Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #380 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2006-02-17
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Platform: PlayStation2
• Number of items: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review:

In a nutshell:
In a world of identikit sequels and licenses this game stands alone. Cast as the mysterious Wanderer you are charged with destroying sixteen colossi – gigantic and apparently invincible stone monsters. Each colossus has a weak point though and by climbing onto them and exploring them like moving castles you may have a chance to save your sweetheart.

The lowdown:
This game really does look and plays like nothing else, with a game world as large as the colossi which you can only explore via your trusty horse Argo. The graphics are fantastic, both technically and in terms of artistic design, and the melancholy atmosphere utterly unique. The colossi look particularly amazing, as you reach barely to the toe tops of most of them. The method of killing each one is perhaps not quite as varied as it could be and it’s a shame that there’s not anything to do in the overworld except travel to the next colossi, but the overall gaming experience is unparalleled.

Most exciting moment:
Your first sight of a colossus, as you realise the end-of-level boss is the level.

Since you ask:
This game is by the same team behind cult hit ICO, although a connection between the two stories is only evident at the very end of the game…

The bottom line:
One of the most beautiful and original video games ever made.
HARRISON DENT

Manufacturer's Description
As a lone horseback traveller, your destiny is entwined with that of a lifeless young girl who lies on an altar within a vast temple. The girl is helpless, her soul has been lost and there is only one way to retrieve it

Following a voice from the heavens, you embark on a dark and dangerous quest to seek out and slay the enormous wandering monsters that roam this strange world. Only you can defeat these formidable Colossi, and in doing so, only you can bring life to the girl who lies waiting on the altar.

Each beast is immense in size and strength, the team's new and unique motion control system giving an incredible depth of motion density. The 'Organic Collision Deformation' system enables the player to grasp and climb the Colossi with precision, stealth is also essential in navigating these ever changing, moving and dangerous terrains. You must climb these terrifying beasts and strike the deathblow that will bring them crashing to the ground. However, slaying such fearsome opponents is no easy task before these enemies can be toppled, you must first discover how to defeat them. And the challenge does not end there; after you have slain one monster you must begin the demanding task of finding the next&

The monsters in Shadow of the Colossus present the game player with one epic terrain but another is the world they inhabit. With only your trusty horse, Agro, for company, you must explore lonely plains, mountains, lush countrysides, sinister lakes, great caves and ancient ruins. Each Colossi is unique, organically reflecting the environment in which they reside. Each one you track down takes you one step closer to discovering your destiny and the fate of the girl who remains motionless and oblivious throughout.

An intense journey of exploration, puzzle solving and eerie battle, Shadow of the Colossus also includes the distinct, highly-acclaimed graphic style that came to prominence in ICO, making this an absorbing voyage of discovery with some of the most picturesque landscapes and formidable enemies ever to be seen on PlayStation 2.

Customer Reviews

Profound
The review title says it in one word but I shall continue, I am returning to this game after a one year break. I sold my ps2 and all games for a ps3, after a slew of average ps3 games I purchased this again to play on the PS3. It runs on my first gen ps3 fine, be aware later models cannot run ps2 games.

The game is the most moving video game ever and I've been playing games for 25 years, totaly unlike any other I have played. Great story and amazing colossi that fill the screen, great landscapes. This game is a work of art, the soundtrack is also awsome. So good in fact I have purchased the cd.

Don't miss out its a gem and one that will become much sought after in later years as people realise how good it is.

Enjoy

One of the best
After the awesome ICO, the followup is a bold change in direction and is the most unique adventure game I have ever come across.

The finale is one of the most moving moments in videogames, a game that I have played over and over again as it is always a challenge but one that is an incredibly rewarding experience. Like Okami, this is a game that MUST be experienced

A beautiful and poignant masterpiece
I feel I owe this game a great deal, for it has restored my faith in gaming on the basis of art, storytelling, an epic sountrack and, of course, superb gameplay. Too much of what we see in the gaming charts nowadays are the hallmark of generic mediocrisy. Flashy games with impressive graphics and lots of guns, trying to hide their abysmal lack of depth. Well, SOTC breaks the trend.

You play as Wander (Wanda), a young swordsman from a small rural village. The game opens with him and Agro (his horse), and an unknown woman wrapped in cloth (dead, as we shall soon find), making their way across an immense bridge towards a temple. The original premise of the game is deceptively simple; that Wander falls in love with the maiden, she is killed in a ritualistic act for reasons unknown, and he untertakes an epic quest to bring her back to life, by stealing the Ancient Sword from the shaman of the village. We then meet Dormin, an entity whose morality is questionable. He/She tells Wander that to bring her back to life, he must find and slay 16 colossi using the Ancient sword. What follows is 16 of the most original and imaginative boss battles you will ever see. Every colossi is unique, requiring a combination of puzzle solving and action orientated gameplay. The main issue is how to get onto each one in the first place, in order to find the weak spot and strike home the fatal blow.

What is most striking about this game is the emotional bond we have Wander, and your sole companion, Agro. As you travel through the immense, barren scenery looking for the next colossi, you feel glad to have your horse at your side. Also, you begijn to question the reasons for killing the Colossi, in fact you begin to feel sorry for them; you are the cause for the demise of these majestic creatures. They rarely strike the first blow, only when threatened. A question of morality seeps into the gameplay.

The ending is perhaps the most maserful piece of storytelling I have witnessed, save MGS4. Everything comes together; What is Dormin? Does it fulfil its promise to Wander? What are those black strings that enter Wanders body once he beats a colossi? And, for Ico fans, this chronological prequel explains the origins of the horned civilisation.

This is a beautiful game that deserves to be revered for what it is; a poetic masterpiece of imaginative splendour.