GAMETECH: Shadow of the Colossus is standing on the shoulders of giants
LIVING in the shadow of your predecessor isn’t easy — especially when that shadow is cast by a giant. Things get even harder again when you’re the giant in question.
That’s the challenge facing Shadow of the Colossus, widely considered one of the greatest PlayStation games of all time. First released on the PlayStation 2 to universal acclaim (and relatively decent sales), it has now been remade for the PlayStation 4. This release isn’t a HD remaster or a touch-up, but a brand new creation, fully rebuilt from the ground up.
The legendary status of the original does indeed cast a long shadow. Team Ico’s masterpiece is widely cited as one of gaming’s answers to high art. Very high art, in fact — the whole objective is to scale mountainous colossi, before finding their weak point and taking them down. Roaming a bleak landscape as the boy Wander, you hunt the colossi down one by one by one until only Wander remains.
In principle, the idea of hunting giants sounds like typical video game fare, but Shadow of the Colossus turns that exercise into something far more existential that it has any right to be. For a start, many of the colossi are peaceful, almost frightened creatures, painted as targets by the game and its minimalist plot, but never quite named as our enemies.
As Wander scales their giant bodies, often by jumping and climbing along their limbs like protruding cliffs, there’s always a sense of menace, but it doesn’t come from the colossi — instead, you, the hunter, are the menace.
Many people say that Shadow of the Colossus is a “puzzle game” in adventure form. Each colossus represents not only a challenge of dexterity and timing, but also awareness of how to approach and defeat the giant. You might find yourself approaching the same colossus again and again in a vain attempt to determine the correct strategy and take it down. But when you succeed, the satisfaction is immense.
The good news is that this remake is the definitive version of the game. It casts a shadow of its own. While the PlayStation 2 original had atmosphere in spades, partly due to the fog effect that was a necessary graphical limitation, it also had framerate and control issues that severely hampered enjoyment. Not so in this remake, which not only features stunning new graphics, but also a smooth gameplay experience that lets you enjoy every moment.
Shadow of the Colossus is a classic for a reason. To reveal all its secrets now would be unfair. But by the end of the game, you may not feel like a giant. Instead, this masterpiece could make you feel very small indeed.
Another hunting game was released last week — and it’s been confirmed as colossal too. Capcom have announced that Monster Hunter World, which hit shelves worldwide last Friday, has already shipped 5m copies, making it the fastest-selling game in the history of the series. Prior to the release last week, Monster Hunter was a huge success in Japan but had never taken off in the West.
Capcom put in a real effort into the game’s accessibility, but Monster Hunter remains a complicated and stat-heavy experience, where players hunt down increasingly dangerous creatures by gaining new equipment and then using monster parts to craft even better equipment.
You can play the game on your own or in a party of four online.
Monster Hunter could be Capcom’s next big thing in the West.
Speaking of giant Japanese franchises, not many come bigger than Dragon Ball. The animated series, originally a manga, somehow garnered worldwide popularity by showing nothing but drawn-out (literally) fights for hundreds of episodes.
Despite that simple premise, fans have never really seen a video game do the series justice. That is, until now.
Dragon Ball FighterZ pays tribute to the series by keeping the combat simple, explosive and highly entertaining.
There are no complicated combinations or systems to discover like in Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat — this is mainly a game about mashing the button and having fun.
That’s not to say Dragon Ball FighterZ doesn’t reward expert players. There are nuances to master, but either way you’ll be a giant in no time.
