Reviewed by Michelle Brenner
I typically don’t buy games unless I’ve seen some ads and read some reviews that get me interested. I mean, who wants to spend fifty bucks on something that they are not sure about? Well, in 2001 I picked up a game called ICO from a local game store just because I thought that the box art was beautiful, never having heard anything about the title, but feeling that this was somehow the game for me. A few days later I felt invigorated and inspired and wished I hadn’t finished that darn game so fast! Now, fast forward to September 2005 when my days of playing and replaying ICO had fallen into sweet memories nestled deep within my head. A commercial comes onto my television screen that looks just like my ICO: same art, similar characters, similar castle, same developer… could it be the sequel that my heart desired? No, it was even better than a sequel (and we know many sequels don’t live up to our expectations). It was Shadow Of The Colossus, the newest game by director Fumito Ueda. I picked up my copy on the release date and I have not put down the controller since!
The night that I bought the game I had my fiancé, his two brothers and his dad all nestled in a dark living room watching the opening movie. We all watched as a young man rides on his horse to the ends of the world to try and save the young woman that is lying lifelessly in his arms. The aesthetics of the scene were enough to enthrall any viewer, even though the intro was really too long. (Did they really need to show us his entire journey to the end of the earth?) Then all of a sudden you are playing the game. You are the hero. You need to get on that horse, travel into the wilderness and destroy the Colossi one by one so that you can save the girl. Simple premise, almost so simple that you wonder how this game could possibly get exciting. Keep reading… it does!
So, you ride the horse and learn that your sword can light the direction through the massive land to find the gigantic Colossi. This is the first puzzle in each section, just finding the Colossi, which I must admit was not interesting for me at first. Yes, the scenery was beautiful and there were cute controls for riding a horse, but the camera motion made me feel physically sick. I wanted to control it to see what was in front of me, but the camera in this game is set up rather cinematically and really fights your control. This meant I ended up spinning around the camera while my horse ran into walls while I tried to locate the first few Colossi. Even writing about it makes me feel dizzy! Once I got to about the fifth Colossus I had learned to relinquish control of the camera and simply go with the flow; things got better fast.
The second half of each Colossi is the fighting part of the puzzle. Once you ride up to the area with the Colossi you realize how massive these creatures are (imagine standing next to the Empire State Building and it starts attacking you). It is truly frightening at the start of each battle. Some Colossi are flying in the air and then start plummeting toward you, others are underwater and have enormous electric horns that sting you, many others are land-dwelling and try to crush you with their monstrous feet. Needless to say, you do a lot of running around to avoid being killed.
The component that is the same with each creature is that they have weak spots somewhere on their bodies that you need to get to and stab with your sword. This is the best part of the game, by far! You see, one doesn’t just get to the weak spot and stab it. No, each of the Colossi is incredibly unique in the way that you reach the various parts of its body. Sometimes you have to cling onto the fur of the creature and climb while he is swinging violently to get you off of him. Think about a dog shaking dry after a bath and you are the bug holding onto the fur. Some creatures have armor, which needs to be broken before you can find that fur. There are also situations to use your bow and arrow and the environment to weaken the beast. Fortunately, if you can’t figure out where to start with a giant, the designers have included what I call ‘idiot-proof clues’. These are hints for those of us who just stand there and think, ‘Where the heck do I start!’ But don’t think that these make it any easier because even when you find the first spot you may have to find two or three more before you can beat the beast. It is all so very heroic and it really appeals to those of us who love to solve puzzles.
There are many other details of this game that are so well done that they deserve mentioning. I cannot stress enough how beautiful is the world that you play in. Everything from the whimsical castle and characters to the shadowy mountains and lakes were designed with charm in mind. The music is also extremely well suited, as it really enhances the feeling of the game. It cues up often right when you meet the Colossi and makes you feel like Indiana Jones running into the Temple of Doom – very epic.
With massive beasts to slay, giant worlds to explore, puzzles to solve and a girl to save, Shadow of the Colossus is a fantastically fun and innovative game that I strongly suggest playing!