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Good: Amazing colossus designs, music, architecture and originality

Bad: Distracting framerate, camera and horseback riding

They better: Make a sequel for the much more capable PS3

Panned at the sales counter but praised critically, Ico was one of the few games in this current generation that set the bar incredibly high for art direction, level design and overall production value. When arguing that video games are a legitimate art form, seasoned gamers usually tout Ico as exhibit A. It's no wonder so much was expected from SCEI's next high-art effort in Shadow of the Colossus.

From a conceptual standpoint, Shadow of the Colossus is a winner out of the box due to its originality. The adventure consists merely of a vast, sprawling overworld where you ride on horseback to one of 16 colossi, engaging in memorable boss battle after memorable boss battle. That's right. There are no pesky enemies along the way. None. The entire point of the game is to seek out and bring down these huge-a-ma-gantic beasts born of stone and matted hair. Doing so will allow you to get the power to bring your dead girlfriend back to life:according to this mysterious voice from the sky anyway.

You are merely armed with a sword, a bow and your head. I say head because this is no shallow brawler where you can run up to the beast and start hacking away. The colossi must be studied. The environment around them must be studied. The huge monsters must be climbed on, jumped on to or irritated in such a way to expose the part of their body that holds a weakness. Once that is found, it's up to you to figure out how to mount the monstrosity, climbing your way to the weak point to stab it with your sword. You have a health meter and a grip meter that shows you how much more grip strength you have to hold on if you can't stand upright on a colossus. Sometimes the colossi will throw a tantrum and try to throw you off their head, arm or otherwise. All you can do at that point is hold R1 to hang on, hoping your grip meter doesn't deplete before you can stand upright.

There are ways to increase your overall health and grip strength, however. On your journey, you can come across white-tailed lizards. Killing them or putting an arrow through their tail will increase your grip strength when collected. In the same vein you will find certain trees that produce fruit. Knock them down with your bow and pick those up to increase your health.

It should be noted that each and every colossus has a distinct way to bring it down. There is no template for combat that can be applied to every colossus. Considering that the colossi are the only enemies you encounter, this was a must. It's as if there are 16 puzzles, complemented by platforming and combat.

The gut reaction to your first few battles with these towering nemeses is nothing short of jaw-dropping awe. Even after several more battles getting used to the game, you have to remind yourself that there is nothing out there like it. Nothing.

The feeling of solitude and anxiety is perfectly created in Shadow's universe with the amazing architecture and overworld design coupled with the separate personalities of each colossus. Unfortunately, this adventure is much too big and ambitious for the PS2 hardware. The game is chock-full of innovation, inspiration and heart, but gets thrown off the masterpiece highway due to glaring technical and control problems.

The primary offender is the camera. While not too much of a problem in the overworld, it's a significant issue in many of the colossus battles. Even though you can tweak your view manually, the camera will wildly swing wherever it likes too many times. And many of those times the place where the camera ends up makes no sense at all. You will get frustrated not because the colossus is particularly hard to figure out, but because you know what to do but the camera prevents you from getting it done. And sometimes for no apparent reason, the camera will glitch and erase many parts of the level or draw nothing on screen at all.

Another blunder that takes you out of the otherwise enchanting universe is the horse. Instead of being able to control the total movement with the left analog stick, you must press X to keep it moving forward. To turn right, you must press exactly right or left on the left stick to get it to turn. If you even slightly press up or down while pressing left or right, the horse will come to a crawl. Furthermore, sometimes the horse will just not speed up and will act inconsistently around certain terrain and hills. Its baffling design decisions coupled with bugs that take you right out of the feeling of solitude you're supposed to feel in the sprawling landscape.

The final blunder in the trilogy of offenders is the awful framerate. Even in wide open areas sans colossus, the game has a hard time putting out even 24 frames per second, even with the noticeable pop-in. So in the heat of a colossus battle, the framerate can reduce to a slideshow. That coupled with the camera issues makes taking down these wonderfully-designed beasts a burden more than a joy.

Regardless, this is a game you show off to your friends. That's why I saved my game before all the awe-inspiring battles. But the funny thing is, all my saves came from the first half of the game. The only one I saved in the second half was after the final battle so I could preserve the unlockable features. The design of the colossi does trail off a bit. They're still inspired, but not nearly as grand as most of the first eight. If I encountered the last eight first and the first eight last, it would've been a magnificent progression.

The graphics use that same muted grays and browns palette popularized by Ico. The architecture and colossus designs are nothing short of awesome, although a couple seem like slightly modified repeats. Regardless, from a visual standpoint, it's stunning when there are no framerate issues.

The music is perfect. Swelling and furious orchestra and choir rage along with the battles, perfectly complementing the scale and action. You really feel like you are performing epic feats. Sadly, there are musical glitches, too. Music will tend to start and stop abruptly for no real reason. The sound effects are a mixed bag. Footsteps, galloping and other minor effects seem really low quality, and sound all too familiar from the N64 Zelda days. On the other hand, the growls and groans from the colossi inspire fear and are produced very well.

Everyone should play it through at least once. The extra modes do add replay value, but since they're secret by embargo, you need to figure it out.

I love this game, but not nearly as much as I should have. It's a size eight game in a size four dress. The concept and universe are there, but it doesn't provide a smooth enough experience to really contend for any Game of the Year honors. Despite its technical shortcomings, it's still a title you should not pass up.

Graphics: A-

Sound: B+

First Play: A

Last Play: B

Gameplay: A-

Overall: 90% A-

Dan's take: Shadow of the Colossus is one of the best examples of a truly fantastic concept that gets brought down by technical issues. Near the beginning of the game, you'll be amazed by the sheer size of the colossi and the art design of the world they inhabit. Once you defeat four or five of them, however, the camera glitches and control issues become painfully apparent. I lost count of how many times I did everything exactly as I should have, only to have a glitch cause me to fall off the colossus or line up a jump wrong. While it's an amazing concept, and the gameplay at times can seem genuinely epic, the camera and control keep it from living up to its potential. Regardless, it's still a title that any PS2 owner owes themselves to play.