"An Excellent Game Marred by Technical Issues."

I'll admit this, Shadow of the Colossus is quite possibly, my favorite PS2 game. This game received much attention from me since it was a game developed by Team Ico, who had previously developed Ico, a great game that didn't do too well commercially. Enjoying Ico very much, expectations were quite high for this game. After finishing it, I knew this game was destined to be my favorite out of any other game on the Playstation 2 platform. However, I'm going to assume that some of you may be wondering as to why this game didn't receive a 9 or a 10. All in due time of course, for it will be discussed in my analysis and criticism of the game.

Story - Team Ico developed both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus with a minimalist approach when it came to the story. It's minimalist in the sense that the story itself is quite bare and simple. You start off with your character, Wander, who ventures with his horse Agro, into a vast and barren land by crossing a bridge. For what purpose has this young man arrived in such a desolate land? He carries with him the body of a dead woman. He strikes a deal with an entity, which consists of him finding and killing 16 Colossus throughout the land. It's quite simple, and much of the detail in the plot is left for the player to fill in the blanks with his/her own ideas and theories. I rather enjoyed this approach, mainly because one's imagination dictates the complexity of the plot. It can be a bare-bone and straight forward story, or detailed, and intricate, with many connections and allusions to Ico and other events if one desired. It's subjective, but in my eyes, the plot in Shadow of the Colossus is quite good, with some nice twists here and there, particularly at the end. (8/10)

Gameplay - When you start the game, you'll find that your inventory only consists of a sword and a bow. The world in the game is quite expansive and large, to the point where it's almost free-roaming. There are no limitations as to when or where you can go. Everything you see, whether it be a forest or a lake, is accessible to you. Your main means of transportation will be Agro, your horse. He runs and gallops quickly, like any horse would do. You can do some tricks with Agro, whether it be standing on his back, or clinging on his side. What makes him interesting is the fact that Agro behaves very much like a horse, or rather, a living thing. If you head into a wall, Agro will veer to the left or the right, to avoid running into it. If run towards a gap or cliff that will other wise kill your character, he'll stop immediately and stop right at the edge of the gap or cliff.

While exploring, you may want to search with the utmost attention. If you do, you may find lizards and fruits that are to be shot at and collected to increase your health and stamina bar. Your primary goal however, is to kill the 16 Colossus that are interspersed throughout the land. It's quite interesting to see the minimalist approach in this department as well. For you see, the only enemies that you'll encounter are the 16 Colossus. You won't find any other form of dangerous creatures or monsters to fight. Basically, you'll be fighting 16 bosses. However, in order to fight a colossi, you'll have to find them first. Many of them are well hidden in the world, and thus, your sword becomes an interesting tool. By shining your sword in the air, it emits a beam of light. When focused, it will pinpoint the general direction that you'll have to go to find the colossi.
However, this is not as easy as you may first believe.

As I've said, many of them are well hidden and you'll have to do a bit of a search and maneuver yourself around the environment to get to them. Once you do find them, battle ensues with you, your wit, and Agro to find a way to make the mighty colossi fall. You can attack and shoot your arrows at any random part of the colossi, but that won't do you much good. In order to fatally kill the colossi, you'll want to find the sigils located throughout the body of the colossi. Simple really, until you realize that most of the colossus are at least 8 stories high. Not all of them are enormous, nor are any of them shaped exactly the same. They all have their different features and thus, each colossi you have to defeat will be different than another. So how will you be able to make these colossi fall if they're so different and big? Why, climb them of course. A bit daunting, but quite feasible if you set your mind to it.

Previously mentioned was a stamina bar. This stamina bar comes into play as you climb up the fur and geometric protrusions of the colossi. It'll gradually shrink as you climb, so you'll have to find a way to stay on a flat surface and recover your stamina. All is not so easy, for the colossi will not give in so quickly. While climbing it will try to shake you off and make you fall, and thus, you'll want to hold on tight and not let go.You can use your sword to focus it's light to uncover the sigils, which will aid you no doubt. Once you find a sigil, you'll want to use your sword and stab at it, until it disappears. Once it does, you're off to find the next sigil on it's body, until the colossi finally falls. The game itself gives a lot of thrills. Often you'll be clinging onto a handful of fur on it's head while the colossi shakes and turns, trying to knock you off. At the same time, your stamina bar is decreasing and you'll be praying that you can manage a brief respite to recover it. The first few colossus are pretty straight forward. However, the environment often comes into play, as you'll have to use your surroundings to your advantage, to the point where each colossi becomes a puzzle. It may sound repetitive, but having 16 epic boss fights is quite a game. Strategy and patience is key, and the risk involved, as well as the reward of taking down a giant, is breath-taking. (9/10)

Controls - I'll admit, I'm pretty used to playing games with terrible controls. While not dreadful, the controls in this game is easily the weakest aspect of it. The actions of Wander are mapped to the controller just fine. The camera, on the other hand, does not. The camera works fine when you're wandering around the area. It centers properly and you won't really have any reason to use the right analog stick. However, once you fight a colossi, things change. For a game that centers heavily on combating the Colossus, the camera should not be considered a problem, but sadly, it is. You'll often find yourself wrestling with the camera, trying to make it stay focused on Wander. More often than not, it'll swerve to one side or another, never really giving you that vantage point you need. Finding sigils are often harder to do since the camera does a poor job of giving you perspective. On one hand, I can understand that the camera was built to give a more cinematic approach when climbing on a colossi, but if it causes more trouble than it has to, it's a problem.

Another problem I have is the way Agro controls. He's fine when you're exploring open, flat areas. When it comes to narrow passages however, we have a problem. I mentioned that Agro reacts intelligently and will automatically swerve when you're about to hit a wall. However, this causes a problem when you're in a narrow piece of land. Agro will constantly move left and right since the "invisible wall" sandwiched between the thin passage will have Agro trying to automatically avoid them. You'll struggle, you'll curse, and most likely, you'll most likely just end up walking the rest of the destination and have Agro follow you instead on these narrow passages. Agro is also essential to some of the boss fights and thus, he becomes even more of a problem when you get too close the colossi while riding him and thus, you'll have him trying to avoid the colossi while you're trying to land a jump or shoot an arrow. Suffice to say, he's not exactly helpful. It's a shame that the controls weren't as spot on as it should be. It won't make you break the controller in pieces or anything, but its a bit frustrating, whether it be the way Agro controls near a wall or with the camera. (7/10)

Presentation/Graphics - I'll say it straight away, Shadow of the Colossus is beautiful. Detail is what amazes me with this game, it literally exudes emotion. The design and the craftsmanship of the game's world and environments are incredible. The world is filled to the brim with detail. The forests that you may venture into is filled with trees and logs. Grass protrudes everywhere while sunlight beams softly from the leaves. Serenity is the key word here when you venture through this forest. You'll find yourself in barren lands, with hardly any living thing in sight. No grass, no trees, or streams. Just dry, brown earth, with massive boulders and canyons often creating passages for you to wander through. When I said this game exudes emotion, I really meant it. You can feel dread and awe at the same time when you are to face a colossi. Isolation is common, with only you and your horse traversing the land. Curiosity and amazement at many of the environments that you find yourself in is occurs often. Bloom is often appropriate in this game. When you finally exit a dreary cave and find yourself in the ruins of a temple, it takes a bit of time for the screen to settle in, with the brightness sometimes overwhelming. The sun glares harshly, and you'll often have to wait for your senses to focus itself again, giving a sense of immersion. To get technical, the game supports progressive scan, as well as widescreen support.

Another detail that amazes me is the design of the Colossus. Many of them share key features, such as fur and geometric blocks and shapes on it's mass. The fur on the Colossus is frighteningly realistic. It'll sway and move as if it was real. However, many of them are different because they are designed differently. One may look like a bull, while another looks like a serpent. One may be swimming while another flies. Some have hands and legs, others are more serpent like and have fins. Some are 20 times your height, while others are about the same size as you. These key differences were one of the main reasons for me to push ahead, my curiosity to see which new colossi looks like was often a goal of mine.

However, a problem with the overall presentation and graphics are quite technical. The frame-rate, while reasonably smooth when exploring, often dips at critical points in a battle against a colossi. At one moment, you'll be moving silky smooth, when suddenly, you'll move as if your on molasses. While not game breaking, it happens so often, it becomes quite annoying, and may sometimes cause you to miss-time a jump because of it. You'll come to expect slowdown every time you get into battle. While the game is beautiful, jaggies are present everywhere. A shame that they could not smooth out the shapes a bit, but otherwise, I could not find anything else to pinpoint as a problem. (8/10).

Sound - Often times, music plays a big role in a game. The mood and presentation cannot coexist unless music is playing to accompany it. With that said, Shadow of the Colossus has some of the most epic and appropriate music I've ever had the pleasure of hearing in a game. The game itself is often quite when you're exploring the world. However, the music really shows it's excellence when you face a colossi. Also, the music only plays when you're facing a colossi. The first time you see you a colossi will be a jaw dropping moment, with the music booming loudly, conveying feelings of dread and awe. Some of the songs give a sense of depression when you face a colossi, giving you a sense of helplessness as you try to kill a giant taller than an apartment building. Other songs give you a sense of rush and bravery, as it trumpets a heroic score as you scale the colossi, ready to stab at it until it dies. Many of the songs are scored with the quality you'll find in an orchestra or a movie, giving you a real pleasure to the ears. All of them are appropriate and beautiful, and may have you yearning for more after you topple a colossi. (9/10)

While the game is excellent, there are too many technical flaws within the game and they mar the game to the point where you cannot overlook them. The camera is frustrating, and Agro sometimes controls poorly. The slowdown and frame-rate in the game is dishearteningly choppy, often fluctuating to the point where it dampers the overall presentation. Jaggies are prominent, but that's more of me nit-picking to tell you the truth. While none of these flaws are game breaking, they are so common, they ruin the other wise, perfect presentation of the game. However, the story, the graphics, the gameplay in general, and the epic score are still there to give you an unbelievable experience with you against 16 other bosses. And with that, Shadow of the Colossus stands as a unique adventure that has become my favorite.

Story - 8/10
Gameplay - 9/10
Controls - 7/10
Presentation/Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 9/10

Exact Score - 8.2/10
Overall - 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/31/07

Game Release: Shadow of the Colossus (US, 10/18/05)