Shadow of the Colossus review
There are times when a game can transcend the controller and just bring you in to a far away land like no other media can. The epic story, sound and scale of Shadow of the Colossus combine to create a one of a kind experience in videogames. This is definetely one game that is worth playing from the Playstation 2 era even in the times of HD graphics and online multiplayer. This game's story delivers a beautiful tale, even if the premise seems very ordinary. You are a person who goes to this land at the ends of the Earth to try and convince ancient spirits to resurrect a maiden who was sacrificed. While it never is made clear what connection she has to you, it is probably love, as why else would some one agree to do what you do in this game. The spirits agree to help you but only if you kill the SIXTEEN colossi roaming the land. After you go through the first few colossi, it becomes almost daunting to see this almost ordinary guy climbing these creatures the size of a small skyscraper and killing them just so you can see the girl alive again. I say almost ordinary because not only does he have a special sword that can not only damage the colossi and reflect light to tell you where they are, but something happens to him after each battle that ends up changing him in the end. The colossi are also some of the most inventive enemies in games. The designs range from animals to soldiers to even buildings themselves. All of these battles are backed up by a musical score more atmospheric and beautiful than most Hollywood movies. The orchestral music adds emotion to the battles, things like tension, anger and fear. The atmosphere of this game would almost not be there if it weren't for its music. As for gameplay, the controls take some getting used to. That doesn't mean they're bad, but the button placement is different and it can be a little confusing in the first hour or so of the game. Luckily, it becomes second nature very fast. If there was one con that this game had, it would be the graphics. The landscapes and the colossi are ver well designed and have an artistic feeling to them, but because of the scale of the game, smaller parts of the game (your character) look very polygonal. It does seem like a nitpick, but the PS2 has seen better graphics. Graphics issues can be forgiven though because the game does everything else so well. In the end, this game is a must play for adventure fans and fans of games in general. I higly recommend it to anyone wanting an original experience not just from the PS2, but from games in general.
5 stars.
