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One of the most unique games on the PS2

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: October 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Now unique not in the sense of weirdness(like Katamari) or in presentation(Killer 7) but rather the game focuses more on creating an emotion, an experience rather than just simply a case of "fun". Whereas predecessor Ico was built more around a puzzle elements with the occasional combat(taking down those shadows who have the nerve to try to steal Yorda), Shadow is built more like an action game with puzzle elements mixed in and it very much isn't exaggeration when the game contains some of the more intense and exhilating sequences in gaming.

Story: The story's pretty sparse, giving you small details and letting you think up the rest. Essentially, the Wanderer and his faithful horse Argo are bringing a woman's body, Mono, to a shrine. Dead, unconcious, coma or trance, it's never said but apparently, an entity known as Dormin can bring her back to life. Only thing is is that roaming the land are 16 Colossi, massive creatures and upon defeating all 16, he will be granted the ability to revive her. Like Ico, the story isn't focused on specific details and while some might question the game's reluctance to specifically spell out your relationship with Mono, you really start to feel like saving her and she's not just your goal but something you have to actually accomplish for yourself. Sounds like too much but some do get this involved.

Graphics: It's very similar to Ico where the light seems overexposed and very bright but it's not a game built for detail but more for an atmosphere. Sun-dried ravines and forests with sunlight filtered through the treetops lend the game a great ambience. The only thing is that there is some noticeable slowdown but it's not that big of a deal unless you focus on it. Then of course there's the colossi themselves and there's nothing like tilting the camera so that you can look up at these massive things and think "I gotta bring this bugger down?" The fur and detail in these creatures is quite impressive.

Sound/Music: Hands-down one of the better soundtracks of that year. The music is very minimal, if at all, until you fight one of the 16 and the music gets very epic and Hollywood. Hope you got it hooked to a sound system since the music just makes the battles more epic and exciting with a full stereo going rather than cheap monoral TV speakers. Like Ico, the voice acting is a foreign language with subtitles provided (translated for a change). It does give the game a more richer history even if it sounds like gibberish.

Gameplay: Each Colossi is a puzzle in and of itself. Some of them are pretty easy to figure out while others are like "what the hell do you do?!" then it hits you: "ohh! THAT's what you do?" One required me to swim to its back, climb up all the way to his head and direct him to go to one of 3 towers. Climbing on top of the tower, he then puts his front feet up, exposing the weak spot that was originally inaccessible since it was underwater. There's many more like this so don't get frustrated easily if you have no idea what to do. Of course knowing how and actually doing are 2 separate things and part of the frustration comes with those bad mistakes which send you careening off and hitting the ground hard. There's times where your character isn't as precise control-wise and jumping from here to there might actually send him in the wrong way and you'll plummet.

Unlike other games where there was multiple control schemes for everything, controlling the Wanderer is pretty basic. He's got 2 weapons, bow and arrow and his sword. Point the sword in a sun-lit area and move around, eventually the light becomes a line, pointing you towards the next Colossi but it doesn't give you a map on how to get there like passing through cliffsides, paths and forests but just tells you "he's this way, now go find him". Climbing has a Grip Meter which you can strengthen by finding lizards with silver tails. It's easy enough to control and I even did a movie-esque save where I grabbed a patch of fur at the last minute but there's times where the colossi will shake so much and the Wanderer is so sensitive that even slight shakes will make him hang on for dear life rather than climbing.

While it's the spiritual successor, you can't really say Shadow of the Colossus is better than Ico since ultimately, you play it 2 completely different ways but track down both but Shadow is definately an experience to check out.

Engrossing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Playing this game is an experience. It's a cross between reading a book, solving a puzzle and playing an action game. The storyline is just detailed enough to maintain a very high level of curiosity about "what happens". The atmosphere is utterly engaging - a dry, barren, and dusty world that feels distant and familiar all at once. The sense of loneliness felt by the main character is almost overpowering at times. The feeling you get when you kill a colossus is difficult to describe - elation and relief, but regret and sadness as well. The challenges are interesting and varied, although I did not enjoy the very final colossus.

The controls are fairly intuitive and simple, and you can get through a section of gameplay in about 20 minutes, but the real joy here is to immerse yourself in the world. It's the only game that my wife has ever wanted to play, and in fact she even enjoyed watching me play it. High praise! The playtime is not long - maybe a few hours - but the quality of the game more than makes up for it.

This is a very engrossing game and is highly recommended if you value a good story, good atmosphere, and interesting puzzles. Action-only fans might prefer to look elsewhere but this is definitely the game that I'd been looking for.

Great Unusual Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've played lots of different genres of games, and this one is difficult to classify, other than it's a great game. Most games cycle through my library, but this one's a keeper. The control is simple and natural, the gameplay is hypnotizing, and the music is perfect. Hopefully there's a "Shadow of the Colossus 2" in the works...

Shadow of the Colossus

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: August 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I rarely rate or write reviews about video games, CDs, or movies... but I feel that this game deserves all the props it can get. Honestly when I first saw an ad for it I thought it looked interesting but none of my friends or family had heard of it, so I was reluctant to buy at first. However, my roomate and I decided to buy this game and play it through together, and it ended up being even better than my favorite Final Fantasy video game series.

SotC has a unique story line, decent music, but most of all the most beautiful and innovative gameplay I have encountered. The idea of just fighting giant creatures throughout a free roaming world is amazing, being able to climb up them and use the terrain to the best of your advantage. Having no "trash mobs" between each colossus was a relief too, because I feel as though it would have made the game more cliche and unenjoyable.

I could talk all day about this, but for the sake of listening to me rant... go buy this game

unbelievable

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: April 14, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I can't say enough good things about this game. I know this sounds kind of weird, but I have never ever felt both extreme triumph and extreme sadness after beating this game. All the Collusi are amazing video game accomplishments, but the LAST one. holy crap. Un-freeking-belivable. Such a crazy expierence. The music, the tone of the game, everything. You'll never forget it. Stick with it, beat it. You won't be sorry.

Games as an art form

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is breathtaking. I've never played Ico, but I've always wanted to. I just beat this game a day or so ago. It's beautiful and unique, but at the same time is flawed in its ways as well. My main gripe probably concerns the camera: at times it pans around to the point where all you can see is the hulking skin of the back of a colossi, or something like that. You can control the camera, but controlling it becomes unweildy, especially when you're trying to hike your way up to a colossi's weak point or trying to jump from the shoulder of a colossi to his hand. Another gripe is just that the battles against the colossi got frustrating from time-to-time, but I guess that's just a part of the game. I also didn't enjoy having to travel for a while before I met the colossi, because that part of the game felt pretty extraneous to me and just kind of there at times. It was nice to roam this pretty land, and to take in what it looked like and all, but some of the traveling to the colossi just took too long, or it took me a while to find where I was supposed to go. All of these faults, however, are pretty forgivable and are mainly minor things. If you haven't played this game, at least give it a rental. In fact, that's what I suggest, since the game itself only takes about 10 hours to complete (but then you open a hard mode, and can play that, and after that, I'm not sure what happens, because I haven't done it). The main thing is the game could've been longer (that's why it's a better rental than anything, but it's still cool to own I suppose).

The main draw of this game is its atmosphere and its uniqueness. Its atmosphere is gained by the graphics and the land you roam as you search for the colossi, how none of the characters speak english (what they say is told through subtitles), and also the spare use of sound and how subtly it is handeled. Its uniqueness is mainly the colossi battles. There's nothing like confronting a new colossi (there are 16 in all), and seeing it towering over you and you having no idea what to do and then slowly finding it out. It's like nothing you've ever seen in a game. In some battles, what you have to do is obvious, in other battles it took me hours to fully understand what I had to do. And if you reach the final colossi. . .it was just amazing to see this humonguous thing towering over you, and then to climb it and then to lay that last stab on his weak spot and watch him fall. It gives you an immense sense of satisfaction. I also enjoyed the ending, it had quite a twist at the end. Give this game a shot, you'll love it in some way, guaranteed.

Awesome game.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 26, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game! The controls take some getting used to but in like, 30 minutes youll be great! I suggest changing the controls. It makes things much easier. This game has great graphics. It can be frustrating at times but mostly its really cool. It does take a while to kill a Collossi though. It can really start to tick me off. I really suggest you buy this game at about 25-30 dollars. Give it some time and youll love it!

This review wont be very detailed

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 27, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I do not have this game but by the 5th of march i will so this will not be very detailed.
writing this and looking at other reveiws of this game reading about people who think the games too short. I personally have the demo of the game that has the first colossus and i haven't put it down. i've searched the area and found all the trees and snakes i havn't found any glitches, i've killed the colossus numerous times and tried to defeat it in many different ways. i've tried to get onto the bridge and to the top of the tower (almost made it). most of the time i've been riding on the horse trying to shoot the birds and fruit as i go by.
what i'm trying to say here is that the game is huge even when your stuck in one area theres loads to do. i spent half an hour shooting, running and jumping in a tiny patch of water and i expect that when i do get the game i will spend years looking around before i'm bored...

...You have to see it to believe it....what an ending!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

....This was HANDS DOWN the best PS2 game I have EVER played....I have played them all......before I was quite fond of "God of War".....and a big fan of the "Prince of Persia" series. Nonetheless, this game sucks you in.....makes you think...and adds a Kurosawa-like ending to the game...completely surprised by the end. Honestly, after beating this game......I haven't played video games in three months! Nothing can top it. Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. An absolute MUST for the serious gamer.....an admirers of things of beauty.

Just do yourself a favor and play this game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

OK, I loved Ico (the previous game by this team of developers). That game changed the way I looked at videogames. It defined the power of the PS2 for me. It was graphically astounding, and it had a story that touched me so that I cried as the final credits rolled. This game is not quite as perfect. It has long bits where there is little to do but ride your horse around. It has pop-in and graphical issues here and there. It has a less satifying ending than Ico. But mostly, it just ends before I'm satisfied!

The graphics are not perfect, but they push the PS2 to do things nobody has done before, and it does them well. Grass has blades as far as the eye can see. Monsters have matted fur. Dirt clods fly thorugh the air. There is motion blur when things move quickly. The developers also do neat things with light, but we've seen games (I'm thnking of YOU "God of War") overuse those sorts of effects already.

The gameplay is where this game truely shines. Nothing you have ever played will prepare you. You will crawl up the moving bodies of massive monsters. They will try and shake you off as you cling desperately and shift your controls around trying to get a good grip to move higher still. It is a thrill to bring down these beasts, but it also fills you with regret to see such mighty beings felled.

Just play it. Some people will tell you that it's only for hardcore gamers, or that the controls are confusing, or that it's really too hyped. Ignore them. Sure, these arguments have more than a grain of truth to them, but the game is worth the investment, and my whole family was able to play and enjoy the game. Heck, I loved just watching my brother play the game after I'd beaten it!

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