An epic adventure!!! (Shadow of the Colossus (PS2))

Member Name: MrTink12

Product:	Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
Date:	22/07/07 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: totally original, colossi look amazing, spectacular music

Disadvantages: camera can be a nuisance, controls are not perfect

Fumito Ueda and his team were responsible for creating one of the most original videogames of all time, the great ICO. Excitingly the same team developed the action adventure game Shadow of Colossus (SOTC). The game was released in February 2006 in Europe, exclusively for the PlayStation 2.


--------Storyline--------
I will start by saying that this is not a sequel to ICO. Similarities exist though, such as the game being set in a similar (if not the same) world, and the fictional language from ICO returns. Without a back-story, prima facie SOTC has a rather basic plot. After travelling via horseback to a forbidden land an unknown warrior is on a quest to resurrect a dead young woman. In order to successfully complete this mission our protagonist is told by a voice from the gods he must defeat sixteen colossi that roam the land. The unknown warrior asks no questions, and so our adventure begins…


--------Gameplay--------
Perhaps the greatest achievement of SOTC is that there is no other game like this – it is totally original. The game begins at a temple, and players must find one colossi at a time from this central point. As well as being accompanied by faithful steed Agro, one of the first things players may notice is there are only two weapons to use in the game, a magical ancient sword and a bow. Locating colossi is achieved by holding your sword in the air and going in the direction that the light focuses. When you eventually find a colossi you will witness a brief cutscene of the beast, and then the battle will commence. Basically each colossus has a weakness, and your aim is to attack the weak point or points after you have managed to get onto the beast. This may sound easy, but each battle proves to be challenging and completely unique. Pressing the R1 button will ensure you can hold onto the colossi. Every colossus will do everything in their power to get you off their bodies by wriggling and shaking especially when you are near weak spots. The difficulty is that when hanging on you have to keep monitoring a steadily depleting grip meter at the bottom right of the screen. Should the meter diminish fully you will fall off the colossi and possibly die or at the very least lose a hefty chuck of your life gauge.

How players defeat one colossus to the next is always different, and consequently your brain will be tested. For example there are colossi that fly, some will swim, those which are terrifyingly fast, and others where your first reaction will be ‘how on earth am I going to beat that?’ due to their enormous size exceeding hundreds of feet. Some battles are so intense that they could literally cause exhaustion. After all, the first time you fight a colossi it may take in excess of an hour to defeat. If one is finding it difficult to figure out a strategy against colossi, cryptic clues are given onscreen to assist you. The game design is something to admire, particularly the more complex battles where you have to use the environment to have any chance of defeating the colossi. You may have noticed I have deliberately avoided giving overly specific details about individual colossi battles. The reason for this is that SOTC is a game people must play to really appreciate, and it would ruin the experience if you were told X, Y and Z occurs versus Colossi A, B or C.

I did not have any complaints about the length of the game. Completing the main game for the first time will take approximately twelve to thirteen hours. Do not think that the gameplay ends there though because there is still much to see and do. For example after completing the main mission a time attack mode and harder difficulty setting become unlocked. Also noteworthy is that on the main menu of the game there is the opportunity to view a brief ‘making of’ documentary, an ICO trailer and concept art gallery.


--------Graphics, Sound and Music--------
Without question the fantasy world in SOTC is a delight to look at. On your journey numerous locations will be seen ranging from beautiful architecture, mountains, waterfalls, lakes and caves. Furthermore lighting effects are impressive as illustrated by sunlight appearing through tress in deep forest environments. Each colossi design is a genuine work of art, created with superb attention to detail. Agro’s animation is absolutely realistic – he moves and reacts as a real life horse would.

Another area that the game excels in is the beautiful music. During each colossi battle, the music fits perfectly. For example, if the behemoth has not spotted you the music will be calm, but when you get on the beast the music increases in tempo becoming much more intense. Furthermore during story cutscenes the use of orchestral music is an absolute treat to listen to. The sounds effects are top notch, such as the devastating earth trembling thud made when a colossi tries to stomp on you, or the powerful roar a colossi can make during the heat of battle. Additionally the fictional language sounds reasonable throughout, magnifying the point that SOTC is unique.


--------Critical comments--------
Gameplay is very straightforward when you analyse it – jump on a horse, find colossi, defeat colossi, do process all over again until the last colossi falls. It can be slightly annoying that finding certain colossi in the empty world can take up to forty minutes if you get lost. Perhaps the game could have been even better if you encountered a few non-colossi adversaries on your travels as well as some thought provoking puzzles prior to battling colossi.

My first reaction to SOTC was one of frustration because I did not find the game easy to pick up and play. Initially I struggled quite a bit with the controls, and working out how to successfully ascend the colossi. In principle the controls are relatively simple – jump using triangle, press X to call Agro and so on – but unfortunately the control system is not as responsive as I would have liked. Having said this, after you get used to the controls taking down the enormous enemies can be a real pleasure. Thus it is game you must give a chance. Moreover the camera during battles can be a little wayward. Occasionally your view can be completely obstructed, causing you to mess up. A further criticism is that the game does feature some jagged edges. There is no multiplayer action whatsoever which could disappoint some people.


--------Final comments--------
As with ICO, the follow-up SOTC is a majestic gaming experience. Whatever your usual preferred gaming genre, and whether you be a hardcore or casual gamer, SOTC should be fun to play. Due to the uniqueness of the game I would definitely recommend purchasing SOTC. The game (at the time of writing) can be bought brand new for the very reasonable price of just £11.99 from dvd.co.uk


> My scores:
- Gameplay: 9.5/10 – simple premise that is on the whole executed brilliantly. SOTC is a truly innovative game, which will instigate a huge sense of achievement as you progress.

- Graphics: 9/10 – a few technical flaws reduce the score slightly, but overall the game is good on the eye because of its distinctive arty visual style. Each colossus is memorable, and must be seen to be believed.

- Storyline: 8/10 – the narrative is very brief as the adventure unfolds. Even so, after the end credits finish rolling you will really appreciate the story that has been told.

- Sound: 9.5/10 – I do not think it is an exaggeration to say that players will unquestionably choose to turn their speaker up to listen to the incredible orchestral score.

- Longevity: 9/10 – SOTC contains the perfect number of battles, ensuring the length of main game is very good. Moreover the time attack modes will add many hours of fun as you strive to continually beat the time it takes to defeat the sixteen colossi.

Final score: 9.0 out of ten



Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.

Summary: SOTC is one of the few games that can be genuinely be described as original.