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Team Ico's classic PS2 titles in one HD collection
Product Description. Two of PlayStation® 2's highly acclaimed action adventure games return and remastered in high definition for the PlayStation ® 3. Team ICO brings you the ICO and Shadow of Colossus CollectionICO™Enter a world of enchantment and wonder, where once was, is nevermore. ICO, a mysterious boy, has been expelled from his village to an isolated castle. Digital Foundry Tech Analysis: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection HD. Anything else we can find. More from the ICO and Colossus PS3 collection. . THE ICO & SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS COLLECTION (PS3) - USED. Region 1 import but will play on any PS3 as not region locked. No instruction booklet. Have tested game disk reads and boots before listing. Please Note: Any passcodes may have already been used. (UK Only). Buy with confidence - check my feedback. Get ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection, Action, Adventure game for PS3 console from the official PlayStation® website. Know more about ICO and Shadow of the Colossus Collection Game. Oct 11, 2019 Team ICO brings you the ICO and Shadow of Colossus CollectionICO™Enter a world of enchantment and wonder, where once was, is nevermore. ICO, a mysterious boy, has been expelled from his village to an isolated castle.
ICO and Shadow of the Colossus are the latest in the procession of PS2 titles to make their way to the PS3. Reviewing these re-releases is unique in as much as they have to be written for two audiences: those who have been waiting with feverish anticipation of their favourite title to be given an HD makeover, and those who have never played the game before. This is especially true for the ICO/SotC collection, because while many who played them on the PS2 would say they are among the best that the console produced, there’s an awful lot of gamers out there who have never played them at all (including, to my surprise, many of my friends).
So for those who haven’t played either, let’s take the set-ups of the games in turn, starting with ICO. (The rest of you can feel free to skip down a few paragraphs.)
The eponymous player-character is a young boy born with horns on his head. The people of his village whisk him off to a castle and imprison him in an upright tomb. The story kicks off when some good fortune allows him to escape from his sarcophagus and he sets about trying to escape the castle. He soon meets Yorda, a celestial, otherworldly girl who speaks an incomprehensible language.
It’s at this point the real mechanics of the game kick in. It’s essentially one big escort mission. You can take Yorda’s hand and run, or call her to follow you, but she is far less mobile than Ico so your main task is to create paths that allow her to pass from one area to the next. All the while, shadowy enemies are trying to drag her away and you’ll need to defend her. The fighting mechanic is extremely basic, but it’s appropriate for the gameplay.
Shadow of the Colossus has an even simpler backstory. The player-character Wander sets off for a mystical temple in the hope of resurrecting a girl called Mono. When he arrives, a mysterious voice tells him that it is possible for her soul to be returned to her, but first Wander must defeat 16 colossi. The gameplay involves Wander and his horse Agro seeking out each colossus in turn and defeating them. That’s all there is to it.
The mechanics are equally simple. Wander has an ancient, magical sword that, when held up to sunlight, points him in the direction of the next colossus. Taking down these awe-inspiring creatures is more akin to a puzzle than traditional combat. You’ll usually need to scale them in some way, and repeatedly stab one or more tricky-to-get-at weak spots. You have a grip meter which runs down if you hold on for too long, so there’s a balance to be struck between venturing up/over/across a Colossus and taking a breather when you can.
The question is: do these games stand up?
And the answer is yes, mostly, or at least, where it counts.
The HD makeover doesn’t extend to textures so the improved resolution is the only material difference between these games and the originals. But the atmosphere always counts for more than the graphical detail, and the character animations are better than many modern games.
For example, watching Wander cling onto the back of a flying colossus while it spins and soars to try and dislodge him is simply breathtaking. His body seems to move completely naturally as he tries to keep his balance: EA could take note for future iterations of FIFA, there’s an amazing ragdoll effect as he clings on desperately. Similarly, the hand-holding animation between Ico and Yorda is so genuine it’s actually quite moving at times.
Both games suffer a little from outdated control schemes, but it’s particularly noticeable with ICO. The camera is awkward at times, and calling Yorda over is a hit-and-miss affair. The AI in general is quite poor in this regard, and can be a real frustration.
Shadow of the Colossus is mostly fine to control, but it has a few quirks. You’ll draw your bow in whichever direction Wander is facing; the norm these days is to immediately draw a weapon in the direction the camera is pointing. There’s also an issue with the camera completely losing the plot on rare occasions, particularly when a colossus is trying to throw you off, or when you’re quickly moving above and below the waterline.
So what to make of these two haunting, lonely, thrilling, but mechanically outdated games?
For those of you who know these titles well, listen: An HD overhaul isn’t the main reason to buy this Blu-ray, although it is a bonus. You should invest again because you, better than anyone, know how amazing these games are. It’s not a decision worth thinking about: Stop reading and go buy. Now.
And for those of you who somehow missed ICO and Shadow of the Colossus the first time round, now is the time to put things right. People will call these games classics, masterpieces, and so on, and there’s a lot of truth behind the superlatives. But that kind of talk can lead to unrealistic expectations. The word I’d use is refreshing.
Escort missions won’t be anything new to you (if you’ve played the excellent Enslaved you’ll know the legacy of ICO better than most) but ICO has a wonderful story and is well worth experiencing, despite the odd frustration.
Shadow of the Colossus is, in my opinion, the better game, and is a title everyone should try. Some of you will will love it. Some of you will be bored in minutes and never try it again. But if you think it’s the kind of game that might grab you, then you owe it to yourself to give it a spin.
Verdict
Colossal
- Two of the best PS2 games in one collection
- Fantastic atmosphere, storytelling and music
Puny
The Ico And Shadow Of The Colossus Collection Ps3 Iso Rom
- Some control & AI issues, especially with ICO
ICO / Shadow of the Colossus Collection PS3 Review
The prospect of bringing together remastered versions of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus on a single Blu-ray disc is mouth-watering indeed. It’s widely acknowledged that Team Ico’s two PS2 titles are among the most innovative released on the system, and they’re often cited in the well-worn ‘games as art’ debate. The PS3 versions are almost entirely the same, with the exception of improved visuals, specifically HD resolution and stereoscopic 3D. So it’s a second chance for those who never got to play them originally, and surely an irresistible prospect for established fans of the games.
Scores
Gameplay
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10Graphics
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6Audio
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10Shadow Of The Colossus Pc Download
Single Player
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Our Review Ethos
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The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection | |
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Developer(s) | Bluepoint Games |
Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 3 |
Release |
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Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection (known in PAL regions as Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Classics HD) is a video game bundle that contains high-definition remasters of two PlayStation 2 games, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, for the PlayStation 3. Developed by Bluepoint Games, who assisted in the remastering alongside SCE Japan Studio and its division Team Ico, the bundle provides support for high-definition monitors, higher frame rates, stereoscopic 3D, and additional features for the PlayStation Network. The two games, while fundamentally different in gameplay and story, are thematically connected, with Shadow of the Colossus considered a spiritual sequel to Ico. Both games were critically acclaimed on their original release, while the remastered collection itself was praised by reviewers.
Games[edit]
Within Ico, the player controls a boy named Ico, cursed by being born with horns on his head, and locked away in a remote empty castle by his village. Ico manages to free himself and comes across a young frail girl, Yorda, who is chased by shadowy creatures that try to drag her to a different realm. Ico helps Yorda escape, ultimately discovering that her mother is the Queen that resides in the castle and is trying to use Yorda to extend her own life.
Shadow of the Colossus is considered a spiritual sequel to Ico, and later stated by its creator, Fumito Ueda, to be a prequel set in the same world as Ico.[3][4] The player controls a young man named Wander seeking to bring life back to the body of Mono, a woman that he cared for, by completing the task of killing sixteen monolithic beasts that wander the landscape. With his horse Agro, Wander locates each lair and destroys the beasts, slowly being overcome with dark energy, but fueled by the opportunity to reunite with Mono.
Remastered features[edit]
The core game and story for both Ico (2001) and Shadow of the Colossus (2005) remain unchanged with the remastered versions. For the remastering, both games have had a graphical overhaul to allow them to support modern high-definition displays up to 1080p. With the more powerful PlayStation 3, both games feature a fixed frame rate of 30 frames per second; the original PlayStation 2 version of Shadow of the Colossus was noted for pushing the limits of the older console and often suffered from framerate losses.[5] Both games support stereoscopic 3D, taking advantage of the original design of the games with considerations towards depth-of-field viewing, as evidenced by the large landscapes.[6] Both games in the collection support 7.1 surround sound.[7]
Ico's remastering is based on the European version, which features additional content that did not make it into the North America release of the original game, as well as some altered puzzles from these original releases. Specifically, upon completing the game, the player can restart to see the English translations of the mysterious language that Yorda, the player character's companion, uses, and a two-player mode with the second player in control of Yorda.[8] Though there was consideration for inclusion of PlayStation Move motion control support,[9] it was not released with it.
The collection includes bonus content, including two XMB Dynamic Themes and exclusive video content for Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, and Ueda's next game, The Last Guardian.[10]
Development[edit]
Prior to the announcement of the Collection, two other remastered collections of PlayStation 2 games had been made for the PlayStation 3: the God of War collection, and the Sly Cooper collection. There had been strong interest by Fumito Ueda, the project lead for both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, to prepare such a collection for the Team Ico games.[11] Initially, Ueda was not 'too excited' about porting the games, given that they were designed specifically for the PlayStation 2 hardware.[12] Ueda also noted that such a conversion may be difficult due to the complexities Team Ico had to create to push the technical limits of the PlayStation 2, but felt that it was still possible.[13] As the PlayStation 3 became more popular, and PlayStation 2 consoles became rare, Ueda reconsidered his position on giving players of other consoles the opportunity to play these games.[12] Ueda noted that such a release would depend on Sony's executives.[11]
Work on the conversion for the collection was done by Bluepoint Games, who had previously performed the remastering for the God of War collection.[14] The staff of Team Ico assisted in the process. Ueda considered Bluepoint Games 'real craftsmen' in this porting effort, due to their understanding of the fundamentals of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus and passion for the games.[12] Though it was Team Ico's idea originally to provide stereoscopic 3D, Ueda praised Bluepoint for their work in fine tuning the 3D effect, taking advantage of the scale and camera provided by the existing games; Ueda stated that the developers 'made it into something beyond what I imagined'.[12] Team Ico considered adding new game content to both games. One example Ueda noted was adding in several colossi that were cut from the PlayStation 2 version of Shadow of the Colossus. Ultimately, Ueda and the team decided not to make any such content-oriented changes or additions, concerned that they might be considered 'half-baked' by players, and instead opted to stay 'faithful to the base work'.[12]
The collection was formally announced at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show.[15] In the months prior, the collection's existence was hinted at by industry rumors and appearances of the collection in online vendor catalogs.[16]
In North America and Europe/PAL regions, the two games were released as a single collection.[17] This version features a reversible cover insert, with the original PlayStation 2 cover art for both games on the inner side of the case. Because of the criticism of Ico's original North American cover art, the North American version of the collection used the European/Japanese cover by Ueda. However, bilingual copies from Canada do not include the reversible artwork, they have a blank white interior.[18]
In Japan, they were released as separate titles,[19] though retailers sold a boxed collector's set containing both games and additional material.[20]
Reception[edit]
Reception | ||||||||||||||||
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The collection received strong positive praise from critics on release, based on the original titles as well as on the improvements made in the high definition port.[24]
During the week of its release, the game was the top selling game across all platforms in both North American and Japan, based on sales data from Amazon.com.[25]
References[edit]
![The Ico And Shadow Of The Colossus Collection Ps3 Iso The Ico And Shadow Of The Colossus Collection Ps3 Iso](/uploads/1/2/6/6/126666572/484878147.png)
- ^Joscelyne, Svend (2011-06-03). 'Team ICO Remakes Dated for Japan'. SPOnG. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
- ^Lynch, Phil (2011-06-07). 'ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Classics HD Coming 28 September'. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
- ^GameSpot site staff, ed. (2005). 'The Long-Awaited Spiritual Successor to ICO Arrives Mid-February in Europe'. GameSpot. Retrieved July 1, 2006.
- ^McNamara, Andy & Berghammer, Billy (2006). 'Colossal Creation: The Kenji Kaido and Fumito Ueda Interview'. Game Informer. Archived from the original on April 27, 2006. Retrieved July 9, 2006.
- ^Leadbetter, Richard (2011-09-08). 'Ico/Shadow of the Colossus: PS2 vs. PS3'. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
- ^Gallagher, James (2010-09-16). 'Fumito Ueda Interview'. Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
- ^Banks, David (2011-09-08). 'Two Classic Games Get Facelifts and a PlayStation 3 Release'. Wired. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
- ^ abJuba, Joe (2011-09-08). 'Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection'. Game Informer. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
- ^Anderson, Joe (2010-09-19). 'PS3 Ico and Shadow of the Colossus may support Move'. VG247. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^Orry, Tom (2011-07-21). 'Ico & Shadow of the Colossus PS3 to include bonuses'. Videogamer.com. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
- ^ abLeone, Matt (2009-09-25). 'Fumito Ueda Wants To See ICO and Shadow of the Colossus on PS3'. 1UP.com. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
- ^ abcdeGifford, Kevin (2011-09-14). 'Fumito Ueda Reflects on Ico, Shadow of the Colossus Remakes'. 1UP.com. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
- ^Tolito, Stephan (2009-09-29). 'Shadow Of The Colossus Creator Hints At Movie Involvement, Wants PS3 Ports'. Kotaku. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
- ^Leadbetter, Richard (2011-09-10). 'Tech Analysis: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection HD'. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
- ^Orland, Kyle (2010-09-13). 'Retail Listing, Media Report Point To Team Ico PS3 Collection'. Gamasutra. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
- ^Pigna, Kris (2010-05-26). 'Ico, Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection Rumored for Q1, 2011'. 1UP.com. Retrieved 2010-05-26.
- ^Shuman, Sid (2010-09-16). 'Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection hits PS3 Spring 2011 with 3D'. Sony Computer Entertainment of America. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
- ^McElroy, Griffin (2011-09-08). 'Ico and Shadow of the Colossus has reversible boxart, Last Guardian not at TGS'. Joystiq. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
- ^Gantayat, Anoop (2010-09-14). 'Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Remakes Confirmed'. IGN. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
- ^Spenser (2011-06-17). 'Ico And The Shadow Of The Colossus In A Deluxe Package Just For Japan'. Siliconera. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^'The Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection (PS3)'. Metacritic. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
- ^Dorlan, Christian (2011-09-08). 'Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection HD - Review'. Eurogamer. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
- ^Clements, Ryan (2011-09-08). 'Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection Review'. IGN. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
- ^Cowan, Danny (2011-09-28). 'Critical Reception: The ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection'. Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
- ^Cowan, Danny (2011-09-30). 'Saling The World: ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection Heads Domestic Charts'. Gamasutra. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
External links[edit]
The Ico And Shadow Of The Colossus Collection Ps3 Iso Rom
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