The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection
| The Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection | |
|---|---|
European cover art
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| Developer(s) |
Bluepoint Games SCE Japan Studio (Team Ico) |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3 |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Aggregate score | |
|---|---|
| Aggregator | Score |
| Metacritic | 92/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| Eurogamer | 9/10 |
| Game Informer | 9.75/10 |
| IGN | 8.5/10 |
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 older PlayStation 2 games for the PlayStation 3. The two games, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, were developed by Bluepoint Games, and assisted in the remastering alongside SCE Japan Studio and its division Team Ico, providing 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 considered a spiritual sequel to Ico. Both games were critically acclaimed on their original release, while the remastered collection itself was positively praised by reviewers.
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 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 Colossus is considered a spiritual sequel to Ico, and later stated by its creator, Fumito Ueda, 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, 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 on by the opportunity to reunite with Mono.
The core game and story for both Ico (2001) and Shadow of the Colossus (2005) remains unchanged with the remastered versions. For the remastering, both games have had a graphics 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 was noted for pushing the limits of the older console and often suffered from framerate losses. 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. Both games in the collection support 7.1 surround sound.
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