Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

Find 16 monsters, climb each one all the way to the top and stab them to death. Quite how such an apparently simple premise could turn out to be one of the best PS2 games ever is difficult to explain, unless you want us to spoil it for you. But Shadow of the Colossus definitely ranks alongside GTA: San Andreas and God of War as a genuinely groundbreaking game.

It could be described as a series of boss battles, some of which can take up to 45 minutes to complete. The barebones story sees your young warrior character bringing a comatose girl to a temple, where he's told by an unseen presence that destroying the 16 colossi roaming the lands surrounding the temple may save her life. And that's it. It's only by the time you reach the gobsmacking ending that you realise how absorbing the game was, and how cleverly it's manipulated you. The colossi aren't exactly evil creatures that deserve to be killed, and some don't even attack you when they first see you.
 
These incredible entities are the largest enemies ever to grace a PS2 game, and seeing one for the first time is akin to the moment that huge T-Rex stomped on screen in Jurassic Park. You can't help but marvel at the artistic and technological splendour as they lumber about, thrashing and flailing wildly as you attempt to climb them.

To describe any of the colossi's puzzle-like bodies in detail would give away the game's secrets. Suffice to say that each creature's weak points aren't always on the top of their heads, and that their speed and abilities (some can fly) are also not what you might expect. You'll need to find platforms along the way where you can regain health and stamina. The stronger you are, the longer you can keep hold of bits of fur, armour, ledges or anything else that comes to hand when they try to throw you off. Plummet to the ground and you'll have to start all over again, which obviously proves frustrating.

A horse called Agro

Just finding a colossus to fight is a game all in itself - though not always an entirely successful one. Fortunately you're aided by your trusty steed, Agro, and a compass-like sword that catches beams of sunlight to guide you towards a battle. The occasional platforming element, where you must scale ledges and walls, isn't as intuitive as in, say, the Prince of Persia series, and overall the prelude to each battle is actually a little on the boring side.

Agro, however, is a great character (yes, we know he's only a horse). He's wonderfully animated and often plays a big part in your fights. Sometimes you'll be riding at full pelt alongside a colossus until the time is right to jump and hang on for dear life. At others you'll be standing up on Agro firing your bow and arrow or swinging your sword. The game is much more exciting when he's involved in the search for a colossus.

Strange relations

For an action game it's curiously paced and structured, which only adds to the otherworldly atmosphere that pervades every gorgeous landscape. There's no other game quite like it: the only other character is a comatose girl whose relationship to your warrior is unknown until the end of the game; your only weapons are a sword and a bow, so there's no inventory system or ammo count; you traverse huge landscapes in pursuit of huge creatures that can only be killed by clambering up their bodies to find their weak spots.

It's really only an unpredictable camera and slightly unwieldy controls that stop Shadow of the Colossus from being an all-time classic. The 'centre-camera' button usually solves the first problem, but coupled with the odd spot of sluggish slowdown you might find that it's technical issues that get the better of you rather than a colossi's unique puzzles. We'd love to see a sequel on PlayStation3 where the game's ambitions aren't hampered by the console's limitations. We really can't praise Shadow of the Colossus highly enough. It's a game that'll remind you why you got into games in the first place. Essential.

Price

£40.00

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