Yeah it gets really tiresome when you've got to shoot a lot of enemies every five minutes or so. That's why it's better played in short sessions imo
23Jazzpunk2014This is a bizarre title - no, it's not about jazz nor punk, just a very absurdist walking simulator, full of silly Monty Python-ish jokes and situations and some psychedelic moments. You're a spy in the 50s/60s that is assigned several missions, like infiltrating the Russian Embassy and retrieving "the MacGuffin" or beating getting someone's liver because it contains advanced technology your country needs (?). It's both a homage and a parody of old spy movies and series IMO, and its cartoony style fits perfect with the random nature of the game. It's pretty short as it can be beaten in a day but takes a little longer if you dedicate some time to the hilarious mini sidequests, like killing all flies in a room full of ancient Chinese vases with a fly swatter, only to keep the thing and be able to turn random people into flies, or when you get a weird ray gun that makes pigeons unconscious and also gives you pigeon pheromones in a perfume bottle. Yeah it's weird as fuck but a lot of fun and it's easy to follow.
22Shadow of the Colossus2005Boy, this game is truly an experience and I see why some people name it when there's a debate on whether games are art or not. It's basically about a guy who travels to a forbidden land and asks the spirits there to revive his dead girlfriend. But to make that, they ask him to defeat the 16 colossi that live in the area first. And that's the interesting part, because our guy only has an ancient sword, bow and arrows, and a horse. And these beasts are huge and powerful. But they're slow, and have weak points, and it's up to you to figure out where those are, climb on their colossal bodies, and hit it with your sword. Every encounter is brilliantly designed in terms of animation and atmosphere - the colossi really feel overwhelming, the physics system is very realistic, and the grandiose orchestral music just reinforces the majesty of each battle. Also notable is how beautiful the lands are, big and expansive, and no loading screens at all. There is very little dialogue and text yet it's rare to get lost because the design is very intuitive.
Of course, it's not a perfect game. As much as it excels in a technical level (literally pushing the limits of the PS2), and even in terms of atmosphere, I've got some gripes with it. First of all, the game only consists of fighting the 16 colossi. Every time you beat one, you absorb its soul, become unconscious, and magically reappear on the temple were the spirits reside. They tell you where to find the next one in a cryptic way, and you go and beat it. And repeat. Really, that's all there is to it and nothing more, which is kinda disappointing, considering such a wonderful, vast map tha game its set in, it could have encouraged a little bit more exploration or something, so this is an aspect in which the extreme minimalism hurts the experience IMO. Second, some enemies are just frustrating, like the 4th one took me ages to figure out how to climb up to it, or the last one, because, as epic as it is, I had to look up where the final weak point was, only to discover I had to use the sword in a very awkward moment to discover it and didn't leave me time to jump to the part of its body so had to climb up half of it again.
But yeah, if you don't mind those things, or even if you do, play this game. It's a very cinematic, cathartic experience and a cult game for a good reason. Get the HD version for PS3, or wait a bit more if you have a PS4, there's a brand new remaster coming soon and looks fantastic.