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Shadow of the Colossus, released in Japan as Wander to Kyozō (ワンダと巨像, Wanda to Kyozō, Wander and the Colossus), is a Japanese-developed action-adventure video game developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEI) for the PlayStation 2. The game was released in North America and Japan in October 2005 and PAL territories in February 2006. The game was created by SCEI's International Production Studio 1, the same development team responsible for the cult hit Ico.
The game focuses on a young man named Wander who must travel across a vast expanse on horseback and defeat sixteen giants, beings collectively known as colossi, to restore the life of a girl. The game is unusual within the action-adventure genre in that there are no towns or dungeons to explore, no characters with which to interact, and no enemies to defeat, other than the colossi. Shadow of the Colossus has been described as a puzzle game, as each colossus' weakness must be identified and exploited before it can be defeated.
Shadow of the Colossus was well-received by the media and met with strong sales when released. The game's soundtrack was widely praised and referred to as a one of its stronger aspects. It also won several awards for its audio, design, and overall quality. (more...)