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Agoraphobia - Shadow of the Colossus
SCEA | PS2

Yes, OK, we know - not all gamers are terrified to leave their parents' basements. Some of you, for example, actually have apartments that you never leave. For most of us, though, our shut-in lifestyle is just a result of videogames being an indoor hobby - we could go outside if we wanted to. But if you're agoraphobic, it's a different story. Maybe you think the sun will fry you to a crisp, or maybe you're just nervous that the laws of gravity will suddenly reverse themselves and toss you screaming into the heavens. Whatever your ridiculous reason, the idea of setting foot outside your front door paralyzes you with fear, and that's no way to live.

The key thing here, then, is to get you used to the wide-open spaces without actually having to be in them, and we're hard-pressed to think of a game that does that better than Shadow of the Colossus. In fact, most of the game is spent just navigating those spaces, as you work your way farther and farther from the hero's "home" to explore breathtaking stretches of wilderness and charge through them on horseback. (And if you've got problems with heights or abandonment, then hey, Shadow 's dizzying cliffs and sense of isolation might help you work through those, too.)

The absence of any monsters or people in Shadow (apart from the hidden Colossi you're hunting, of course) enables you to concentrate on the landscape and ponder what, exactly, is so terrifying about it. Is it the unmoving rocks? The passive trees? The giant, precarious stone bridges that jut out from your castle?

Yes, there are huge, scary monsters waiting just over the horizon to club you to death. But think of them as representations of your fear; with each one you bring crashing down, you'll have moved a step closer to being able to face the world outside your dank dwelling. Trust us, it'll be worth it - you'll have plenty of time to live like a shut-in when you're 80, after all.

Mikel Reparaz
Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.