Shadow of the Colossus Review

User Rating: 9.5 | Shadow of the Colossus PS2
Shadow of the Colossus represents a landmark achievement in terms of artful video games. While Shadow of the Colossus may lack the structure, story elements, and game play variety of most other titles, it is nonetheless a beautiful game that should be enjoyed by any video game enthusiast.
Shadow of the Colossus takes place in an unnamed universe and introduces the gamer very briefly, essentially sending you on a quest to avenge the death of a fallen princess. It should be noted that the lack of the story is one of the better features of this game because it really allows the player to create their own story and leaves the game up for a large amount of personal interpretation. You play as an unknown male armed with only a sword, bow, and your faithful horse. The gameplay itself is rather simple: the game is simply X boss fights. While on paper this may sound rather bland, in practice Shadow offers a much deeper experience. Each boss fight is unique and you must use entirely different strategies to defeat the marvelous colossi that you will come across. Bosses will not even engage you in this game, it is up to the gamer to both engage, and figure out how to engage these beasts that are spread across the land.
In fact, it is also worth pointing out that the journey to each of these creatures' domains is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game. Each creature resides in a different region and along the way the gamer is given the opportunity to take in the beautiful landscape and make the trip a journey of their own. These sequences are also a very good length, and do not grow overly repetitive. Along the way the gamer also gets a taste of the wonderful score, which is greatly accentuated upon encountering one of the infamous colossi. The boss music is simply outstanding and fits each fight very well.
In terms of controls, the game is very simply and mainly consists of jumping, climbing, and stabbing. While I found no issues with these mechanics, raising your sword to guide you to your next location was rather finicky at times and slightly hampered the traveling experience. Overall, Shadow of the Colossus is one of the most unique gaming experiences out there and should definitely be picked up.