Shadow of the Colossus

Bigger is indeed better in the stunning PlayStation 2 exclusive Shadow of the Colossus.

As a genre bending title that straddles the divisions between action, fantasy, adventure and puzzle games, Shadow of the Colossus pulls off a titanic feat by creating an immersive and highly entertaining experience that doesn't collapse under the significant weight of its own lofty ambitions. With uniquely brilliant gameplay and some of the most artistically awe-inspiring visuals on the PS2, Shadow of the Colossus stands head and shoulders above any recent action-adventure entries and miles above the industry's current creative expectations.

Of Mice and Monsters
The oddly laconic (and often speechless) story casts you into the role of a young hero who must defeat 16 massive colossi in order to capture their reviving powers and rescue your lost love. Each of the 16 distinct colossi battles are like enormous, protracted boss fights that require you to play with equal amounts of clever resourcefulness and dexterous skill in order to successfully mount each of the gargantuan creatures and viciously attack their vulnerable weak points. The colossi come in all different forms (with some taking to the sea or the air) and scaling their awesome frames means dissecting their attacks and carefully analyzing their bodies to find climbable pathways while diligently trying to avoid being crushed or otherwise obliterated by your immense foes. While the process of riding your horse across sprawling fields searching for one giant boss character after another might sound redundant, the actual process of finding and toppling one of these mighty beasts in easily one of the dramatic and most rewarding single player gameplay experiences in recent memory and never ceased to amaze us.

When Giants Roamed the Land
Visually, Shadow of the Colossus is absolutely stunning despite some typically blocky and pixelized PS2 graphics, thanks to the incredibly gorgeous environments and awesome artistic design that create a vast, enchanting (albeit sparsely populated) fairytale world for you to explore. And although the game maintains the muted narrative style of Ico, the beautiful score more than compensates for a lack of dialogue and makes for a fresh mode of storytelling. The control is also thankfully simple and reliably accurate, although the camera does have a tendency to occasionally spaz out in tight corners. Overall though, Shadow of the Colossus matches the high quality gameplay mechanics with outstanding presentation to create a truly memorable game that is sure to garner its fair share of critical acclaim and develop a dedicated fan boy following.

Kiss the Sky
As great as Shadow of the Colossus is, its moderate pacing and intricate boss fights won't appeal to everyone and might frustrate gamers looking for a faster fix with less cerebral combat. But having said that, Shadow of the Colossus remains an amazingly enjoyable and atypical action game worthy of any gamers collection. Hopefully, Shadow of the Colossus wont fall into the cracks of creative obscurity and suffer the lukewarm commercial fate of so many innovative titles. Do yourself a favor and give this one a try.

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kab6000

this was indeed the greatest game I have ever played, and if they make the sequal only for PS3, I will cut someone.

colossus16

This game is awesome! One of the best games I've ever played, And for the sequel I reccomend A Colossus creator with which you can design your own Colosi and then share them online. Oh, and I totally agree with kab6000. This needs to be a PS2/PS3 and maybe PSP game.

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