"With the next generation of consoles on the horizon the playstation 2 was nearing it's end as a leading platform. But one developer was not going to leave the party without making a scene."

My first encounter was the towering thing on the cover, I had no idea what to expect, I'd seen screen shots but assumed these were doctored for promotion and it couldn't really look like that. Well me and 'Frank' (my name for the horse) scrambled up a steep hill to a flat section in a valley, the sword said the guy was close, so we gingerly continued in the direction recommend. I spotted it first, a massive dark silhouette lurked in the distance, I saw birds circling its hulking shoulders, they seemed like flies. Frank and I ventured forward, then a section came up where he couldn't follow, I wiped the tears and snot from my face and promised my swift return, so there I was creeping toward this monster that I had no idea how to kill. I got dam close and it didn't seem too bothered (in hind sight it hadn't noticed me), I went to equip my sword and pressed the whistle command by mistake. What followed coursed a 'rabbit in headlight' effect with me, sometimes in games the things that go in front of me are so spectacular I just freeze trying soak up all the beauty, it happened in RE4/5 a lot as things unfolded as monsters and zombies sprung limbs and teeth etc and I'd just sit there in smiling bliss. The colossus slowly turned its entire body in my direction like it had just been tapped on the shoulder by god himself, it took maybe two steps towards me and like a slow motion clip of a whale jumping from the ocean, it began to lift the massive arm holding a hammer the size of a small country until it was a full stretch and smoothly brought it down directly over the spot I'm standing in, I got my senses nano seconds before impact, but that wasn't enough as the ground shook with dust and general chaos created by this 8 ton hammer hitting the earth knocked me on my arse anyway,              

so now I had his attention, I am running around like a mouse on the kitchen floor in Tom and Jerry cartoon, expect it isn't a rolling pin going for me, its a mallet the size of Cliff Bleszinksi's ego. What do I do, I'm shouting at the screen, my bow and arrow aren't  even touching in the sides, what would Frank do I ask, but that doesn't help. The designers obviously knew there would be thick people playing this because it prompts me to.. and I quote 'grab on to its foot'. Are you mental I thought, its a 1600ft grizzly bear with hooves and a hammer, but I dodged and dived to a stationary foot and sure enough there it was, the grab option. Things change a bit once you mount these gigantic things, its a mental battle of wills as the beast tries to shake you off and you have to resource manage a grab meter, upward you travel to a promised land, a sweet spot usually on the head, but not always. So your travelling all over these things like a crazed ninja flea, once found, you begin madly stabbing the area, which its obviously not too pleased about, coursing it to up the anti on the shaking front. After a while (as with me however, after falling off and attempting the whole process again) you deliver the fatal blow. Things then abruptly stop, the camera pans out to show you the full extent of the creature's size, slowly it begins to crumple into a lifeless heap, its done in way that pulls at your heart, like a elephant hunter that realizes's elephants aren't all that bad and ivory is well out of fashion, guilt creeps in. It was minding its own business until I turned up, it wasn't trafficking sex slaves or mugging an old lady, it was me that wanted it dead for the girl and that was selfish. What a message, how deep is that, to ask the gamer to think about those emotions, man on planet earth has a habit of doing just this in the real world and here's a PS2 game trying to show us that (philosophy lesson over).    

"One of the creatures fly's around like a giant bat from hell, its hands down the most impressive things to see on the PS2, my friends and I staggered in bewilderment at how they pulled it off graphically"

That's why this game is on the list, not only are these boss fights some of the best in gaming history, they are backed up with complex emotional feelings. One of the creatures flies around like a giant hairy bat from hell, its hands down the most impressive things to see on the PS2, its technically mouth slackening. When playing the game my flat mate who is far from a gamer would just sit ingrosed in the action and that always is a sign to me of its visual appeal. My friends and I staggered in bewilderment at how they pulled it off graphically. Lords Of Shadow and Darksouls borrow heavily from this style still to this day .Team ICO are nothing short of game making genius's, Shadow of The Colossus smashed it at all the awards. It still looks great to this day and a PS4 sequel that's been in development for years, could easily warrant buying the system just to play it. It's hit countless delays and journalist say it may never happen, if it doesn't then I will be one disappointed ninja flea. Please, Please, Please make the Last Guardian happen !

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 Regards Oscar