Review

Boss battles have long been part of the staple diet of gamers, but if we’re being honest, fighting through levels before confronting a larger foe with a complex attack pattern is something that’s getting a little stale (with a few notable exceptions). What Sony’s developers have done is turn the boss battle into the point of the game, everything else is secondary to the epic contests you’ll be facing.

Shadow Of The Colossus begins with its hero riding to a far off temple where he believes the power to revive the dead exists. Unfortunately you discover it’s not that simple: in order to possess the power you must hunt down, fight and kill the 16 colossi roaming the land surrounding the temple. All you have to help is your trusty steed, a bow and arrow and a magical sword to show you the way.

To hunt each giant beast all you need to do is raise the sword aloft and look around until a strong beam of light points to the horizon. Getting to the location however is never quite as simple as just riding in the right direction. Occasionally you will be required to leave your mount and climb but even then, upon locating your foe, you’ve got to work out how to slay them!

Each giant has a number of weak spots that are vulnerable to attack and getting to them usually requires clambering up their legs, up their backs and onto the head. Naturally, as they are living creatures, they’ll try to defend themselves and shake you loose, and due to their size it doesn’t take much more than a quick stamp to cause you a fatal injury.

There are 16 in total to bring down of all different shapes and sizes whether they’ve got two legs, four legs or wings. You never know what’s coming next and finding out is the biggest part of what keeps you playing, but it’s also the little things as well. Like the way you actually ride the horse as opposed to control it; like the way grass sways in the breeze; like the stirring music that changes and gets more dramatic on cue. I could go on but I’d be here forever!

This is easily one of the best-looking games ever on the aging PS2, if not altogether – you’d be hard pushed to find a game anywhere that looks this beautiful. The scenery is fabulous with an incredible sense of scale but it’s the colossi themselves that truly impress. I’ve never seen hair this realistic in a game before and the way it billows in the wind is an exhilarating sight.

Put simply, this is an awesome game that you must experience. It’s the closest a game has ever got to being a work of art as it’s clear that time and effort have been spent on every element. Whether it surpasses ICO is really open to debate and entirely down to personal choice, but if you miss out and decide to buy another identical sports title then you really will be poorer for it.

About the Review

Platform

Sony Playstation 2

Developer

Team ICO

Publisher

Sony Computer Entertainment

Released

17th February 2006