Graphics, music, gameplay; pretty much all these feel like Ico but Shadow still manages to be a great game on its own.
I think this ability to loose yourself in this game comes from the magnificent presentation of it all. Graphics are outstanding; they maintain the soft lighting effects that were introduced in Ico. Looking at them at an open view, rather than a technical one; It looks artful, it's like a lovechild between brush strokes and cell shading, and the game really pulls it off. It's not just in the graphics that the game is full of art, pretty much everything in the game seems so well thought out that it is overwhelming. The story of a young one in the quest to revive his love is told from beginning to end. Having stolen a magical forbidden sword from his homeland, he travels on horseback with the corpse of his love to forbidden lands in the end of the world to meet up with a god who will grant him the wish of reviving the girl. When he does get to the forbidden lands though, he is presented with a challenge in order to have his wish granted. He must slay 16 mystical and gigantic creatures; otherwise know as Colossi in order to revive the girl. The god, Dormin, does warn our Wanderer that the consequences may be too hard of a burden, but nonetheless, our Wanderer heads out to kill these giants one by one. And that is all we know about the story. We don't get a reason why the girl is dead, except that she was sacrificed because of her "cursed fate", as they call it. So, is that really enough to keep us playing through the game? Heck yes!!! Ico was exactly this way, limited on story, and it still managed to be a great adventure. It didn't surprised me that Shadow would be this vague. Still, the fun of the game comes more from beating the Colossi rather than developing the story.
Each monster is a challenge to bring down and each one has a strategy in order to be taken down. This is the fun of the game, playing it with a guide will really tamper on your experience. It's here were another kind of art kicks in, the same art involved in chess, the art of thinking and overcoming your enemy. Spoiling these strategies would be far worse than spoiling the story itself. This sounds strange to say, because my liking of a game usually depends solely on how the story develops, and it really shows how different of a game Shadow really is. The details here are amazing; the fluidity of how Wander moves is really lifelike. The horse, Agro has so good AI that it's fun just to see him go off and play and run when you are not using him. Doves appear next to the altar in which the girl is according to the number of Colossi you have beaten, while a new shadow appears next to the hero in turn. Also, while the girl keeps looking more and more radiant, the hero Wander looks more and more pale, and his clothes become ragged and filthy. It is details like these that make you create the story in your mind. As you start to realize the state of the hero, how he looks more and more beaten, you start thinking if all of these is worth it. Killing majestic creatures that aren't there to harm you on the first place, giving your body and soul this way, stealing and breaking the rules of entering this land, it all enters your head as you play the game. Is it really worth it? The life of this girl we don't even know the name of? With the only clue of her importance being the determination of the hero, the only real way to know is to play it until we see how it concludes. It is this factor that also keeps the gamer playing until the end.
Another great detail that makes this story so engaging is the music. The soundtrack, created by Kow Otani, is a master piece. It immediately became one of my favorite OSTs. From the peaceful tunes while cruising the land to the hectic battles the soundtrack holds true. The battle tracks are my favorites because they go on par of what is happening on the screen. You see, as you start the battle either it starts calm, stating you don't really know what danger is ahead of you yet; or it starts in a nerve-racking tune to signal that there is no way you can beat this thing. As you start to see the patterns, and manage to think up a strategy with everything that's going on, the tune changes to show you that there might be a way after all. Then when you actually get to the weak spot, the song gets at its most frantic and culminates when you finally bring the creature down. It makes the battle experiences the most fun I have played in years, the quality of the boss battles here cannot be found in another game.
In the end, the game has one of the most bizarre endings since, well, since Ico actually. We are left with so many questions that, according to the director, are for us to answer ourselves. That's ok, I didn't cared about the ending in the first place, as I stated before, the magic here is the battles. I remember when I was playing it the first time, on the final colossus, pressing pause and turning to my best friend and say: "If it all goes to hell after this, I don't care, this is the best game ever". The ending left me in awe, I had so many questions and I quickly started to connect it in some way with Ico, it was really fun. So, another important question: Is it worth playing again? Hell yes!!!! I beat it and wanted to go ahead to beat it again and again. The adventure is kind of short, I beated it in 10 hours, and I like that because I can pick it up and beat it whenever I have the time. The unlockables also surprised me. There is the hard mode, Time attack and Hard mode Time attack. Completing all these will net you 16 different accessories ranging from masks that make you stronger to a sword that kills Colossi in one stab. I was glad that the game had so high replay value since Ico didn't have that much. There are some problems, yes. Sometimes there are horrible frame rate drops in the boss fights and a lot of times, the way to get to the monsters, which consists of aiming your sword in the air and following the direction to which the rays of light concentrate, isn't that accurate and you'll end up aimlessly running around not knowing where to go. I consider these problems to be nothing compared to the grand adventure you get in return. Everything is crafted so spectacularly that It made this game one of my top ten all time favorites by the time I beat it. So, while I'm still waiting for my "terrific three" (FF12,KH2 & Zelda:TP) I'm glad I have this one to play over and over again until they arrive. So, if you like adventure games, you should really give this one a try if you haven't already. My only regret would be if this great game is turned into a cult classic rather than an all time famous game, much like its beautiful predecessor.
Ico, The Little Game That Could
Ico was the game that got me interested in Shadow of The Colossus in the first place. Though it is old, it is still a great option to play and if you haven't played it yet, I encourage you to do so, you won't regret it. Without spoiling too much, shadow is pretty much the sequel of Ico, so if you play Ico after Shadow, maybe Ico will make a bit more sense than it did on the first place. The story centralizes around a boy who is sent to die in a castle because of being born with horns, which is bad omen (You'll find out why in Shadow). Luckily the kid escapes his death and as he tries to exit the castle, he meets up with this girl who has the ability to open the doors around the castle. This involves a partner technique like Wander and his horse Agro, except you have to guide the girl by holding her hand and solving the puzzles to move forward in the story. The music, graphics and controls are pretty much in the same vein as Shadow so if you like one, you are going to love the other one. Which one of the two is the best is up to the gamer tastes but personally, Shadow of the Colossus stole my heart away.
PS
For a more complete Review (pictures included) visit my user page and it willl be there posted as a blog.