In our day to day lives there are sometimes moments that are truly awe-inspiring. Instances and events that take your breath away, give you chills, or leave you gapping in sheer amazement. Art imitating life, we can experience similar feelings when gazing upon a painting, getting caught up in a novel, or viewing a film. You wouldn’t be surprised to hear anyone explain an emotional reaction as a result from the aforementioned media because it’s become commonplace. One might looked surprised, however, if you were to tell them that a video game moved you in similar manner.<O:p</O:p
As technology furthers, story telling in video games is given the ability to become more cinematic. Characters are animated with lifelike gestures thus making them more believable than ever; game worlds are given convincing environments; and the interaction is able to be deeper than ever before. Given the convincing facet, game developers create worlds that convey emotion and thus we relate and are more easily drawn in to whatever it is we are playing in. There aren’t many examples of games that do this well, perhaps a handful, and even less that manage consistency in doing so. Shadow of the Colossus, however, does just that, emotionally works you over from start to finish. More impressive is that the game provides a fun, unique, challenging, and unforgettable experience for the duration of the journey.
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Story - 10 The game begins with an opening sequence of you traveling by horse across a land and bridge to eventually arrive at a towering structure set in a closed-in landscape. You travel down a spiraling corridor and arrive in a great hall lined by stone statues on either side, and at the end is a pedestal. As you set down a deceased girl on the pedestal, a voice comes from above to inform you that you are in a cursed and forbidden land for any creature, however the land holds great power- like that to restore life to the dead. This same voice then gives you instruction that your task is to defeat 16 colossi, represented by the idol statues in the main hall. The voice tells you that by completing this task you may be able to restore life to your deceased companion. With a special sword in hand, the only instrument to bring down the colossi, you are set off to find the first. Not wanting to spoil anything, I won’t reveal any further details. I will say that the story unravels at a perfect pace to a spectacular ending.
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Game play - 9 Set off on your first task, you’ll notice that you’re equipped with a sword, bow & arrows, and a horse. This is all you have to take on the enormous uncharted land and the colossi that dwell within. It’s a bit daunting to set off with such a small inventory, but it’s all you’ll ever need as the game will have you rely on your perception of the design of the colossi themselves as well as their environment in order to proceed through the game.
To trek your way across the forbidden land is your horse, Agro. Besides being beautifully made and animated, he handles well to boot. He is your only companion through out the adventure and is essential to some of the battles. To find your way you have the sword that you simply need hold up to the light and it acts as a compass to indicate the direction of the next colossus. You’ll rely on it often as the land is just too big to simply stumble across your next opponent. It works most of the time. There are some cases in which the light will lead you to a dead end within a canyon when what you really needed to do was go around it to reach your destination. However, this is very rare.
You’ll become familiar with the controls fairly quickly as you get to your first destination, the environment acting as a tutor getting you ready for your first battle. By the time you beat the first colossus, you’ll be well aware of the controls. It’s a simple set up, but it works, and you’ll never once feel inadequately equipped to handle any challenge. If there is any gripe to make, it’s the camera; you’ll be fighting with it most of the time. However, the game is never unplayable.
It’s hard to further emphasize the game play elements without spoiling any particular colossus battle. I’ll mention though that the task at hand never becomes mundane as each colossus feels different than the last. You’ll have so much fun figuring out how to take them down, and then you’ll feel such a sense of accomplishment in doing so, you’re likely to rush right on to the next.
Graphics - 9 Shadow of the Colossus is not the most technically impressive game on any console. The textures are not the sharpest I’ve seen, the load on demand system seems to fall behind at times as you can see the geometry filling in as you approach, and there’s even a few occasions of clipping. The framerate is not solid either, dipping to almost unplayable in a few rare instances. What it lacks in technical prowess it more than makes up for with artistic brilliance that very, very few games come close to. The colossi are stunning to witness in their sheer size, design, and behavior as they move their hulking weight around. If you are like me, you will often find yourself simply admiring the giants with their animal like mannerisms, all fantastically animated.
The landscape is often desolate, but I believe it to be a part of the design. You’re supposed to feel alone in a forbidden and cursed land, and the often bare (but beautiful) vistas give a sense of isolation and disparity. That’s not to say the landscape is dull. The game offers a variety of land including plains, deserts, caves, lakes, ruins, canyons, forest, hills, and cliffs. You’ll often be impressed with how seamless and natural it all is. Despite its technical shortcomings, Shadow of the Colossus is one of the most beautiful games available.
Sound - 10 The audio experience was obviously paid with as much attention as the game’s beautiful presentation. The sound fx, such as Agro’s hoof beats on the various landscapes are believable. The soundtrack perfectly compliments this artistic masterpiece of a game. It seamlessly transitions between the almost desolate landscapes to the dramatic fights with the colossi.
Longevity - 8 Shadow of the Colossus is not a long game. The first time through, provided you don’t use a strategy guide, will take you around 8-10 hours. While an unforgettable experience, it seems as short as you’re thinking. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because I enjoyed every minute I had with it; I never once felt that the game was dragging its feet, or sending me on some cheap collection quest. However, compared to most of today’s adventure games it does fall on the short side. That’s not to say that when you first finish the game that’s all there is to do. Afterwards, a few options open up. There’s time attack where you can visit any colossi and best your time, and there’s also a hard mode where a second time through the game will prove more challenging.
Presentation - 10 I have to say that Shadow of the Colossus provides a cinematic experience unlike most any game you’ve played. The story is delivered without many words, but rather in gesture, and it is powerful. The game also does the colossi service as with a great sense of scale as they tower over you. Nothing can prepare you for your first colossus. It’s overwhelming, it will likely give you chills, but it’s so exciting.
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Conclusion Every once and a while a game comes along that delivers itself in such a way that it changes the way you think about the interactive media. It not only lets you physically interact with its’ on-screen elements, but pulls you in by grabbing hold of your emotions every moment you’re with it. Shadow of the Colossus is not the first game to achieve such an effect, but it certainly is among the finest available to this day. Aside from the superb storytelling and engrossing atmosphere, it carries itself admirably well even given a few game play faults. If you’re a fan of adventure games, or if you’re just looking for a unique and gripping game experience, Shadow of the Colossus is an essential purchase.
Anyone here play? Since beating XII and TP I've been diving back into my one true love, CS: S, and would love to have a TendoCity throwdown if someone is willing.
I finally got a Wii today, and got Zelda and Call of Duty 3.
I find the controls slightly vexing; especially for CoD3, as I can hardly keep a straight plain of sight. The Zelda controls aren't so bad... but, I find it so radically different from the other Zeldas I know and love, that I feel quite detached from the franchise.
I was looking around at the local Walden's Books and I came across a book called by Giles Sparrow called "Cosmos". The book itself is massive, measuring 17" by 15" and over 200 pages long. It's packed to the brim with huge, full-color pictures of all the planets in the solar system [including moons] and a lot of Hubble shots of interstellar bodies.
It's an incredibly book and it only cost $20. Twenty dollars!! As far as I can tell it was released sometime this year, so it's very up-to-date.
