Film critic Roger Ebert published an entry on his online Chicago Sun-Times journal back on April 16, 2010, titled “Video games can never be art.”
The legendary critic made a lot of enemies in the video game world that day, an outcome he probably anticipated. Now, I’ve never put much stock into his comments, simply because art is such a subjective form of expression. Even Ebert posits that his opinions shouldn’t upset the gaming public, as they are just that: opinions.
“Do they require validation? In defending their gaming against parents, spouses, children, partners, co-workers or other critics, do they want to be able to look up from the screen and explain, ‘I'm studying a great form of art?’ Then let them say it, if it makes them happy,” Ebert writes.
Still, it’s a fun debate to further, and I’d like to add my own entry into the fray: Team ICO’s 2005 Playstation 2 masterpiece, “Shadow of the Colossus.”
I received “The ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection” as a birthday gift from my brother a couple of years ago, but only got around to playing it rather recently. I had originally intended to tackle “ICO” first, but “Shadow” proved far too intriguing to wait for.
“Shadow of the Colossus” follows Wander, a young man who travels with his trusty horse, Agro, to the Forbidden Land in order to resurrect a maiden named Mono, presumably his lover. A disembodied voice tells Wander that this can only be accomplished if the hero defeats the 16 colossi that inhabit the Forbidden Land. The voice also warns that a great price may be involved in the resurrection.
Taking control of Wander, the player proceeds to defeat, one by one, each unique colossus. Some are humanoid in nature while others resemble creatures, and all possess distinctly different weaknesses that the player must discern and exploit.
More than any game I have played in recent memory, “Shadow” feels like a retro game in a newer game’s clothing. Aside from a very rudimentary tutorial given just before encountering the first colossus, the game’s controls are left to the player to figure out. The game’s instruction manual provides more insights into the initial story than the actual game does, much like the many NES games of yore.
It proved surprisingly refreshing to be dropped into a world like this one, with very little direction or handholding. Admittedly, in most other games, I’d list this as a fault, but the way “Shadow” comes together as a complete package justifies the lack of direction.
While the Forbidden Land is certainly one of the most beautiful ever conceived for a video game, it is uninhabited by humans. Wander is the only living person in it, and his only companion is Agro. The lack of any extensive tutorial serves to further the feeling of loneliness and, consequently, companionship with Wander’s steed.
The Forbidden Land is a quietly beautiful place, with the ruins and remnants of a civilization long gone peppered throughout the landscape. Small creatures also inhabit the land, including lizards, fish, birds and more.
The only enemies Wander faces, however, are the 16 hulking colossi. Traveling from the Shrine of Worship to each subsequent colossus fight is fun, and allows the player to absorb the wonder and majesty of the forgotten land. But the crux of the game, as its name suggests, is battling the colossi.
Though it took me one or two fights to finally get the hang of the game’s controls, “Shadow”’s battles are simply exhilarating. Each colossus is unique, and most require a great deal of trial and error to figure out just how to go about bringing them down. Frustration sets in rather often, at least it did for me, but the feeling accomplishment that comes along with finally killing each colossus far outweighs the desire to throw the controller. The sense of scale in these battles is unprecedented, and the fact that the HD remaster’s framerate remains mostly constant is very impressive, even on the powerful PS3.
The game’s controls are far from perfect, however. The control scheme employed by “Shadow” is perhaps its biggest misstep. It would be easy to blame the game’s age, but 2005 was not all that long ago. Other games of this type have employed better control schemes, and “Shadow” would’ve done well to look at their influence when crafting its controls.
That said, most players tend to have a moment in which the controls and the game mechanics just “click.” For me, that moment came sometime during the third colossus battle. From then on, the controls didn’t give me many problems, though I had a few frustrating moments here and there during the remainder of the game.
One problem that is never quite remedied is that of the camera. The right thumb stick controls the camera, but for some strange, inexplicable reason, it bounces right back when the thumb stick is released.
Visually and aurally, “Shadow” is a masterpiece, through and through. The visuals appear a little dated today, even on the “ICO and Shadow of the Colossus” HD remaster I played, but that can’t diminish their beauty, power and minimalist simplicity.
Composer Kow Otani composed and arranged the game’s entire score, and it still stands as a monumental triumph in video game music. The score only plays during cutscenes and colossus battles, leaving the rest of the game ambient and silent, save for sound effects. When the fully orchestrated score does kick in, however, it’s utter perfection, and should go down in gaming history as one of the best of all time.
Almost every element in “Shadow of the Colossus” contributes to its status as a modern gaming masterpiece, from its sparse, minimalist and gorgeous landscape to its sweeping score to its simultaneous feelings of loneliness and companionship. The control scheme and camera issues do mar the game, but these problems are easily overlooked when one considers the wonderful heights the game reaches in every other aspect.
“Shadow of the Colossus” is a game that demands to be played. A former host on a Podcast I frequently listen to once said that “Shadow of the Colossus” is part of the “gaming literature.” It’s a must-play for fans of the medium, and aside from that, it’s an immensely satisfying experience on its own. The game is easier to find now than ever, with the HD collection on store shelves and PS2 versions in abundant supply. If you have a PS2 or PS3, then you have no excuse: pick up this game, and see where it takes you.
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