The phrase "Game of the Year" is thrown around a lot, but lately it seems more likely to describe a game's budget than its true merits. Sure, there are lots of great-looking XBox 360 games with ultra-realistic images and whatnot, but every once in a while a game goes beyond just graphical eye-candy. Released long ago enough for people to blaspheme me for reviewing it now, Shadow of the Colossus is one of those games reminding us that there are still things worth playing in an ocean of games composed largely of over-milked trademarks. Shadow involves very little direct storytelling, but manages to immerse you in a fictional landscape populated by towering behemoths-the titular Colossi-who you must slay in order to revive a loved one. While the premise sounds clichd, all it takes is one battle to underscore just how epic your task is. Your foes tower above you, and in order to slay them you must traverse their bodies and slowly hack away at them, while they do their best to crush your seemingly bug-sized body.

All this is hard to visualize without actually seeing it, but the experience is crafted perfectly. The design team-also responsible for the cult hit ICO-has flawlessly nailed how such a beast might react to you crawling over it. Shadow never feels like a game, instead wrapping its camera and music around an already-movie-like experience.

The game's music itself deserves to be named "Soundtrack of the Year" for its sweeping orchestrations and its ability to create a flawless overall effect. However, due to current hardware limitations, the Playstation doesn't seem to be able to handle all the action going on, resulting in the occasional slow-down of gameplay. Still, the only major deficiency that could have been prevented is the difficult-to-control camera and sometimes-unresponsive control.

But these negative aspects are completely outshined by the overall package, and the worst thing that will happen to this title is no one buying it.

It seems that games like this only have an obvious appeal when seen first hand. Nothing could be more satisfying than trumping a beast a thousand times your size, but the artistic style and unique gameplay just screams that this is a niche title, regardless of the exposure it received. Regardless, Shadow of the Colossus will most likely be remembered as one of the most fulfilling and engrossing games to come out in years, let alone in 2005.