Part 2

Shadow of the Colossus(PS2)

No minions to fight. No moves to learn. No coins to collect or gates to open. Just a horse, your bow and arrow, and sixteen boss battles to be fought in a huge, beautiful world. The concept behind Shadow of the Colossus is as minimalist and unorthodox as you can get. Everything is there to set up an "interesting but failed experiment" kind of game. But Shadow does not fail, not in the slightest. Nor is it in any way perfect (no game is). What we have here is one of the most unique and emotionally powerful pieces of interactive entertainment I have ever witnessed.

Despite what seems to be a rather low polygon count, the landscape in Shadow is gorgeous. Every plain, every lake, every forest grove and hill seems so natural. It really feels like a virtual world, rather than the artificial microcosm of a videogame. It beckons the player to explore, to strike out on their own and find their foes. Hyrule Field is officially out of date, and so is every bump mapped corridor in every Sci Fi FPS that reminds me more of a Disney World attraction than a space station.

And yet the world is only half of the equation. The magnificent Colossi that inhabit it make up the rest. Simply put, the thrill of facing these giant beasts is incomparable in the gaming world. Some are no bigger than a bull, while others are the size of a small mountain. The objective is always the same; find its weak spot, find a way on it, and give it a taste of your sword (or bow). Completing these steps, however, is never quite the same. There is always a strategy to each battle, always a clue to help you out, and then of course there is the matter of executing it all. It is part puzzle, part platformer, part action game, and it is always thrilling. Just watching the noble beasts roam the land is a sight to behold. Then you find yourself launching your attack and climbing across their bodies, jumping from limb to limb and holding on for dear life as they try to shake you off like a pestilent flea. Finally you get a chance to strike, and they will scream and they will bleed. SOTC makes you feel truly small and humble in the wake of these powerful creatures. When you finally defeat them, you feel as if you are on top of the world, as if you could conquer it all. Yet this feeling is only fleeting once you witness the slain Colossi fall to its death. Suffice to say, it is a sad and sobering moment. I personally couldn't defeat more than one of them a day, so powerful was each encounter.

But the game will continue, as will your quest. Pay attention, and you will learn more about the nature of your quest, and about the consequences of your actions. Eventually you may question the morality of what you are doing, and yet you, like the hero, won't stop. The rollicking adventure changes into something far different, and when the ending finally comes you may not know what to feel. But when it is all over, you will have felt something, and that is far more than I can say about a great many games.

This is certainly not a game for everyone, but for those that can understand it, Shadow of the Colossus transcends being just a videogame, and becomes an experience, one that every gamer should at the very least see with their own eyes. I've seen friends become enthralled just watching me play it, and I know that I personally enjoyed every second of it. Games can be art, and yes, there is hope for innovation and originality. Shadow is proof positive of it.