[xy_game]Ten years have passed since its original release on the PlayStation 2. Now, new and old gamers can partake in the experience one more time in the ICO & Shadow of the Colossus HD collection available on the PS3, complete with 3D functionality to! Is the magic still alive in the wondrous worlds of these two classics?
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Shadow of the Colossus and ICO were two of the first artistic games that I remember experiencing, and since then those styles of games have grown immensely popular to a niche group. The two titles don’t actually share any plotline or intricate details, but they take place within the same magical world filled by the supernatural and more.
ICO is a more enclosed experience that features some stunning backdrops and cinematic angles within the castle walls. It’s a very polished looking upgrade that is sure to attract new gamers and impress those who played the original. The gameplay is quite simple and involves a mix of escorting a young girl through the castle while defending her from shadow creatures using your wooden stick. Sure, it doesn’t sound like much, but the simplicity combined with the often complex puzzles make ICO a truly engrossing experience.
Shadow of the Colossus is a little different as it’s more of an open world game filled with mountains and forests. When it comes to enemies, you won’t find a single one outside of the colossi that roam the world and watch over its skies. With the help of your horse and your sword of light, you can learn the locations of each colossus and begin your quest to destroy them. Getting to the colossus is usually the easy part, but it can sometimes take a little work to find them as there is sometimes some basic platforming involved to reach that point.
The challenge for Shadow of the Colossus lies in taking down each of the towering, massive monsters as they have small weak points in varying locations on their bodies, but you can’t just access them quickly. It takes platforming skills and stamina to hang out safely while maneuvering to get to these points. There’s usually at least three weak points that you’ll need to stab multiple times to take down a colossus, and if you get tossed off you’ll need to get up quick and try again. Early on this isn’t too tough, but when it comes to flying colossi it’s a puzzle all in itself on how to get into the position to kill it.
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While both games look great in their respective HD upgrades, Shadow of the Colossus is surprisingly the weaker of the two. There are some noticeable pop-in textures and backgrounds during your treks across the world, and it’s just not as detailed as the beautiful castle you’ll explore in ICO. There’s a much stronger emphasis on HD textures in ICO due to the nation of its design and where the game takes place, and this puts it in front of Shadow of the Colossus in terms of comparative visual quality.
Presentation is what these games are all about though, and the vast environments for both games offer a level of satisfaction that’s hard to top even with newer games. Beautiful visuals, and magical creatures make it look superb and simply a truly majestic feeling seems to take over you when you play these games. The soundtrack isn’t quite like most games and its use of actual music is very sparse, but the game heavily relies of ambient sound effects including the whistling winds, tapping footsteps, and the grunts and groans of the characters as they climb and fight their way to safety.
ICO and Shadow of the Colossus HD is a must own for PS3 owners, and whether you’ve played it before or not, this deserves a spot in your collection. It’s an endearing experience that you’ll remember forever and it stands tall amongst all the stellar titles we see releasing every year.
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