confidentialmisanthropy

Zelda and FFXII delays sorta deflated the hell out of the console scene for 2005. I haven't played a new console game in months. Since RE4 to be precise. Recently though, Fumito Ueda's new joint, Wanda to Kyozō has got me tethered to a PS2 again. I've been singing Ico's praises for years. It's still the best straight-up PS2 adventure game money can buy. It out-Zeldas Wind Waker and out-classes the Prince of Persia at his own game. And yet, despite accolades from the core gaming community, never really achieved any success commercially. If Wanda is met with the same reception then I don't really know what to say about the aptitude of your average PS2 owner and Sony's marketing team.

Fumito Ueda has a knack for giving you just enough information, just enough motivation to complete a game without any distractions. Ico had three real characters in the entire game. None of them spoke a word of any known spoken language, and yet, everything they say is understood. Wanda has a similar thing going on. The game's protagonist rides in, horseback during the game's intro, to the shrine that becomes the center of the game's hub-like world. He places the bundle he's carrying on an altar, removes the blanket to reveal a girl -- and she's not moving. So with his horse Argo, a sword and a bow, he sets out to bring down 16 colossi in order to revive this girl, we can only assume he loves.

I've read some impressions and reviews on the game that say "it's not for everyone." This is due mostly to the sparse overworld and lack of diversions but I'm welcoming it with open arms. The game's focused. There's no coins to collect. No sidequests. Not a videogame cliché to speak of.

The battles with said colossi defy description. They're definitely something you have to experience for yourself to fully grasp. I try not to call them bosses. 'Cause they're not. They're the game's levels, inverted dungeons, if you will. Moving, breathing, hulking puzzles. And cracking them is no easy task.

Once you've encountered a colossus and brought it down though, you can't help but come to a moral impasse. I guess it'll vary from person to person, but after the seven I've taken down, I get the feeling the protagonist's plight is a bit on the selfish side. The colossi seem to just want to be left alone 'til you start pumping arrows into them. I'm only half-done with the game, but I can say with conviction that it's the most compelling game anyone's had the balls to make in years. The industry, in it's current franchise/sequel happy stagnant state, rarely affords us gems like this one. I beseech you, buy this game and send them a message.

By the by: Comments are back. Blogback died though, so now they're courtesy of Blogger. Enjoy.