Video game + Art = Shadow of the Colossus
The story in Colossus is pretty straightforward. You play as a nameless young boy (although Japanese title and game credits suggest his name is Wanda or Wander) who has lost a loved one. He takes her lifeless body on horseback to a temple in a forbidden land where a mysterious being said to be capable of retrieving lost souls resides in a temple in hopes of bringing her back to life. The this being appears to him as a voice and tells our hero that he can bring his dead love back to the plain of life, but only if he uses his sword of apparent significance to slay 16 colossi that roam the land. Without giving any thought as to what the consequences might be (hint) our hero agrees to this bargain and sets off on a journey of epic proportions. The story telling approach is the same as in ICO. There is very little dialog, but much of the story is told through physical expression, leaving the player to think and theorize about what is really going on.
The beauty of the gameplay in SotC is in its simplicity. You are armed with a sword and a good ‘ol bow and arrows. Your bow has unlimited ammo, but it is hardly used for anything beyond getting a colossus attention or crippling it for a short time. Your sword is also a simple tool. You have the standard slash which you probably wont ever use, and the plunge/stab which you will be using consistently. There are two key elements of combat in SotC, one of them being climbing. Whenever you face a colossus the goal is to get on it climb up to its weak spot, which is recognizable by a strange glowing symbol, and stab at it until your foe is drained of all life. The feeling you get when you latch into a colossus’ arm or leg and hang on for your life as it tries to throw you off is exhilarating at the least, especially with your stamina meter running down and trying to find a spot to rest and regain it, which is a quick process. The only real problem while fighting a colossus is the camera. It can sometimes zoom to close or go to an angel you don’t want it to, but the camera is controllable and has a default angle that gives you a good view of the colossi by pressing the left shoulder button. The other key element of combat and also the gameplay all together is horseback riding. You have a trusty steed named Agro ( pronounced Ah-go due to Japanese dialog ) who is your only companion throughout the game. He is primarily your main source of transportation, but there are a few battles where he is an essential ally. You can do many things with your horse during battle that involve your bow such as riding it, standing on it and riding it backwards while shooting at the colossi. As your source of transportation Agro is essential. You use him to ride from boss to boss and use your sword as a compass by holding it up to the light and going in the direction where “the light gathers”… You’ll understand when you do it yourself. There is little to do on the overworld besides galloping around and trying to find your next foe, but there are quite a few classic platform moments of jumping and climbing once you reach your destination, but most of them are cake compared to similar moments in ICO. Riding Agro has a more realistic feel than in most games that contain horseback riding. When you steer he wont respond in an instant, and in order to get him up to speed you have to kick him by pressing the X button. You can also call the Agro by pressing the X button while dismounted. When close the main character will simply say his name, at mid distance he will yell for him, and at far distance he will whistle for him, which can be useful in getting a colossi’s attention, and if Agro is available during a boss fight, he will desperately yell for him. Mounting Agro can sometimes be a bit frustrating, especially during combat, since you have to be right next to him and the mount button and the jump button are the same, but it will hardly ever result in a Game Over.
The visuals in SotC are absolutely stunning, especially for a PS2 game. While the environments may lack sharp detail, it is more than atoned for by the visual blur and lighting affects that made ICO so nice to look at. The whole world is yours to explore, and there are no load times in the whole game except for when you load your file or start a new game. The frame-rate can be a bit low, but if anything it only adds to the experience. There are also some really nice dust, water, wind and rain affects, which further add to the realistic feel. Other interactive details like eatable fruit and animals such as lizards, plus climbable trees and moss truly suck you into this mysterious land and make you feel like your really there. The sound mixes with the visuals perfectly. The music in the game is among the best I’ve heard in a video game. The music during the opening scene pretty much sets the games whole feel, contributing to the games wondrous and mysterious nature. The in-game music changes depending on the kind of situation you are in. As you approach a colossi there is silence, then once it is aware of your presence the edgy music starts and then goes into an adventurous crescendo as your opportunity for attack is open for you. The feel of the music differs depending on the environment or the nature of each colossus. The mysterious ones such as the swimming or flying ones often have a very slow and silent musical feel until you make your presence known, and the large, loud and very hostile colossi obviously have the desire to smash you when their kind of adventurous musical feel kicks in. Unfortunately there is no music on the overworld as you ride from colossus to colossus, but it only extends the feeling of solitude that this game must deliver in order to maintain its art-like aura.
All things considered, Shadow of the Colossus is a must-have for anyone who appreciates fine art, or just good games in general. The game is said to be repetitive, but each colossus is so different that you almost never use the same formula twice, and fighting each one is so much fun that it’ll be hard to put down the controller until you have thrown down each one and smote their ruins on the mountain s-…err… killed each one. There are no enemies besides your 16 titanic foes, but minor enemies would have only brought this game down. The game is one of the greatest visual experiences you could ever hope for on the Playstation 2, and the soundtrack is one of the best I’ve ever heard in a video game. Newcomers to these games probably wont appreciate this games story, but ICO fans should be perfectly content, especially with the ending. The game can be beaten in about 8 hours, so a lower price would have been nice. If your not sure then give it a rental at the very least, but if you’re a fan of ICO or epic adventure games, then go out and buy it… like, right now.
PS.
This was my first real review, so thanks for reading! Lemme know what I could do to make my future reviews better at dpcorle@yahoo.com. I'd REALLY appreciate it!
Dane Corle