Your Top 50 Games: 2011 Discussion Thread

[SvennoJ]

#5 Shadow of the colossus played on PS2, released 2005

Books use words, movies add pictures and sound, and video games add your actions to tell a story. All of these elements come together beautifully in Shadow of the Colossus. The opening cinematic immediately gets you involved with the main character and soon you set off on an epic adventure to do what you initially think is right. The longer you play the more you start to doubt your own intentions and wonder if the end can really justify your actions. Every time you manage to kill another colossus you feel a sadness for destroying such a wonderful mysterious creature.

The colossi all feel like they have their own personality. Most aren't interested in you and simply carry on with their own lives until you interfere. They're all unique and wonderfully animated. My favourites are the 2 flying ones, yet all of them are great in their own way.

The music is beautiful too, swelling up when you grab onto a colossus and settling back down again after you fall off. The lovely theme of the music is playing in my head as I write this. Sound effects are well done especially the mysterious voice announcing your next prey.

The landscape is what ties it all together. It is a vast desolate land with amazing views into the distance. It makes you feel small when you stand on a cliff looking around you. The landscape feels like a real place, the proportions are all believable. I love galloping around the land looking for vantage points, trees bearing fruit and lizards hiding on rocks and on the save monuments. There isn't much else to find but it is enough to feel a real connection with the landscape by the end of the game.

Shadow of the colossus truly is an amazing game and I'm grateful for the HD remake. The animations, sand and water effects are now displayed to their full potential and the landscape and colossi look better then ever in 1080p.

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