Player One: Staff Member #716
I\'ll just cut straight to the heart of this review right now: if you own a PlayStation 2, go buy Shadow of the Colossus right now. This is, without a doubt, one of the single most original games to ever be created. Be warned, though: on your trip to your game retailer of choice, some overzealous sales representative is likely going to pressure you into buying a strategy guide for the game. Tell them no. If they persist, politely but firmly punch them in the throat. You\'ll thank me.
See, Shadow of the Colossus is one of those games where the player\'s level of enjoyment hinges largely on how much of the game they are willing to discover on their own. The goal of the game, from start to finish, is to defeat sixteen monsters hidden somewhere in the vast countryside-- nothing else. You\'re not going to be wasting your time fighting worthless little underlings every ten feet like in so many other games. Just kill sixteen enemies, and you\'ve won. But the catch is this: those sixteen monsters are, on average, the size of a thirty-story building. Sure, there are one or two exceptions that are only as big as a couple city buses, but most of the game is going to be spent fighting walking mountains.
Defeating just one colossus, however, takes an effort equivalent to completing an entire level of a typical adventure game. First you have to find the monster-- not an easy task given the amount of ground this game gives you to cover. Once you\'re in the right neighborhood, you\'ve got to discover the giant\'s weak point. There\'s a lot of surface area on these guys, so good luck with that. And once you\'ve finally located the part where you need to stick your sword, you then have to figure out just how the hell you\'re going to get up there. Climbing a giant is nowhere near as easy as it sounds; navigating your way through the fur, spines, and armor of some of the colossi can be just as complex as a typical Legend of Zelda dungeon.
So that brings me back to what I began this review with: do not look at the strategy guide. Don\'t let any of your friends who\'ve already played the game give you any pointers either. If you take the time to discover for yourself where to go and what to do, planning your own attacks and formulating your own battle plans, then you\'re going to experience an indescribable sense of accomplishment each and every time you bring one of these behemoths down. If you read a book that tells you the secrets of giant-killing, complete with maps pinpointing exactly where you need to go, then you\'ll probably complete the game within a matter of two hours.
I could tell you how to flip a turtle the size of a football field onto its back, or how to catch a ride on a strip mall-sized bird without it ever touching the ground. But trust me: when you figure it out for yourself, you\'ll understand just what it is about Shadow of the Colossus that makes it completely unlike anything else you\'ll ever play.
Player Two: Das Bork
Shadow of the Colossus gets really high marks from yours truly. It certainly has been one of the most enjoyable games I have played in awhile. Hats off to the developers for making a great quality game. I guess I sound like I’m really kissing butt, but I can’t help it! It’s really cool! This is one of those wish games where, at one time in your life, you have said to yourself, \"Man, wouldn’t it be cool to make a game where you fight nothing but giants?\" I think this game has made it come true.
So to get down to it: you play as a warrior equipped with a sword, bow and arrow, and your trusty horse friend. Your goal is to take down all the giants in order to bring your princess back to life. Tackling your foes can be quite challenging. Every boss involves some sort of puzzle challenge in order to climb to the top of the giant and find its weak point. Every boss gets tougher and cooler looking than the last. Crystal clear and flawlessly smooth, the graphics are a treat that can’t be beat. The unique and major mechanic of the game is your ability to grab onto objects such as ledges and rough areas, like hair on the giant. It plays a major role when you\'re climbing the giant\'s back, and stabbing it in its weak spot makes the beast try to shake you off. You have to be careful, because if your grip strength meter runs out, you’ll likely fall to your death. This plays out for some nail-biting acrobatics.
Besides the exciting game play, one of the main drives that kept me playing was that I wanted to see the final boss. All I’ll say is that it’s really worth it. There are so many good things I could say about this game, but I\'ll just highly recommend it, and let you see for yourself.