When you come across your first colossi, it takes you breath away at the size of the beast. Its tall lumbering body, swaying with each giant step, the weight of the colossi cracking the ground underneath, kept in check only by the valley walls that surround it. The colossi are the main levels and bosses of the game. The first part is to figure out how to get on the colossi, then you have to climb and jump your way around the body of the beast, your first attempt will go unnoticed, however after your first attack on the monsters weak spot will send blood spurting into the air and it will scream, thrashing its head about, trying to make you loose your grip. As long as your grip meter is fully charged you will not have many problems. But the sheer panic watching your hero get thrown about all over the screen is just amazing. Once you have defeated the colossi you are sent back to the citadel to start another search for the next colossi.
The 16 colossi you confront range from huge behemoths as mentioned earlier, snake like colossi that use the sand as cover, aerial colossi and colossi that have their own projectiles.
Not all colossi have a simple mater of running up and jumping onto them most of the later levels require you to use the surrounding arena to your advantage, be it jumping from a high tower or using your horse to lure out the hiding colossi and attack them on horseback using your bow and arrows.
The graphics on Shadow are truly amazing, the landscape has a washed out, sun bleached look, when you move the camera, the focus on your character is crisp, however the rest of the world has a slight blur to it. The hero’s animation is very smooth, reminding of the first time you saw prince of Persia 10 years ago. In fact the look of the graphics are so overwhelming in this game, you will find yourself just running around on horseback, staring at how the horse moves, then peering over a cliff, or looking at a archaic building.
The colossi also have a great feel to them, the graphics giving them a life like movement, the hairs on their body moving around as you grab hold of them for dear life. Their glowing eyes almost saddened by the fact that you are attacking them pierce the dusty air around them. Through all of the bloodshed that you cause during the game, you do start to doubt your actions, but the unknowingness of your actions pushes you to the final conclusion.
I could talk for ages about this game as there are so many great things about it, the simplicity of the design, the feel of the characters and the amazing look of the game are only a few things that make this game one that you should have in your collection.
Games like this normally get shoved to the back of the shop after the initial week of release to make way for another Fifa game. If you are out looking for adventure and excitement, please buy this. You will not regret it.
