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Game Debate to the Death! Shadow of the Colossus VS God of War photo

Last week was the first round of the PS2 odd debate brackets. Katamari Damacy and Metal Gear Solid 2 started things off with many Dtoiders so befuddled and torn that they didn't know who to vote for.

At first, MGS 2 took a monstrous lead, with two votes for every single Katamari vote. Then, in some entertaining tallying irony, a proverbial ball of votes began to roll and gain speed. For several scrolls of the mouse the Katamari wad of support grew and grew, unanswered by its opposition. By the end it was an all out race for victory, with Solid Snake being chased by a giant rolling shadow. Here are the results:

  • Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (60 votes) -- Winner!
  • Katamari Damacy (47 votes) -- Good night, sweet Prince.

I'm crushed that there's no chance I'll be able to use the Katamari Colossus picture below as next week's debate banner, but alas, we move on.

If you thought last week's discussion was a tough decision of polar opposites, then get ready for a repeat of debate distraught. This week is a battle between emotions and art versus killing and action. Both games are epic, but the similarities end at their start menus. I noticed both games mentioned a lot last week in response to the bonus question, so feel free to give this debate a lot of thought.

Which game do you think is better, and why? Give it some serious thought, get some PS2 childhood friends to share their opinions as well, and check back next week for the winner.


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171 comments | showing # 51 to 100

norm9's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:18
norm9
Hmm, this is really really tough. As contradicting as this sounds- Even though I think God of War is the better game, I like Shadow of the Colossus more.

The overall badass action of God of War was so testosterone filled and lots of fun. It never let up. But those little moments in Colossus made me go "whoa," and is more memorable.

My vote goes to Shadow of the Colossus.
mikeyed's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:18
mikeyed
Shadow of the Colossus. I've played both. It's not a very close race in my book.
t3h d0n's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:18
t3h d0n
God of War all the way, absolutely no contest in my book.
Cough's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:20
Cough
Shadow of the colossus.
Nicholie's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:20
Nicholie
God of War.
Raf's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:22
Raf
Shadow of the Colossus.

I will never forget how I felt the first time I played. Battleing the first collossus was an amazing experience.
ace of knaves's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:25
ace of knaves
Shadow of the Colossus. It's on my quicklist of Games that are Totally, Unquestionably Art, so it has to be my pick. And God of War II is better than the first anyway.
trencherman's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:27
trencherman
I think God of War is easily the better GAME.
I actually felt like I played God of War. It had physics and mechanics and environments that provided a decent amount of interaction. It had replay value, challenge, and required coordination skills and an understanding of the AI in the enemies to finish. It even had a pretty good story to structure and dress up the platforming action. It was a good game.

Shadow of the Colossus was really more of an experience for me. Like watching a TV drama unfold. The play mechanics were disappointingly simple, the bow and arrows barely played a part, and the sword only served to prevent me from getting lost. Yes, I also stab the weak points with it, but it's rather moot because I have to, there is no other option. Almost everything served as a dramatic device, the horse, the, the backgrounds, the dead girl...
The game required little skill and had zero replay value. I have to give all the credit in the world to the makers for putting together such a cohesive, dramatic, experience, but Shadow is not a terribly fun and enduring game. It's just a one-shot "Wow."
robotplague's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:30
robotplague
It's funny. I never finished Shadow of the Colossus but I beat God of War. Yet I have stronger memories with SotC and It'll still occasionally come up in conversation with some of my friends who have played it. Does God of War ever come up in conversation? Never. People will still be talking about SotC long after GoW has left the conversation. SotC for me.
Maxpower's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:33
Maxpower
Shadow of the Colossus. Didn't spend too much time with Kratos. I think I'll go play it again. I miss Agro.
Paroxysm's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:35
Paroxysm
Shadow of the colossus by the entire universe. (God of war is fun enough but not in the same league)
Really Sirious's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:39
Really Sirious
Shadow of the Colossus. One of the most beautiful pieces of interactive art yet.
Edgeward's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:39
Edgeward
Has to be Shadow of the Colossus.

There hasn't been a game like it, making it extremely unique. I couldn't put the game down when I played it because the scope of the bosses and atmosphere is unparalleled to anything else. GoW2 I really did like, but it didn't feel as special as the first and had only a couple memorable moments for me while SoTC had so many unbelievable moments from the action parts with your first flying, sea or sand colossi. And the a real emotional moment before the final colossus. ;_;
KaL YoshiKa's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:47
KaL YoshiKa
Shadow of the Colossus

A deeply moving story VS a game with a serious complex of "Lulz Tits". I found the difficulty and button mashing of God of War to be a vastly inferior DMC with a totally unlikable dick of a protagonist.

Shadow of the Colossus has you being the most selfish and unbelievably mean guy ever and yet you can't help but hold nothing but respect for the poor guy. Also granted SotC is short but God Of War isn't exactly lengthy and at least SotC is unique and not just a somewhat broken refinement.
Mr Lazy's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:52
Mr Lazy
god of war, it was more fun and thats all i care about
Infinite Obscurity's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:53
Infinite Obscurity
My vote goes to Shadow of the Colossus for its originality and epicness.
gabe sylar's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:56
gabe sylar
Shadow of the Colossus FTW!
ServantSaber's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:57
ServantSaber
Shadow of the Colossus by far for me. Can't wait to see what Team ICO will pump out for the PS3 too :D
Samit Sarkar's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/18/2008 23:58
Samit Sarkar
God damn, this is a TOUGHIE. These two games are two of my all-time favorite PS2 titles, and it's so hard to choose between them. As you said, Fronz, they were both truly epic games scale-wise, and while SotC had a better story, GoW perhaps had better gameplay (and certainly, better graphics -- also, its story was no slouch).

Still, I think I'm going to have to go with Shadow of the Colossus. I haven't played ICO yet, so I can truly say that I've never played anything else like it in videogame history. So yeah.
Ballistic's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:00
Ballistic
When I saw the headline for this week, I seriously laughed and wondered if it was a joke. I can't even honestly compare these games because I have little respect for God of War when compared to Shadow of the Colossus. But when I think about my argument, it sounds weak. God of War is a very polished game, with more hours of gameplay, more things to do and collect, and more action to the story. Yet, Shadow of the Colossus has SEVERAL incredible boss fights, and a much more impacting storyline. Ultimately, I think that that is what is most important in video games, whether a game will stay with you, beyond the time you put into it to play it. God of War was done in my mind the moment I beat it. Shadow though, I'll always remember that game.

My vote is for Shadow of the Colossus.
gravitys plaything's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:01
gravitys plaything
Game: Shadow of the Colossus
Reason: Agro
dfielder's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:06
dfielder
I'm putting my money on SOTC

but both were great games
tafkaz's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:08
tafkaz
I think Fronz's description with the essay is a great way to put it, but I still have to vote the opposite direction. I think length should be motivated by the game, not motivated by the amount of time you should fill. I think using length as a deciding factor promotes the idea of video games as time killers rather than works of art. Of course, the story is different when deciding on purchasing a game (i.e. will I get my moneys worth), but I think that factor should be disregarded in a debate on the overall quality of a game.

Look at it terms of works in other genres. A movie like Tarkovsky's Stalker or Grapes of Wrath are certainly great partly because they were long. Immense length of that nature can be a great tool for immersion into a world. However, on the flip side, Of Mice and Men, or Tarkovsky's Mirror would be overbearing and repetitious were they equal in length to their counterparts I already mentioned. A work should only be as big as it needs to be. SotC wouldn't have worked as a massive game, because it wasn't written or designed to be one.

Sorry, about that, got a bit rambly.

Shadows of the Colossus wins hands down.
Though it does have the downside of no sex mini-games.
Fronz's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:15
Fronz
@Ballistic: good to hear. I'm glad when people give these things a lot of thought.

@tafkaz: well i didn't mean to make it sound like length and replayability are the deciding factors. my point is just that both are polished, but one has a lot more to do in it, for a lot longer. both bring quality, but only one brings quality AND quantity.

@robotplague: "Does God of War ever come up in conversation? Never. People will still be talking about SotC long after GoW has left the conversation." -- VERY good point.
AwesomeToph's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:19
AwesomeToph
SotC was an experience that made me question why I was doing the things I was doing in the game. Not long into it, I felt like I was the bad guy, and every time I had to kill one of the Colossi, I felt horrible about myself. Granted, it was a blast to figure out their weaknesses, but still, I felt like a real twat for killing them.

God of War was a well-crafted slash'em-up, and a game that I highly enjoyed, but it didn't make an emotional impact on me. Also, I think the testosterone from that game actually made me grow a mustache. Hrm.

My vote is for Shadow of the Colossus.
Wghj55's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:20
Wghj55
god of war
bluexy's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:22
bluexy
Shadow of the Colossus - No game has ever drawn the beauty of simplicity so vividly, and said so much in the process.

A love story for the ages.
whatisdelicious's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:23
whatisdelicious
GOD OF WAR

Shame on all of you guys who picked Shadow. Yeah, Shadow is a great game, but it can't compete with the level of polish that God of War presented. God of War had better controls, better combat, better puzzles, better graphics, better art direction, better level design, better soundtrack, and the list goes on. Mind you, I'm not saying that Shadow did those things poorly (well, the horse controls could've used a ton of work) but honestly, God of War just edges it out in every category.

Even better sales.
whatisdelicious's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:28
whatisdelicious
You know how I said "and the list goes on"?

Well, it does:

...better story, better voice acting, better animation, better frame rate, better bonus features, better box art, better protagonist, better setting...

I could go on for days.
bluexy's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:29
bluexy
Yes, shame on us for realizing there's more to our gaming industry than big budget blockbusters that make us feel like our dicks are 10 feet long.
whatisdelicious's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:32
whatisdelicious
I never said that Shadow was a bad game. I love Shadow.

But comparing the two is no contest. God of War, for what it is, is so much better executed than Shadow, for what it is, that it really doesn't matter.

Yeah, Shadow is a wonderful piece of art and is certainly moving, but it simply can't compare. Just because it's "artsy" and God of War is merely a "big budget blockbuster" doesn't mean Shadow is ultimately better.
wfolse1's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:44
wfolse1
Shadow of the Colossus. Without even a moment of hesitation.
faultymoose's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:47
faultymoose
Hm this one isn't so easy.

GoW is damn fun, and mindlessly so. Great game.

But SotC is just brilliant.

Ima go with SotC.
Unicorn's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:50
Unicorn
LOL

if this isn't a unanimous SotC i have to call all that pick GoW shitty gamers.

my vote goes to Shadow of the Colossus without any SHADOW of a doubt.

lol
lostsupper's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:52
lostsupper
Not even close. When I heard that the 60GB PS3 was being discontinued, I tracked one down and bought it so I could play Shadow of the Colosssus.

Shadow of the Colossus:
Physically beautiful, morally confusing, and still the best argument for games as art. Oh yeah, and an epic soundtrack.

On the flip side, God of War featured quick-time events and an "xtreme" protagonist, complete with tribal tattoos and goatee. The breadth of his characterization seemed to be that "he is mad."
Paustinj's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 00:58
Paustinj
Shadow of the Colossus
ArchArbiter's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 01:00
ArchArbiter
God of War. I don't see why SOTC receives so much acclaim.

My vote goes to Kratos and his extremely furrowed brow.
ArrestedDeveloper's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 01:09
ArrestedDeveloper
SotC, mainly because Jaffe is a jackass.
DinnertimeNinja's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 01:09
DinnertimeNinja
I'm voting for Shadow of the Colossus!

Despite my love for GoW, SotC was and still is a breathtaking experience.

Though both games were short-ish and left me wanting more, and both had harder difficulty settings that pretty much made your second playthrough a whole new game (SotC had extra hidden weak points on the baddies that were harder to get to making it a whole new fight).

I love 'em both but if I had to give one away it'd be GoW. There are other action games that fell close to GoW epic scale but there's NOTHING that feels like SotC.
Zeno's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 01:13
Zeno
Shadow of the Colossus, hands down.

God of War is just a game, Colossus is something special. GoW took what was there and did it well, while SotC decided to do something new and wonderful, with the best graphics on the PS2 to boot.
Exquisitor's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 01:24
Exquisitor
Shadow of the Colossus.

Simply for the fact that God of War popularized the Quick Time Event. It is now in just about every game, and I hate it for that.
Solgrim's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 01:28
Solgrim
Shadow of the Collosus
drhqnril's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 01:37
drhqnril
Violence and gore vs a game that changed how I view games.

SotC
For every reason that everyone above me has put.
jakebattey's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 01:37
jakebattey
I've tried to get into Shadow of the Colossus, but it just never did anything for me. I kept playing because I thought that just after the next battle, something might happen that would sink it's teeth into me and make me a believer. Just never happened for me.

God of War was an accident for me via Blockbuster rental. That game made me remember why I started playing games as a kid. It was just freaking fan-damn-tastic! I hadn't bought a game in like 4 or 5 years before that. Kratos for emperor!
Kalmah's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 01:47
Kalmah
God of War
DaedHead8's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 01:49
DaedHead8
Shadow by far. What it did was just so new.
Drach's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 02:00
Drach
Shadow of the Colossus. I've bever played either but I've seen GoW played and it's OK.. I guess..

GoW has too much hype.
My Vote goes for the Colossus.
shinryu108's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 02:04
shinryu108
Vote - Shadow of the Colossus.

both excellent games, but Shadow of the Colossus is just a superior experience. GoW is great in every respect (and also very annoying), but SotC had me gaping in amazement for periods longer than what is considered socially acceptable. One of the few recent games that really managed to excite me.
Funky Goodness's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 02:11
Funky Goodness
I love both games, but I gotta go with Colossus.
ajaxender's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/19/2008 02:17
ajaxender
I vote stop these ridiculous, pointless, and above all, EXTREMELY FUCKING HARD decisions!

I cant really compare these games. They both kicked ass. They both let me do things ive never done before in a game. They both are, to me, examples of flawless game design AND execution, something few game devs are capable of these days.

And they both annoyed the hell out of me at times, and i havent finished either.

In the end, i have to give it to God of War. Bringing down massive beasties with merely a sword and sheer tenacity is one thing, but spitting a krakens head on a ships mast is quite another. I love ultra-violence.
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