So Korppi, what are your feelings so far? Is it the masterpiece you were hoping for? (speaking of SotC obviously)

And btw, yes I have the HD collection. I love HD collections because they allow me to experience old games without vomiting. I am totally a gameplay over graphics gamer but I have trouble coping with PS2 graphics. I am currently tryuing to play Deus Ex (downloaded through PSN) and it's painful.

(Spoiler tags for Slimebeast's benefit) White-tailed lizards and fruits, right? Took a while to figure out the fruits, but I figured that if I can improve my grip gauge, I can probably improve my maximum health, as well. So I just kept my eyes open.

That's nice to hear about Sands of Time. I'll probably tackle that next and save the cutscene-heavy Snake Eater for later, when I have more time and patience.

@Slimebeast

Well, I wouldn't say I was expecting a masterpiece, I was just quite excited to find a game that I've been semi-actively looking for for quite some time roughly a mile away from my apartment. My expectations were still pretty high though, and they've mostly been met so far. I was a little perplexed at first by the emptiness of the world. I was originally compelled to look for this game simply because killing those big hairy monsters looked like an awful lot of fun, but I knew next to nothing about the rest of the game. SotC isn't like most games, which try to spoonfeed you as much entertainment as they can. In fact, if you only do as much as the game explicitly tells you to (which is very little), I'd say you're not going to like it much. This game has me doing things voluntarily that I could normally never imagine myself enjoying in a video game, like simply standing on top of a really high tower and checking out the scenery.

I just regret that my playthrough has had to coincide with a lot of distracting events that are definitely preventing me from being immersed as deeply as I otherwise would be. (Exam week next week, old friends from school who I haven't talked to in weeks suddenly want to hang out, and trying to maintain a relationship with a person living on the other side of the country elmost entirely via text messages)

I've killed 9 Colossi by now. While I can't say I liked the Barba (#6) or Hydrus (#7) that much, every other Colossus so far has been fun in their own way. My favorites so far are easily Kuromori (#8) and Basaran (#9). Most of the other Colossi seem quite apathetic towards me. I like enemies who feel like they want nothing more than to see my scrawny ass dead. So sorry guys, but shooting LIGHTNING BOLTS out of your mouth at me only makes me wuvv you more.

The emptiness of the world is the main attraction for me. It makes galloping around, getting lost and finding new views and towers to climb all that more rewarding. I gave up on Kingdoms of Amalur because I got fed up with not being able to walk for more then 30 seconds without some new task wanting my attention.

The colossi not fighting back is part of the story, although the smaller ones are pretty feisty. (11 and 14) I personally love Barba and Hydrus. No other game has given me that David and Goliath feeling as when Barba bends down to peer at you in your hiding spot. When the music swells after you latch on to Hydrus when you've been swiming around in silence in that empty lake really gets my adrenaline going. Perfect silence before the storm feeling.

Now I feel like playing the game again :)

Slimebeast is right. Prince of Persia SoT has aged quite poorly. I used to hold it to such high esteem. Now, I am ashamed I played, enjoyed, and recommended it. The most recent copy I have played of it the hd remake too, so I can't even imagine how poor it is for the ps2. I might pull out my gcn copy and check.

After SotC, I would recommend going for MGS3. It's a love or hate game, like everybody says. I personally loved it, since the depth of the story to the cutscenes (if you don't like this one, it's probably better to stay away of any othe MGS, since MGS3 it's the one with the shorter cutscenes).

I remember having a lot of fun with Sands of Time. The graphics aren't great, but the hability to come back in time anytime is amazing, it really makes the experience unique.

Korppi, you should have a great time with all three of those games. I played The Sands of Time on the Gamecube, and I can tell you the entire trilogy is great. One of the better video game trilogies ever made, if you ask me.

And Metal Gear Solid 3 and Shadow of the Colossus are among the five best PS2 games.

As far as advice goes, I think Prince of Persia and Colossus are pretty straightforward. But with MGS3, I would recommend you wander of the beaten path when you can. There is a surprising amount of stuff to discover.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!