HD time heals all wounds.
OK, so… imagine two of the out-and-out prettiest games of the
PS2 era. Take those games, shine them up really nice, have them play exactly the same
—flaws and all
—and put them both on one
disc for a not-standard-full-retail price, and you've got a
damn fine concoction of two of the greatest artistic games to come out…
ever.
I'm talking about
Ico and
Shadow of the Colossus, by the way.
Y'know, in case you didn't get it from the title of the preview or the opening sentences.
For the initiated, a quick run-down of the stories for each game:
Ico is about a
horny young man young boy with horns who picks up a ghostly chick and tries to help her escape a mysterious castle. Along the way, shadows try to steal the girl for an unknown reason. Likewise,
Shadow of the Colossus is all about protecting the girl, except that she needs saving by killing and taking the power of 16 Colossi to bring her back to life.
Director
Fumito Ueda's design philosophy of "design by subtraction" is fully showcased; there is very little
dialogue in both games, just enough to set the scene. Beyond that, it's up to the player to move forward and figure out the world they're in.
Looking back over the originals, I could see how the developers got away with the beautiful visuals, especially in
Ico; a lot of blur and light fogging is evident looking back on them. They're
pixelated around their edges and the
framerate is a bit compromised, but that doesn't negate the face that they have a style unlike anything else on
PS2. Thankfully, the muddied image the
PS2 managed has been touched up to an amazing degree on
PS3, and they now look as though they belong on a next-gen platform. I know that's the point, but not every game can pull it off; both
Ico and
Shadow can, and that's damn impressive on its own.
The only real addition is of trophies, and they're pretty standard fare: defeat this or that Colossus, find this or that weapon, finish the game in a certain amount of time (really,
Ico in two hours? WTF?).
Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection is scheduled to release in late September, and in the
Ueda way... that's all you need to know.
Please, have a heart, and have these games released on either Steam or Xbox Live.
I know it is asking much of you, but some games deserve to be shared equally among gamers, regardless of platform.
Now I understand you want me to by your PS3. Don't get me wrong, it is a fine machine, but I've never been much for the Sony brand. And buying the console for just a few exclusive titles seems a bit excessive.
To compare; I once did it for the Nintendo Wii, and that machine has gathered up a lot of dust in recent years. At least with the Wii I get backwards compatibility so I can go back to some classic cube titles or - hooray hooray - Ocarina of Time which came with my Wind Waker special.
So please Sony, have a heart, release both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus on Steam or the XBox. Peace and love and all that jazz.
Sincerly,
Ash
On a another note i did enjoy the 'young horny man' bit.