Shadow Of The Colossus (Playstation 2)

[Ajinryu]

Title: Shadow Of The Colossus
Developer: Team ICO
Genre: Adventure
Platform: PS2
Players: 1



Wanda

Playstation2 game ICO, was one of the gaming industry's biggest surprises of 2001. It proved to doubters of the industry that games could be considered as art. The games sedate gameplay, and relaxed atmosphere really hit home with the lucky few who had the good fortune to play the game back then, unfortunately it didn't make much of an impact on the American and European market, meaning very few people got the chance to play it.

ICO's creator, Fumito Ueda prides himself on making unique, atmospheric games that don't rely on using the same, established formula to sell themselves to the masses. As a result, both his latest titles have recieved mixed impressions from both the media and gamers alike. Fortunately enough for us, this hasn't been enough to put him off developing new, and memorable titles, as Shadow Of The Colossus hit PS2's worldwide earlier this year after an extensive developement period.

The Wanderer

Much like ICO, SotC opts for a pretty bare bones story. You take the role of a young boy who goes by the name of "The Wanderer". This boy has taken a legendary sword from a holy alter in a nearby village, and headed off to "The Forbidden Land" where a great, unidentified evil lurks. Those who tresspass on the forbidden grounds face serious consequences. Unshook by the rumours of this desolate land, he heads off carrying a loved one on his horse, Agro. There is a great power rumoured to be located in the forbidden land that can ressurect people from the dead.

A strange voice, that consists of both a male and female identity, greets the Wanderer as he reaches the holy temple located in the forbidden land. As the wonderer questions the Entity about the power that lurks in these lands, he finds out that he has to slaughter the lands colossal inhabitants, "The Colossi". The entity gives the Wanderer a chance to earn his loved ones life back, as he casts him out upon the land to find, and eliminate these destructive beings. The story may not seem like much but it's actually quite a good way of making you play further into the game, you want to tie up all the loose ends that the games intro creates. So in this respect it's a simple but effective story.

Praesidium vigilo

The strange thing about Fumito Ueda's games is the fact that the gameplay for each of his games are pretty straightforward. The same applies for SotC. You have a small arsenal of items to help you find these monsters and defeat them. The two most important items being your steed, Agro, and your sword. Heading out into the land on your horse you must use the sword as a compass of sorts to point out the way to the Colossus. Holding up the sword produces a ray of light that shines from the sword and gets narrower as you face the direction in which the colossus is located, using this as a guide, you must traverse across the large expanses of open plains, desert, and forest that the games world consists of.

Getting to the aproximate location of these creatures is only half the challenge, and admittedly it's not always the most enjoyable of experiences as some of the treks to some of the later Colossi can feel like a drag as the guide isn't always accurate at times. But these occasionally droll treks are worth the hassle as you come across some of the most wonderfully designed puzzles/boss battles that have to be seen to be believed. The reason why I use the terms "Boss" & "Puzzle" is because these confrontations are just that. A hybrid of both at the same time.

Thy Next Foe Is...

These giant beasts are what really make the game, the exploration is just pretty much a filler leading up to these creatures, because lets face it, if the game was just a series of bosses one after another the game would only feel like a intuitive boss attack mode. On encountering these creatures your main aim is to get onto them by any means available to you. In this respect it feels much like a huge enviromental puzzle as you have to use the Colossi's interaction with the enviroment around it to your advantage in unison with your equipped bow, and sword combining the two to exploit the creatures weakness. The first few battles start of really easy, with most of the colossi's weaknesses right in front of you as you start, but after the first three battles their weaknesses become even more obscure and harder to exploit.

The pure scale of some of these creatures is immense. Even from a distance you can see them towering for miles into the air. The size of these creatures becomes even more impressive when scaling their bodies and getting up close and personal with them. Each one of the Collosi's bodies feel like a huge, living puzzle. You have to take a unique approach when climbing each of them. At certain parts of their bodies are glowing symbols, these "hot spots" are where you have to get to in order to take each monster out, stabbing each of these spots result in the Colossus losing some health with each strike.

Much like the rising difficulty of each method of getting onto these monsters, the location in which each of these weakspots reside get's much harder to pin-point, and the pure variety of each type of Colossus ensures that you'll be scouting many different areas on their carcasses to defeat them. After defeating each monster you'll soooo want to find out what the next creature is going to look like. This curiosity of what your next challenge is going to look like really fuels you to keep on playing, so much so you'll often find yourself playing for a good couple of hours and not knowing how the hell the time went by so fast.

It's these moments that make the game such a memorable experience. It's a refreshing re-imagining of the adventure genre, and it pretty much distances itself from all the stereotypes and similarities that many of the other games in the genre have.

But of course, the game is far from perfect. The control often feel a bit floaty and while this may be a good thing at times, it can often lead to some rather irksome moments when climbing certain structures, or jumping off a platform or ledge. It doesn't hurt the games reputation but it does frustate from time to time. The same goes for the games camera, it's not a hassle when roaming the games world, but when it comes to scaling the colossi you may often find the camera jamming at certain points during your descent on each creature. It doesn't happen too much, but on some of the taller Colossi it can often grate on you, leading to the occasional mis-timed jump resulting in you having to climb up again.

Whilst your time in SotC may be a most enjoyable and memorable one, you may find yourself breezing through the game in no less than 7-10 hours. This abrupt lifespan is somewhat rectified by unlockable features, a time attack, and a hard mode, but a lot of people may not bother to play through the extras. But they're there for you to play through if you want an extra challenge.

Colossal

SotC has this lovely natural look to it that not many other games have. The art direction and design are what make Fumito Ueda's games so special. Which is where half of SotC's appeal comes from. Everything is just so immacuately done. You'll often just stare at stuff for hours due to the amount of effort that has been put into the game. Especially the Colossi themselves. All the little effects on each monster is so well done, as is the animation on these creatures in general. They reek of life, and you'll often wonder how Team ICO squeezed all of this out of the 6 year old hardware that the PS2 consists of. But the PS2's hardware itself is the cause of some of the games technical flaws. As you scout the land for each monster you'll notice some sizable textures loading up out of nowhere, more often than not you'll even find whole peaks loading up out of nowhere, while it isn't too much of a problem it kind of ruins the effect that the game is trying to give you. Excessive slowdown also infests the game, and while it doesn't actually slow down the game to a point where it gets unbearable, it's still recongisable throughout.

The Audio fares very well too. While the game is pretty much mute for the majority of the game, the music that plays when you face and defeat a Colossus is fantastic. As are the various sound effects that litter the game. It complements the visual style of the game to a tee.

It's certainly not without it's flaws, and sizable ones at that, but Shadow of the Colossus is an essential addition to your Playstation 2 library. And much like ICO it's a game that you must experience no matter what. It's not a game that may suit everyones tastes but if your looking for a memorable experience, and a visually vibrant and rich game, then SotC will please you to no end.

Graphics: 9.5
Team ICO's unmistakable art style shines through again. Churning out such a great and unique looking game isn't an easy challenge, but managing to produce a near flawless and immaculate looking title on a six year old slab of plastic and wiring is even more impressive.

Sound: 9.3
An epic orchestral score complements the visuals and the action perfectly. The ambient atmosphere when exploring the overworld works just as effectively.

Gameplay: 9.0
The games controls and camera aren't particularly polished, but the unique concept, and the fashion in which it is pulled off is almost flawless. The pro's far outweigh the cons.

Lifespan: 7.9
Whilst the first time through the game may not take long, the time attack and the hard mode help lengthen out what would be a much shorter game without them thrown in.

Overall: 8.9
Much like ICO, SotC will be left untouched by many a gamer, which is a shame as the whole package is one of the most refined and memorable games I've played in years. The games numerous flaws may leave a bit of a sour taste in your mouth at times, but the concept, flare, and style are more than enough to outweight those cons. Buy it now or miss out.