Welcome to World Zero - Reviews for the hardcore gamer

Shadow of the Colossus is shrouded in mystery from the second you boot up the game. The main character, the world he inhabits, and even his task at hand are given very little description. This minimalist approach works impeccably, as this is a game of imagination, and the best things are always left open to interpretation. The game begins with the protagonist traveling a presumably great distance in order to arrive at an imposing, ancient temple. Upon entering, he descends off his flawlessly animated steed, the only being in this world with a known name; Agro. Once dismounted, we see he reaches for the saddle, on which rests a body wrapped in a cloak. He delicately lowers the body (now revealed as a young girl) off the horse and into his arms and carefully carries her across the temple floor to an alter. Upon resting her on the alter, a booming yet simultaneously gentle voice describes in an unknown language that sixteen colossi roam the land and must be slain, which may or may not alleviate the girl’s affliction, which may or may not be death. We don’t know, and this mystery only begins to set the tone for one of the most atmospheric experiences you will have on your PS2.

In an especially clever decision on the developer’s part, Shadow of the Colossus is completely devoid of any fodder enemies. It’s just you, the environment, and the colossi. The world that Shadow of the Colossus envelops you in is made up of various atmospheric locations and is enjoyable to explore despite the fact that there is virtually nothing to discover but the settings themselves. Each venture has you taking in the environment as opposed to simply using it as a battleground. The setting is also merely a means to an end. The real stars of the show here are undoubtedly the colossi.

A brilliant amalgamation of organic and artificial composition, the colossi seem to be birthed from some otherworldly Aztec-like derelict, almost a temple-like lifeless entity, yet their marvelously detailed fur and melancholy eyes show how full of life these behemoths actually are. These beasts are absolutely fantastically designed. The blend of dread that these massive, walking juggernauts exude combined with their simultaneously evident sadness makes these encounters an outstanding, memorable experience. You actually feel guilt for bringing these beasts down, because there is so much sorrow in their eyes, and so much weariness in their actions.

Shadow of the Colossus’s originality is not limited to its aesthetics and atmosphere alone; the actual game design is a true innovation itself. The game is entirely comprised of two distinct segments; traversing the completely non-linear, open environment and slaying colossi. Beginning at the temple, you are guided to each of the colossi’s whereabouts by holding your sword in the air. The sunlight will reflect off it, shinning a beam of light in the direction you must travel. It’s not always that simple, however, as there are often mountains, rivers, or giant canyons in which you must find a way to traverse in order to discover the often times hidden colossi.

Once you finally locate your target of sorts, you’ll be presented with the truly innovative basis of the game mechanics. Your foes are often a hundred times your size and they are obviously not going down by any conventional means. These epic boss battles are instead implemented as the most exciting platforming segments ever devised. Brain power is far more beneficial here than dexterity, as navigating a colossus ultimately ends up as a devious puzzle as opposed to an action segment. Actually getting onto the colossi is usually the most challenging element, but once you do, you’ll have to traverse appendages, leap death-defying distances high above the earth, cling to and climb the beast’s fur, and explore your adversary until you finally locate the creature’s weak spot, indicated by a glowing symbol. Plunging your sword into said weak spot will erupt stunning fountains of pure black fluid from the glowing glyph, and will eventually bring the towering beast crashing down to the earth below. This amazing experience is repeated fifteen more times throughout the game, and while the concept might get a tad repetitive towards the end, each Colossus is so different in aesthetics, technique, and method in which to bring them down, that it still manages to stay surprisingly entertaining.

Unfortunately, there’s a huge downside to all this creativity and that is Shadow of the Colossus, from a technical gameplay standpoint, is severely lacking. While the intention of the protagonist was to break away from the ‘skilled-warrior’ formula and offer you a more ordinary persona to fill the shoes of the hero, the control elements suffer to a point beyond that of an intentional handicap and results in an excise in frustration. Each movement and action of the protagonist is a time consuming affair. The animations used for various actions from switching weapons to getting up from a fall last much longer than they should and, more often than not, produce negative results because your window of opportunity to react during said overly long animations has been completely negated. Chances are, you will fail to make your character follow your intentions simply because of the cumbersome controls.

As unmanageable as you hero’s controls may seem, riding horseback on Agro is extensively worse. Again, the goal here is obviously realism, but the last time I rode a living, breathing horse it did not feel like I was driving a tank; here it does. Your turn radius is outlandish and attempting to maneuver in tight spots is a strenuous test of patience. In addition, Agro’s AI seems to be a bit hit-or-miss. When called, he’s occasionally predictable, and there when you need him, while other times he’s fifty yards away and stuck on a boulder. All this seems to distance the relationship between the protagonist and Agro, instead of enforcing the idea that these presumably long time companions are mentally in tune with one another, or at least on the same page.

Worst of all, the camera is completely unresponsive, unpredictable and unwieldy to the point that manual manipulation is almost pointless. You’re best to just not fight it and let the game’s intrusive pseudo-preset angles guide you. At their worst, these shortcomings suck the immersion right out of an otherwise fascinating experience, capable of killing the atmosphere if you let the resulting frustration get the best of you. Nowadays, it’s rare to want to push forward in a game simply because the content is so good that you just can’t wait to see what’s next. It’s unfortunate that such ambition has to be held back by clumsy implementation.

What Shadow of the Colossus does right is virtually faultless in contrast to its imperfections. If the contrast between the game’s creativity and its gameplay mechanics was far less evident, I would be significantly less harsh on an admittedly wonderful game, one that I honestly adore. Unfortunately, these inadequate game mechanics do detract from the experience. In the end, Shadow of the Colossus relies entirely on immersing its audience in amazement, which it does flawlessly. However, if that feeling of astonishment were to be stripped away, you would be left with a technically sub-par game. Admittedly, said astonishment is greater than most of the games this generation has provided us combined, and that’s why Shadow of the Colossus is so successful with so little. As cliché as it may be to say it, this game is a prime example of style over substance. In whole, Shadow of the Colossus is a flawed masterpiece.

Rating	The rating scale in detail
9.0	+ Apart from some pop-up and frame rate problems, this game is gorgeous.
8.0	+ Excellent thematic score. + Fantastic use of a fictitious language. - Sound effects can get a tad repetitive.
6.0	-- Excessively flawed. + The experience is so great that it actually masks the bad game mechanics.
9.5	++ A brilliant artistic achievement in every facet.
7.0	- The main quest is a little on the short side, weighing in at approximately seven hours. + Plenty of unlockable, game enhancing extras to counterbalance this.
8.2	Unprecedented ambition, only to be held back by technical limitations.