Ico SoTC fans rejoice

[evil_ash_xero]

I'm really psyched about a lot of these rereleases(SOTC, GOWO, MGSHD, ZOEHD), but it's kind of sad that it's about all I'm excited about.

Well, as you said DARK SOULS! I'm kind of scared of that one though.

Question: Do you think that they're releasing these games in HD because A) The old ones look terrible on the new TVs, and there is money to be made in that? or B) This gen kind of sucks, and not many games are coming out? Or C) Both?

[Elixir]

Are you asking a question? The former, of course.

[CMoon]

Question: Do you think that they're releasing these games in HD because A) The old ones look terrible on the new TVs, and there is money to be made in that? or B) This gen kind of sucks, and not many games are coming out? Or C) Both?

1st, SOTC actually needs this treatment. It never ran right on the PS2, so I'm hoping this makes the game what it should have been.

2nd, yeah, clearly A. I have to assume that remaking/processing these games in HD is still cheaper than making a new game. And that's just it, making a video game these days is an extraordinarily expensive endeavor.

3, really not convinced this gen sucks. Not as many games, but many of them are over 40 hours, many over 100 hours. I actually can't even keep up with current games because there is so much gameplay. Perhaps what you mean is that the current gen is lacking in certain types of gameplay? Ironically, I think SoTC and ICO fit very well into what is currently going on with games.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Ironically, I think SoTC and ICO fit very well into what is currently going on with games.

Perhaps SotC with its wordy cut-scenes and movie trailer-like Voice of God™ feature, but not Ico I'm afraid. Games of such cinematic purity have been always sparse: Another/Out of ths World, the first Silent Hill... I don't even think many sequels and clones of those had struck that sweet spot.

[Gus]

Question: Do you think that they're releasing these games in HD because A) The old ones look terrible on the new TVs, and there is money to be made in that? or B) This gen kind of sucks, and not many games are coming out? Or C) Both?

You're saying this gen sucks on a shmups forum? Really? No, this gen does not suck at all. It's Sony and the PS3 that sucks and I think it's kind of funny that they're still trying to coast off the PS2 to keep people interested.

[BulletMagnet]

No system wars, please.

[neorichieb1971]

No system is perfect. Having these on PS3 is surely a good thing. If they sell well then other companies will make games like it, or at least will "more" likely make games like it.

A successful system from my point of view is one that has the potential to diversify peoples gaming library.

[evil_ash_xero]

I said it "kind of sucks", not that it sucked. I just think it's not as good as the last batch of gens.

That's just my opinion though.

It probably has to do with the rise of Western games(which I don't really like), and the decline of Japanese gaming(which I love).

But one way or another, I say bring on more and more of these HD remakes. I want Dragon Quest VIII, dammit!

[Sumez]

Technically Jak II&3 shit on SotC from way up above in every aspect.

Naughty Dog games were my guilty pleasure, but leaving any of them out in the cold would be dishonest of me.
I'm pretty sure God Hand will eventually be up there. It just waits for that heavy nerdage session it clearly deserves. Left it out for now, just to be on the safe side.

I never noticed Jak 2 and 3 being technically impressive, but both games are awesome IMO, and despite their heavy promotion at the time, I feel they've faded into obscurity much faster than they deserve.

The first Jak was a solid 3D platformer which actually beat Mario Sunshine on a lot of aspects, with really spot on controls and enough variation in its gameplay to keep it interesting - however it severely lacks any sort of depth or content in general, and just follows a tested and tried formula. Jak 2 and 3 have a lot more original ideas and as such they are also more rough around the edges, but the end result is incredibly solid, IMO. Never really liked Naughty Dog before the Jak games, so this really surprised me.

[Skykid]

So this is silky and looks great in HD, but there's little except the visual overhaul. It still plays identically, the camera and controls in SOTC still take some getting used to and if you got motion sickness before then that won't be changing. You can also see it's still a PS2 graphics engine underneath too.

It's so close to the originals, I even noticed as you ride up on something in the distance in SOTC, you can still see the texture maps pop into life exactly as they did in the PS2 ver.
I thought they would have sorted things like that but no biggie. The draw distance doesn't seem improved at all (not that it wasn't amazing in the first place), it's just things in the distance have a little more detail owing to the HD upgrade.

Of course it's all still incredible, because these are great games and you get both on a disc, but you quickly end up getting comfortable with the graphical update and then it feels exactly the same as it ever did imo.

[CMoon]

Yeah, it's a no-brainer for me because last time I moved, my big box of video games magically disappeared. I think if I still owned these, I would be much more on the fence; though the slowdown in SotC always bugged me.

[evil_ash_xero]

So this is silky and looks great in HD, but there's little except the visual overhaul. It still plays identically, the camera and controls in SOTC still take some getting used to and if you got motion sickness before then that won't be changing. You can also see it's still a PS2 graphics engine underneath too.

It's so close to the originals, I even noticed as you ride up on something in the distance in SOTC, you can still see the texture maps pop into life exactly as they did in the PS2 ver.
I thought they would have sorted things like that but no biggie. The draw distance doesn't seem improved at all (not that it wasn't amazing in the first place), it's just things in the distance have a little more detail owing to the HD upgrade.

Of course it's all still incredible, because these are great games and you get both on a disc, but you quickly end up getting comfortable with the graphical update and then it feels exactly the same as it ever did imo.

Would you say it looks as nice as the GOW packs?

[Skykid]

Yeah, it's a no-brainer for me because last time I moved, my big box of video games magically disappeared. I think if I still owned these, I would be much more on the fence; though the slowdown in SotC always bugged me.

Well I didn't notice the choppiness you got on the PS2 when you were right in the thick of it, but I couldn't put my hand on my heart and say it feels a lot more fluid and tight to control. This is purely an aesthetic update and that's all, and again, it's HD PS2 graphics with cleaner textures. But as both of these games looked incredible in the first place, that's really not a problem.

As soon as I put SOTC on and heard that opening music again, I was instantly reminded why these games are so special.

Would you say it looks as nice as the GOW packs?

Never played them, so I couldn't say. Looks good, but like I said, you play it for 10 minutes, forget about the graphical clean up, and it feels largely the same as it ever did.

[CMoon]

As soon as I put SOTC on and heard that opening music again, I was instantly reminded why these games are so special.

That's just it. I'm mostly purchasing again to have back in my collection. Like I said, if I still owned my ps2 copies, I don't know whether I'd be buying this or not.

[brentsg]

Guilty of having never played these. Would I be hindered by buying the Japanese ones? As I recall there isn't much dialog/text.

[Skykid]

Guilty of having never played these. Would I be hindered by buying the Japanese ones? As I recall there isn't much dialog/text.

You can get through either in Japanese without any problems iirc. It's been ages but I can't remember any subtitled dialogue in Ico at all (there might be some though) but missing out on the dialogue in SOTC is a little bit of a shame; it does flesh things out nicely. PS3 is region free though, you can grab the US version right?

EDIT: And I should add I envy you. It'll be quite something to experience these for the first time in HD.

[neorichieb1971]

Ico you will be fine.

SotC just switch to sword mode and follow the focused light beam and kill the collossi. Thats it really. The clues are generally very vague and I did better without them I think lol.

[Necronopticous]

Guilty of having never played these. Would I be hindered by buying the Japanese ones? As I recall there isn't much dialog/text.

Story-wise I actually prefer the games without subtitles, so you're certainly fine on that front.

[evil_ash_xero]

I find that SOTC looks best in 720. The polygons are under a little too much scrutiny, in 1080. It'd probably be better, if that pop up, had been fixed, but since it's not, 720 seems best. What do you guys think?

And Necronopticous, you look like you need to be holding a guitar or something.

[Elixir]

It even said in that analysis you linked, SotC is natively 720p.

[Skykid]

I played it at 720.

[Elixir]

yey

More pics at ye lixblog, I'm not playing it right away though. I have to be in the mood for this kind of thing.

[Mortificator]

There're some topics on GameFAQs saying that Shadow of the Colossus is harder in this collection than on the PS2.

If this is true, I'm not sure if it's good or bad. There were times when I first played the game when I thought this or that colossus could be doing more to throw me off, though I think the more meaningful challenge is in figuring out how to hurt them than in the mechanical execution. Maybe it depends on if this is a change planned by Team Ico or an inadvertent consequence of Bluepoint's porting.

[evil_ash_xero]

Hmm...I dunno. I just beat the game, and it didn't seem any different to me.

[neorichieb1971]

The hardest collossi is the one around level 10 where you have to sit him on the geizer. I hate that level with a passion.

[BulletMagnet]

The hardest collossi is any of them where you're forced to use that damn wonky-controlling horse.

Fixed.

[ptoing]

Guilty of having never played these. Would I be hindered by buying the Japanese ones? As I recall there isn't much dialog/text.

It's been ages but I can't remember any subtitled dialogue in Ico at all (there might be some though)

The PAL and J-NTSC versions of Ico have more stuff than the US one (which came out first afaik), among other things that the gibberish symbol subtitles when Yorda speaks with her mother and such are english in the 2nd playthrough. I would imagine that this HD rerelease would have that and the other features.

[BulletMagnet]

The PAL and J-NTSC versions of Ico have more stuff than the US one (which came out first afaik), among other things that the gibberish symbol subtitles when Yorda speaks with her mother and such are english in the 2nd playthrough. I would imagine that this HD rerelease would have that and the other features.

I recall reading someplace that this stuff is included on the HD version.

[Elixir]

So I'm hearing that the US Shadow of the Colossus has a shorter grip period in comparison to the JP version, any truth to this? The JP version is 100% identical to the PS2 version in terms of grip and climbing mechanics.

[Daigohji]

I've just bought this and am pretty impressed by the ports, albeit moreso with Ico, which has a sharper look to it for some reason. A warning to anyone buying the PAL version: the enclosed PSN code for downloading the making of videos and dynamic themes won't become valid until 10th October. It doesn't mention this anywhere on the code slip; I had to search a couple of forums to find out why the code wasn't being accepted.