Looks great with fun bosses...............and that's about it.
User Rating: 8.9 | Shadow of the Colossus PS2
Shadow of the Colossus is a beautifully detailed adventure game with one major flaw: there’s really nothing else to do except kill the 16 bosses. The graphical presentation and animation of SotC is topnotch (for the PS2 anyway). It makes the best use of light sourcing I’ve seen on the PS2. Even the animations of the birds and horse show that Sony spent a lot of time detailing each frame. The world is huge and can take some time to traverse it. SotC’s world is so detailed you may want to stop at times just to take it all in. It’s like controlling an exquisite water painting! The Boss battles are definitely nothing to sneeze at either. Some of the bosses are freakin'’ huge! Sony did such a great job of animating these behemoths to point that they may seem somewhat intimidating (at least to those of you that like to be scared ;) ). The strategy behind defeating the bosses can almost be called ingenious because your experience with each one in most cases is completely different. This is the game Indigo Prophecy was trying to be. Different and good!
Now on to the negative side. I have never experienced a game that made me feel so alone until I played SotC. There is just absolutely nothing to do! With only 16 boss battles this game becomes way too short. I guess you could pray a few times and play chase-the-skunk-things but come on! I heard there maybe more to do but not enough to be interesting. Camera control can be frustrating at important times which, for this game, causes the controls to be iffy. This game has horrid replay value and despite the high score I gave it I can not recommend anyone buy it but I strongly recommend renting it.
Pros: lovely graphic detailed world and animation, outstanding and strategic boss battles
Cons: Short game, little replay value, sometimes difficult camera and control, nothing to really do between boss battles.
Final Verdict: SotC is a game with beautiful presentation, strategic boss battles aaaand.... that's about it. So, renting it is a yes-yes and buying it is a no-no.
