I recently wrote a review on the PS2 game "Shadow of the Colossus" and I'm assuming anyone who's played it can attest to it's awesomeness. If you've never played it, however, I highly recommend you check it out- it's worth the play. So without further ado, here's my review; tell me what you think! :D

Shadow of the Colossus Reviews

NiloKaal

9.5
superb

Wonderfully crafted, beautiful game with A+ material. Originality at its finest.

Difficulty:Just Right

Time Spent:10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:"Masterpiece"

The day I picked up a copy of Shadow of the Colossus I had no idea what it was about. I bought it on a whim and I didn't know what the gameplay was like, what the story was, or even the genre of the game. To be honest, I thought it was an RPG at first. I was just a bored gamer looking for a new game to play so I browsed around and picked one that looked good. Boy, do I know how to pick 'em; it's now one of my favorite games of all time on any console.

Shadow of the Colossus is one of those rare games (or should I say 'gems') where it's hard to find anything wrong with it. Everything from the music, to the graphics, to the atmosphere is just so wonderfully put together. Nothing ever feels out of place here. And then there's the premise: SotC takes one of the greatest staples from video games and bases the entire game around it. That's right: boss fights.

One of the greatest things about the game is how wonderfully simple it is. The controls, the equipment you use, even the story is all very basic. If you're looking for a game with a deep backstory and ever-changing plotline and lots of upgradeable weapons with all kinds of attacks- this isn't it. But in this case, it works in the game's advantage.

You play as mysterious character on horseback (for all intents and purposes, is named the Wanderer) who carries a presumably dead girl who obviously means a lot to him (perhaps his lover or sister) to a temple in a vast, forbidden land. There, he lays her on an altar and strikes a deal with some divine voice that tells him he must individually slay sixteen giant behemoths in order to revive the girl. And thus the game begins as you set out on your faithful horse, Agro, to kill your first colossus.

One of the wonderful things about this game is the sheer size of the land you traverse to get to your destination. I'd be bold enough to say that nearly half the game is just getting to each colossus. Some people may say that this is the most boring or unneeded part of the game but I feel it's needed to appreciate how astoundingly big and diverse the landscapes are. The scenery is beautifully crafted indeed; it's one of the best looking games on the PS2 by far. The scenery certainly has a solid feel to it- the artwork and color schemes of all the geography is pretty breathtaking.

Each colossus is located in a different part of the forbidden lands that has different scenery and environments so you always feel like you're battling far off from everything else in the world. One of the things the game imprints on you is how alone you really are in this vast land. There are no people or animals around save for the few small critters like lizards and birds, and in a way, it helps to develop the bond between you and your equine companion, Agro.

The Wanderer only has two items in the game: A bow with infinite arrows and a sword. Aside from combat, the sword can be used to navigate from colossus to colossus via a beam of light emitted from the tip when a button is pressed.

When you first encounter a colossus it may feel a bit overwhelming. I mean, for the most part, these things are HUGE. When they walk, you stumble to keep your balance because of how hard they shake the ground. Each colossus is unique looking and some even swim, climb, or fly. They all look and feel so ancient; like part of the land that has taken on a life of its own. But each can be taken out by climbing onto their massive hulk, finding their weak point, and stabbing it with your trusty blade. Every colossus has fur somewhere on their body which can be used to grip onto and climb about as you search for their weak point. But they're not going to just let you climb up onto their back and stab at them with your sword like an oversized voodoo doll. No sir, most of the time you'll have to either render them temporarily immobile or take them by surprise.

Once you get ahold, you have a grip meter which steadily decreases as long as you keep your hold. When it depletes, you'll lose your grip and fall. You have a health bar that regenerates slowly with time and faster when you're crouched. You'll know you've found the weak point because it glows like a neon sign when you get near it. After you defeat a colossus, a black haze engulfs you and you wake up back in the temple, ready to slay the next one.

Another great aspect of the game is the music. Composed by Koh Ohtani, the soundtrack to the game is quite memorable that takes advantage of a full orchestra. From melancholy, lovely flutes while traversing the plains to uplifting, frantic horns while battling a colossus, the music is distinctly unforgettable. Each colossus also has a unique theme so not every battle has the same atmosphere. It's easily my favorite game soundtrack.

In conclusion, the game fits really well together- the music flows seamlessly to fit the mood and situation and the combat is simple and easy to figure out. The artwork and graphics are at their prime for a PS2 game and each fight is unique and memorable. So what happens when you defeat all sixteen? I'll let you find that out if you play this superb, well-thought-out game. Happy colossus hunting!

Greetings all you people who read this (to anyone that actually cares)! I made an account a while back but I've never really taken advantage of it till now... This Greatest Villian of All Time thing kinda lured me in so WAY TO GO GAMESPOT. You got what you wanted. Anywho, this is the first time I've written a blog. Evar. So forgive me if it just sounds like I'm ranting. This IS what you're supposed to do in a blog right? Just spout random stuff about a topic? Actually, this is sorta fun. I could get used to doing this. Yeah, back on topic- so first blog, what should I talk about? Aw what the hell, the competition should be an appropriate starting point. First off, lemme just say that I didn't have very high hopes for winning this thing. Hell, I didn't even know who a bunch of the big villians were like Kerrigan from StarCraft and Arthas Menethil from Warcraft because I've never played em. Yeah, yeah, I live under a rock. Anyways, I did pretty good the first few rounds with a couple exceptions; check out my bracket if you get the chance. But one thing that kinda pissed me off was the fact that Sephiroth lost in the first round of the fackin' competition. Now, I'll tell you right off the bat that I've never played FFVII. But I DO know that Sephy has a big fanbase and I took that into account when I voted him up far into my bracket; he was in my fackin' final two! What I didn't count on was the fact that there were an equal amount of people that hated his guts because of the FF fanboys. So I was really surprised to say the least when he was eliminated so early on. Heh, at least I had the sense not to pick him for the one to win it all. MOVING ON.

After Sephiroth's untimely demise, RAAM seemed to get a big head, no pun intended, and bust his way up through the ranks. Personally, I don't know how he managed to get as far as he did, considering he didn't play a huge role in the Gears games. Seriously- I played through those games a couple timesa while back and when this contest came around I had to struggle to remember WHO THE HELL HE WAS. Now, I know I don't have that bad a memory when it comes to video games but RAAM didn't really stick with me. He just kinda flowed along with the rest of the game, blending in with all the other creatures and Locust that you had to obliterate to save humanity. A GOOD villian is one that sticks in your mind and makes you think, "Oh yeah, that was an epic character." So I find it a shame that he managed to get to the Final Four. I did pick Ganondorf to win because of a couple reasons. Firstly, who hasn't played a Legend of Zelda game? Okay, a lot of people but THE POINT IS that it's a classic example of a good game villian. An adventurer goes on a quest to save a princess and stop the evil antagonist from taking over the kingdom. Is that not something you'd hear in a good story? But I'm deviating from the point of him being a good game villian. He's got the triforce of power, can turn into a giant beast, and is pretty much invincible against everything except the Master Sword. Plus he's a major staple of Nintendo that has alarger following. But yeah, he lost to the Joker and the rest is history. I want Kerrigan to win it all cuz she's got some pretty deviant past behind her. And of course the fact that Joker beat Ganon :P Anyways, after all is said and done, the votes are all that matter since it's already been decided by the majority. But believe me, this contest is NOT what it could have been. All unfair matchups, proxy votes, and trolling aside, this was a blast and I hope they do another one soon. The comments section was where I spent most of my time these past few matchups and boy is it entertaining. You wouldn't believe the kind of flawed reasoning and just flat out stupidity people show there. I hang around most of the time just to unravel people's arguments and make witty comments. And I'm pretty good at both, if I do say so myself. :D But I digress...

So in conclusion, I had lots of fun in this contest; a few disappointments here and there but hey- that's just how it goes, right? So I'm signing off of my first blog- didn't do too bad I'd say...I'll probably make another blog if this doesn't go unnoticed cuz that means people are actually reading em! So farewell for now- and game hard.

~Nilo Kaal