Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection HD [Review]

FULL REVIEW

Every gamer at some point in their gaming lives have asked themselves this question “Damn, I wish I could erase this game off my memory, so I can play it all over again”. That could be possible but would lead to unpleasant brain damage and some uncomfortable side-effects. Instead Sony has another idea, and a damn good one.

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are the brainchildren of elite game designer Famito Udea. Now Ueda-San has some very unconventional approaches to gaming. The game is not merely a game, but an expression of art in every angle possible. From gameplay to look and feel, the result is a breath of fresh air. Most of Ueda’s games are like silent movies, but each and every character within rise up from their pixels and polygons and become more human with each passing moment.

Ico is the story of a boy with horns who meets a  beautiful princess Yorda. Ico is a simple puzzle platformer, where your objective is to lead Yorda safely out of the castle away from the weird gooey black shadow things. Simple, yet beautiful, haunting and very organic, with some of the most wicked puzzles ever devised. Ico went on to win a series of “Game of the Year” awards and charmed its way into every top gaming list.

Shadow of the Colossus starts of with a young man on a horse carrying an unconscious girl across a long bridge into a forbidden land. In order to bring her back he has to destroy sixteen colossi scattered across the dead landscape. Shadow exhibits the same artsy atmosphere as Ico, the same silent movie conventions, yet on a way bigger scale.

Having played both Ico and SoTC more than once on the PS2, and, even though the content remains the same, experiencing the game in HD is a treat. Especially a game that’s hinged on art and style. From the very first spyglass-like menu, with a fantastic soundtrack, you know this has been a labour of love and just not a cheaply cobbled-together collection.

The gameplay is largely intact. With Ico, you have to solve puzzles along with Yorda, which involves separating and finding paths for her so she can move across. With Shadow, it’s a bit more complex. You search across landscapes for the Colossi, once the search minigame is over. You have to find ways of climbing onto the stone monsters, and stabbing at their weak points to bring them down. There are times where you and Aaro have to weave and gallop in between their legs trying to figure out a way and not get stomped on. Each of these huge creatures have different tricks to scaling them, and once on, they’re frantically thrashing about trying to get you of their persons. So you have a grip meter you have to watch closely, and you have to time your movements.

Not all of the Colossi are huge, some are aquatic and some are quite small, but all of them powerful. Especially the aquatic ones, which give me the shivers. Like staring at a lake and imagining something moving below the black waters. Except, there IS something moving down there, and it's a lot bigger than you.

Animation is a big hallmark of both games. Ueda San’s attention to the little details is astounding as Ico and Yorda stumble their way through the dread dark of the castle. Each and every movement is pronounced and extremely well animated. In SoTC you will absolutely fall in love with Aaro the horse, who has a personality of his own, and yet always there to back you up in the thick of things. Especially now all of this is crisp and clear in HD. The stark worlds of both these games comes alive.

Oh, and a fair warning. Both Yorda and Aaro the horse are fantastic sidekicks. Extremely disarming, charming and will sometimes do small things that will completely surprise you and make you go “aww”. They stay with you close to your heart years after the game is finished and done for.

The control schemes are a bit different and would take getting used to. Not only that, with the animation quality, the responsiveness is slightly delayed. It's something you have to get used to, the game is balanced overall around that, so later it feels natural. However, if you’re used to modern day control schemes, this may have a slight curve.

While Ico came midway during the lifecycle of the PlayStation 2, SoTC came just before the PS3 was revealed. While SoTC pushed the hardware to its limit, there were a lot of people who felt that this game deserved to be held back a bit and reworked to take advantage of the power of the cell processor. Finally now that's a possibility, and while the game has not been reworked, the increased framerate, the fantastic crisp texture quality bump is crisp and does the game full justice. There are a few problems in cloth and hair, but, small problems. Ico also receives the same treatment, however, being an older game, it still has a few muddy patches in the graphics and sometimes the textures feel a bit repeated, like a tiling effect. Also there are some inconsistencies with the menus as they feel a bit flat. These are extremely minor quibbles though. Both games look equally beautiful.

The 3D Ico and Shadow of the Colossus collection looks absolutely stunning. However, caution is recommended, especially when you consider SoTC, and the fact you’re scaling moving beasts, it would be a good idea to give your eyes some rest.

In every media there's always a body of work that may not be able to appeal to everyone. The same way this collection may not really be everyone's cup of tea. However, if you are inclined to try something different, and want something to challenge you and at the same time fire every creative neuron at once, this collection is worth the try. If you’ve already played the originals, then this is a must play, a trip down memory lane in HD. Two classics in one game, very highly recommended.