameinformer.com/forums/general_gaming/f/12/p/14967/127369.aspx
http://gameinformer.com/blogs/members/b ... ctive.aspx

Oh geeze, how did this early PSX prototype slip by me.
Amazing how ICO started out as a PS1 game.

Da Story
http://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/11/ico-playstation-1-prototype/

Da Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq9oCaYlBlE

Da pics, not bad for PS1. Hey! YORDA has horns instead of ICO in the PSX unreleased version.