Shadow of the Collossus

If I talk about graphic, maybe when the time before I played PC game, this has good graphic, but after I've already played the recent games, maybe can't say this has a good graphic, compared to them.

As for the game play, if you compared with the same game from that time, this has the most interactive game play. Although can't say the same for the lame story where the hero want to save the girl.

The graphics were wonderful and the game just kept me intrigued for hours on end. The battles were well planned out and the Collossus themselves were simply amazing. This one is a game for the record books. Well recommend Shadow of the Collossus for the PS2.

You can get hooked easily the first time. A more fantasy based game thats get you the feeling that its a world of its own. As a prequel to Ico the story is quite short and sweet, but with a long journey of hunting giant Colossi which makes it repetitive. For having a big environment its easy to get lost in the game. There's not too many creatures inhabiting the land as one would expect and the ending though awesome until the very end is not without reason. At the very end of the game an opening is left for the Ico story to come in. I find it very depressing,but its a unexpected surprise all together. This game does have replay value, not like people say it doesn't. There are different modes and there are different items you can obtain if you succeed in the trials. Ico fans will really enjoy this game for the extras!

The graphics are breathtaking!

I bought 'Shadow of the Colossus' after having been blown over by the immense richness and surrealness of 'Ico'. 'Ico' boasted something so uniquely special, that the prospect of a sequel was naturally enthralling for fans like me. I initially had fears that the game would not live up fans' expectations, partly due to the fact that the idea on paper, of battling a few colossi seemed comparatively one-dimensional compared to the challenging logistical puzzles and enigmatic storyline presented in 'Ico'. However, this all changed after having battled the first of the mighty collossi, I realised trying to take down one of these gargantuan beasts required more than just brute force and turned out to be a rigorous and cerebral task. The battle scenario is analogous to David and Goliath but with more intensity and more drama packed into each battle. Each Colossus has its own particular weakness and requires a different approach and tactic each time in order to bring each down. The end product is gleefully rewarding and leaves you itching to fight another.

Shadow of the Collossus is a beautiful game - the landscapes are breathtaking, the scale of the world magnificent and the design and shear size of the Collossus like nothing I have ever seen in a video game before.

The game starts with a very sombre opening title showing you travelling through a cursed land, entering an ancient temple and then placing your lifeless love on the alter - you have heard that in this desolate place wishes can be granted and life re-given.

A deep voice echos through the temple explaining to you that by venturing into this world and destroying the collossus the love of your life may be brought back to life. Armed only with a bow and arrows, a magical sword and your trusted horse companion Agro (who by the way is modeled and behaves perfectly) you set off on your quest.

You find the collossus by raising your sword in the air and reflecting the suns light. As you move around the beam tightens and finally vibrates when you are heading in the right direction. When you do find a collossus a brief video is shown highlighting this beasts size and style and then the battle begins.

Each collossus has one or more weak point which you need to exploit - some are vulnerable around the eyes - another will take a tumble when shot in the ankle - during the battle it is up to you to discover these weaknesses. After the collossus is weakened you must grapple and climb your way up the beast, find its weakness then hack away with your sword. The catch is that you can only hang on for a certain amount of time after which you fall to the floor and have to begin your climb again. Some collossus have rest points - others require you to hit and run - each is very different.

As I was playing the game I sometimes felt what I can only describe as a pang of guilt - some of the collossus are slow moving, lumbering beasts and with every plunge of your sword you can see and hear that the beast is in pain and distress as it desperately tries to shake you off. As the game moves on and the battles become harder you have less time to notice this as you are too busy concentrating on the battle but don't be surprised if you get un-approving looks from your girlfriend / parent / friend as you deliver a killer blow.

Between battles this game isn't action packed - sometimes the journey to the collossus is a bit of a puzzle involving climbing and grappling but apart from that all the action centres around the collossus - there are no other enemies to fight with - at all - it is just you, your horse and the 16 collossus.

It took me around 4 weeks of on again, off again playing - this probably amounts to around 20 hours of game time but once the game is completed you do unlock a hard mode and some time attack challenges. The ending of the game is a little strange (quite arty) but is very cinematic and you can tell from start to finish that the makers of the game have put a lot of time, care and attention into it.

For me the mixture of action, puzzles, fighting and eye candy make this a must own game for your collection - I don't know how often I will play it again now I have completed it but I do know that it is one of the most engaging games I have played in a long time and has got to be up there with Resident Evil 4 as the best that the PS2 has to offer.

And so, the time has come. Shadow of the Colossus has finally arrived on European shores. The game I've been looking forward to for the past 6 months is finally available to buy, and what a game it's going to be! From what I've heard, read and seen, from everyone I've spoken to and shared thoughts with, the game indisputably ranks among one of the best video games to ever have been developed. I played the pre-release demo of Colossus to death, and I can safely say that words are too clumsy to describe its delicate charms and divinely-pitched gameplay, but most of all, it's its breathtaking artistic direction and flair that really steal the show. Shadow of the Colossus is, without a doubt, one of the most stunning and most epochal achievements in ALL of video game history. The game is of unparalleled beauty. What the development have produced is simply a masterpiece! A game of generation-defining quality; a game that raises the bar to unprecedented heights and makes soulless tripe like FIFA Street look like fully-fledged insults to humanity. It's not one of those checklist sequels or 'made by committee' titles - Shadow of the Colossus is an unflinching labour of love, through and through. It's an impeccably designed master-stroke, developed by a group of experts. In short, this is no EA game; it's a gamer's game.

Ten minutes is all it takes for Colossus to portray its exquisiteness, and once it does at least that, there's no going back. It must be said that this game is, as a whole, a piece of art. Trying in any conceivable way to criticise it is like trying to evaluate one of Picasso's masterpieces, or some of Da Vinci's finest works. It just doesn't work that way. The world which the developers have made is the quintessential underlying factor that makes Colossus just 'work'. It'd be no exaggeration to say that every inch of the game world contains a staggering amount of detail, and also some tastefully designed landscapes. The latter is primarily due to the game's incredible draw-distance; to say you can see for miles would be a massive understatement. In fact, if the game's frame rate were steadier and the resolution higher, you'd swear that Colossus was an Xbox 360 title, it's that good. The PS2's aging hardware definitely doesn't show through in the slightest, which is a huge relief, since I thought the game would fall short of its potential in this respect.

For those not familiar with the game's original and thoroughly superb premise, where have you been?! The game, while from the same team who brought us 'ICO' in early 2002, is NOT a sequel of any kind to its predecessor. Even though the overall look and feel of the game are very similar, Colossus is an entirely different proposition. The plot doesn't follow on, nor are any of the same characters involved at any point, so just keep this in mind. Now, the structure of the game is unusual and, strangely, has an attached 'minimalist' feel. In essence, you play as an unnamed character who has come to a 'distant land' with the body of a deceased girl. An ominous voice tells him that if he defeats 16 Colossi, then maybe the girl will be revived. Note that I say 'maybe' - this is actually important in that while there is a possibility that she will be brought back to life, there is also the possibility that she will not, which is definitely something that you should keep in mind as you are on you're quest, wondering if what you're doing is actually going to have any effect. The game is essentially just you, your sword, your horse (more on this later), 16 Colossi and a massive world to explore. There are no enemies in-between your battles with the Colossi. Now, let's make one thing clear: while the idea of this may put you off, under no circumstances must you let it. Doing so would result in you missing out on one of the finest gameplay experiences in years. So give it chance. In your adventure you'll explore barren wastelands, forests, deserts, massive expanses of countryside, and even mountains in order to find and defeat the Colossi. Naturally, there's not a hope in hell you'd be able to do all of this on foot, and so in this case, the game introduces its primary mode of transport: a horse named Agro. Agro will be your companion for the entirety of the game and is an efficient way of getting from A to B in a flash. However, do not undermine this aspect, because Agro himself (yes, the horse is male) has the best horse 'physics' EVER. If there was any game where an animal is in the spotlight, this is it. Never before have I seen a horse represented so realistically in a video game. From the subtleties, like his mane blowing softly in the wind, or watching him kick dirt up with his hoofs, to his flat-out movement, when he gallops gracefully across the beautiful countryside, with you on horseback, it's mind-blowingly real, and in comparison, makes the horse-riding sections in Zelda look robotic and completely and totally unnatural.

Now, I feel that I must devote an entire paragraph to the Colossi themselves. Why? Because not only are they the meat of the game, but they are also the single most impressive thing that I've seen outside of reality. Fact. At their most fundamental, each Colossus is a huge, part-mechanical, part-organic behemoth. In this case, the word 'colossus' is a fitting adjective. The smallest Colossus (an oxymoron if I ever saw one!) stands at over 50 feet tall. As the game progresses, and just as you thought you'd seen it all, the Colossi get bigger, better and indeed, badder. The game consistently overthrows you, in the fact that every time you think the Colossi you'd just fought couldn't be topped in terms of size, a greater one comes along, and the game surprises you again. Each and every Colossus has a weak spot that you must exploit in order to bring them down, be it on their head, back, leg or anywhere else. To do this, first you must locate its weak spot. How? By holding up you sword and pointing it in the direction the light shows. From here, the weak spot is revealed. Now that's all well and good. But next, you're going to have to find a way to get on to the actual Colossi and climb up to its weak spot. Once you've done this, well, then you're actually going to have to do it! And by no means is this any easy feat. Some Colossi can take up to an hour just to find a way up. Oh, and just to spice up the variety, some of the later Colossi can fly, and others swim, so you're constantly on the look out for different ways to scale each and every one. The Colossi in Shadow of the Colossus are simply amazing. They unquestionably set the benchmark for boss battles in future titles. Not only do they look menacing, they are menacing. To them you're just a pesky flea they will try to shake off when you attack them. You're way out of your league fighting these tyrants, but that's what makes the game so epic, dramatic and, above all, truly cinematic - the scale of the battles. It's unlike anything you've ever experienced and for that, you'll appreciate the game a whole lot more.

The game's audio is also one of its highlights. The score written for the game is mainly crafted for use in the epic boss battles. It's a feverishly eclectic mix of a choir and orchestra. They blend well and create that all-important sense of pace, and surprisingly, act as the support you need to get you in the mood for action. However, since the music is so sparse, and only really properly occurs in the boss fights, some may find it to be a bit 'quiet'. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since it builds tension for each showdown with the Colossi - you never know when one may inexplicably trundle into view.

In the end, Shadow of the Colossus is a game which every self-respecting gamer not only should own, oh no, MUST own. Forget everything you know about video games... everything! Shadow of the Colossus will take you on a breathtaking and emotional journey that will tear at your heart strings and etch a place in your soul unlike anything else before it. If this is the PS2's last great game, then it couldn't have happened to a more deserving machine. Forget Microsoft and their cynical marketing, this is a game that has been created for a much more symbolic ulterior motive, other than just making money. In fact, Shadow of the Colossus is probably the best game ever made. Buy it. NOW. Please...