People have said that this is one of the best games on the PS2. I've even heard somebody say it was "God on a disc". Usually when people talk up a game this much, it's never anywhere near as good as they make it sound. So is this game really as good as everyone says or is it just another game?

This story is one of a young man named Wander whose love has been sacrificed for her cursed fate. Desperate, he travels to a land at the ends of the world where it is said that, if wished, one can bring the souls of the dead back to life, but to trespass upon this land is strictly forbidden. A god-like being named Dormin tells him that he will bring the girl back to life if he destroys the creatures know as the colossi.

Aside from the beginning and the ending there is very little that happens story-wise. And by very little I mean like two cut-scenes which only show a little themselves. I was a bit disappointed at how the game lacked any progress with the story as the game went along. The ending though has some nice twists that made for a very good, yet somewhat weird ending.

So, before you get to go fight a colossus you must first find it. To help you out, Dormin will give you a clue as to the place the next one is at. Unless you have traveled across the whole map though, these clues can be almost worthless. This place is incredibly vast and it takes a while to get where you are going. One thing that was very surprising about this game is that, aside from the harmless lizards, birds and turtles, the only creatures in the game are the colossi. The only thing good thing about not having any other enemies is that it allowed me to explore without being bothered. Other than that, I would have much preferred to have something to do while roaming around. So all the game is, is going from one boss to another. And while it would be hard to find each of them, it isn't because of one thing, your sword. Your sword can collect light from the sun and reflect it in the direction of the next colossi, acting somewhat like a compass. In a game like this where the only thing you do is search for the colossi and then fight them, you need something more to do and the sword can take away a lot of the challenge, which can be exploring.

Now, about the actual battles themselves. These creatures are not your average bosses. Most are huge (there are a couple that are small are disappointing), almost mountain-like monsters that could crush you like a bug. To kill them you must find and reach the weak point on them which is a glowing symbol. The first fight is fairly straight forward in figuring out how to reach it, but most fights will take you a good 10 to 15 to figure out what you need to do and then you still have to actually get to that spot and attempt to kill it. Doing this is usually not exactly easy since they will shake around trying to sling you off. It can be a bit tough on some since they will shake a lot and keep you from getting a good enough grip to be able to stab them. The different colossi, while having the same basic idea of having to reach their weak point, are very different in how you must reach those spots and defeat them. The colossi range from on the ground, in the water, or even in the air. But really, it's not that hard of a game. Once you figure out how to take down the colossi you've taken care of most of the challenge.

The controls are really responsive which is a very good thing when trying to maneuver yourself up and around the colossi. That's not to say that there are no faults though. Though it's not a factor most of the time, the jumping can be awkward at times. You'll probably end up missing a jump that will cost you on a colossus or when trying to jump onto Agro. Speaking of Agro, most of the time, like when you're out in the open, the controls are fine. But they can get a bit touchy and annoying when you get into tight spaces. He jerks around or just completely stop when near the edge of a drop off that is too far down to jump off of. It can get frustrating trying to navigate through places where there are cliffs and stuff. But luckily there aren't really any places like that where you'll need him in fights.

One problem that I had from time to time was the camera. While it can provide some almost movie-like views, it can sometimes get very annoying when trying to climb or avoid a colossus quickly. One good thing is that they put a button in that will focus the camera on the colossus, but if you are too close this will usually make the camera face straight up in the air. It's not a major problem, but it could have been better.

The game is pretty short, taking only about 8 hours your first time through, though it can depend on how fast you get from one colossus to the next. Then the actual fights will take about 20 to 30 minutes each. After you finish the game you will have the option of starting a new game but keeping your health and energy you had at the end of your first game. Also, you will be able to do time attack in that game. By defeating the colossi under the time limit you will be able to win special items that you can use in the game, some are cool and can be fun to use, while there are others aren't that useful. Another feature that adds some more playing time is hard mode. In hard mode you will have less health and energy, the colossus will take less damage and shake more, and there will also be some new weak points for you to find on them. And also, if you want more still, you can also do time attack here which is a lot harder and has some new items for you to gain. So while the game is definitely on the short side, it has enough replay value to make up for that.

The graphics are pretty good, though nothing that I hadn't seen before. I liked the style they went with. Instead of going for more realism like most games now, they used more of a fantasy look. Some of the time there will be mist which adds to this look giving it an almost dream-like quality at times. Wander and Mono (the girl) look pretty good aside from the hair, though I haven't seen a game on the PS2 that has that just right anyway. There were times when coming closer to stuff where the terrain would suddenly appear a bit bigger or smaller, but mostly it did a good job of how far you could see. And a lot of the time you were able to see very far. I was amazed at how big the place was and just how much you could see. There are a couple of places that you can get that are really high up and allow you to see for what seems like forever, just like in real life. The colossi look pretty amazing themselves. It may just be the size of them, but they are pretty cool looking. The only real problem with the graphics is that the game will periodically slow up when fighting a colossi. Usually this is when they are moving around a lot which, unfortunately for the frame rate, is most of the time. One other thing is while riding Agro, the game will occasionally not just slow down, but completely freeze for a second. It doesn't usually effect you in a bad way since this seems to only happen when just riding around in the open space, but it is something annoying that should have been fixed. Another thing that they could have done better was some of Wander's movements. His arms look a bit limp and it just looks plain weird when running around looking very awkward, almost like an ape or something.

As for the music in this game, I must say that it is very good. The music that plays on the title screen has a bit of a mystic/Arabic mix to it which seems to fit perfectly. There are about 6 different pieces that play during the fights and then there are a few other pieces in the game. It would have been nice if they had added a few more different ones in there. It's really disappointing though that there is no music that played while riding around, which is where you spend a heck of a lot of time. It just was too silent, that was biggest problem with the music or actually the lack there of. The voice acting is another thing that is different from most games. They don't use English, but instead something else. I'm not sure if it's real or just made up. It does sound a bit like some form of Native American to me, but I don't really know. I liked it though, they did a pretty good job with it from what I could tell (kind of hard to judge when it's a different language). The one thing that you will get tired of though is hearing him yell "yah!" when you accelerate Agro. Also when you jump, the grunt sound he makes can also get on your nerves.

Overall this is a really good game. It may be short, but usually I tend to play those over again more than long ones such as RPG's. It's also a bit easy for my tastes, but so was the Sands of Time and I loved that game too. I've played through it about 6 times unlocking stuff and just having fun with it. The story is a bit lacking but it is saved by the ending, however strange it may be. Great music, but it could have used a bit more variety. I'd say this game is definitely worth the $20 you'll spend. If you don't buy it then at the very least you have to give it a rent.

Pros:
+ Awesome and unique boss fights.
+ Nice ending.
+ Huge world to explore.
+ Good controls for the most part.
+ Very good replay value.
+ Pretty good graphics.
+ Great Music.

Cons:
- Not enough story.
- No enemies to fill said huge world.
- Camera has some small problems during fights.
- Short game.
- Not enough of the music.

Scores:
Story: 7
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 9
Replay Value: 9