[redsniper]

Wow. I just finished this game last night and it's an excellent piece of work. The fights with the collossi are awesome and have a very epic feel. Each battle ups the ante from the last and I often found myself thinking 'How can I possibly beat this guy?' Of course, it's even cooler when you do find out how to beat one of them. On top of that the whole quest is morally ambiguous; you don't know if what you're doing is good or not until the end (which is excellent by the way). In fact, the whole thing could possibly be a prequel to Ico if you make the right assumptions and stuff. So, has anyone else played and/or beaten this? You all know to mark spoilers but I'll mention it anyway to avoid trouble. Carry on.
EDIT for those who don't know: IGN Review - 9.7 Gamespot Review - 8.7 Official Site

[Deepblue]

Would of been good if it wasn't so buggy.

[redsniper]

Care to elaborate?

[Corsair]

Yeah, what is this that we're talking about?

[Inquisitor]

Not very far into it, but I am enjoying it immensely.

Not encountered any bugs though...

[delta_7890]

Would of been good if it wasn't so buggy.

Buggy?  No bugs in my version.  One of the best games I've ever played.

[Deepblue]

The camera sucks, really, really badly.

[Night Hammer]

is it true theres only like 12 things to fight in the whole game?

[Deepblue]

16... The world feels pretty empty at times...

[delta_7890]

The camera sucks, really, really badly.

I haven't had that much trouble with the camera.  It's not perfect though.  There are times I'll want to change the angle with the right analog stick, and if I let go, it'll slip back to the default view.

There are only sixteen Colossi in the game, and those are the only enemies.  But damn are they fun enemies!  Half the fight is figuring out how to get to their weakpoints.  It's not just a case of climbing up their leg and stabbing at them.  You really have to pay attention to the environment.

That said, there are no minor enemies.  This is not a hack and slash fest, nor a dungeon crawler.  The world may be "empty" as far as enemies go, but it's so full of life!  Deserts, forests, lakes, canyons..  It was really masterfully crafted.  That said, this game is probably a generation too early.  I cream my pants thinking about what this game could've been like on the PS3.

And there IS more to it than fighting the Colossi.  After beating the game, you'll unlock a harder mode of play (which REALLY changes up the way you'll fight some of these beasts, as new vital points are added in a lot of them), and a time attack for both modes.  Beating the Colossi in a certain amount of time will net you special items, like new weapons, masks, cloaks, and so on.

While it's a bit light on the content, it's chock full of style.  The presentation is gorgeous, and the open-ended story is very refreshing.  I can't say I was completely satisfied with the ending, but I've seen a whole lot worse.  Word has it the team that made this is already hard at work on a project for the PS3.  I can't wait to see what incredible world these talented folk will whisk us away to next!

[Deepblue]

I'll stick to Oblivion, which will last much, much longer. It's really too bad Take 2 delayed it (grrrrr). SotC was an okay game, worth a rental at most though.

[Deepblue]

The camera sucks, really, really badly.

I haven't had that much trouble with the camera. It's not perfect though. There are times I'll want to change the angle with the right analog stick, and if I let go, it'll slip back to the default view.

There are only sixteen Colossi in the game, and those are the only enemies. But damn are they fun enemies! Half the fight is figuring out how to get to their weakpoints. It's not just a case of climbing up their leg and stabbing at them. You really have to pay attention to the environment.

That said, there are no minor enemies. This is not a hack and slash fest, nor a dungeon crawler. The world may be "empty" as far as enemies go, but it's so full of life! Deserts, forests, lakes, canyons.. It was really masterfully crafted. That said, this game is probably a generation too early. I cream my pants thinking about what this game could've been like on the PS3.

And there IS more to it than fighting the Colossi. After beating the game, you'll unlock a harder mode of play (which REALLY changes up the way you'll fight some of these beasts, as new vital points are added in a lot of them), and a time attack for both modes. Beating the Colossi in a certain amount of time will net you special items, like new weapons, masks, cloaks, and so on.

While it's a bit light on the content, it's chock full of style. The presentation is gorgeous, and the open-ended story is very refreshing. I can't say I was completely satisfied with the ending, but I've seen a whole lot worse. Word has it the team that made this is already hard at work on a project for the PS3. I can't wait to see what incredible world these talented folk will whisk us away to next!

Other than prettier graphics, do you think the PS3 will actually offer anything else? Sure there will be more "stuff" to the world, but the game will probably have the same value as the effort the devs put into it. A purely singleplayer 10 hour game is definitely not worth purchasing. Multiplayer might be a redeeming factor, but it looks like Sony is using it's current-gen (read failed) online plan for next-gen. So unless the devs really go all out and put a ton more stuff into the game, they won't get my money for a purchase, though a rental is likely.

Speaking of the PS3, when the hell are we going to get gameplay vids? I'm tired of cutscenes. Sony is planning to launch in 6 months in Japan, and 6 months ago, Microsoft not only had gameplay footage, they had playable games on the floor. Not seeing any gameplay yet really makes me worry about what kind of launch games we will be seeing with the PS3.

[pyro-manic]

The powers that be aren't releasing it to us lot (ie Europe) until after crimbo. I'm not a happy chap...

[Deepblue]

In other slightly related news, the Xbox 360 and PS3 are definitely going to be damn close power wise.

http://72.36.228.94/news/101/

For all of you who are using the Metal Gear Solid 4 real time demo to hide behind, it looks like your favorite hiding spot may be evaporating before your eyes. According to a video posted at 1up, the editor claims that Kojima himself said that the MGS4 demo could have run on the XBox360 hardware. The hell you say? Watch the video and see for yourself, although we have been saying all along the consoles are more equal than people realize in terms of graphic power.

This time around, it's going to be all about the games.

[Grey Wolf]

If that is correct, and it was a real-time demo for MGS4, your last post before this loses its point.

[Deepblue]

Does it? My point is that many games will not be bringing much new stuff to the table. Other games, however, will be doing some really cool things. For example, look at PGR3. The devs have set it up almost like a REAL sport, not just some game. You have GothamTV which lets you watch the best racers around the world, and learn from their technique. I think that is a pretty clever use of XBL.

[delta_7890]

Does it? My point is that many games will not be bringing much new stuff to the table. Other games, however, will be doing some really cool things. For example, look at PGR3. The devs have set it up almost like a REAL sport, not just some game. You have GothamTV which lets you watch the best racers around the world, and learn from their technique. I think that is a pretty clever use of XBL.

Why innovate when you can shovel out the same piles of **** and make millions?

[aldo_14]

Oh look, Deepblues subverted a games thread into a combination Xbox hype / playstation game bashing experience*.  What a shocker.

Spoiler:

1st, 2nd and 3rd comments; calling the game 'buggy', saying the camera is poor, and calling the world 'empty' (although that was an intentional stylistic approach).
4th post; diverting into hyping a completely different genre xbox360 game.
5th post; having a go at the PS3 via a self-picked set of criteria
6th post; see 5
7th post; hyping another completely different genre xbox360 game, and - bizarrely - saying the xbox360 has some form of stunningly original games (er, which?  fps' and racing games?).

I'm just pissed off SotC isn't out in the UK till Feb.  Plus side is that AFAIK they're bundling in ICO with it for free/very cheap when they do, and they might (very tenous maybe, this) be adding some optimizations to the release.

[Ransom]

A purely singleplayer 10 hour game is definitely not worth purchasing.

That's completely dependant on personal preference - for instance, multiplayer games usually only hold my interest for a couple of hours, often not even that. And most singleplayer games are only 10 hours long these days. Oblivion is an exception, not the rule.

Anyway, quality over quantity. If it's an awesome 10 hours, it's well worth my money as far as I'm concerned.

[delta_7890]

It's very strange that it takes games so long to get PAL releases.  <<;  It's like all these gaming companies don't care about you guys.  I must say it will surely be worth the wait though.  And if it is bundled with ICO, that's a double win.  To this day ICO remains one of my favorite games ever, for the amazing atmopshere, refreshing gameplay, and endearing characters.