Have these classics stood the test of time?
I must confess, I never played the original ICO or Shadow of the Colossus. They slipped me by as I was playing games on another platform, but I was curious to finally play these âclassicsâ, but are they still as fun to play as they were when they first came out? Well, I donât really know the answer to that seeing as I never playing them to begin withâŚbut I did enjoy my time with each game, although there are gameplay issues that are inexcusable for a game of this generation like shoddy camera work and jumping mechanics that are dated by todayâs standards.
Both games tell a very different tale. ICO is a story about a boy who has been abandoned in a castle because he has horns, he escapes with a princess and the game focuses on their relationship of working together to overcome the obstacles in their way. Shadow of the Colossus is a love story in which the main character has to go to distant lands to kill Colossi in order to bring his love back from the dead. Each story is good, but the plot isnât told through traditional cutscenes like in todayâs games..Instead itâs told mostly through gameplay, which is refreshing.
ICO gameplay is more focused on puzzles, working together to reach a solution and moving on. Youâll have to fend off enemies, who are after the princess, but itâs not the big focus of the game and itâs not as much fun. While, SOTC is the oppositeâŚfocusing more on combat instead of puzzles, with some battles lasting an incredibly long time. I can see why each game is a classic in their own right, but the controls donât help matters.
The problem is that these HD remakes havenât quite had the attention that they deserve. Oh they might look good for PS2 games that have been turned into HD, but they havenât focused on improving the controls or the camera, which is just lazy in my opinion. Thereâs also the issue of non-existent checkpoints, meaning if you die youâll go back to where you last savedâŚand save points are scarce, which is pretty mean in this era of gaming. But I guess what annoys me the most is how complicated the controls are to do small things like jumping and climbing, when it should be so simple.
The Verdict
ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Classics HD gives gamers who missed out first time a chance to play the classics, but itâs hard to recommend for those who have already played it as not a lot has improved beyond the visual presentation. The gameplay is left unchanged, as is the camera which can be problematic at times. These are classics in their own right, but they havenât had the care put into them that they should have.
