Shadow of the Colossus Preview

What would you do if the one you loved more than life itself died and you found a mythical temple that promised to restore life to her IF you accomplished a series of tasks? How far would you go and to what lengths would you risk your life?

Those are the questions underscoring the adventure from SCEA and the developers of ICO in the upcoming PlayStation 2 title, Shadow of the Colossus.

Due to release in October, count this title in as a contender for game of the year honors. It is grand, it is breathtaking, it is challenging, and it is an amazing visual experience. Put a pillow in your lap so when your jaw drops, the fall is cushioned.

Shadow of the Colossus is the tale of a young man who takes his departed love to a temple and asks for her life to be restored. The temple has the power, but first, the young man must kill 16 colossi. He has a horse for transportation, and he is armed with a magical sword that will show him the way to his targets.

There are no minions to battle, no armies to wade through to get to the target. There are only the colossi, and once you see them, you will quickly understand that they are more than enough.

The first task is to find them. Holding your sword aloft in the light, you will be given directions to them. Follow the light and you will find the first, albeit simple, challenge, which is getting to the monsters. The first is atop a plateau. You have to jump, climb and scale the broken pathway to the top, and then you get your first glimpse of the behemoth as it lumbers past.

This is the part where your jaw drops and your breath is stolen. You barely, if you jump, come up to the giant’s ankle. Furthermore, it quickly realizes you are there and decides to play PGA Tour with you in the role of the golf ball. Wielding a massive club, the beast lumbers toward you. Yes, you are quicker, but the monster can stomp and cause the ground to move and knock you around.

Hold up the sword again and see where the weak area of the beast is – for it is there you must attack to fell the giant. Uhmm, looks like you will need to climb the beast to reach that soft spot. And therein lays the frenetic combat challenge of the game. Each of the beasts has a different weak spot, and players will be tasked with reaching. The monsters are not about to stand around and wait for you to attack them either. They are mean, aggressive and pack a real wallop.

The first time the club hit the avatar, one-third of his health bar went bye-bye. Of course, that was a direct hit, not a glancing blow that took slightly less. It does not take long to figure out you need to avoid getting hit, or stomped on. And climbing the beast is not easy either. It knows you are there and starts trying to shake you off. The game includes a meter that begins to wind down as you are climbing – essentially it determines how long you can hold on. When the meter empties, if you are not in a safe, resting spot, you fall off.

The game is amazingly responsive though, the physical dynamics are very good. Stab the mob in the back of the knee and it will howl and drop, for a brief moment or two, to the ground.

The game’s controls are excellent, and graphically this game is impressive. The preview build received was not in English, so comments about the voice acting will have to wait.

Shadow of the Colossus is truly an impressive game – challenging, visually dynamic and compelling, and one of the reasons to love gaming. It is a straightforward tale, told without an overabundance of sub-plot, and it gets players right to the heart of the matter. Each of the battles feels like an ordeal, and there is a real sense of accomplishment when you take down the first of the colossi, followed quickly by dread at what awaits.