A truly epic achievement

Every so often, Sony's in-house game developers cough up a polished gem, "God of War" being a recent example, that puts most other games out at the time to shame. Their latest epic offering is "Shadow of the Colossus," which follows a nameless warrior and his brave steed on a quest to destroy the mythical creatures that inhabit a beautiful but cursed land devoid of any humans except our warrior and his recently deceased lover. To destroy all the colossi and absorb their combined life force means his lover could return to life, and thus proper motivation is supplied.\n"Colossus" is made up of a series of 16 level-boss battles, with lengthy treks across open terrain to find and challenge each enormous beast being the levels. This concept may sound tedious on paper, but when your unnamed warrior first mounts his horse and gallops towards boss number one, with monolithic mountains, vast canyons and skyscraper-tall waterfalls in the distance, not to mention a perfectly executed 360-degree rotating camera with appropriately hazy frame rate, all fears of tedium will be put to rest.\nThe gameplay is standard fare, and is most comparable to the "Legend of Zelda" classics during the Nintendo 64 era. Our warrior can walk, run, jump, attack, control his horse and most importantly, climb, hang on for dear life and hack away at the colossi. Yet the real stars here are the realistic graphics and impeccable art direction. The land around you, the colossi themselves, and the lifelike sound and sound effects are all immersive, and the sparingly utilized orchestral score is moody and propulsive.\nSo what exactly are these colossi you're pitted against? Giants, some humanoid but most bestial, ranging in size from that of a campus bus to larger than the Herman B Wells Library, including a final boss nearly the size of Indianapolis' Chase Tower. Some are docile beasts whose eventual demise is simply a puzzle to be solved, but most are as determined to kill you as you are them. All, though, are spectacular, and while some battles take only 15 minutes, others can keep you busy for more than an hour. All you'll have at your disposal is a sword and bow, making the feeling of satisfaction upon slaying one of the colossi similar to besting a tough "Final Fantasy" boss.\nWith the official release date of the Playstation 3 all but announced, "Shadow of the Colossus" is the best reason to keep your PS2's motor churning since "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas," and that's a massive compliment.