Reviewed by CL on 2/17/2006
There are many words one could use to describe this game, but I think the one that fits the best is “beautiful". This game is just plain beautiful. Everything like the stylish graphics, moving soundtrack, gripping storyline, and breathtaking world will amaze you at every turn.
The story of this game, follows an unnamed hero as he tries to bring his loved one back to life. In order to do this, he takes her to a temple where a god tells him that in the only way to do this is to search the countryside and slay 16 giant colossi (plural of colossus). This is the first place where Shadow of the Colossus differentiates itself from other games. In most games, you have to wade through a ton of lower level enemies before finally fighting a boss at the end of the level. In this game, there are no lower level enemies. Every “level" consists of searching for, finding, and fighting a single colossus. Although this sounds simple, defeating these giants is no easy task. These giants are many times bigger than you and most of them are literally the size of small buildings. Defeating them involves finding a way to climb up them and find a magical weak spot which you can then stab repeatedly to defeat the colossus. This adds a type of puzzle element to the game. You have to use the environment and your wits to find the best way to scale up and colossus and find the correct place to attack. The fact that these colossus run, fly, swim, and jump makes for a unique and gripping experience.
Although finding and slaying colossi is the main focus of the game, the world is so expansive and beautiful that you may find yourself just riding your horse around to see all the sights that it has to offer. The only negative about this game is that it seems to push the PS2 to the limits of its processing power. This becomes evident when looking at the frame rate which seems to be lower than most modern games. This is really a small problem and doesn’t detract from the wonderful experience much. In conclusion, this is one of the best games for the PS2 and possibly of this generation.
