Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

I won't go into gameplay specifics as, chances are, you already know about them if you're reading these reviews. However, I was of the same mind as the other reviewers with this game while I played through it...5 star game, sublime, artistic etc. Then I got to the end. All too quickly. 16 colossi sounds like a lot of work, but unlike most RPG games where you have to work towards the boss building up your character, solving puzzles, communicating with other characters and taking part in side quests, all Shadow has is 16 bosses. While you do have to use your brain at times, its only to figure out where to find the colossus and then how to climb it. Beyond that, there really isn't any real reason to think, just stare at the lovely graphics. Here in lies the problem. Once you've completed the game and seen the ending, you already know how to kill the colossi and you also know the twist in the story. Much like Ico, there really isn't much point in going through it twice. The joy in these games is in the progression, and that only lasts through one time. A sublime experience first time round becomes a trying battle with the awful camera, juddering frame rate and, and I'm afraid to say it, the monotony of the quest the second time through. It's pleasing to find a game so singular in its focus, but I am now beginning to feel that this wonderfully created world deserved more. So much care has been put into its craetion that 16 simple boss battles seems to be doing it a disservice. A superb game, but misses out being perfect.

If you're a person that has little patience, don't buy this game. If you're a person that likes to stick the disc in the machine, start a game and get straight into the action, don't buy this game. If you're a person that likes platform games with quirky characters or always buys the latest releases because everyone says they're good, don't buy this game.
Shadow of the Colossus (SOTC) is a landmark in gaming history. It is "nothing" like any other game, ever, period. It's clear from the mixed customer reviews that this game will be a cult classic as opposed to just a classic in the sense of the GTA series. Which is a shame, because all the effort that went into making this game means it deserves to be a true classic. This is intelligent gaming at it's finest. This isn't a hack & slash, tap the buttons as often as you can to win, try a 312-button-combo to beat the bad guy, pick up the best weapon there is to ensure victory type of game. No. This game captures your imagination like few others. Give this game time and it'll fill you with wonder. The landscapes you traverse in this game are truly magnificent and no other game in the history of the PS2 has ever created anything as remotely impressive as this and probably never will. SOTC pushes the boundaries of the PS2 to it's very limit. Part of the game is about travelling in this virtual world and hunting down the location of the Colossi. It's about enjoying the quirks of your horse, Agro and being amazed at how a computer generated image like this can seem to have such a lifelike personality. It's about being captured by the storyline and wondering where the end is headed (and believe me, the ending is fantastic). But at the end of the day, it's about the Colossi. Each one is the equivalent of a lesser games' end of level boss. Seeing them instils a fear in you. And bewilderment. You wonder how you can possibly defeat something their size. And you know what? Even though you might spend time working it out, once you do you'll soon realise that the answer to defeating them is utterly simple. And because of the amount of thought behind killing the Colossi, when you actually manage it, there's a great feeling of accomplishment. I don't want to give too much of this away, but needless to say, this is the best game I've played in years on any platform. Only the GTA series comes close in terms of scale and enjoyment, but make no mistake; Shadow of the Colossus is one of a kind. Love it or hate it.
(There's cracking secrets to unlock....if you stick with it)

This is my game of year, in the same way that ICO stopped me from playing MGS2 stone dead, this game has got to me in a very real sense. The story as you've probably read countless time is about our hero's struggle to resurect a girl and standing in his way are the Colossi. These are 16 of the biggest most wonderfully created creatures I've ever seen.

I am currently on my 12th colossi and loving every bit from the exploration (look out for the desert). I'am told the ending somthing very special indeed.

Well done to sony and team ico this is by far the essential purchase of 2006.