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> Results: Shadow of the Colossus
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From the moment the disc spins in your PS2, Shadow of the Colossus is clearly different than most other video games. A rich tapestry of color and light unfold to tell the story of a young man's quest to save his loved one. The scenery of the initial cut scenes is beautiful, and continues throughout the game to provide a real sense of place within the game. The warm watercolor-style tones mix with the action-adventure gameplay to create a videogame setting full of mood and exploration.
At its heart, this is a game about boss battles. In many videogames players fight and adventure their way through designed levels only to face a single large enemy just before completing a level. Such battles are often referred to as a boss battle. In this game, you play a young boy who must find and face down many such enemies in order to bring your loved one back to life. Finding most of the Colossi is relatively easy, but fighting these giant behemoths is the focus of the game. Each Colossus has several weak points, by tricking them to reveal their weakness, and then climbing them via their ubiquitous shaggy fur, one can reach their weak points to attack and disperse them. Each defeated Colossus brings you closer to your final goal. The game's biggest strength is in its art and mood. The explorable landscape stretches out before you, waiting to be explored on foot or with your trusty horse. Sunlight gleams through the tree-lit forest and can be reflected off your ancient sword to light the way to your next battle. Even the sound adds to the effect of remoteness and solitude. After playing for a few hours, the quiet blowing of the wind in the background will force even the hardiest of constitution into going to get a drink for their parched mouth. Once a colossus is located, finding its weak spots by reflecting light with your sword is only the beginning of the battle. These creatures are so large, that just reaching the weak spots is a challenge. Each colossus must be tricked into allowing you a handhold onto their scruffy, hairy body. Typically a colossus will have a minor weak point or an attraction to some local landscape feature that can be used by the player to access the main body of the colossus. Once on board, careful climbing and maneuvering will bring you to your destination where the colossus can be dispatched. Climbing a mobile, active creature creates high tension that sharply contrasts with the somber, other-worldly exploration necessary to find each colossi.  Despite the rich setting and visuals, some might find the plot rather weak. Voices from on high declare that in order to bring your loved one back to life you must kill all the colossi. However, as mentioned in the rulebook, these giant creatures initially seem quite peaceful and gentleï¾—only becoming angry and violent when provoked. Is the protagonist a hero of destruction, eliminating these gentle giants, or a pawn of the gods who prod him into the role? True, few question why Mario must hop on mushrooms in order to rescue Princess Peach, but the vivid tapestry of Shadow of the Colossus paints a backdrop for the player that seems to demand a more immersive story to accompany the immersive environment. Sure, the protagonist might be dead to the world, still mourning his loss, but after the fourth or fifth gratuitous "colossusicide" shouldn't the main character begin to ponder his actions or at least question his motivation or his otherworldly advisors? Perhaps it is just a case of cultural differences, but I find the lack of character development disappointing. The controls within the game are easy to use, and have a short learning curve. However, the mechanics of the colossus battles have a somewhat steeper curve. There is no tutorial and almost no information in the manual on how to fight the colossi. It is clear after the first couple of battles that one must find a way to get past the colossus' initial defenses and then climb to the weak points by holding onto their fur. However, that this isn't spelled out in any documentation or in-game tutorials makes the first few colossus encounters far more difficult for gamers who are unfamiliar with this style of play. With a limited number of colossi to defeat, the game is perhaps a bit on the short side. The game can be replayed on a harder difficulty setting in a bid to extend the life of the title. Shadow of the Colossus is a study in opposites. A strange, peaceful land can be explored on horseback to find colossi that must be fought in high tension battles. A passionless hero sets out to kill off an entire race of Colossi in order to bring his loved one back to life. Gamers who love a unique game or story should look no further. However, since the entire game focuses around "boss battle" type combat, players who dislike boss battles should approach the game as a try before you buy.  
The ESRB has hit the rating square on the head with a T for Teen rating. The giant colossi bleed when you stick them, and as they act like giant animals, their reaction to combat can be rather disturbing. When a colossus is defeated, dark energy flows out of it back into the player in what looks to be a very disturbing and painful experience. Finally, the nature of the hero's motivation is quite dark, making the game quite heavy with mood. Younger players might gloss over the somewhat macabre theme and find a great mobile-platform style game, or they might be somewhat disturbed by having to dispassionately kill off these gentle giants.
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