Review: Shadow of the Colossus

October 26, 2005, 03:18 PM

by tim, via sony -
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Shadow of the Colossus is the new game for PlayStation 2 by Fumito Ueda and Kenji Kaido, the makers of the critically acclaimed Ico. It stars a young man who some people think is a girl. He's not, though; he's a stranger from a distant land, in a stranger and more distant land than where he's from, engaged in a trial no mortal man can survive -- that is, to kill sixteen animate stone giants, which wander freely (kind of) in the rolling hills of a lifeless land. He is doing this for a chance at saving the life of a girl, whose name may or may not be Wanda. I talked to Fumito Ueda, and asked him, "Who's Wanda? The guy? Or the girl?" His reply came after a shrug. "Neither." The "Colossus" of the title is quite obvious: those big stone giants. Just don't call them bosses.

"They're not bosses -- they're inverted dungeons."

In the review, I give the game four stars, though I hesitate to call it my "game of the year." I will reveal that one soon enough, in a list feature that will not include killer7. I have grown to hate that game, much as I admire it. I find it original without being creative. Shadow of the Colossus is less original than it is creative, though the creativity here goes a long way. Read why, and if you like, join our long-going discussion on the insertcredit.com forums.