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A Work of Platforming Art

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 16, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Shadow of the Colossus is, at its core, a platformer. You climb up colossi, jump onto their various limbs and hang on for dear life, all while fighting your grip on their fur, and occasionally plunging your sword into their shiny weak spots.

However, to say Shadow of the Colossus is only a thinly veiled platforming game would be wrong. The game shines. The score is truly brilliant, the world is immense and and its beauty is indescribable, especially the attention to detail. You will play it again and find things you've never found the first time, even in what seems like a linear game.

Another thing you notice is the scale. Climbing the massive, hulking beasts and tearing at their tufts of fur, it will seem impossible that you can ever defeat such a creature.

But the thing that comes through most in Shadow of the Colossus is the feel of the whole thing. The feel of moving: everything has weight. The sword on your belt feels heavy when you are running and sounds satisfying when you draw it. When you change direction suddenly, it isn't clean: you stumble over yourself. The colossi feel like creatures: they move with a sort of epic strength (as they should, being a hundred times larger than yourself) and seem almost indifferent to you at times, as if you were a fly.

The end result is a beautiful game: everything feels right. It has soul.

If you are hesitant to buy this game because of the type of game it is, or the controls: buy it. Once you get into it, none of that really matters. It all just feels so right.

An incredibly dramatic, epic experience

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Before even playing this game I had absolutely no interest in it what-so-ever. Its amazing what you will miss out on if you dont, at least, give it a try.

At first you will notice the animation is very realistic, with the controls are not just simply a quick button bash and require a little practice, but are not long to getting used to. It may also look pretty simple but also impressive at the same time.

The real quality of the game is noticed once you enter the battle of a colossi. This is where the real quality of the stunning graphics are revealled at its best. Your world begins to gain a little music. But it gets even better. When you figure out climbing the colossi, the music starts to build up filled with wonder and excitment. But the best part has yet to come, when you find the weak spot of the colossi, the music again builds up more with the colossi reacting violently and the cameras moving at a quick fluid pace while hanging on to the beast, giving us extreme dramatic scenery, creating the most exciting epic experience in the history of gaming. The music during battles really shows this true feeling of atmosphere that drags you in to its finest moments..(At this point I couldnt help thinking of Lord of the Rings).

Once your in the middle of a colossi battle, it will make you wonder how can things get any better than this, not knowing the very next battle will answer that question for you. Each colossi defeated will have you feeling so god dam rewarded.

Each and every Colossi are designed brilliantly. Even just watching this game being played by someone else will have you impressed.

In terms of art direction, this is a true masterpiece. An amazing experience and an absolute must have title.

Fun and Challenging

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 03, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This is a very entertaining game that will probably appeal to puzzle-solvers. The controls are simple and intuitive, though riding the horse might take a little getting used to. The music is really nice and the graphics are quite stunning for playstation 2. The storyline is very vague and mysterious, with lots of room for interpretation. On top of all this, the gameplay is intense and fun as well.
This game is really just a series of boss battles, so it carries a few built-in drawbacks. First: the game is short, although replay is still pretty fun and there are some interesting bonus difficulties and time attack modes. Second: The bosses each have specific weaknesses and patterns that can be really frustrating to figure out. Third: since the only enemies you encounter are basically bosses, you might feel like part of the game is missing. In my opinion, the pros definitely outweigh these cons.
The overall atmosphere of this game is really immersive and fantastic. The mysterious nature of the nameless main character's quest paired with the enigmatic enemies you have to fight draw you in, and the boss fights themselves really are fantastic. Each colossus is found in its own interesting environment, and in many cases the environments themselves provide clues for beating your enemy. The game is easy to play, but the thinking you'll have to do when fighting each colossus will prevent fighting them from seeming too easy.
Overall, this game is a very good buy, though you may feel justified just renting it due to how short it is. I'm glad I bought it; I'll probably give it a good replay every now and then just because it serves as a good example of a classic game: short enough that you can beat it in a reasonable amount of time, but with enough depth that you really don't feel cheated. Whether you rent or buy it, I highly suggest giving Shadow of the Colossus a try.

it makes you think

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 17, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Originally I first rented this game to see if I would like it enough to buy it. I was suprised by the quality of the game's graphics so eventually I ended up buying it. Every colossi has a different weakness that you must find. In the first few battles the voice that told you about them gives you hints on how to find and where the symbols are on the body. There is always one on the head or so that I've found after killing about 5 or 6 of them and then you have to find the other one by using your sword. As time goes on the hints become fewer until you have to figure out how to kill the thing by yourself. I find this game fun because the controls are easy to use and it's neither too easy nor too hard.

Superb. Beautiful. Amazing. Shadow of the Colossus is so good I find myself running out of superlatives to compliment it with...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: June 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

A bird flies through the moonlight, past some beautifully rendered mountain ranges and over a lone man on a horse. The man is Wander, the main character, the horse is Agro, the trusty steed, and that bundle in front of him is the woman he is trying so desperately to save. This is Shadow of the Colossus, one of the best 3rd person adventure games of the generation and from the makers of the critically acclaimed yet remarkably cult title Ico.

Even the title screen oozes superb creative design and talent. It shows the bridge into the "forbidden land" that the game is spent in as the centrepiece, some lush green fields and mountains, and the shrine on the left, and not much else. It sets the scene for the game perfectly - lonely, beautiful, and desolate. You aren't given that much information in terms of the story. A man, with a magical sword, travels to a forbidden land where it is said the dead can be awakened. The woman is the target, but the mysterious spirit that resides in the temple says that the 16 statues must be destroyed for the ritual to be completed. Utterly determined in his task, Wander takes his steed Agro and is off to destroy the first colossus.

And that is where there the game really shines. There are 16 giant stone colossi to be killed, all of them unique and all of them taking a little thought to destroy. The first is easy - you are given advice from Dormin (the mysterious voice of the shrine) the whole way through it. All you need to do is stab the beast in the calf, climb up his back and stab him in the head. They obviously get harder and a lot more atmospheric - the fights are usually backed up with some really cinematic and well-composed music - which changes when you finally got aboard a colossus - or the surroundings. One extremely cinematic fight takes place during a storm against probably the largest and scariest colossus in the game.

The fights aren't the only thing the game has going for it, however. It's a big world to explore. It isn't on the mammoth proportions of, say, San Andreas from the recent GTA game, but it's decently sized and a lot of the secret locations don't even have colossi when you finally get to them. Lush greenery contrasts well with shadowy mountain ranges, panoramic views and desert plains.

Controls are intuitive, simple, and work well. Holding R1 will grab hold of something, whether it be a colossus' fur or a protruding ledge, and if you keep hold of this a circular grip bar will begin to recede. A tap of the square button will charge the sword, and another will release the blow. The horse riding is also handled well. Tapping X repeatedly will make the horse go faster, with the set jump button - triangle - enabling you to leap off.

There is little doubt that Shadow of the Colossus impresses in almost every aspect. It has a carefully scripted narrative and a great ending, amazing gameplay, considerable replay value, and an amazing graphical power that shows that the Playstation 2, far from being behind technologically and not being able to exhibit graphics seen in Resident Evil 4 and Halo 2, has never been better.

Shadow of the Colossus may seem very downbeat when you begin to play it. You're on a horse, everything is in subtitles (the characters speak in some sort of Japanese/Latin mix), there's no music, and there's no sub-enemies for you to fight. It's a very schizophrenic game. A fight with a colossus, actively trying to shake you off, can get the pulse racing in a way that few other games manage to do. But, as you wonder through the absorbing and breathtaking land, you'll see a different game, a game which is beautiful and gives you an unparalleled sense of total awe - just like the woman you are fighting so valiantly to save.

I don't get it

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 21
Date: December 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game reading all the reviews on this page and i don't understand. This is the worst video game i have ever played. I would rather play excite bike for NES then continue to play this. Nothing ever happens in this game. There is you, your horse, your dead girlfriend, and 16 colossi that you must defeat to bring her back to life. To kill each collossi you must find them using your sword as a compass, but that really doesn't work because the terrian is always changing right where it leads you. You don't have to figure anything tricky out to get to them you just have to find the opening to a ravine or cave. I spent no less than 10 minutes looking for my next foe and an average of 20 looking for the rest, and remember there aren't any other minons or foes to kill along the way. Once you do find them, you have to decipher how to get onto them to kill them sense they are usually about 10 times your size (tip run around to the back and start climbing). Once you figure out how to mount your enemy you usually have to wait for them to do something which can be a long time. One takes about 15 minutes just to get him to walk where you need him so you can attack. I defeated 12 of the 16 colossi and stopped mainly because i was agrevated with the game and the wasted time i had used between enemies. But like i said maybe i don't get the game, maybe its about ambiance and the simplicity that makes this game great. As you can see this is my first review ever and this game was so bad that i felt i should tell others about it.

Most over rated game of 2005?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 13 / 25
Date: March 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I accept the fact that i am in the minority with disliking this game but i feel i must speak out against it.

First off, this is the only game i have ever played for 40-60 minutes and didnt speak to one person or fight one monster. And that is not a good thing! Most of the time the directions your magic sword give you are very vague and can lead you to dead ends and such in search of these colossus'. It is not my idea of fun to run in circles for 20 minutes desperately trying to find something to do.

Also, as a whole the entire package of this game is desolate. The manual is very vague and short, the blurbs on the back of the box are short, and the game is entirely empty. It is entirely possible to spend more time in this game FINDING a colossus than actually FIGHTING it.

Running around the desolate land wouldnt be too bad if there were things to do. The only thing to do besides fighting those tall colossus' is to hunt and kill little lizards and to find fruit in trees. Both of these tasks are boring beyond belief and extremely unrewarding.

But what about the colossus battles? Well, they are not as good as i thought they would be.

Each colossus has these little glowing magical circles on their bodies that tells you that that is their weak point. You have to find a way to get to this glowing circle so you can stab it. After you stab this glowing symbol enought times it will magically reappear at another spot on the monsters body. You then have to find a way to climb to its new location so you can stab it again.

To me this was very unrewarding gameply. It pretty much boils down to a game of find the glowing magical circle so you can stab it. Rinse and repeat 16 times.

And i didnt even mention the games horrible controls and camera system which are a bigger challenge than any colossus turns out to be...

In the end i was very disappointed with this title. This is one of those niche games that you either love or hate. I might be in the minority but this games slow and hollow gameplay did not impress me. Rent this before buying it blindly.

A Miracle

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: November 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

It simply boils down to this : you need to play Shadow of the colossus. it is the greatest game EVER made .
5 stars are not enough , this game deserves 10 .
this game wil be remembered for a long long time.

Graphics : 10
Sound : 10
Gameplay : 10
Originality : 10

A Work Of Art

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 19, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Video games (If something this exquisite should even be called a "game") can do so much as an artform. They can do what movies cannot as they can put you directly into a world; directly into the surroundings and let you use swords and tackle mythic creatures instead of merely watching some actor do it. The element that makes this game work is the environment. Never has such a panorama graced my television set.

An outstanding game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: March 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Shadow of the Colossus has been hailed as a masterpiece by most reveiwers, so I was expecting the very best, especially after enjoying "Ico" so much. I was not disappointed. It looks great, plays great and it is totally involving.

The gameplay is very economical - your task is to roam across a vast land in search of giant monsters. Each one is different and each one has to be killed. There is usually a different puzzle to work out every time, but the basic requirements are always to climb onto the monster somehow, find it's weakspot and hack away it it with your sword. The first colossus gives you a good introduction to the procedure - the only way up his body starts from one of his ankles - which you can cling on to. From here you must find a way of getting him to crouch down so that you can scale the rest of him, eventually making your way onto the top of his head where his weakspot lies. Kill him and you are one-sixteenth of your way though.

The game soon ups the stakes, however. From the second giant beast onwards you find this out straight away - he doesn't have climbable legs! So you are required to use your brain from here on. Sometimes the landscape provides the clues, maybe you can get to higher ground? Sometimes the behaviour of the colossus is the clue - does he ever give you an opportunity to get a hold of him? This is the real fun of the game, and I found it completely addictive. As soon as I met the first colossus that could fly, I was well and truly hooked, determined to work out the way to get myself onto him, when to start with he was perched on a pole in the middle of a lake - completely oblivious to me. That's the other thing - some of these giant creatures will completely ignore you, only attacking you after you have started inflicting damage on them. Either way, though, their attacks are more of a nuisance than a real threat, because you are more concerned about not falling off as you climb up them. But then you come across the one that can swim, and has an electrified self defence deterrent on it's back - which is the only part that sticks out of the water - and realise that you can start getting seriously hurt! The game actually gets a lot better when the monsters start turning nastier, and soon you'll be meeting up with angry beasts that attack as soon as they see you. And the last 5 or so of the battles are the real showstoppers, especially the gigantic flying sand dragon - it's immense!! - and the sheer spectacle of the final one.

The design of all the monsters is wonderful, they appear half organic and half made of stone. Although they all share expressionless faces like robots, each one has a unique character and temperament. And here's a surprising effect: causing the death of each beast may fill you with terrible guilt each time! Each stab of the weakspot in the heat of battle causes a jet of black blood to erupt, along with a monstrous cry of pain from the beast. Then, once you strike the fatal blow, they tumble to the ground in agony and turn black and lifeless. I felt a huge pang of remorse every time, after all it is not the beasts that seek you out, but the opposite. You are the one who invades their environment with murderous intent. There is, of course, a reason why your character must carry out this slaughter, but it still feels sad all the same to end the lives of these magnificent beings.

Apart from the killing, well there isn't much else to do but admire the scenery. The land you are traversing is gigantic in size, and luckily you have a companion in the form of Agro the horse, which you can ride to get you across it. This aspect reminded me a lot of crossing Hyrule Field on horseback in "Legend of Zelda - The Ocarina of Time", but times have moved on and Agro is a lot more realistic than Epona, he moves and behaves amazingly realistically, and a lot of time and effort must have been put into creating him. The whole landscape too, seems expertly crafted, and don't be surprised if you feel like doing a bit of sightseeing between each battle, just to look at the world you are inhabiting. There are actually some minor side games on offer in the empty landscape, which players probably won't realise unless they are on a replay of the game (or have looked up walkthrough information), because there is no mention of them in the game manual! I'll leave that up to you as to whether you wish to uncover this yourself or look it up.

Actually, that leads me onto one of the few flaws in the game, namely that it is quite short. If you use a walkthrough to find out how to kill each colossus, you'll be shooting yourself in the foot, because this puzzle factor accounts for at least half of each battle. Once you know the tricks, each killing becomes drastically simplified, and the actual length of the game becomes glaringly tiny. So do yourself a favour, and don't cheat - you'll appreciate the game so much more. Subsequent re-plays don't add anything new to the mix, expect that there is one great secret - a location that can only be reached once you have played many cumulative battles and built up your health and grip-meter (yes - these stats can be enhanced!) high enough to attempt the mammoth task of climbing your way up to it - again, the curious can research this secret if they wish to. But apart from that, then yes, shortness is a criticism that can be fairly levelled at this game.

But I'm still surprised to see that a few players have rated this game boring and uninvolving. I guess if you're good at boss battles, you'll lick this much faster than those players for whom the meat of a game is the journey rather than the showdown. It's probably also because those people are used to games with non-stop action, choices, weapons and items to juggle around, and "Colossus" has none of these things. It's like taking a sightseeing cruise instead of an extreme sports holiday - they are both fun, but you don't have to wear yourself out in the first type! My only other niggles are that the camera cannot be manually moved to face the direction you want it in - the controls to move it are temporary and it will always swing back to the default position as soon as you let go - not helpful. That and the mechanics of directional jumping while clinging on to a ledge or wall (which made me fall off many times) are the only real areas in need of improvement. The rest of the game is brilliant, and everyone should play it.

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