Since the Doejo has always been about video games, I decided that maybe I should actually, er, review some video games. Imagine that!
Shadow of the Colossus is probably the sleeper hit of the season. The amount of work poured into this game was substantial, and it shows. From the way the music subtlely responds to your actions to the realistic way the horse respond to your commands, its obvious that the game developers at SCEA pulled out all the stops.
The basic premise of the game is simple (and a bit unusual): you play a young man who travels to the cursed land of the colossi to restore the life of a young lady (you never find out who she is or what her relationship to your character is). The whole game revolves around two tasks: finding a colossus (a challenging task in and of itself), and then besting the enormous beast.
Graphics: 9
The graphics are good--damn good--but not great. Its clear that SCEA pushed the PS2 to its limits, and the result is a beautifully designed game running on hardware that is incapable of doing it justice. The game world is seamless--there are no zones--and represents miles of different biomes, from badlands to forests, lakes to deserts, plains to ruins. Each is well rendered, and looks great in spite of the relatively low resolution textures and lack of current GPU niceties (i.e., there is no pixel shading or anti-aliasing). Another nice visual feature of SotC is the way things blur when you spin the camera. It looks like a movie.
The limits of the PS2 just kill the overall impact of the work SCEA did on this title however. The gameworld looks grainy, the low resolution of the textures is painfully obvious in some of the more textured areas (like the several temples and ruins you will visit), and the lack of shaders makes water look flat and uninteresting. Another visual detraction is the 'washed out' look of colors in the game. Perhaps this is an intended stylistic element, but when you compare the flat colors of SotC with the vibrancy of a game like TES: Oblivion, it becomes painfully obvious that developers can create a realistic look while making good use of broad color pallettes.
In the end, the graphics would probably have gotten a perfect score if the PS2 hardware were capable of handling a title of this calaber. Unfortunately, it isn't likely that SCEA will port this to one of their competitors' system, so you'll just have to look past the jaggies to the fine work they did.
Sound: 10
The sound in SotC is great. And when I say great, I mean amazing. There is no synthesized music in the game. Every note was performed by a real musician playing a real instrument. The voice acting is both emotional and rich, and the ambient sounds (like wind rushing through a narrow vale or water cascading over a cliff) are both well placed and beautifully sampled. Even more amazing is the way the music changes based on your actions. When you are stalking a reluctant colossus, the music is pensive, but once you mount the beast, it goes more 'hollywood,' giving you a sense that what you are doing is truly epic. Also nice is the 'fake' language the characters use when speaking. It gives the game an 'otherworldly' appeal that English dialogue simply could not capture.
SotC does not support Pro-Logic II, but you won't even notice. I can't give this title anything but a perfect score for its use of audio.
Gameplay: 10
The game plays great. When a colossus throws its weight around with you on its back, the character stumbles around in a very realistic manner. When a colossus sets its foot down near you, your character is thrown to the ground. The animations and controls of the battles are so well done, you'd almost swear you've been watching a movie that you control.
Also amazing is the way Agro, your horse, controls. When he approaches a cliff, he rears back and skids to a halt. When he is at full gallop, his turn radius is limited--much as a real horse's turn radius would be wide at full pace. Again, when riding the horse, you'd swear it was a movie and not a game.
Story: 7
What story? The game begins with a short cutscene explaining that you are trying to save the life of a girl--you never find out who--and ends with you becoming a baby with horns. Don't ask me to explain it.
The story is actually pretty well executed through the few cutscenes spaced throughout the game, but its weird. Really weird. Like, Katamari after dropping acid weird. Perhaps its a cultural thing that only the Japanese understand. But I couldn't tell you why your character turns into a horned baby at the end.
Value: 7
Ah, the caveat. SotC is a great game, but its short. Really short. Even without using a cheat guide, you'd be hard pressed to stretch the game out for more than 10 hours of gameplay. The game does have some replay value in the form of timed boss fights and a hard mode, but even playing through all of these simply doesn't satisfy. Perhaps this is more of a commentary on the quality of the game--I didn't want it to end--but I could have used alot more content.
Overall: 8.5
This game is good--damn good. Its a 'must play' for the PS2, and if you're looking for a great, innovative action-adventure game, you won't be disappointed. But if you're looking for a game you can play for hours on end or a riveting storyline, you've come to the wrong place.
SotC is a nicely made game and deserves at the least a rental. In fact, you may want to rent this title since you could probably finish it over a weekend (I did). One way or another, its a must-play title for the PS2, and could well be one of the defining titles of the system.
