Shadow of the Colossus

"A great new adventure for the PS2"

Shadow of the Colossus is a new game from the producers of ICO (which seems to me as a little known game, also great), but it is unlike all PS2 games. It is like an action RPG, but there is only one character, there is little to no dialogue, and it is more of an action/adventure type game rather than an RPG. The fastest means of travel is your horse, and your most powerful weapon is your sword.

Story:
9/10

A man rides his horse into a "forbidden" land of sorts with a dead girl. He offers her on a pedestal, and the gods in the game state that if he wants to resurrect her, he must kill 16 colossi, or guardians of various regions surrounding the main temple. Each time you kill one, you release a spirit, and the statue resembling the colossus is destroyed, advancing you to the next colossus. Pretty original, but nothing with the storyline actually happens again until near the end of the game.

Gameplay:
9/10

You ride around on a horse and walk/jump/climb/etc. by land on a large map finding large colossi, with only a sword and a bow and arrow (with infinite arrows) equipped on you. If you can't go further on your horse, that usually means you are near the colossi, which you'll have to reach by climbing up walls, jumping over ledges, swimming, and walking. There are no enemies other than the colossi, which can be good, but in some places, you feel as if there should be an enemy lurking in the darkness. Most of the time, when you reach the boss, they appear out of nowhere, and in order to defeat them, you have to think. Yes, you have to think and use strategy when trying to defeat these colossal things. Basically you have to find some way to climb on the boss and stab them in a special area (usually denoted as a weird mark that is flashing blue). Once you defeat the colossi, the game makes you seem almost legendary with the slow-mo and music. The only thing I find unrealistic is the fact that every colossi you meet (as far as I can remember) has fur which is climbable, whether it is a sand worm or water eel or flying colossi. Many say the camera is a problem, but I still haven't had any problems.

The game basically vaults you into the game, thinking that you have read the instruction booklet. But not to fear, even if you haven't, you should still find the ability to beat the first colossus in no time. To find colossi, you have to lift your sword into the air in a sunny area (it won't work in dark, shady, cloudy, or dusty areas) and follow the thinnest and most concentrated beam. If you feel vibrations from your controller, then that means if you will travel in that direction, it will lead you directly to the colossi. Later on you have to go around through canyons and over bridges to find your area.

Each colossi requires a different strategy; it isn't just climbing on them and stabbing them. For most of them, you have to take advantage of the environment, and sometimes your horse (when available). Your primary weapon will be your sword, but you will need the bow from time to time, which can also be used to gain the attention of a colossus. Most colossi will also have more than one "special" point, sometimes all appearing at the same time while others after a first point is stabbed.

Around the map, there are lizards and fruit trees scattered, most of them in secret places. If you spot a lizard with a white tail, you can use your bow to shoot their tail, and when you pick it up, you eat it, increasing stamina (how long you can grasp things), while shooting fruits from a fruit tree will not only restore health but also increase it. The only other way of increasing the two is by defeating colossi and progressing through the game.

One other thing to note is the bridges/ canyons/waterfalls. While on the horse, you can't fall off unless you are struck by a colossi. However, off the horse, you fall and die when you fall off a bridge or into a canyon.

You can also regenerate in this game. By standing still, crouching, walking, or riding your horse, you can slowly regenerate your health and stamina. This may not be too useful in a fight, as you gain very little health and stamina back when using weapons or walking.

If you die at a colossus, you don't have to start from your last save point. You can just retry, starting right before the fight with the colossus. There are also many save point along the way to colossi, and most of the time they are close to colossi or far away from the starting point.

You are also given clues on how to defeat the colossus after a period of time of either receiving damage or inflicting little or no damage upon the colossus, although even those clues can be vague. Long story short, look in the FAQs if you are having trouble with a colossus, because the game won't help you much.

Graphics:
10/10

The environments are stunning and captivating. Any place you look, whether it's the desert or grasslands, you'll find such details as weeds, flowers, bushes, and many other things. The game is smooth, and rarely (if ever) the game will freeze for a second or two to load the graphics. The only thing that seems undetailed are trees and leaves when they are looked at from up close. From far away, everything looks hazy, but soon they become more detailed, and you see everything up to the last leaf or branch.

Sound:
10/10

The game starts out with captivating music, but it stops basically as soon as you get to the world map. The music only begins again when you reach a colossi, and at later colossi, you will hear two types of music; the first will be kind of like the boss music, while the second will signify either that you are on the colossi or they are prone and can be climbed or attacked. The voices are not real, but from the man yelling to the sound of the horse running, to the running of a waterfall, everything else is realistic and detailed. The music makes the whole game seem like a movie, with you as a director.

Replay value:
7.5/10

This is the lowest point of the game. You've beaten the game after a couple of hours (it took me about 20 hours because I took many breaks and had to get used to the gameplay/controls each time, but it can easily be done faster), most of which you spent getting to the colossi or retrying to beat the colossi, only to unlock hard mode. Then after that you unlock time attack mode, in which you can get items. If you beat that, then you get hard time attack mode for even more items. Basically, if you want 100%, you have to beat the game 4 times fully, and 5 if you want to make use of the items you unlocked. It can be tedious considering there are 16 colossi, each harder than the other, and that you are timed in time attack mode.

Overall, this is definitely a rent-first game. Many people won't like it at all, while others will love it. This is definitely a good game that you can use to relax from other games, but unless you have at least half an hour of time each time you play, this game isn't worth playing.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/14/06