"Stylishly designed and epic journey - unfortunately marred in some areas."

It's a one of a kind adventure that you have never experienced before. Brace yourself, as you prepare for a long and arduous journey travelling across the barren land to have a massive showdown with some of the most spectacular game bosses you are ever going to feast your eyes open. Enter Shadow of the Colossus, the ingenious masterpiece that is created by the same team that produced ICO during 2001. Shadow of the Colossus has been highly anticipated due to its gameplay that promises exhilarating fights with uniquely designed bosses that take the form of colossi, just as the name suggests. The game alone is unfortunately tainted with several technical problems, but should you be patient and tolerant with the small issues, it is very likely that you will have an unforgettable experience with this game.

You take the role of a warrior, who is very aptly named Wander, in a world that you have completely no knowledge about, and it is very likely you end the game in the same knowledge of the world that you had at the beginning. There is very little information known about the story behind Shadow of the Colossus, but it is likely that you wouldn't be bothered by this. From the introduction, you control the male lead character that treks the rough path with his trusty horse to a distant temple in hoping to revive a fallen girl. That's all you can infer from the scenes alone: whatever the purpose for or whatever the relationship the girl has with the protagonist, nobody knows. A mysterious voice ghosting in the sacred hallways tells you that the only way to save the girl is to hunt down and destroy the 16 majestic colossi that reside in this world. Bearing that knowledge and some determination from your part, you set off with this aim in mind.

It is very easy to summarise the pattern of this game. Basically, you set off looking for the colossal beast that you have to slain, engage in an adrenaline-pumping action battle with it and hopefully destroy it. Then you will somehow faint from the overwhelming effects of the fallen beast, and regain consciousness at the temple. From then, an intermission dialogue with the mysterious spirit that is guiding you will take place, where the voice will give you a short synopsis of what to expect from the next boss, and then you set off once again. While this sounds very repetitive and meaningless such that you only slain colossus after colossus, it is basically what it is. But things aren't as simple as it sounds, as you will soon come to realise.

Finding the colossus itself is quite the challenging task that your character will have to embark first. You are only presented with a few tools that you will utilise throughout the game - you start with these, you end with these. You have in your possession a sword and a bow and arrow that will act as reliable assistance in the execution of all the beasts that you meet throughout the game. The sword acts like a direction indicator of some sorts - somehow when you hold it up in the plains and with some clever navigation, you will be able to work out which direction to go to in order to find the next beast. Even so, it is not as simple as it is. Most of the time, you will have to transverse across obstacles such as scaling high mountains or crossing rivers, and sometimes you will have to leave your trusty horse behind since that animal does not have the ability to swim. Sometimes, the job of locating the beast alone can get pretty irritating if you do not have an idea of where to look. Travelling across the world without your horse gets a tad bit too long on occasions, and it will not be a surprise if you get frustrated over this simple task alone.

Of course, that isn't the real gist of this game. Once you locate your target colossus, the music immediately takes a change and the battle with this majestic beast begins. Each and every one of the 16 colossi is uniquely designed to differ from each other entirely. No two similar methods will successfully work on the same beast, as they are look differently and respond differently. Some of the smaller colossi can probably reach about the size of a normal house, but some can be towering gigantic skyscrapers, just wanting to tear you apart with whatever weapons they have. In a way, Shadow of the Colossus sort of works like a puzzle game in an action-adventure game. To figure out how to conquer each and every colossus is a challenge that puts your wits to its test. You will frequently have to observe the environment that the colossus resides in, note for any link between the environment to a possible weakness of the colossus and successfully exploit it to reveal its hidden point. These are intrinsically marked weak spots that gleam under the sun, and by jabbing your sword forcefully through these points, you get to inflict some severe damage on these gigantic monsters.

To get that first however, you will have to be able to work towards it under the constant attacking of the colossi. Some do not really take too kindly to human invaders, and will lunge at you with every chance possible, even more so if you have already attacked their weak spots. Others however, are merely inquisitive about your arrival to their humble homes and will probably only retaliate should you wound it first. With regards to several peaceful beasts, it is even possible to stand in peace and observe what they are doing. Most of the time, these incredibly structured "villains" do not take heed of your existence at all and will proceed on with their regular lifestyle. Sometimes after vanquishing one of these majestic beasts and witnessing the rather sympathetic scene of them falling, you sit back and ponder deeply whether or not you are the primary villain in this game after all.

Normally, to get to the weak points, this will involve a series of climbing act where you attempt to grab hold of the monster's fur, and then slowly working your way up to the weak points that are scattered throughout their structure. Some weak points vanish after being jabbed several times, which means that you will have to scurry around the entire structure to search for the next one, while under constant thrashing of the colossus. Making things more realistic is the introduction of a grip counter, which you will have to pay attention to when you press R1. The grip counter basically increases whenever you hold onto something, and as time passes, your grip on it drops. Once you blow it, you will fall onto the ground, suffering height damage and will have to work your way up again. Sometimes it can get pretty frustrating, but hey, nobody said it would be easy to take on a boss of this size.

The game suffers from several obvious technical drawbacks. Firstly, your controls can get pretty sluggish at times. Your male lead isn't exactly the most nimble character that has sought out to destroy all the magnificent beasts that grace the land, and will sometime stumble over a height and your controls worsen it by not being the most responsive things. This can get pretty lethal in a serious and engaging battle with the giants, and also proves to be a very frustrating issue to deal with. Another glaring error is the very obvious drop in frame rate when things get dusty. It is understandable, considering the fact that you are engaging real-time with a monster that huge, the rendering and technical capability of this game must be very intensive. But still, these can get pretty frustrating for the gamer should you fall to the beast because of technical issues. Looking past these however, Shadow of the Colossus still remains to be a fantastic game that is very deserving of a chance.

Graphically, Shadow of the Colossus boasts an outstanding design and artistic interpretation of the game. While things don't look pretty and rendered in beautiful colours, there is a very strong artistic feel to the game and this appeals to me very strongly. Each and every colossus' design is unique in its own way, and the way their body is structured makes them very defined and personalised to be truly one-of-a-kind. The environment in the world is vast and relatively simple and uninteresting, but it fulfils its purpose well. The terrain is designed perfectly with the purpose of an ancient world feel to it. Mountains line up the horizon, and huge lakes divide paths, it is also not surprising to find a mysterious tower of some kind erected in the middle of nowhere in this world.

The orchestrated score of Shadow of the Colossus is very fitting to the situation you are in. While travelling across the vast plains or crossing the boundaries of huge lakes, most of the time you will only hear the sound of the wind ghosting past you or the neigh of your trusty steed. But once you locate a beast, the music takes a sudden change. You might hear a pleasant and peaceful piece, only to drop to a dangerously sounding track once you climb onto its back, provoking it. Additionally, Shadow of the Colossus also features a fictional language within its few lines of dialogues during intermissions. While unnecessary in my opinion, I guess it is just meant to be fitting to the strange world that you're exploring in.

With only 16 main objectives to complete in this game, it is obvious and inevitable that Shadow of the Colossus can be completed within a short amount of time. Even more so, that the technique and wisdom of beating the different colossi are already etched deeply in your mind, and replaying the game would probably provide little to no entertainment value. But one thing for sure stays on - the intrinsic design and exquisite gameplay of this game. While a short and technical-flawed journey is definitely expected of Shadow of the Colossus, this game is still deserving of a purchase just because of the unique gameplay it possesses, the astonishing design of the world and the different giants, and the commendable atmospheric music that comes with it. There is nothing like this on the PS2, and will probably stay this way for a long while.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/25/06, Updated 09/25/06