I'd been looking forward to Shadow of the Colossus for some time, and on the 17th of February 2006 it was finally released in the UK.
For the uneducated, Shadow of the Colossus is the follow up (but not a sequel to) the critically acclaimed ICO, which reviewed incredibly well, but failed miserably with the consumers. ICO went on to become a massive cult hit and has been re-released alongside Shadow, so hopefully people will pick up on it this time.
The key thing I really like about Fumito Ueda's games, beyond the immense beauty, is the purity of vision. Both ICO and Shadow of the Colossus are incredibly simple games to play, with very simple objectives. However the mechanics of these games, and the creativity of the developers, have combined to make them some of the most entertaining games you are likely to play.
Unfortunately Shadow isn't, in my opinion, perfect - hence the rather (um... incredibly?) delayed review - but I'll get to that later.
Story
The story is incredibly simple, you are a young man who wants to bring back the soul of his loved one. To do this you are tasked with killing 16 Colossi, massive beings that exist within the distant land you have travelled too.
That's it.
Nothing else to do, Shadow is boss battle after boss battle.
However all is not as it seems. You start off eager to get to the first challenge, but the further you get into the game the more you question what is going on. The colossi don't appear to be doing anything wrong, they exist within the land, and you are the intruder, so surely you should be the one being destroyed? It's quite an interesting thing to do with the game, having some moral questions within games just doesn't happen, and since the moral is never voiced out loud it's up to you to make the connection.
Unfortunately this doesn't help the game.
Gameplay?
I've already mentioned what you have to do, but this doesn't really explain how it plays. Shadow has possibly the best collision system ever. You can climb, literally, anywhere, as long as you have something to hold onto (grass/ fur/ ledges). When fighting the beasts you will have to climb all over their hairy bodies, with the level constantly shifting, throwing you around as you move.
To go with this is a grip meter. To hold onto something you need to press r1, but all the time you are hanging, you are using up 'grip', hang to long and you tire and fall. To go with the grip meter is a strength measurement. This only shows when you are about to perform an action (jump/ stab), when fighting colossi you need to store your energy before striking, in order to cause a decent amount of damage. This took me a while to work out (having not read the instructions) so I felt it worth mentioning.
The colossi are incredible challenges, some are massive and slow but incredibly strong, and others are small and very fast. All the colossi require a unique tactic of some sort to beat them, and sometimes (pretty much always) it isn't easy to work out what the tactic should be. the 15th colossi, which is possibly my favourite (despite the problems), took an age to work out. I could see where to go but couldn't work out how to get there (hint : get him to stand on the ledge).
Another hint for beating the colossi. Pretty much every colossi is in a relatively plain environment, with a few objects dotted around - generally you need to use these objects to win. The first time you will see this is the second boss, which had me stumped for quite a while.
Extras
The climbing system is amazing. I often found it awkward jumping onto my horse (did I mention you have a horse to ride from place to place?) during a battle so tried to climb whilst making the leap into the saddle, and I ended up catching the horse and getting on. It's not as graceful as normal, but it works fine. What I found amusing though was that one time, while in the temple, I tried the same thing and accidentally grabbed hold of a dove which ended up flying around with me hanging beneath (before collapsing about 5 seconds later).
There is a huge sense of the cinematic in Shadow as well. Unlike Metal Gear Solid where you get endless cut scenes, Shadow does almost everything in game as you play. Just adding little touches like falcons flying beside you as you gallop across the grassy planes, and the light filtering through the water as you swim along, enhance the game an incredible amount.
Then there are the other game extras - the UK version (don't know about the rest of the world) has a few movies showcasing the development process of the game, as well as the ICO trailer (you really need to get that game if you haven't played it already).
Opinion
Shadow is a beautiful game, and plays very well. However the fights feel quite disjointed and because of the 'moral' there doesn't seem to be so much incentive to continue. Sure you get to fight big beasties, but should you be? Ok, you'll save the girl, but she's dead and these massive creatures aren't. Is it worth 16 lives for one? Especially since each time you kill a colossus you get taken back to the temple to wake with the souls of your defeated foes standing over you; watching.
The visuals are stunning. There are two things I find particularly impressive. Firstly, it's on the PS2, yet features some of the nicest graphics I have seen in any game on any platform. Secondly, everything is seamless. There are no loading screens at all, it's all streams in as you play, which is amazing on any console let alone the PlayStation 2.
Also the game is very hard - at least it's hard to work out what to do. Once you know how to kill each colossus it's relatively straight forward, but working out how to do the deed can take hours. There were even a couple of times when I had to fall back on the ever trusty gamefaqs.com - in fact you can find the guide I looked at here so no asking questions in the comments, this guide has far more information than you need in it.
The big problem
I believe that games shouldn't frustrate. I also drop games as soon as I get to bit that I die in. That sounds harsh but I have a lot of games and not a lot of time. If I get to a section that I can't complete after 5 or 6 goes then I will stop. I attempted the final boss in Shadow of the Colossus twice. May not sound like I was being fair but he isn't all that tough, the problem is the skill required to kill him - stop moving and your health replenishes so that's not a problem. The problem is that he's very hard to climb, and I kept falling off. I just got fed up with climbing all the way to the top, trying to kill him, and in 2 seconds falling all the way back down and so having to start from scratch. I must have tried the beating him at least 20 times and have not had the desire to go back and beat him properly. So Shadow remains uncompleted (the reason this review is so late) - I hope to get back to it one day.
Basically the game is good, very good even, but in my opinion it's not up to the standards set by ICO which, admittedly, set the bar incredibly high. This doesn't stop me from looking forward to their next game but I can't help but feel a little disappointed by the whole thing.
I started God of War recently - hopefully I'll complete this one. Apparently it's ridiculously hard, so let's hope I don't give up too soon.
Rocket Boards is a super fast 3D rocket boarding action. My first "commercial" (shareware) product. Didn't do amazingly well but was a good learning experience
Bubble Bomb is a polished update of a game originally built by Warren Marshal (who works at Epic games - developers of Unreal and Gears of War)
My own update of Bubble Bomb, Bubble Blitz was almost a total rewrite adding loads of new features and a shiny new look.
Seths Puzzle Boxes is a puzzle game with a surprisingly enjoyable story line, unfortunately it's quite short so won't take long to complete, but while it lasts is great fun.
49 Responses to “Review : Shadow of the Colossus” Leave a reply ›
I havent played Shadow yet, but God of War is a great game. Its really fun and not all that hard. Some of the challenges can be fustrating but once you stop and tihnk for a second (or grab a handy walkthrough to help out in some cases) its not hard to enjoy the game.
A bit off-topic, i just bought Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland. This is my first HM game and i've heard mixed reviews, but for $14 i couldnt pass it up. Any chance you've played it before?
Anyway, awesome site, if i find ICO for a good price i'll be sure to pick it up. I've heard mixed reviews, but for the most part their all good...a 'gem in the rough' is probably what you could call it
I was going to pick up Shadow of the Colossus, but instead picked up Dark Cloud 2. I've heard great things about it, and it was like $10-15 cheaper on eBay then SotC
I cant wait for SotC to come down in price so i can pick it up.
I had a very similar experience with SotC except that I only ever got to the 7th colossus. Just couldn't figure out how to beat him and lost interest after three attempts. I still plan to go back to it sometime ... we'll see.
And GoW is hard - I ended up restarting on Easy after a few hours of trying Normal. Was a lot more fun (IMO) on Easy - was still challenging in places, but wasn't so frustrating that I gave up. Great game - playing it again now actually
I found that the game was very frustrating too, but also a wonderful experience that no other game can match.
Don't give up on the final boss! I must have climbed that thing at least 50 times, if not more. Thankfully, the ending makes it all worth it.
I'm in the temple on the back of a God (can't remember his name) in God of War. Got stuck on a bit where you have to find two shields ot open a doorway, but I think I know the solution now.
I hope to go back to Shdow eventually but it annoyed me enough that I decided to take a time out. I must admit I inadvertantly found out how the game ends, it sounds quite cool so I have to try and finish it again.
Well, i jsut picke dup Dark Cloud 2 and Dragon Quest 8 (combined total was only $29.13 and that includes s&h) so i'll be starting one of those soon
this is kinda funny but i bought a ps2 a week ago (i had a gamecube) but when i got my ps2 i got sotc and god of war. i pretty much had gow beat then i started sotc.its a great game but i dont get the whole plot of it u like die and come back as a baby with horns or something its really wierd.
I know what you mean about the last Colossus, I was getting so frustrated getting up to his hand and then falling down and having to climb all the way back, a real "here we go again" routine, and yes it is kind of unfortunate that beating the game was overall too hard, at times you almost feel bad that you have to kill the giants at all because they are so cool.
However, this is still a game unlike any I have evr seen or played, there is so much too it besides the game play itself. The soundtrack alone gives it such a cinematic feel to it, along with the landscapes and atmospheric moods.
One thing you forgot to mention is that after you beat the game once, you get options to play the whole thing again in different modes, including a hard mode. So it it does give you a chance to play a more challenging version (new different ways of killing the giants), there is also a time limit mode, and after you beat the game in hard mode you get new weapons and new options.
I still strongly recommend this game to anyone, just for the visuals alone, and just for the whole feel and look of the giants, this is unlike any game if have evr experienced.
ag1972zen - I didn't forget to mention the extras when you complete the game. As I said in the review I haven't actually beaten the final boss - so am not aware of the extras that you might get.
It does have a very nice ending, which deals with the moral implications fairly well. But yes, climbing that last colossus does get annoying, and the frustration factor is one of the reasons I think I prefer Ico too. But it's still a stunning experience.
i was wondering if any of you who have played SofC have discovered any other creatures besides the main chacracter, Argo, Dormin, the Horsemen, the maiden, the Colossi, birds, and lizards. i have played the game on normal, beat normal time attack mode, and am almost finished with hard mode. so far the only other creature i've encountered has been a turtle; but i was so amazed and excited when i did see it. you can't kill it, only admire it. i haven't made it to the Secret Garden yet. i am so curious to see if there are any other living things in the land...
is there a secret to the "Secret Garden"? i made it up to it today after learning you can rest on the first ledge you get to when climbing the temple. but even when i finally made it, there was nothing special other than than the poisoned fruit. is there something else to it?
Can sum 1 plz tell me how 2 actually get onto the flyin colossi in SotC. Every time u shoot it it cums over but it just blows u away and u cant do nothing about it. I am getting really frustrated with it, its drivin me nuts.
man i Have to know how to beat the last big guy when im on his hand its like well.... now what? hmm lets shot him in the eye.... no HEY lets stabb him in the hand.... no and on and on
jay jay, if you are talking about the birdlike colossus, then you have to jump or dive (hold X while falling) into the water; swim over to one of the stone platforms; jump up out of the water onto it; shoot and hit the colossus; and when it swoops down toward you, time your jump and grab on to it's hairy shoulder. then it's up to you to find it's 3 weakspots. good luck!
Mattias, if i remember correctly, after reaching the last giant's hand, do just as you said--stab him in it. this will give you just enough time to stand up and shoot him in the arm (i think). once you have hit him in the right spot (i'm almost certain it's his arm near his left shoulder), then he will swing his hand over to that area. as his hand is over his shoulder area you must jump off landing on it. once on his shoulder, make your way up to his head. i can't remember if he has one or more weakspots you must take out, but you are very close to killing it once you've made it that far...
Anyone seen the 17th colossus yet? I beat all four modes, it says 5h by my save but it still doesn't goto a sequence at the top of the temple for me...
you know it's really not all that difficult to climb the final boss. IGN has a really good walkthrough on how to do this. Note the body position of the character as you prepare to perform a platform to platform jump.
Bob - I'm sure it's a wonderful guide... assuming you're an ign insider member. I'm afraid I'm not going to sign up for a single game walkthrough.
Damn, how can you make a gamers reveiw and post comments with 'gamers' who cant even finish a game? some one said they tried a collosus like twice and gave up. someone else had to play god of war on easy.
i have played games since i could hold a controler. playing games are like reading books to me, except i get to play the story my own way. i follow every story and cant wait for the next chapter. i also tend to 100% every game i play, whether it be sonic the hedgehog, god of war, sotc, gta or anything else that strikes my interest. like god of war, i beat it on every difficulty starting with the hardest and working my way down. it didnt even take more than a couple weeks, with maybe a couple hours a night. sotc was beaten on normal, then on the normal time attack mode (which unlocked some awesome weapons/items), then beaten on hard difficulty and shortly followed by hard time attack which unlocked even cooler gear.
i understand if you have a life and actually leave your house to interact with real people. i do it all the time. but dont sit there and whine because you had to give up because you couldnt do something on your first attempt. games where meant to be challenging. if easy games are what you want, then go play sponge bob or sesame street. i am dissapointed to find that hard games are more rare every year. when i sit down to play a new game and complete it in a matter of hours, i get pissed.
i admit, after reading through this, i do sound kinda harsh and i didnt mean to, so please dont think im trying to pick fights...but why spend money on all these overpriced games if you are gonna give up after the first couple of failures, let alone try to complete and unlock everything and get your moneys worth.
one more thing....i was reading all these complaint about climbing the last collosus....getting to its head it one thing....but climbing the body is possibly the easiest part of the game. jump, pull up. jump, pull up. jump pull up. if you cant jump due to lack of something to grab, walk left or right a couple steps and there will be a ledge to grab.
one last thing. to answer kyles (#18) question, there is a 17th collosus. i dopnt wanna spoil the ending but you dont kill it.... you dont even fight it. you see it after killing the 16th collosus....when it dies, you got back to the temple and the men on horseback that you saw in previous cut scenes are waitong for you.
if you didnt see the 17th collosus shortly after this, then you probably hit a button and skipped the whole thing....though im not sure if it is possible due to there still being a short period of game play left.
best game ever (but really hard)!
I just have to not agree with your statement about how hard it is to kill the last colossus. I found it quite easy (I'm not being snottish) to beat, and I am not exxagerating if I say that he was killed on the first attempt.
I am not criticising you, I am just saying that you probably wasn't lucky at all =)
Ãœber alles... the game is fantastic, astounishingly fantastic. Thumbs, arms and legs way way up!
I find it interesting that people have started telling me it's easy to kill the last Colossus. I wonder if my Google ranking has increased for this phrase or something?
I also find it rather bizarre that everyone thinks the Colossus is easy. Not because I think they don't, I'm sure there are people out there who are brilliant at video games, but because not everyone is as good at games as they are.
I love playing games. I develop games for a living, but I am not particularly good at them. Getting joy from something does not necessarily imply being good at something.
ok guys im dyin to know jus how to beat the last colossi wen i get on his second hand and stab it he holds his arm where the glow is and then i am lost i tryed jumpin on his hand but i get zapped n then gotta do it all over again so for a lil while ive just been lookin at a way to get over it so if anyone can help me out tell me cuz im ready to jus ditch the game if i dont get hints on this
man SotC is amazing but it is fricken hard! i first got stuck on the 2nd boss! oh yeah - i really wanna get god of war, i'll probably get it soon, also does anyone like prince of persia series?/ i love it
It would have done this review some good had you finished the game before posting it.
Any questions regarding the morality of killing the creatures can be thrown out in the last cinematic. Things are not all they seemed to be, and the spirits have goals of their own.
Otherwise, a good review of a great game.
i am stuck on the big turtle i can get it on its back but then i cant find out were his weak spot is. please help..........
xxryguyxx
it's on it's head! once you get there stab, stab, stab!!!
Hi
Yes - God of War is an easy game, my 10 year old brother has just completed God mode lol.
Love it eh? erm Shadow of the Colossus...once finding weak spots they're super easy... just finding them can be a little annoying sometimes? erm im up to the final boss after 8 hours my first time through... just read someone's post saying stab second hand (while its being supported by the left hand) then shoot his arm/shoulder. I'll try that when i get home - but yes nothing challenging yet in the game... and true it seems you have to try to die in order for you to do so lol.
But wow isn't the horse rather amazing? most games involving only horses don't look nearly as good... and new weapons? nice i'll try that once i beat this last guy... i spent 3 hours falling from his hand last night not really what i paid how-ever much money to do lol... but the games life-span sucks...8-9 hours? useless... great game... but it just doesn't last long enough... maybe if there were weapon and armour unlocks... side-quests/ missions... other things to kill? hidden Collosi to find? you know...anything to add a few more hours... i suppose if any1 has never 100% a game... this will be your first (if u can manage it)... i love the simpleness of the game, and the scenery (when your not in a sand storm in the desert lol) is amazing, i love the fact that you can drop from the tallest mountain/ collosi and walk away although its far from realistic but it'd be near impossible if it did kill you.
I'd just like to say to anybody that will spend £20+ on a game and quit after 2 attempts... give me your money lol, or your games
i'll gladly get your money's worth from them. Anyway email me if you have any questions on the game, i'm sure i'll be able to answer almost any, except for the end boss (for the next few hours anyway).
[email protected] and please don't panic if i don't reply within a few days, if you email, i'll get to you soon enough. (hopefully the site admin doesn't mind my email being posted?) thanks.
th3ory
erm - hi me again just in case anybody looks on this site? i did complete the game last night, 9 hours total, now going through on hard mode... 6 killed in 2 hours 4 minutes lol what can I say? and I'd just like to say on hard mode you do die when each collosi uses its most powerful attack... erm just run? Anyway any emails can and will be answered as I've finished it. thanks, bye:) I'll check back here once in a while in case others need a little help.
th3ory
Hi
Thanks for the comments.
Obviously people do read this site as you can tell from the comments above, but this isn't a site dedicated to video games so this is not one of the most popular posts, however I appreciate the offer of help and hope to see you helping people when necessary.
The most frustrating thing in the game for me was the doing the time trial for the third boss on hard mode. I beat every other one fairly easily, but it took me over thirty attempts for some reason (with getting 5:00.5 once, 0.5 seconds over the time limit to beat it). I did eventually beat it, and got the long awaited Queen's Sword (which doesn't do one-hit kills, but is still pretty spiffy damage wise).
For the last boss:
1. Get to the Boss, going through tunnels (it didn't sound like you had trouble with that).
2. Climb up the back of the boss (if you go up the front you can just circle around) Eventually there's a furry patch.
3. Climb on, and stab the weak point, he'll move his hand back around. This is where it gets trickier, jump on to his hand from the his back.
4. While holding on, he'll bring his hand around, and look at it. Climb to the top of his hand. (if he starts moving it just hold on, after moving his hand the other way and shaking it, it will go back to the inital position)
5. Run from the top of the hand, up his arm, and on to his upper arm where there's another weak point. At this point you can rest fairly safely if you need stamina.
6. Stab the weak point and he'll bring around his other hand, jump from his upper arm to this hand. ( I missed his hand and fell once really sucked lol)
7. After you jump on, he'll move his hand back and start moving it around. Get to the back of his hand and stab it.
8. He'll move his hand so the back is facing up and hold it still for a while, staring at it. Stand up on his hand, and shoot the opposing shoulder.
9. He'll move his hand to cover his shoulder, and jump off it on to his shoulder.
10. Rest up on his shoulder (which is difficult because he keeps moving around) and move to his head and start stabbing lol. There's only one mark on this guy, so just keep at it.
12. Finish beating him, and enjoy the ending scenes
(For the first time, when you have just the base stamina, you may want to stop halfway through. Get off when its safe, and rest up again.)
The 17th Colossus doesn't exist, from what I can tell, I've read a few FAQ's that claim it does. But I haven't seen a screenshot/video of it anywhere (which is pretty weird if it actually did exist, seeing as it's so talked about). I also beat all four modes (normal game/time trial, hard game/time trial) and didn't see it either. But maybe its just my copy of it
erm hi and i think u'l find that the 17th collosus is big, and black in the temple during the end scene...u get to use it, or i did lol u get to kill 6 lil men (the ones that seal you in the temple, remember?) erm neways you can use the normal arm swing attack and a breath of black flame attack, both kill the little people very nicely, mayb you hafta do something to get this to happen? no idea sorry but im telling you that the 17th does exist in the final scene. have fun figuring it out? oh and like all collosi he doesn't seem to want to turn around...lol takes ages.
btw back from tennerife now n im stuck on the lil collosi in the collusium place, the lizard thing that runs up walls...mayb im just outta practice lol but i seem to get stuck underneith him just as im about to finish him lol, useless eh? lol
il post again once i finished the game once more, remember to post here or email me if you need any help?
[email protected]
how do i get to the last colossus. i keep falling to my death when the bridge collapses. what am i doing wrong? ive tried making it across with the horse but then we both die. help?
you HAVE to be on your horse.. you just have to get a good running start before moving onto the bridge. Back up as far as you can and then keep hitting X real fast to get Agro to move quickly and you should make it. It might take more than one try though
lo compre por 23 usd en wallmart
there is a secret garden if yu climb the temple, where there is green part...climbing u'll arrive to the bridge, there is a way to walk to the garden.
check it on youtube.
Hay ive clocked shadow of the colossus and es the end boss is fustrating but i managed to kill him..twice to be exact.I reckon that the most fustrating boss was that bull one that claws and rams you..took me a little while to kill him.
Hay im just wondering if any1 has got any advice on how to get to the secret gardfen? I must have tryed like 50 times to get there and end up falling off,and when i try to rest on the lil ledge bout half way up the moss i cant get back onto the moss and have to fall bak down..very annoying..grrr.and also ive clocked the game twice so i have tons of stamina.PLEASE SOME1 HELP ME!!!!
to get to the secret gardens u need to jump side to side not straight up or u will run out of grip to quick
Can we really kill the lil human as dormin?????? you know too right Dormin is slower than a tortoise, when he launched an attack, it does'nt really affect them and if i want attack them again,next one will be a late one, one more thing,the blue flame from its mouth does'nt affect them at all...sooow..?!?!?!?!?!? I REALLY WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS THE POINT OF USING DORMIN AT THE END OF THE GAME. ehem.. sorry about that, well since dormin being suck inside the light. It just like there is nothing i can do.. Honestly, i getting too excited when i became dormin at that time, but at the end... Dormin just getting suck inside the light................................................... DAMMIT
Well can any men tell me about it, as a girl i just play the game not like you all experties. Well i just need to wait then.
INFERNO, as far as I know you can't keep from getting sucked in the pool. I've tried not to a few times and failed. Also Everywhere I've looked online, other then whatever "th3ory" was saying on post number 35 above us, they've said it's impossible to avoid it. I also saw on youtube a glitch where someone was jumping away from the pool of water, but I think that was just a lucky glitch they had on thier version of the game. I'm sure it didn't amount to anything other then a neat little glitch.
Oh as for killing the people, I've heard everywhere I've looked, oh except for whatever th3ory was saying again, that you can't kill the people, and that there really isn't anything special about being the demon colossus.
here is a tip for beating the last colossus when your at his head go down to his neck were the armor is and shoot his elbow so he puts his hand up there and run to his head realy fast and stab him
thats the only way i could beat the 16th colossus
Have any1 noticed that, on the map (pressing start buttom), there is this very last column (column "I") full of clouds?
My point is... why would there be this column if there's no need for it? I mean... The 5th colossus is at the column "H". Then why is there this "I" column?
I think there hides this 'last big secret' the creators mentioned.
Isn't that exciting?
when we reach near each colosuss the sound that comes is scary and when we see the colosuss the joystick vibrates so much that i start to get scared.Now i have started god of war and i have reached till the " athens roof tops" and finished that.I hope i finish the shadow of colosuss and again return to god of war.
great game im stuck on the sand boss can't aim that well