The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection

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The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection
IcoShadow.jpg
European cover art
Developer(s) Bluepoint Games
Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform(s) PlayStation 3
Release
  • JP: September 22, 2011 [1]
  • NA: September 27, 2011
  • AU: September 29, 2011
  • EU: September 28, 2011 [2]
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 (2001) and Shadow of the Colossus (2005), for the PlayStation 3. Developed by Bluepoint Games, who assisted in the remastering alongside 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.

Contents

Games

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

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

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

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]

Related Research Articles

<i>Ico</i> 2001 video game

Ico is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by Japan Studio and Team Ico and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It was designed and directed by Fumito Ueda, who wanted to create a minimalist game around a "boy meets girl" concept. Originally planned for the PlayStation, Ico took approximately four years to develop. The team employed a "subtracting design" approach to reduce elements of gameplay that interfered with the game's setting and story in order to create a high level of immersion.

<i>Shadow of the Colossus</i> 2005 video game

Shadow of the Colossus is a 2005 action-adventure game developed by Japan Studio and Team Ico, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It takes place in a fantasy setting and follows Wander, a young man who enters an isolated and abandoned region of the realm seeking the power to revive a girl named Mono. The player assumes the role of Wander as he embarks on a mission that might entail Mono's resurrection: to locate and destroy the colossi, sixteen massive beings spread across the forbidden land, which the protagonist traverses by horseback and on foot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fumito Ueda</span> Japanese video game designer (born 1970)

Fumito Ueda is a Japanese video game designer. Ueda is best known as the director and lead designer of Ico (2001) and Shadow of the Colossus (2005) while leading Team Ico at Japan Studio, and The Last Guardian (2016) through his own development company GenDesign. His games have achieved cult status and are distinguished by their usage of minimal plot and scenario using fictional languages, and use of overexposed, desaturated light. He has been described by some as an auteur of video games.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team Ico</span> Former Japanese video game developer

Team Ico was a Japanese video game development studio led by game designer Fumito Ueda. It was part of Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Studio's Product Development Department #1, and had developed the games Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, both for the PlayStation 2. The team was also initially responsible for The Last Guardian before Ueda's departure in 2011 and the formation of a new company taking over development in 2014. Their games are usually characterized by minimalist storytelling and gameplay, an atmospheric use of bloom and high dynamic range rendering (HDR) lighting, and use of fictional languages. Their products are frequently cited as examples of video games as an art form.

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Bluepoint Games Inc is an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2006 by Andy O'Neil and Marco Thrush, the studio is known for video game remasters and remakes, such as Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection (2015), Shadow of the Colossus (2018), and Demon's Souls (2020). Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired the company in September 2021, making them a first-party developer for PlayStation Studios.

<i>The Last Guardian</i> 2016 video game

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Sony has released a number of previously released PlayStation video games, remastered in high-definition (HD) for their newer consoles, a form of porting. A number of related programs exist, the most prominent two being "Classics HD" and "PSP Remasters". The former consists of multiple PlayStation 2 games compiled on one Blu-ray Disc. The latter are individual PlayStation Portable games republished on Blu-ray. These games are not direct ports, but remastered versions in high-definition, to take advantage of the newer consoles' capabilities. The remastering of the games include updated graphics, new textures, and Trophy support, and some of the remastered games released on PlayStation 3 have included 3D and PlayStation Move support. Some HD remasters have also been released individually or in bundles as downloads on the PlayStation Store; others are released exclusively as downloads.

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<i>Silent Hill HD Collection</i> 2012 video game compilation

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References

  1. ↑ Joscelyne, Svend (2011-06-03). "Team ICO Remakes Dated for Japan". SPOnG. Retrieved 2011-06-03.
  2. ↑ Lynch, Phil (2011-06-07). "ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Classics HD Coming 28 September". Sony Computer Entertainment Europe . Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. ↑ GameSpot site staff, ed. (2005). "The Long-Awaited Spiritual Successor to ICO Arrives Mid-February in Europe". GameSpot . Retrieved July 1, 2006.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ Leadbetter, Richard (2011-09-08). "Ico/Shadow of the Colossus: PS2 vs. PS3". Eurogamer . Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  6. ↑ Gallagher, James (2010-09-16). "Fumito Ueda Interview". Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe . Retrieved 2010-09-16.
  7. ↑ Banks, David (2011-09-08). "Two Classic Games Get Facelifts and a PlayStation 3 Release". Wired . Retrieved 2011-09-08.
  8. 1 2 Juba, Joe (2011-09-08). "Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection". Game Informer . Archived from the original on September 24, 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  9. ↑ Anderson, Joe (2010-09-19). "PS3 Ico and Shadow of the Colossus may support Move". VG247 . Retrieved 2010-09-19.
  10. ↑ Orry, Tom (2011-07-21). "Ico & Shadow of the Colossus PS3 to include bonuses". Videogamer.com. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  11. 1 2 Leone, Matt (2009-09-25). "Fumito Ueda Wants To See ICO and Shadow of the Colossus on PS3". 1UP.com . Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Gifford, Kevin (2011-09-14). "Fumito Ueda Reflects on Ico, Shadow of the Colossus Remakes". 1UP.com . Retrieved 2011-09-14.
  13. ↑ Tolito, Stephan (2009-09-29). "Shadow Of The Colossus Creator Hints At Movie Involvement, Wants PS3 Ports". Kotaku . Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  14. ↑ Leadbetter, Richard (2011-09-10). "Tech Analysis: Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection HD". Eurogamer . Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  15. ↑ Orland, Kyle (2010-09-13). "Retail Listing, Media Report Point To Team Ico PS3 Collection". Gamasutra . Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  16. ↑ Pigna, Kris (2010-05-26). "Ico, Shadow of the Colossus HD Collection Rumored for Q1, 2011". 1UP.com . Retrieved 2010-05-26.
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. ↑ McElroy, Griffin (2011-09-08). "Ico and Shadow of the Colossus has reversible boxart, Last Guardian not at TGS". Joystiq . Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  19. ↑ Gantayat, Anoop (2010-09-14). "Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Remakes Confirmed". IGN . Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  20. ↑ Spenser (2011-06-17). "Ico And The Shadow Of The Colossus In A Deluxe Package Just For Japan". Siliconera. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
  21. ↑ "The Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection (PS3)". Metacritic . Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  22. ↑ Dorlan, Christian (2011-09-08). "Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection HD - Review". Eurogamer . Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  23. ↑ Clements, Ryan (2011-09-08). "Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection Review". IGN . Retrieved 2011-09-10.
  24. ↑ Cowan, Danny (2011-09-28). "Critical Reception: The ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection". Gamasutra . Retrieved 2011-09-28.
  25. ↑ Cowan, Danny (2011-09-30). "Saling The World: ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection Heads Domestic Charts". Gamasutra . Retrieved 2011-09-30.
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