By Mike Brinker - May 21, 2005

Storyline and first features

The time honored tradition of many gamers on the floor of E3 is to run around wildly and at random, bumping into things and people, playing the loudest and craziest games that have the most booth bling. It is nice to see, however, when a game can set the mood and pace of the show floor just because of its beautiful premise, dreamlike quality, and distinct lack of gaudy booth attractions - cleavage included. Shadow of the Colossus, nestled in the empire of a booth that Sony created, shows that games of today can be calm and peaceful, but pack an enormous punch with superior controls and cinematic artistry.

 
The demo starts with an armored clad warrior in a beautiful sunlit temple. On the stone pedestal before you lays a damsel in deep slumber, beautifully clad in white. As you begin to explore, you notice that you have a friend in the temple, a rather large (but perfect in proportion) black stallion. The game moves into its adventure and training mode by giving you hints to the controls and what they do by a simple interface at the bottom of the screen with white printed text. As you learn to mount and ride your steed, you become aware of another feature, that of a guidance system contained within your roman-esque looking sword. By holding the shining blade up to any sunlit area, you can focus the reflection by moving it around until it forms a cone of light, casting in the direction in which you are to head.

 
It is important to note that at this point that no enemies have attacked you and that no bloody battle is about to occur. In fact, you get the distinct feeling that no bloody battle will occur at all. But this is fine, as the pace and fluidity of the animation and the breadth and beauty of the world have already sucked you in. With full steam, you and your steed travel across the open fields. This is probably the best feature in the game, the superb control and guidence of the horse. Step aside Epona and Link, there’s a new breed of horse in town. The mane and tail of your stallion use a unique trick to simulate hair by using 2D sprites that animate wildly. This effect is subtle and gives a nice soft feel to the game. A wise choice on the artist’s part, as the technique is cheap on polys but still looks good.

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