ICO and Shadow of the Colossus (SotC) Collection Catch-All

Dixie_Flatline wrote:

My understanding is that the HD ICO is based on the PAL release, which is enormously happy news, since it had lots of features that didn't make it into the North America NTSC release. If it's true, that means:

Spoiler:

New Game+ which includes:
* local co-op (second player controls Yorda)
* new secret weapon (the lightsaber) which replaces the mace. It also gets longer when you're holding Yorda's hand (ahem).
* the secret watermelon ending
* legible subtitles for Yorda, as brokenclavicle mentioned

There's also at least one puzzle which is different.

There was a time when I was seriously thinking about buying a PAL PS2 and importing the game just to get all that stuff, so this makes me very very happy.

Oh, I think this may push me over the edge. Perhaps I'll take advantage of that Best Buy deal. Does anybody know if that deal is online-only, or can I walk into a BB and get it?

Newegg has the collection for $5 off if you didn't pre-order or get it already.

Dixie_Flatline wrote:

My understanding is that the HD ICO is based on the PAL release, which is enormously happy news, since it had lots of features that didn't make it into the North America NTSC release. If it's true, that means:

Spoiler:

New Game+ which includes:
* local co-op (second player controls Yorda)
* new secret weapon (the lightsaber) which replaces the mace. It also gets longer when you're holding Yorda's hand (ahem).
* the secret watermelon ending
* legible subtitles for Yorda, as brokenclavicle mentioned

There's also at least one puzzle which is different.

There was a time when I was seriously thinking about buying a PAL PS2 and importing the game just to get all that stuff, so this makes me very very happy.

What? I had a UK (PAL) version and it didn't have co-op or legible subtitles for yorda on my second play through...

Stele wrote:

Newegg has the collection for $5 off if you didn't pre-order or get it already.

Not bad, but $20 off from BB for getting 2 collections I think is better. Of course, that assumes that a second collection is desired, time to remind myself of what others are valid.

Duoae wrote:

What? I had a UK (PAL) version and it didn't have co-op or legible subtitles for yorda on my second play through...

Since I've never seen the PAL version, I can't vouch for it personally, but here's a summary of the differences that matches what I've always seen described elsewhere.

No y-axis flip on the camera?! Seriously?!

I'm still playing but... damn... every time I try to move the camera it screws me up.

ahrezmendi wrote:

Oh, I think this may push me over the edge. Perhaps I'll take advantage of that Best Buy deal. Does anybody know if that deal is online-only, or can I walk into a BB and get it?

Please post if you find out. I was thinking about getting the Team Ico and God of War PSP collections later down the road, but I think I can justify them at $30 a pop.

Fired up Ico briefly at noon -- it's 1920x1080 in 2D mode, 1280x720 in 3D mode, and looks lovely. It's maybe not quite as beautiful as I remember, I think because the SD textures were so carefully done to look good on a slightly blurry CRT television, but it still looks very nice indeed. And it's widescreen now...I don't know if the original release supported that.

SotC's big problem was slowdown. It'll be very interesting to see if they fixed that in the PS3 version, or if they're just emulating the old hardware.

This will definitely find its way into my collection, but most likely via the bargain bin around Xmas-time.

I bought ICO for my first backwards compatible PS3 a few years ago, but - because of a house fire - never got to play it. So I'm excited to have the opportunity to finish what I, er, never started. However, I can't bring myself to pay full price for two old games no matter how much prettyfied they are. ICO's gameplay will still be a decade old, and SotC isn't exactly a spring chicken either!

Malor wrote:

Fired up Ico briefly at noon -- it's 1920x1080 in 2D mode, 1280x720 in 3D mode, and looks lovely. It's maybe not quite as beautiful as I remember, I think because the SD textures were so carefully done to look good on a slightly blurry CRT television, but it still looks very nice indeed. And it's widescreen now...I don't know if the original release supported that.

SotC's big problem was slowdown. It'll be very interesting to see if they fixed that in the PS3 version, or if they're just emulating the old hardware.

I recall reading an interview where the devs said they aren't emulating, and that they had specifically addressed the performance. That said, I can't find the interview now, so it's as good as hearsay.

Dyni: Will do, those are the two I am considering too. But with Dark Souls landing in a week, and Skyrim soon after that, I'm not sure these will get any attention even at $30 each. Might be best to just wait for inevitable sales and/or gold box deals.

detroit20 wrote:

However, I can't bring myself to pay full price for two old games no matter how much prettyfied they are. ICO's gameplay will still be a decade old, and SotC isn't exactly a spring chicken either!

$40 for 2 games is far from full price.

Good gameplay doesn't really suffer from aging the way most other aspects of games do.

Hell that's why I'm already playing. Dark Souls is 7 days away. I have to beat at least one, if not both, of these games before then.

Oh man, I didn't even realize Dark Souls was only one week away. I'll probaly just wait for a future sale also then.

I´m heading to LA/Vegas at the end of October, so I´ll be getting that for sure. I think the release here in Mexico is mid November, and I´m not willing to wait that long. I NEED these games....hell, I´d pay $60 for each.

Dyni wrote:

Oh man, I didn't even realize Dark Souls was only one week away. I'll probaly just wait for a future sale also then.

Over the weekend these were my thoughts exactly. Between playing the surprisingly entertaining Dead Island and the upcoming releases of Dark Souls, Batman, Uncharted 3, Skyrim, and Zelda (and no doubt a few I am forgetting), I had decided to put buying this collection off until next summer. Then last night I received a shipment notification because I evidently had already preordered the collection some time in the past from Newegg and forgot about it.

Well, after a couple of hours with it this evening, I can say that Ico is gorgeous. You can feel the age a little, in spots, because the character movement is a little wonky, and the animation is a bit choppy sometimes. But it is truly a timeless classic. With a little more work on the animation, they could release it as new, and nobody would think it was out of place.

Even as is, I don't think many people would complain. Well, maybe a little -- Sands of Time covered some of the same ground, and did it better. But it's still very good.

I never got a chance to play Ico. I have SotC, but only made it past the fourth one before I petered out. I saw where it was going and didn't feel like it was worth spending a lot of time and effort to continue for something so blatantly obvious. It was cool for a couple hours? I dunno. I guess I'm that guy.

I would still love to get my hands on Ico, though.

Malor wrote:

Well, after a couple of hours with it this evening, I can say that Ico is gorgeous. You can feel the age a little, in spots, because the character movement is a little wonky, and the animation is a bit choppy sometimes. But it is truly a timeless classic. With a little more work on the animation, they could release it as new, and nobody would think it was out of place.

Even as is, I don't think many people would complain. Well, maybe a little -- Sands of Time covered some of the same ground, and did it better. But it's still very good.

You probably know this, but for the record -- Sands of Time drew a lot of (acknowledged) inspiration directly from ICO, which is one reason I think it's still the best of the modern PoPs.

Minarchist wrote:

I never got a chance to play Ico. I have SotC, but only made it past the fourth one before I petered out. I saw where it was going and didn't feel like it was worth spending a lot of time and effort to continue for something so blatantly obvious. It was cool for a couple hours? I dunno. I guess I'm that guy.

That doesn't bode well for me, does it?

Stele wrote:

No y-axis flip on the camera?! Seriously?!

I'm still playing but... damn... every time I try to move the camera it screws me up. :mad:

That is annoying for someone who flips Y axis on every game. I also read elsewhere that they left Y axis flip off of the Splinter Cell collection too.

Malor wrote:

Well, after a couple of hours with it this evening, I can say that Ico is gorgeous. You can feel the age a little, in spots, because the character movement is a little wonky, and the animation is a bit choppy sometimes. But it is truly a timeless classic. With a little more work on the animation, they could release it as new, and nobody would think it was out of place.

Even as is, I don't think many people would complain. Well, maybe a little -- Sands of Time covered some of the same ground, and did it better. But it's still very good.

I disagree. I think the animations are amazing — the way Yorda runs alone and how she is tugged along behind Ico. Ico's movement is wonderful as well. Even the animations for things like the pigeons are specific and wonderful. It does show its age, but that's more to do with the textures for me.

Played ICO 90 min by the clock, but in reality probably an extra hour.

Had a couple of times I made it through a huge fight and then would die from a jump on the next puzzle before I could find a new couch to save. Very annoying. But mostly fun otherwise.

Got up to the room with...

Spoiler:

a sword in a wall

...right before I took my dinner break. So maybe I can puzzle that out when I fire it up again later.

Wait, couldn't you flip the Y-Axis before? I could swear I did this before on the PS2 version? Maybe the PS3 emulator let you do it?

Only controller options I could find were for rumble and controller #. Would be nice if I could flip y-axis on just the right stick somewhere in the system menu...

You can flip the stick for Shadow of the Colossus, but not for Ico. Probably wasn't an option in the original, or if it was then it was probably added to the original US version. Given the way the camera works in each game, I don't find camera control that important in Ico but having the different options in Shadow is crucial.

These games are still beautiful to look at despite their age, and the actual gameplay is timeless. I still have a hard time putting the controller down once I get going in both games. Also, trophies and the bonus features are nice. Best $40 I spent in a very long time.

Yeah, these are wonderful games, the best of what the PS2 had to offer. Ico is particularly special, and really shouldn't be missed. You have a second chance at this one, don't blow it.

It occurred to me when I woke up this morning that, at the rate they're going, this team may be lucky to ship The Last Guardian before the PS4.

For some reason, Amazon didn't ship this until yesterday late afternoon. I'm trying to get through Gears of War 3 as quickly as possible to concentrate on replaying the masterpieces that are ICO & Shadow of the Colossus. (I bet there aren't a lot of people who would say that sentence...?)

There's some serious enabling going on here.

Oh, and tagging.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Minarchist wrote:

I never got a chance to play Ico. I have SotC, but only made it past the fourth one before I petered out. I saw where it was going and didn't feel like it was worth spending a lot of time and effort to continue for something so blatantly obvious. It was cool for a couple hours? I dunno. I guess I'm that guy.

That doesn't bode well for me, does it?

We do occasionally disagree.

Some interesting achievements on ICO. I think there was one for beating the game in 2 hours. And it took me 2 hours and 48 seconds on my save file just to get a sword on my first game.

I do see a lot of places I could have shaved time, knowing the puzzles now, and knowing which areas were dead ends to come back to later. But still... that might be a tough one.