Post by Ryan_MYeah on Feb 21, 2017 23:13:02 GMT
Finally got around to finishing this - just in time for Horizon (One more week, you guys!), and I was pretty moved. It's a very good, at times great game, though not without issues (some minor, some fundamental) holding it back.
Presentation-wise, while the visuals are far from the best on the PS4, the cel-shading and beautiful colorization and lighting, bringing the most out of the massive environments and character designs, bring a striking watercolor sense of beauty evident in every shot of the game. It's also a game that utilizes sound very well, alternating between relaxing and ominous when making heavy use of silence (often with only Trico's footsteps and the wind standing out), yet the overall effects make grand, exciting spectacles of themselves in higher-intensity moments. As for the music (Oh, Stephen!), imagine if Joe Hisaishi had a baby with Thomas Newman. It's every bit as beautiful as that makes it sound.
And Trico is fantastic. Intimidating yet adorable, oblivious yet loyal and fierce, and the design of him, and the lifelike movements and mannerisms he shows, make him into one of those creations you wish could be real.
The gameplay is nothing to write home about, full of its own little issues, but gets the basic job done, and honestly, that simplicity in movement and puzzle solving is quite a benefit. However, I did notice some very clunky movements in the ways of controls, where I intend to perform one action but the game can't take the speed in which I need to perform it, and the climbing mechanics are very slow to navigate. But the biggest issue with the game (the same with every Team Ico game) is that the camera is horrible. While the visuals themselves are beautiful, the way that the camera moves around never feels fluid, and always feels like it's fighting you. It can't handle so many of the tight or cramped corridors, which is made worse by how frequently the game forces you into those sections, and the constantly shifting positions even in open spaces result in cheap and frustrating deaths.
Even Trico himself, as beautiful and adorable as he is, suffers from some irritating ticks. Complex and impressive as his AI is, that's unfortunately soured by his habit of wandering off, taking so long to perform certain tasks (even when you make commands), and the odd detail of his food barrels needing to be placed a specific way before he'll eat them (because I assume his AI has to cope with odd coding ticks to perform those actions).
But all in all, the emotional pull and beautiful build-up of the friendship are what make the game. As the game moves on, the story of how you came to wake up next to this creature with no memory of it happening ultimately becomes less interesting than the connection between them. The "third act" of the game kinda falls in a hole when it tries to restore focus to this issue (including a weak twist during the climax), but the strength of the bond between these two, the lengths and the willingness to fearlessly protect the other, and the ultimate desire to see these two make it out, all while taking in the beautiful sights on this journey, more than makes up for whatever shortcomings there are.
Admittedly, the emotion of the game can easily be taken for granted, as I myself was noticing that I wasn't being terribly moved by it. That is, until the end, when all of that bonding and journeying are put into full perspective, and after everything you've been through with your friend, you feel so much triumph and heartbreak when finally reaching the goal you've set out to do. And after coming so far, the ending genuinely managed to make me shed a tear.
Honestly, if Hollywood really wants to make a good video game movie, they ought to try something like this. If they truncated the running time to under two hours (and it can be done), I could see this working in a Red Turtle sort of way. The game itself is a mess, but there's so much beauty and genuine awe to offset that.
Presentation-wise, while the visuals are far from the best on the PS4, the cel-shading and beautiful colorization and lighting, bringing the most out of the massive environments and character designs, bring a striking watercolor sense of beauty evident in every shot of the game. It's also a game that utilizes sound very well, alternating between relaxing and ominous when making heavy use of silence (often with only Trico's footsteps and the wind standing out), yet the overall effects make grand, exciting spectacles of themselves in higher-intensity moments. As for the music (Oh, Stephen!), imagine if Joe Hisaishi had a baby with Thomas Newman. It's every bit as beautiful as that makes it sound.
And Trico is fantastic. Intimidating yet adorable, oblivious yet loyal and fierce, and the design of him, and the lifelike movements and mannerisms he shows, make him into one of those creations you wish could be real.
The gameplay is nothing to write home about, full of its own little issues, but gets the basic job done, and honestly, that simplicity in movement and puzzle solving is quite a benefit. However, I did notice some very clunky movements in the ways of controls, where I intend to perform one action but the game can't take the speed in which I need to perform it, and the climbing mechanics are very slow to navigate. But the biggest issue with the game (the same with every Team Ico game) is that the camera is horrible. While the visuals themselves are beautiful, the way that the camera moves around never feels fluid, and always feels like it's fighting you. It can't handle so many of the tight or cramped corridors, which is made worse by how frequently the game forces you into those sections, and the constantly shifting positions even in open spaces result in cheap and frustrating deaths.
Even Trico himself, as beautiful and adorable as he is, suffers from some irritating ticks. Complex and impressive as his AI is, that's unfortunately soured by his habit of wandering off, taking so long to perform certain tasks (even when you make commands), and the odd detail of his food barrels needing to be placed a specific way before he'll eat them (because I assume his AI has to cope with odd coding ticks to perform those actions).
But all in all, the emotional pull and beautiful build-up of the friendship are what make the game. As the game moves on, the story of how you came to wake up next to this creature with no memory of it happening ultimately becomes less interesting than the connection between them. The "third act" of the game kinda falls in a hole when it tries to restore focus to this issue (including a weak twist during the climax), but the strength of the bond between these two, the lengths and the willingness to fearlessly protect the other, and the ultimate desire to see these two make it out, all while taking in the beautiful sights on this journey, more than makes up for whatever shortcomings there are.
Admittedly, the emotion of the game can easily be taken for granted, as I myself was noticing that I wasn't being terribly moved by it. That is, until the end, when all of that bonding and journeying are put into full perspective, and after everything you've been through with your friend, you feel so much triumph and heartbreak when finally reaching the goal you've set out to do. And after coming so far, the ending genuinely managed to make me shed a tear.
Especially impressive in how it doesn't cheaply kill off either protagonist to do so.
Honestly, if Hollywood really wants to make a good video game movie, they ought to try something like this. If they truncated the running time to under two hours (and it can be done), I could see this working in a Red Turtle sort of way. The game itself is a mess, but there's so much beauty and genuine awe to offset that.
