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The
17th of February this year is becoming one of the most
eagerly anticipated dates in years for UK PlayStation2 fans. The
reason? The arrival of SONY’s Shadow Of The Colossus in the
UK of course.
Experienced gamers will need little  reminding of this title’s
classic PlayStation2 predecessor ICO. Many consider ICO
to be one of the best videogames ever released, and now, Shadow
Of The Colossus’ release is being reinforced by ICO's
Re-Launch.
It is
unclear what exactly the links between the two games are. Although Shadow
Of The Colossus certainly takes place in the universe as ICO
did, there doesn’t seem to be any clear storyline link.
What has remained the same however is ICO’s unique
level of immersion within the game environment. Shadow Of The Colossus also promises to emulate and
vastly improve upon the impressive innovative problem solving
elements of ICO. As an epic adventure Shadow Of The
Colossus looks to be an instant hit with fans of ICO.
All evidence seems to point to Shadow Of The Colossus
providing something significantly different to other epic Adventure
titles available on the PlayStation2. The game is played on a
massive island that seems to be almost completely barren, resulting
in lots of riding through empty lands much like sailing in The
Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker. This does however have a beauty
all of its own, and is certainly atmospheric; sparking questions
about the cause of the crushing desolation pretty quickly, but to
say anymore would be to spoil the storyline. Another interesting
element that seems to have been included is a degree of guilt at the
point of vanquishing each of the giant Colossus’, detracting from
the reward. The player must travel the island and fight several
unique giant stone Colossus, each with its own fighting style.
However there is a palpable sadness to these behemoths. They are not
the typical evil nemesis most games possess: they are alive,  they
are living, breathing entities, presumably with their own ideals, or
at least they were before you killed them. There are also some
inspired smaller touches, such as the way your Horse is a real
character and part of the story, again, akin to an entry in the The
Legend Of Zelda series, The Legend Of Zelda: The Ocarina Of
Time and of course, the forthcoming The Legend Of Zelda:
Twilight Princess. He may not always obey your command, but this
beautiful example of equine coding will be by your side to the
death.
Shadow Of The Colossus, has been awaited so long there
is a risk its release will leave gamers feeling a little
disappointed. But, fingers crossed, we could be seeing yet another
title prove the PlayStation2 is still alive, and not only for the
purposes of playing God of War.
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