Reviews// Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

"As I trot along the barren plain, I sense that something is watching me. Could it just be my imagination? The sound of the breeze playing tricks on me? Or is this the home of my next foe? I point my beaten sword to the sky, the sun's rays creating a light beam bouncing off the steel. The rumble force I feel as I direct my sword ahead tells me that my enemy does lie here...but there is nothing. This place is as empty as the rest of the land I travelled to get here. Climbing down from my steed, I investigate the area further..."

Weirded out yet? Don't be. This is the world of Shadow of the Colossus, Sony's spiritual sequel to the award-winning ICO. As you would expect from the creative minds of Fumito Ueda and Kenji Kaido, this is a video game that is so lavishly designed that it borders on an interactive cinematic experience. And we mean this in a good way; a very good way. You take the role of an unnamed lone traveller, who has the task of finding and defeating massive monsters, the titular Colossus. In slaying these dangerous beasts, you not only unlock the secrets of your destiny, but you get one step closer to reviving a girl lying at a holy altar - her destiny also happening to link with your own.

It's you versus the land, for as soon as you gain control and you walk to the altar's balcony, there's a vast world waiting for you to explore. This is the complete game field that you will be playing in - there are no houses to walk into, no villages and no people to mingle with, no sub-plots or mini-games on which to piddle away your time. The majority of your gameplay will be spent in the landscape you see and nothing else. In a similar fashion, your character's abilities are all he has - you won't upgrade your weapons, there are no extra items to add to any inventory. You have a beaten sword, a bow with unlimited arrows, your nimble self, and a horse called Agro that will help you cross terrain at a much quicker pace. Even on horseback, it will still take you an age to get from one side of the map to the other, the sheer scale of the game is mindblowing - just as it is to see the horizon, especially when you consider that almost everything you see in the distance is physical terrain that you can reach.

In searching for a Colossus, you're given a clue by a mysterious voice from the Temple Altar where you start. However, the pause menu tends not to help much, considering that at the start of the game, undiscovered lands are shrouded by clouds on the map. Instead, holding Circle will have you hoist your sword into the air and will reflect the sun's rays. As you aim the beam of light around the landscape, a rumble on your Dual Shock will let you know the rough direction in which your next foe lies. Then it's simply a case of heading there and exploring the area for the Colossus. The camera can be controlled with the right thumbstick and X is used for riding and calling your horsey. To cross the various environmental puzzles that might lie ahead of you in your search, you can jump small gaps by pressing triangle and combine that with R1 for grabbing onto ledges. Grabbing onto things becomes most important as you will need to hold onto the Colossi you find in order to discover their weak spots.


"And now that I'm starting to think that my search was all in vain, I hear a thunderous crash. As I look ahead I see a large block that looks like it's made out of stone. Then I look up, and realise that it's a foot that belongs to a massive golem-esque creature with a furry chest. Suits you, sir. It's about the size of eight of me, and thankfully it didn't notice my tiny presence, stomping ahead of me, a shockwave felt with every step. This is a Colossus, and I have to defeat it if I have any chance of reviving the girl at the Temple. So plucking up my courage, I decide to chase after it..."

Music is used sparingly in Shadow of the Colossus, pretty much only when you meet and do battle with one of the huge, hairy buggers. The speed and tone of the music changes dramatically depending on which stage of the fight you're in. When you first find one, the music is quite aerie-faerie, sometimes very Star Wars-y. That all changes when you're either in their line of sight or you've got the one-up on it. The sense of danger and emergency as you're clinging on for dear life before you deal the final blow to a Colossus is felt through the music, while exploring the world with only sound effects (and geckos) for company adds to the solitude of the main character's quest.