Created by the brilliant Team ICO, under direction of Fumito Ueda,
Shadow of the Colossus is the worthy sequal (or prequal, however you want to interprete the timeline) to ICO, an underrated masterpiece of a videogame released for the PS2 back in
2001.
Shadow of the Colossus is set in the ICO universe, an undetermined number of years before the events of ICO itself, and features a lone warrior (Wander), his trusty steed (Agro),recently deceased girlfriend (
Mono) and 16 mysterious beasts (Colossi). These, for the vast majority of the game, are the only characters involved. The story is the simplest of tales of love: Wander is tasked with the slaying of all 16 colossi (with just a sword, bow and arrows) in order to bring his girlfriend back to life.
Shadow of the Colossus is a testament to the brilliance of Fumito Ueda and Team ICO, turning such a
simple premise into one of the greatest videogames of all
time, and the game oozes the jaw-dropping artistic direction that only Fumito Ueda can produce.
This game is at once epic, haunting and
lonely. A masterpiece that should be enjoyed by all people of all backgrounds.
As a side note,
Shadow of the Colossus sold significantly more copies than ICO because of the increased emphasis on violence, however somehow I think Rockstar will sleep easy tonight.
Boy: Hey, what game is that?
Gamer:
Shadow of the Colossus.
Boy: It looks amazing, with an unrivalled
art direction and real sense of loneliness to the landscape. The sound effects are haunting and the emotive architechture is a really subtle touch. You really made a good investment with this game!
Gamer: ....I only bought it because
the box was made out of cardboard...
