In 2001, Team Ico released “Ico” for the Playstation 2 in September of 2001. Team Ico also released a spiritual successor to “Ico” in October 2005, titled “Shadow of the Collosus”. Ten years after Ico is released, the team releases The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection for the Playstation 3. This collection is both games remastered in HD with Trophies, Stereoscopic 3D, higher framerates, and more. Team Ico made this title, hoping to attract a new generation of gamers for what were successfully cult hits.

Taken on their own virtues, Ico and Shadow Of The Colossus sit at complete opposites of the goal spectrum. The former is about escape, survival and compassion; the latter about exploration, determination and a spot of hunting. In 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 shadow-like creatures that try to drag her to a different realm. Ico helps Yorda to escape, ultimately discovering that her mother, the Queen that resides in the castle is trying to use Yorda to extend her own life.

Shadow of the Collosus is supposed to be seen as a prequel set in the same world as Ico. The player controls a young man named Wander seeking to bring life back to the body of Mono, a woman that he cared for. He has to complete the task of killing sixteen monolithic beasts that wander [no pun intended] the landscape. With his horse Agro, Wander locates each lair and destroys the beasts, slowly being overcome with dark energy, but motivated by the opportunity to reunite with Mono.

Both games have an captivating way of bringing out the magnificence of solitude. The shortage of friendly NPCs will likely make you feel alone but not lonely. The world of Shadow of the Colossus in particular exudes a kind of tranquility that makes one wish they could visit that land at least once. Many of the large locations in Ico are unnecessarily large, especially when your hero tends to only have one or two tasks to perform in each room like pulling a switch or lowering a ladder. This is matched by the seemingly limitless expansiveness of the fields to roam in Shadow of the Collosus.

Ico does in fact show its old age in terms of gameplay. The jumping mechanics will lead to more than a few accidental deaths, and even the puzzles lack the cleverness of their modern-day equivalents. Yorda lacks any kind of brain in her artificial intelligence. She moves slowly and sometimes stops mid-pace, which is more frustrating than anything. The game would be near perfect if Yorda put in a little more effort in trying to escape. The right shoulder button is used to call Yorda and/or hold her hand; this is where the game mechanics get frustrating. Yorda spends the entire game with you and in no way is she self sufficient. She has to be guided through every section of the game usually by holding her hand and running or physically helping her climb onto ledges (a process that takes entirely too long to transpire). At context sensitive spots, she will stay still and stand on switches, but most of the time she aimlessly roams around the room she is in waiting for you to direct her or pull her to where she needs to go. This effectively makes ICO the longest escort mission in the history of gaming. When moving from screen to screen, if you are not holding Yorda’s hand, she doesn’t follow you. If you leave her in a different room, the shadowy bad guys come and take her away. You are essentially babysitting this girl the entire game. Sadly, this will probably be the deciding factor in whether a player likes the game or not. The puzzles are solid, the environments are lush and the enemies are creepy, but toting her around from room to room, may be the breaking point for you.

Shadow of the Collosus does not have this problem. The only problem that may be troublesome is the camera but you will get used to it after defeating the third colossi and then on. Another thing is that the draw distance has pop-in graphics which is definitely noticeable while riding Agro. You would think they could have fixed this given the power of the PS3. It does take a little of the immersion factor out but the game is still breathtaking nonetheless.

The battles feel just as epic and satisfying as they were originally and the soundtrack is still as somber and elegant as it ever was. What has been created is a pristine, almost historical record of what Shadow of the Colossus was on the PS2. For anyone just getting into gaming or anyone that was too young to play the original release, this collection is a fantastic way to experience the best of the PS2. For fans of the original, this is a great opportunity to get rid of your PS2 copy.

Ico transcends its potential novelty as an artistically compelling release with an escort-driven gameplay approach. The untouchable bosses that serve as the marathon for Shadow of the Colossus are worth the price of admission alone. You shouldn’t miss this kind of experience, especially if you’ve never played either game before. At $39.99, it’s difficult to feel entitled to a full blown remake, but it’s still tough to believe that the draw-distance performance in SotC could not be improved. Although, it is hard to complain when copies of Ico would sell for over $100 before these HD remasters were even announced. The game is a must have for any PS3 owner, and especially if you have a 3DTV.

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