Shadow of the Colossus is much different than Ico. The latter was about puzzles and working together while Shadow of the Colossus is more perfunctory and straightforward in its goals. Each colossus is different and finding out how to defeat it is one aspect of the game. The rest of the game is spent travelling from the main temple towards the various locations where the colossi dwell. Supposedly the sword is supposed to make finding the giants easy but it's awfully finicky and I've gotten lost a few times. Worst part, getting stuck in an area that I wasn't supposed to be in yet! Keep in mind the world is huge and unless you're a masochist you're going to need Agro's help traversing the many miles between quests.
So far the game is very repetitive. Shiny hole in the ceiling gives a riddle that's your impetus to kill another colossus. Figure out how to climb and kill the colossus then you're attacked by black tendrils reminiscent of Mononoke Hime and finally you wake up back at the temple surrounded by a number of shades equal to the slain colossi followed by a brief cutscene. So far I've only taken out four and already the game feels tedious.
I am going to play the rest of the game and finish it. Hopefully somewhere I can find the same magic and charm that filled Ico.
Besides the beast, which must've been 400 feet high and wide, it was a lovely day in the early spring. Snow was still on the ground, the sky was clear and the sun shone brightly but not enough to dispel the chill in the air. All around me people were preparing for the return and the second round of destruction. While walking down a path I saw two ducks, a momma duck and a daddy duck, waddling around a bush and plucking an egg from beneath its roots. They didn't get far because there was a distant rumble which made them hurriedly bury the eggs into a snowbank.
It was a false alarm but everyone was wary and watchful. Making my way back to my new place I stumbled upon an old woman between the snowdrifts. My eyesight wasn't that good but I could see there were dogs behind her. Upon closer investigation I saw they were the furry, decapitated heads of various dogs. Even their eyes were gone. This vicious and horrible crone who deeply deserved to die had been slaughtering dogs and eating them. I looked down at her and saw she had grabbed a little Siberian husky puppy by the ears, gave it a swift shake that broke its neck much to her glee. Her actions happened so fast and before I could even try to parley with her for the pup's life or shout "No!" or bury my fist in her eggshell skull the poor pup's brief life had ended. Behind her I saw another Siberian husky, a fat little fellow, wandering sadly among the heads whining and licking them hoping they'd come alive. I snagged the little pooch and ran.
My new home was a three story brick building somewhere in downtown Colorado Springs. I lived on the main floor, sharing space with my company that also occupied the entire second floor. No one was using the third floor but the empty space wasn't a financial strain. I was running some weird amalgam of my crappy loan job and used that to buy up businesses that were edging towards bankruptcy. My most recent acquisition was a plumbing supply dealer.
Home again, I announced out loud to the apartment that despite my better judgement I now had a dog. Spot didn't seem to be that upset about the pup but she kept her distance rather than satisfying her curiousity. When I laid across my couch, I saw my mother walk past the doorway which took me off guard. "What are you doing here? Did you look for a job today? When are you going to have my rent? You know, Mom, you're not going to be here forever" was the torrent of sarcastic questions directed back at her. She laughed and went into another room to watch TV. Mr. Pup was getting into much mischief and I realized since he was so young he was going to need a diaper. I grabbed a piece of notebook paper covered in my scribbles and scrawls, folded it up origami style and fitted it neatly over the pup's rear. This was about the happiest part of the dream.
That old bitch showed up that evening. She bluffed her way past my mother saying she was my sister's grandmother. The lie was contrived saying everyone had their own special grandparent who was completely separate from their parents and shared both lineages just like the grandchild. I was busy rubbing the puppy's tummy when she entered the living room. My fists clenched and never in my life had I wanted to kill someone as much as this woman. There would be blood everywhere and I really didn't want to clean up the place.
Funny, Mr. Burns singing "See my Vest" is playing on WinAmp right now.
Spot had already scampered away, finding a good hiding spot while I held the buttery husky. "No."
She cackled and howled "Yes!" and vanished into thin air. The pup was no longer in my arms or anywhere to be seen. Full of murder, I tore open the door and burst outside. The first thing which caught my eye was a gray amphitheater that was brightly lit. Lacking any clues, I went over there where I found the old cunt laying on her side facing away from the audience. What I thought was here was just a shell of old black gypsy clothes. I tore open the back curtain and looked under the stage where I discovered a dozen husky puppies who were wandering around, whining and sniffing each other. None of them seemed fat enough and they all had similar dark markings on their fur. Suddenly a puppy-sized elephant thundered past wearing the notebook paper diaper that I made for the pup. I felt lost and frustrated, now I had more puppies than anyone could ever need and all I wanted was my puppy.
Back home, I threw open a cabinet full of pictures and videos in hopes of finding some image that would give me a clue as to which puppy was my puppy. Every single one was a drawing or a cartoon featuring various fat puppies that had different markings from bandit masks to stripes on their flanks.
The puppy was gone.
Impotent fury set me driving down a highway at full tilt, weaving in and out of traffic.
