Ico SoTC fans rejoice

[Obiwanshinobi]

As for SoTC having bad code. I would rewrite that and say "its the best code that could of run on PS2". Ueda has said time and again he pushed the console to its limits.

SotC runs like a PC game on an underpowered PC. Writting a code too demanding for the platform its supposed to run on isn't good coding. Naughty Dog coding is good. Polyphony Digital coding is good. Sony Santa Monica coding is good. Team Ico coding just isn't.

[Ex-Cyber]

As for SoTC having bad code. I would rewrite that and say "its the best code that could of run on PS2". Ueda has said time and again he pushed the console to its limits.

The thing is, SotC is riddled with "oops" moments. Like "oops, you pulled yourself onto on a narrow ledge and the standing up animation made you fall back down -- this time", "oops, the camera dramatically swung around you while you were trying to dodge or grab something", "oops, somehow you're inside the colossus", "oops, this time Agro didn't feel like turning to avoid an obstacle", "oops, you can walk right up the side of that mountain for no discernible reason". I suspect they spent so many man-hours tweaking the colossi themselves that the "mundane" stuff kind of fell through the cracks.

[Skykid]

Obiwanshinobi = destined to miss the point of great games unless the framerate is as smooth as a newborn baby's ass.

[neorichieb1971]

As for SoTC having bad code. I would rewrite that and say "its the best code that could of run on PS2". Ueda has said time and again he pushed the console to its limits.

SotC runs like a PC game on an underpowered PC. Writting a code too demanding for the platform its supposed to run on isn't good coding. Naughty Dog coding is good. Polyphony Digital coding is good. Sony Santa Monica coding is good. Team Ico coding just isn't.

In Team Ico's defense they do have a lot more animations than a usual game on the characters. To have all those animations running into each smoothly the timing has to be right and sometimes that interferes with the gameplay.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Obiwanshinobi = destined to miss the point of great games unless the framerate is as smooth as a newborn baby's ass.

At least with the original Silent Hill it's not true. Technically that game is one big framerate, camera and controls issue, but I can totally live with it.
The reason why I bitch about framerates so much is because trading solid gameplay for graphical gimmicks that will look dated three years down the line is plain wrong, wrong, wrong. Today's consoles and computers have the power people just wouldn't know what to do with in the eighties-nineties, and what games do we get in XXIst century for these marvellous machines? What happened to the progress? There is S&P2 alright, Burnout Paradise also makes good use of the hardware and World of Goo on the PC is nothing short of astonishing, but these games are quite exceptional.
Humble PSX port of a CPS-1 game Wonder 3 looks better to me and berforms better than something like KillZone 2. I get more kick out of Einhänder and Silent Bomber, killing stuff fast, laglessly and sweetly, than I ever got out of any console FPS. Is there really no room for this kind of speed & fun experience in this gen big budget gaming? I don't believe it's the westernization thing as that Apocalypse game starring Bruce Willis, complete with a bald Hollywood action hero, humbles Treasure games in some ways (although not without framerate drops, it plays better than it looks).

[Skykid]

Humble PSX port of a CPS-1 game Wonder 3 looks better to me and berforms better than something like KillZone 2.

Killzone 2 is shit tho.

You're kind of overly hung up on framerate shiz dude, I'd just relax and try to put it out of your mind.

[chempop]

You guys should get married, that way in 50 years you can wag your robot fingers at each other while complaining about framerate and whatnot, your grandchildren will have no idea what you're talking about - how cute would that be!

[Obiwanshinobi]

"Well, somebody's got to take the hard seat" (as captain Woodrow F. Call used to say).

[Ed Oscuro]

The framerate not too shabby. Still glitchy graphics, though.

Who the hell sets up those silly jumping puzzles around a mobile skyscraper, anyway? It's no surprise they're half fallen down, but you'd expect that with that thing stomping around.

I dunno, maybe if this comes out and is said to be good I'll snag a copy eventually as I missed out on basically the whole PS2 era the first time through.

[Obiwanshinobi]

I know right. Shadow of the Colossus is like Soviet Union. When they said "repent", I wonder what they meant...

[evil_ash_xero]

There's some more rumors popping up about this collection. Looks like it will happen.

http://www.destructoid.com/sony-wants-t ... 8047.phtml

http://www.destructoid.com/amazon-lists ... 7691.phtml

[EricDaNerd]

I've loved these damn games for years but I'm still not seeing why this is so great. Am I missing something? Are they adding more content or something? HD and framerates mean absolute squat to me because after years of playing these games the gameplay still seems fun and flawless. To this day I'm still trying to get faster and faster times in taking down the collosi.
Where's my The Last Guardian news?

[Strider77]

but I'm still not seeing why this is so great.

they'll look even prettier now with 1080p (more than twice the resolution) and a 60 second frame rate will help it look nice also. some of us do get squat out of 2 great games for a low price with a new face lift.

[neorichieb1971]

Its great because

A) It means the dev can take a 2nd look and improve glitches
B) Its higher rez
C) In all probability they will borrow the Last guardian engine for these games.

On the matter of C, I hope they do that. Since all Ico's games are the same graphic design I see no reason why this HD collection can't be a cut above the rest. I would be disappointed if the game was an emulated type of port.

[BulletMagnet]

they'll look even prettier now with 1080p (more than twice the resolution) and a 60 second frame rate will help it look nice also. some of us do get squat out of 2 great games for a low price with a new face lift.

I'm in the minority on this, but as much as I like the idea of certain graphical improvements (especially a better framerate) I'm not 100 percent on board with it...to some extent I think that the ephemeral atmospheric appeal of Ico and SotC was tailored to the "fuzzier" look of SD. If you watch the fan-made vids with bumped-up resolution linked earlier in this thread you can see what I mean - as one example, to me, at least, Yorda's signature indistinct, "ghostly" appearance doesn't come across nearly as well in HD. Granted, that's not to say that the designers can't make it work, but if they just slap a higher resolution on everything and send it to market, I think some of the original visual appeal will be lost in the process.

[Strider77]

I'll live.... especially with the higher frame rate, easily. You can always still play the PS3 collection in 480i, 480p, or 720p via the PS3 system menu.

I don't care so much about ICO's facelift, but SOTC is what I am really excited to play in HD with a nicer frame rate. Even the 1st time i played that game I could feel the developers want for new hardware, not that i wasn't impressed with what they pulled off.

[evil_ash_xero]

I'm mainly interested in SOTC with a solid framerate. I also wouldn't mind the characters looking a little less jaggy. So for me, this collection would be very welcome(SOTC is one of my favorite games on the PS2).

[Obiwanshinobi]

You can always still play the PS3 collection in 480i, 480p, or 720p via the PS3 system menu.

Ico looks more like 240p to me, though.
Wanna play SotC in 2D?

[Strider77]

It is 240p... but when it come to 3D (and on PS2) I don't mind upscaling all that much. I thought it was odd when I 1st played it and noticed it was 240p. Either way.... As far as 3D on the PS2 goes, I have no issue with it not being 240p.

[Elixir]

So this is confirmed? Awesome. I'm surprised that it wasn't mentioned at E3 though.

The lack of Last Guardian at E3 was also disheartening... still, these are two games which deserve this treatment. I can't think of better candidates. (Well, actually, Okami comes to mind, but the Wii version takes care of that I suppose).

[evil_ash_xero]

Not quite. Sony is still tight lipped about it. But it's looking good.

[Obiwanshinobi]

(Well, actually, Okami comes to mind, but the Wii version takes care of that I suppose).

Dunno about that. Prog-scan was the only thing people weren't bitching about when it came out.

[Strider77]

Dunno about that. Prog-scan was the only thing people weren't bitching about when it came out.

What were the issues? I've only played it on PS2.

[BulletMagnet]

What were the issues? I've only played it on PS2.

From the little I've played of it, the brush-stroke mechanic didn't work nearly as well as it should have, and not having a second analog stick for the camera was a pain...also, if memory serves, you had to shake the Wiimote to attack.

[linko9]

I thought the Wii port of Okami was excellent, you get used to the controls pretty fast, though they do feel strange at first. The main problem for me was the lack of the distinctive "paper filter" that was so important to the aesthetic of the PS2 game.

[Strider77]

I knew of the paper filter... hadn't read up on the controls. I'll stick with my PS2 version in 480p via the PS3.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Reportedly the filter is still there in the Wii version, but looks different and not quite as cool (although some people found it easier on the eye). Moreover, if I understood correctly, the cutscenes in 16:9 mode are deformed.

[linko9]

Yeah, they just chopped off the top and bottom sections of the cutscenes, which is a shame, but at least the game itself looks great running in widescreen. As for the paper filter, I regret to say that it's really not there. The game still looks very paper-like due to the art style, and if the PS2 version didn't exist, I'd think there would be no way the Wii version could look more beautiful. However, it's really apparent whenever a cut scene is shown, as these are taken straight out of the PS2 version, and thus have the paper filter present.

[Strider77]

Gross... they just FMVed the cutscenes, like the PS2 RE4 did.... lazy.

[neorichieb1971]

http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/ne ... 91080.html

Can anyone translate?