The image of video games in society isn’t a kind one. Politicians and soccer moms love to single out “violence and depravity” in games and erroneously assume every game has filth attached to it. Then again, looking at games such as “The Guy Game” and “Leisure Suit Larry,” garbage pieces of sexploitation with no redeeming qualities whatsoever, game fans have to wonder: Has gaming lost its true purpose? Is it now an era where sex and violence reign supreme?

Amid a sea of gangstas waving their pieces and bimbos wearing dental floss, “Shadow of the Colossus” will probably be lost in the shuffle. After all, there are no “50+ badass weapons for fantastic kills!” or “1,000+ awesomely useless side missions!” here. Nope, it’s just a young man with a sword, bow and arrow and horse. It sounds very much like a step back compared to the “progressive” variety in modern games.

The story is very vague, at least in the beginning. There is an unnamed hero who seeks to reclaim the lost soul of a young woman. In an ancient temple, an entity named Dormin tells the hero that in order to save the woman he must hunt and defeat the 16 colossi. The colossi are giants that lumber around an undiscovered land. Toward the end of the game, the story goes on a emotional roller coaster with soul and depth that touches the heart. When it’s all said and done, the story is just … perfect.

The story is minimal until the end, but the engaging aspect that keeps the player going isn’t the story – it’s the beautiful and vast landscapes, the amazingly detailed colossi and the incredibly addictive and unbelievable game play.

In essence, the entire game play revolves around finding a colossus and figuring out how to defeat it. Repeat this 16 times and that’s the game. This is just scratching the surface, however. Running, rolling, jumping, climbing, hanging on for dear life, finally exploiting the weakness of the colossus and defeating it – there is no other game out there that can replicate the incredible experience of defeating a colossus.

Exhilaration would be the best description to define the feeling of each encounter. Each colossus is like a puzzle where the player has to figure out where the weakness is. While this struggle is going on, the thundering music roars on. Never before has music been integrated so well with a game. Incredible graphical effects, craters created by the feet of the colossi, the shaking of the screen, clouds of dust – all of these little touches blur the distinction between reality and fantasy. The combination of the game play, sound and graphics all leave an impression that just refuses to let go.

“Shadow of the Colossus” is a must-play, but it will not appeal to everyone. It might not appeal to the majority of people, actually.

This game goes against everything that is standard and safe in today’s games and a lot of people might find it too different. This is an absolute shame because “Shadow of the Colossus” is the best example of what games can be. Magical. Beautiful. Shimmering with excellence.