The bold & unconventional ways Team Ico present this epic help it stand among the most breathtaking in the industry
The game play in Shadow is pretty straight forward. You are equipped with nothing more than a sword and a bow. To find the colossi you lift your sword into the air, producing a beam of light leading you to your next destination. The world is huge, so going on foot would take far to long. Luckily you are given a companion. Your hourse, Argo, is essentially the only other character in the game. Wander's and Argo's relationship is very strong, being compared to that of Mal and Serenity from Firefly(for lack of a better comparison). Being the only other character on this adventure you develop emotional ties with Argo towards the end of the game.
The colossi are the only enemies in the game. To fight them you must use the one special mechanic in the game, you must climb them. The colossi are rightfully named. Being some of the largest enemies in video games they are both fascinating and terrifying. As the beasts tower over you, you must wait for the right time to begin you climb.
Wander is very much a human, so to detract from the overused "super human" persona, Team Ico implements a stamina gauge. By shining the light from your sword you reveal the colossus' weak point. Climbing to these weak points at times can be a challenge due to your limited stamina, but it is definitely something to behold. I wont reveal to much more about the game in way of mechanics for it will greatly detract from the grandeur of the experience. But enaugh about them anyway, video games are so much more than just their mechanics.
The world of Shadow of the Colossus is big. It is beautiful. But it is also dark and broken. Team Ico set out to deliver a world breathing with a sense of death rather than life. While the landscape and terrain are beautifull and teeming with imagination, every time you set out for another objective an unsettling sense of dread seems to set in. The landscape is filled with mountains and trees that obscure your vision, leaving a lingering sense of ergancy to see when and if your mark lies just ahead. Once you can see the colossi, finally begin to make out a shape in the distance or see the ruins of where it once walked, you are all to often awestruck.
Once again, there are 16 colossi to slaughter... yes, slaughter. You are indeed killing these beasts to bring back a loved one, but you have no idea why, and you are never once harmed by them, until you attack, of course. Something Team Ico did very well was allow you to discover things at the same pace as the character. With such a small amount of narrative, the majority of Shadow's story is implied, and allows for the world to tell its own sad story. The colossi lay in ruin and are often covered in the same, hinting at a life long since taken. As you approach each collossi a small cut scene plays, allowing you to see the surroundings a new perspective, adding to its character. While the colossi are never truely characrerized, their movement, the noises the make, and how they react to your attacks say all that needs to be said about them. One of the most impactful attacks on one of the colossi is actually one of the least epic fights. As you attack the creature only trying to defend itself you begin to see how much torture it is going through. How much torture you are imposing upon it. I literally set the controler midway through the fight, finally seeing the scope of things, what kind of lengths Wander is willing to go to just to complete his quest. These recurring and lasting sensations are so uncommon to mainstream games that they may be ill received, but games like this are what the industry needs.
Shadow of the Colossus is about losing someone. It is about finding out how far you will go and how much darkness and deceit you will allow into your hart to repair it. Wander is a dark and ignorant soul. To see his transition into darkness, and to go through that with him is indeed a unique and worthwhile experience. If at all you are looking for a gripping and emotional experience, allow yourself the time to play this game... it may change the way you look at the potential of the industry.