hen it was first announced that the team behind 2001’s ICO would be working on another adventure title, many assumed it would be a sequel to the cult classic. But when Sony later revealed that the game would be a completely new IP called Wanda and the Colossus, many fans were understandably concerned. “What the hell?” they cried. “The title sounds like a muppet movie.” Since Sony actually wants the game to sell a few copies in the U.S. this time, they settled on the more badass and mysterious sounding Shadow of the Colossus. As screenshots and movies have filtered out to the gaming public, few can deny how impressive these stunning giants are. But doubts still remain on Shadow’s pacing. After all, gamers are accustomed to wading through scores of enemies before reaching a more powerful boss character. Will they embrace a system that involves hunting down 16 creatures alone in a wide open wasteland?
Shadow’s story begins with a young warrior journeying to a legendary temple with the hopes of bringing his recently departed love back to life. Dark forces within the temple agree to help him as long as he will fulfill a simple quest – slay every last one of the terrifying ancient beasts roaming the surrounding countryside. Our hero accepts the challenge, but don’t these kinds of deals always have some sort of catch?
While the preview build we played didn’t reveal much more about the story, it did give us the opportunity to take on the first three colossi. And what mighty battles they were.
Ground destruction differs depending what type of soil the colossus is walking on.
As you head out of the temple for the first time on your mighty steed, it’s impossible not to just rip into a full gallop through the wide open plains. Every minute detail is there. Your poncho ripples in the wind along with your horse’s tail and mane. Mounting and dismounting the horse looks entirely realistic, as do the various stages of speed from trotting to full gallop – kicking up dust and dirt chunks all the way. As you ride along, your hero bounces in the saddle and uses the stirrups to balance himself. Try stopping quickly and the horse will almost sit down as he skids to a halt. Tapping X will increase your speed and pulling back on the left analog stick will slow you down. This sort of auto drive system will help you focus on such feats as launching arrows from horseback or jumping onto a speeding colossus like in an old west train robbery.
Shadow’s soft, muted colors and rich use of light really lend it a visual style all its own. In particularly bright areas you can raise your sword and the reflected light will point in the general direction of the next colossus. Just like ICO, the environments are so awe inspiring and far reaching that this game will have you sightseeing just as much as slaying. The right-analog-controlled camera dramatically sweeps around your character to capture everything from mountain peaks to deep crystal ravines. On this build we noticed some slight pop up on small details like rock formations or foliage, but the overall draw distance is staggering. Sony could have had all of the battles take place in closed off arenas. Instead, you fight these giants with far off bridges, cliffs, and castle ruins as your backdrop.
As you try to track down the next colossus, music completely drops out in favor of ambient noise like horse clip clopping and your character’s random grunts as he climbs rocky precipices. When you eventually stumble upon one of the incredible beasts, black bars appear at the top and bottom of the screen and a quick cutscene (complete with sophisticated score) displays the intimidating majestic giant.
Outside of some mild platforming and exploration, most of the puzzle solving aspect of Shadow is actually centered on taking out the colossi. Just figuring out how to climb onto these things without becoming a stain on the bottom of their feet is tricky enough. How Sony was able to produce such large, detailed, and interactive creatures at a smooth frame rate is a programming enigma. The outer textures of these bad boys consist primarily of impenetrable solid rock and prairie grass hair. Out of the three we saw, two colossi were humanoid in form while another was kind of bull shaped.
Most of the mounting strategies so far range from shimmying up a hairy leg to tricking the colossus into picking you up somehow. Now take a moment to visualize a bee landing on your arm. You scream and run around like a little girl, right? I know I do. And the colossi feel the same way about your pesky ass. They’ll shake and scratch at your character until they can fling him off, which usually ends up being a 500 foot toss to the ground.
To avoid this fate, grip on to the creature’s hairy hide with the R1 button. A pink circle gauge in the bottom right corner of the screen shrinks as your hero’s grip tires out. When the grip meter is close to empty the controller will start to pulse, warning you to rest. This introduces a strategic element to the proceedings. You not only have to find decently flat area to recharge your gauge, but you also must time your rests between the monster’s violent shakes.
"All this for a girl!?"
If you really have a death wish, hit the square button twice to stab into the beast’s tender flesh. The longer you wait between taps the stronger the attack will be. But holding your sword aloft leaves you open to an easy shake off. You can strike anywhere on a colossus except the stone areas, but you’re basically wasting your time unless you dig that blade into a weak spot. These are handily indicated by a glowing blue-green emblem. Slicing one of these areas will produce an intense fountain of black oil blood, and the colossus shakes like a mother.
Shadow’s other primary weapon, the bow and arrow, also proved useful in its own way. Shoot a creature in one of their soft spots to get some attention, or use arrows to help solve puzzle elements. Oh, and every arrow stays lodged in the colossus until you kill it.
After you take out a colossus, its black soul overtakes your character and transports him back to the temple. Here, the statue corresponding to that specific monster shatters and a creepy black shadow hovers over your unconscious body. After your brief rest, it’s time to bloody your blade once again.
Everyone who’s concerned about the length of Shadow of the Colossus should just chill out. Slaying the first three monsters took a few hours, and they’re logically the easiest to figure out. So imaging fighting 13 more and there’ll be plenty of game to satisfy everyone. Obviously, if you’re a dirty cheater and look up how to beat every boss, the game will be dramatically shorter. But those people have only ripped themselves off.
Shadow of the Colossus is one of those rare games that I would dare anyone to play and not be amazed. Classic fairy tales, The Neverending Story, Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man – I keep getting flashes of these great childhood moments as I play through the game. Yet it’s all mixed up with a sophisticated adult art style and method of play. The only drawbacks I could find were random camera complications and sometimes wild horse controls. But I seriously can’t wait to take out the rest of these monsters – especially the final colossus, who is rumored to make the rest of the enemies look like little babies in comparison. And with 16:9 widescreen and progressive scan support I won’t have any choice but to steal from my Xbox 360 fund this October when Shadow of the Colossus releases.