TGS 2005: Shadow of the Colossus Update

TOKYO--The team that brought you 2001's adored PS2 adventure ICO is following up that critics' darling with a story of a boy and his horse. And his comatose beloved. And 16 enormous, mythical beasts who roam the land and somehow contain the power to revive the boy's lost love if they're all slain. Killing these giants will be no easy task, but it's the one you must undertake in Shadow of the Colossus, due out for the PS2 in October. We checked in with the most recent build at the Tokyo Game Show to see how it's coming along, just a few weeks before its release.

There's nothing new to the gameplay content of the build of Shadow of the Colossus at TGS--the brief snippet here pits you against one of the game's first colossi, a relatively average bipedal giant that you have to climb up by holding onto its coarse tufts of hair, with the ultimate objective of plunging your sword deep into its noggin. But if the gameplay isn't new, at least it's evident that the game is being fervently polished by the development team as production comes to a close. The graphical presentation does look even more refined than in previous builds we've seen, with what looks to be a smoother frame rate and some extra slight visual touches, such as the subtly effective addition of minor light blooming. It's sad that so many games have overused this particular effect that we now have to thoroughly qualify its use, but trust us, Shadow is shaping up to be a graphical tour de force.

The game was recently delayed by a few weeks, presumably to give the development team more time to squash bugs and firm up the presentation, and it looks like they've done exactly that. Shadow of the Colossus is due out in mid-October, so stay tuned for more coverage, including a full review at that time.