Shadow of the Colossus is a true masterpiece.
The story feels new and fresh, and is something a game has never done before. A sad warrior takes a young women to a land where one is said to bring back the dead. However, trespassing into this land is forbidden. Once there, the warrior learns the only way to do this is to kill 16 colossi. Without giving too much away, the ending is where the story really takes off, and it proves to be one amazing adventure.
The visuals are some of the best to be seen on the PS2, it pushes the system to it limits. Weather it's the way you're character interacts with the world, or the towering colossus. The graphics are just stunning. Places like an ancient city, temple, and a breathtaking forest will have you stopping just to look at the world around you.
The gameplay is decent. The colossi are in many places, some fly around the land, while others hide below a dark lake, and so on. However, you must find them before you fight them. You are aided with a sword which holds the power to find the colossi. If you hold the sword up, a beam of light shows you where they are. That doesn't mean it's easy to find them however, you have to navigate your way trough the mountains. Once you find them, the game may require you to find a way to reach them before the battle begins. This is when platforming comes into play. Platforming works great, other than a slight camera problem, it feels just right.
Before you can kill the colossus, you will have to find a way to get on it. You will have to solve puzzles, and they are alot of fun to figure out even if you aren't into puzzles. Once you're on the colossus, you will have to find their vital points. This is the only way to kill them. You are also helped out by a horse named Argo. You never control him however, even when you're riding him. You're only controlling the character, which makes the game even more unique.
The game has a stamina bar, in the shape of a cricle. Throughout the game, your stamina and life bar will get larger. You can also eat lizard tails, and fruit to increase your stamina and life bar.
The game is short, about 7-10 hours. The replay value is low, you can play it again on hard. You also have Time Attack Mode where you can unlock some really cool weapons. But other than that, there really isn't much to do. With that being said, I have put over 100 hours on this game, playing it over and over again.
The sound effects in this game are truly amazing. The sound of the air rushing trough the mountains, the sound of a distant waterfall, to even the sound of the colossi growling with anger. The voice acting is perfect, they don't speak any real languages, but the language they do speak is peaceful. All of it is well written, placed, and ends up to be perfect.
Something that stood out to me the most was the soundtrack. Most of the game, you don't hear any music, but when you start fighting a colossus, the music fits in so well. Also, the music in the cutscenes is very touching.
Shadow of the Colossus has a slight camera problem, but in the end, it isn't enough to ruin an amazing adventure.