I played and finished the PS2 game, even received the demo in the mail from PSN. But I still haven't played my PS3 remaster. Loved this game enough to buy the remaster but I really gotta play it so I can buy this PS4 version and leave it on the shelf for way to long!!!
Shadow of the Colossus
Game » consists of 9 releases. Released Oct 18, 2005
Explore the Forbidden Land as Wander, a young warrior who must slay sixteen Colossi in order to restore the life of a sacrificed maiden.
What do you make of the PS4 remake and will you play it?
It's a generally well regarded game, and if they can fix the controls, then they should totally remake it.
I'm not going to buy it, but I'm one of the few people that doesn't like Team Ico games. I'm all for people getting something they love, though. You don't have to understand why people like something that you don't. For me, there are several reason to dislike Shadow of the Colossus, but there are people that adore the game, and I'm alright to have a different opinion.
I actually never played this game, and i own a PS2 Can't wait to be Disappointed !
It's the Please make it stop of this generation.
What happened to new IP Sony. Just because Knack wasn't a mega success doesn't mean you have to stop making new IP.
Detroid: Become Human is a new IP, Horizon Zero Dawn is a new IP, and Days Gone is a new IP. They're also making a first party Spider-man game with a well seasoned and respected developer.
Also The Last Guardian released late last year. Games don't grow on trees.
I replayed this recently on PS3 and I think the novelty of the game really died for me. I played it so much on PS2 that I still memorize how to take down each Colossus pretty fast. The graphics do look very nice and it's still fun, but nothing will really capture that feeling of playing the game for the first time. If you haven't played it before, I can at least say you will have a very fun time, but I'm going to hold off on this.
To all those saying it's completely unnecessary - it very clearly isn't, given how many people are saying they will buy it. Oh that's right, because you don't want it nobody else does. Yeah.
@james_ex_machina said:
I might pick it up when the price drops and if I hear the controls are improved. I have the PS3 version but I got stuck on the flying Colossus. I get several stabs in and when I let go for my energy bar to refill I get tossed every time. I retried that part 10+ times in a row one day and finally put the controller down before throwing it through the tv. That was the end of my time with that game. There were a few battles I struggled with but enjoyed the challenge. Once I got to the flying Colossus I stopped enjoying the game. I would love to see the ending because I loved ICO.
This is exactly my experience. Stopped at the same point. I hated what I played of ICO on PS3, and I have little love for The Last Guardian (which I finished). I actually really liked SotC until the controls became unbearable. A modernized look at it seems right up my alley.
Don't understand the immediate hand wringing over it by some people. PS3 version had grip/control issues to me and I'm hoping they are smoothed out for the ps4 remake. Plus, it seems they are respecting Ueda's wishes.
I bought the PS2 and PS3 versions. I don't mind buying it again on PS4 so I have an excuse to play it again.
@liquiddragon: really? Forza 6,000 is less creatively bankrupt than a remake of a beloved game from like 12 years ago.
kk. You don't have to get it. PS4 has plenty of other games to play, exclusives even.
Wow, this really sucks. No new content, just the assets being redone? And what is he talking about when he says the story is about sixteen colossi? Is there any dialogue in the game that mentions there only being sixteen? I don't recall it ever being mentioned. It's even more annoying though because ICO is being left out of this too, when that WAS included with it on the PS3 remaster.
Good news for people who have never played it before, but this really fucking sucks for people like me who have played the shit out of this game and were hoping for something new.
Actually, for those of you interested in playing this you can get the free trial of the Playstation streaming service and try it out right now.
A part of me is thinking about how this is a secret testing ground for Shadow of the Colossus 2. In terms of the story, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to have a sequel. From a gameplay and world exploration perspective, dude how has there not been a Shadow of the Colossus 2?!
So yeah, half of me is thinking this is an experiment to see how much it costs and how well it turns out for Sony. And if it goes well enough, they just contract Bluepoint out to make an entirely new game.
I'm curious to find out more about its changes and addittions. Depending on this and how well the control feel and atmosphere are preserved, I will probably play this. "When" is a price factor following that. Unless addittions are really special I'll be waiting for it to reach $20.
@loamlife: The Last Guardian is amazing. Too many games come out these days and it's kinda hard not to get buried when critics don't absolutely love it, especially ones that come out in December. People that skipped it are missing out major. If you love Ico, TLG is a must play. In my top 5 this gen for sure.
Personally, I'm torn. I never played it on the PS2 or the 3, and it was sort of a struggle for me to get through The Last Guardian. But I have a small urge to wanna play it so it's a matter of what will it cost, what else am I playing when it's released and will I still be interested in it when it comes out.
I think calling it Creatively bankrupt is a real stretch. I didn't see anybody screaming this when Nintendo remastered Twilight Princess or Wind Waker, both games of similar age and acclaim.
Plus the team handling it pretty much only does remasters, so it's not like they'd be making an original game if they weren't doing this.
@slag: For the record, I really like a good remastered title. A good remaster, I believe, respects the original version and preserves the integrity of it while bringing the resolution to modern standards and the performance to the ideal target fps. Then there are remakes, which are much trickier. You got something like MGS: Twin Snakes, which I probably don't have to explain, just doesn't fit with the Kojima's games and doesn't seem to do anything better or bring anything good to the table. Then there is something like REmake where the original creator is directly involved in building the game from the ground up. I can total respect that. Lastly, there are games that are somewhere in the middle, not a remaster but not a total remake. Even these have variations. Some are closer to a remaster and some are more of a remake. It does get kinda murky and I get why some people are telling me to shut up, don't buy it and stop complaining but we need to really be able to distinguish between ones that allow new and old player to experience the "classics" from the ones that are simply cynical cash-ins.
Let's take Twilight Princess out of the equation because I don't really think it's put on a pedestal like Shadow or Wind Waker. That said, me personally, I kinda do think Wind Waker HD is creativity bankrupt. I'm all for bringing the resolution up and presenting a crisper image on HD displays but giving the game a complete make over, making it look completely different is something I'm just against. I've seen the comparisons and no doubt it looks great but to me, it's the same as what people bash George Lucas for. In both cases though, I'm willing to accept the decisions because it's being done or at least being over seen by the same company, same creative minds. Bluepoint Games is doing mercenary work for the executives at Sony. No one at Team Ico/genDESIGN is touching this. Yeah, Ueda sent a list of requested changes but does anyone actually think Bluepoint has the time or budget to implement anything? Shu Yushida already confirmed all the content is the same, only thing being created are new visual assets.
Like movies, music, idk books, paintings, and w/e else, I'd love more people to experience the good ones but people should get to experience the actual thing, not something that's really like the thing you love but clearly not. I'd be happy if Bluepoint ported the Ico & Shadow Collection to the PS4. I wouldn't buy it but you wouldn't see any complaints from me.
A part of me is thinking about how this is a secret testing ground for Shadow of the Colossus 2. In terms of the story, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to have a sequel. From a gameplay and world exploration perspective, dude how has there not been a Shadow of the Colossus 2?!
So yeah, half of me is thinking this is an experiment to see how much it costs and how well it turns out for Sony. And if it goes well enough, they just contract Bluepoint out to make an entirely new game.
I don't think this is what Sony are doing with this remaster, but yeah i really don't get why someone hasn't either made a spiritual successor or totally ripped this style off yet. The only one trying looks like the guys making Prey for the Gods. After seeing some of the cut content after the original game came out really made me want a second game, with some online co-op.
@slag: For the record, I really like a good remastered title. A good remaster, I believe, respects the original version and preserves the integrity of it while bringing the resolution to modern standards and the performance to the ideal target fps. Then there are remakes, which are much trickier. You got something like MGS: Twin Snakes, which I probably don't have to explain, just doesn't fit with the Kojima's games and doesn't seem to do anything better or bring anything good to the table. Then there is something like REmake where the original creator is directly involved in building the game from the ground up. I can total respect that. Lastly, there are games that are somewhere in the middle, not a remaster but not a total remake. Even these have variations. Some are closer to a remaster and some are more of a remake. It does get kinda murky and I get why some people are telling me to shut up, don't buy it and stop complaining but we need to really be able to distinguish between ones that allow new and old player to experience the "classics" from the ones that are simply cynical cash-ins.
Let's take Twilight Princess out of the equation because I don't really think it's put on a pedestal like Shadow or Wind Waker. That said, me personally, I kinda do think Wind Waker HD is creativity bankrupt. I'm all for bringing the resolution up and presenting a crisper image on HD displays but giving the game a complete make over, making it look completely different is something I'm just against. I've seen the comparisons and no doubt it looks great but to me, it's the same as what people bash George Lucas for. In both cases though, I'm willing to accept the decisions because it's being done or at least being over seen by the same company, same creative minds. Bluepoint Games is doing mercenary work for the executives at Sony. No one at Team Ico/genDESIGN is touching this. Yeah, Ueda sent a list of requested changes but does anyone actually think Bluepoint has the time or budget to implement anything? Shu Yushida already confirmed all the content is the same, only thing being created are new visual assets.
Like movies, music, idk books, paintings, and w/e else, I'd love more people to experience the good ones but people should get to experience the actual thing, not something that's really like the thing you love but clearly not. I'd be happy if Bluepoint ported the Ico & Shadow Collection to the PS4. I wouldn't buy it but you wouldn't see any complaints from me.
I gotta admit, reading all this I'm a bit confused as to what constitutes a good remaster/remake versus a bad one in your mind. Some of the things you said that make a good remaster (improved graphics/probable fps improvements, untouched gameplay) in your mind are things that they are basically doing with this.
Another thing you list as a positive (the original team being involved) I view as somewhat of a negative, because that means that they are spending time on the remaster/remake instead of doing something new. no doubt having Team Ico hands on with this would make for a better game, but given how slow they are at releasing titles I don't want to add more years to their next release.
As far as I can tell it's creatively bankrupt in your mind if they change the look of the game and the gameplay. Is that fair to say? As far as we know, Bluepoint probably aren't doing either with Shadow of the Colossus, so I'm not sure I understand why this one is so objectionable using your criteria.
fwiw The reason I felt Lucas screwed up with the Special Editions is that he actually changed part of the story to be something different (greedo shot first) without a real good reason to do so. Well that and he cut out the "Yub Nub" Ewok song. It was hokey, but I liked it a lot as a kid.
But I respect his decision, it's his work.
@slag: veering off topic but I actually vastly prefer the new celebration song to the old one. I say this as someone who largely LOATHES the new versions of hope and jedi.
@slag: I'm ok with remasters i.g. hd collections like Ico & Shadow Collections or MGS HD Collection and I'm also ok with remakes i.g. GC Resident Evil or MGS Twin Snakes where they build the game from the ground up, even though sometimes they don't come out so great. What I'm having trouble with are these games somewhere in the middle like the recent Crash game and this Shadow of the Colossus.
Grafting on modern graphics, new assets, to the bones of old games, especially ones that deserve to be preserved just doesn't seem right to me. If they include a feature like the Halo: CE remaster where you can literally toggle back and forth between the all new visuals and old, I think that would be good. If they were completely building Shadow of the Colossus for the modern ages from scratch, I'd like to see that.
Imagine if they took an old car, stripped out just the body, replaced it with a shiny modern exterior and sold it to you like it was a brand new car...I mean...isn't that a bit outrageous? Idk what movies you like but let's say they took Dog Day Afternoon and they kept the audio, the voice, the music, and w/e folly but shot the movie with a new cast lip syncing to the original audio on replicated sets with new cameras and edited it shot for shot. I mean...it's a crazy idea. It would be so disrespectful to treat a classic like that and I think games should have some sacred cows like other mediums.
@liquiddragon:I see, so you are purist when it comes to the look of a game. I think what threw me was the phrase "creatively bankrupt" which I take to mean something other than what you do (jn my mind that's more something like what Zynga is alleged to do, copy game assets and such from other games or say when Disney releases a straight to video sequel to a movie that really doesn't need any).
I guess for me I don't view it as a big deal if Crash or SoC gets new assets. I don't find Ps1 or 2 era graphics to be that great. Now I don't think there's really any reason to touchup a SNES/PS1 era pixel game, that look is timeless, but the early polygonal stuff I think is real hard on the eyes these days. But different strokes for different folks.
btw I guess Crash remaster is now the single best selling PS4 game of the year even beating out Horizon:ZD, so get ready for more of those I guess.
@frostyryan: It's alright but it's no Yub Nub
I think it looks cool and I'm for anything Shadow of the Colossus related. Played through the original PS2 game numerous times and recently played through the PS3 version. Only thing I am going to say though is I hope they fix the balance bug from the PS3 version. I'm not sure if this is an actual bug, but I swear the main character in the PS3 version could not keep his balance for more then a second. It made some of the colossi unnecessarily difficult. And I have played the PS2 version enough times to know it was not originally like that..... I think. I'm pretty sure.
@slag: That's pretty harsh lumping the PSX era with the PS2 era. lol Come on man, there have been so many PS2 HD collections and literally zero PSX games for a reason. But you're right, I love PS2 era graphics though not so much w/ PSX ones. To me though, the hardest part isn't getting use to the visuals but the way some of those games handle. I haven't played the new Crash but there must be a tremendous amount of disconnect when the game looks nice but plays so old.
Never played the original, so sure, I will probably buy it.
And seeing how many people said they never played it either, I don't think it's just a cash grab.
Personally I probably won't play it. I loved it on the Playstation 2 mostly for the atmosphere and I don't think the upgraded graphics will do much for me.. I do think it's a good idea though; I don't think it sold that many copies on the Playstation 2 and 3 and there's probably a lot of people who haven't played it, who don't want to go back to the nowadays clunky controls and graphics, who would like to.
I've been quiet - not that people were expecting me to chime in, not that anyone knows me or cares what I think - but the sentiment about this Remake being a "cash-grab," "lazy," "cash-in," or "creatively bankrupt" (last one is kind of a different conversation) is rubbing me the wrong way.
Building Shadow of the Colossus to feel akin to the original using a vastly updated engine/using the Last Guardian engine is quite the undertaking. None of Team Ico's games were these 5+ million unit sellers that a remake of will be a guaranteed hit. The best sales figures of SotC - which admittedly are questionable - are less than 1.5 million sold. On a platform that sold 150 hardware units. A 1% adoption rate for a game that came out 12 years ago makes for no certainty that this remake will fill Sony's pockets.
Games are inherently different than other media. The means of playing games is constantly changing and while great strides are being made to have all games accessible at all times, we're not anywhere close. Sure for movies home releases have changed multiple times over the past 25 years, but the means of printing a film to a beta tape, or a vhs tape, or a DVD, or a BluRay is kind of the same. And while there's an argument to be made that some films "NEED" to be seen in theaters - that Lawrence of Arabia needs a big screen viewing to appreciate its grandeur - having more ways to view movies is never a bad thing.
I'd rather have an attempt to earnestly bring SotC to modern consoles than see it HD-ified for the second straight console cycle. I'd rather see them make a 1-to-1 remake than have them change some content or add a bit here and there. If they're interested in doing new things, I'd love to see a full new sequel/spiritual successor. If this can make enough money/prove enough interest to give Ueda or a member of his team to make a new game, I'm all for it. And I say this as someone who was so very let down by the Last Guardian - which admittedly could never live up to my personal hype (the reveal trailer was the tipping point/last straw that made me buy a PS3... 3 not 4).
Team Ico games have never sold that well, are more critically well regarded than commercially or general public-ly, and the amount of people who are aware of them but never gave them a chance is quite high. If this is a faithful remake and gives more people the opportunity to easily play Shadow of the Colossus without having to jump through hoops or thinking 'yeah, but I wish it looked better,' I'm all for it. The original still exists. The PS3 HD update still exists. The PSNow version still exists. Can't this new engine remake exist alongside them?
@sessh: We do know that Ueda submitted a list of changes he'd like. Unknown if the team will use any / all but the implication to me was that there would be changes.
There is absolutely nothing you will lose with a remake being made and those that are interested/wanted it will get it.
Stating your opinion about how you dislike it seems so pointless to me.
Plus, it's a remake; not an upresed remaster or quick port, an actual remake, so why not get a much more improved version of a game that might be hard to go back to due to the old hardware?
I'd say the way most people complaining see it, making ANOTHER remake of a game with remakes already, is really the industry's resources going into something even sadder and more financially conservative than a sequel. Meaning, instead of making new, possibly genre-defining or great new AAA games, more and more resources are going into endless sequels that are essentially mostly remakes, and now just straight going into remake after remake of the same game. It's a bad trend for the industry in general, at least possibly/likely.
@zombievac: it isn't a bad trend at all because hundreds of new games are made every year, a remake of a much beloved game isn't going to ruin the industry I'm afraid.
@zombievac: This is an actual remake with recreated assets and not just upscaled like the PS3 version was; the controls and other things are also being tweaked. Plus there's a number of people that never owned a PS3 or never played SotC, or both, putting it on PS4 increases the awareness of it as it's a great game.
Plus the industry is so damn expensive nowadays, I don't see constant remakes/remasters releases such a bad thing.
Personally don't see much replay value in this game. Loved it when I first played it but it was definitely a product of its time, in terms of mechanics and limitstions. It was impressive on release and now it's just a decent game.
@slag: That's pretty harsh lumping the PSX era with the PS2 era. lol Come on man, there have been so many PS2 HD collections and literally zero PSX games for a reason. But you're right, I love PS2 era graphics though not so much w/ PSX ones. To me though, the hardest part isn't getting use to the visuals but the way some of those games handle. I haven't played the new Crash but there must be a tremendous amount of disconnect when the game looks nice but plays so old.
Yeah probably. Have you looked at many Ps2 games lately though? I think I've been spoiled by this gen 'cause some of them look real rough to me these days, especially on an HDTV. Now granted SoC isn't one of them in my mind. FFXII wasn't either but it got a remaster too (I'm pretty happy about that though)...
re: crash - fwiw gameplay is the part to me that's more timeless. Now granted some things were bad ideas back in the day (e.g. the artificial difficulty of NES games more appropriate for the quarter pumpin' Arcades) and just weren't possible due to Tech limitations (like a better save system in Zelda 2), but I think people's mania over Dark Souls shows that today's gamers will like tough games just as well gamers of yesteryear if the game is good. So I'm not surprised an old game like Crash is well received by today's players now that it has a new coat of paint. Didn't think it would do nearly this well, but I thought it'd do alright.
@slag: Yeah, I like to beat couple games of that era every year. So much there that I just didn't have the means to play at the time. There might be a period of eye adjustment and it really depends on the game but as long as you use component cables, they look ok on hdtvs. They shouldn't even allow composite cables on hdtvs 'cause man, rough...
I played through Bully last year and it's ok. Definitely not something I'd showcase but it has a charming look and the town as character. I tried to get into Kingdom Hearts for like the 5th time and dropped it but that game still looks quite sharp. Right amount of detail to everything and all the characters are still pretty expressive. This year has been Killer7, Godhand, and Pikmin 2. Killer7 on the GC lacks progressive scan unlike a lot games on the system but that art style is timeless and the game looks awesome minus the aliasing. Godhand...lol...not a looker but I think they got like $2 to make that game so I won't hold that against it. Lastly, Pikmin 2 looks pretty great, especially when you go into the encyclopedia and zoom in on all the creatures and objects and see the level of detail.
Obviously, no point of comparing it to modern games but I admire what they were able to achieve with what they had and how much of their vision they were able to convey. Again, depending on the game, it's easier for me to go back to PS2 era visuals than last gens 'cause 360/PS3 era visual techniques, which are I guess still modern techniques, can really clash with sub-hd resolutions. I still play PS3 games often and some games can look really messy because of it. Again, it really is highly dependent on the art direction of the game.
In regards to gameplay in old games/Crash, I was mainly thinking of PSX era 3D action games like Crash or Twisted Metal. Maybe I'm totally wrong but the few times I've touched those games, they seems quite unwieldy and imprecise, a far cry from the tight responsive controls I tend to associate with old 2D actions games.
After the latest trailer, I am actually excited for this. The PS2 version was kind of a technical mess (it regularly ran at 15-20fps during boss fights), and while the PS3 version was a very nice enhancement, the console still wasn't quite powerful enough to run the game smoothly at full HD. The PS3 version didn't support true 1080p (you could run it 720p natively, or stretch a 960x1080 horizontally). The game did run at a stable 30fps, which was a big improvement, but all the weird controls from the PS2 era were lovingly ported over.
According to Polygon, Bluepoint is aiming for 60FPS at 1080p on the PS4 pro (or 30fps a 4K if you'd prefer), or 30FPS on the base PS4. An upgrade to 60FPS is huge. It's too bad 60 FPS isn't coming to base PS4; hopefully the devs include a 60FPS 720p mode like Nioh, but I haven't heard anything along those lines.
Bluepoint has done fantastic work remastering / remaking games in the past, and I have to imagine they'll do a great job with this.
It's going to be budget-priced ($40), which seems fair to me. Replaying one of my favorite games at a higher res, with a better frame-rate, completely remade assets, and modernized controls sounds pretty good to me. Assuming they hit their target of 60FPS on the pro, this might actually drive me to upgrade consoles.
@ilserpente: Well, you're right about the framerate, but apparently they're not fixing the controls...
http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/10/31/shadow-of-the-colossus-remake-is-gorgeous-kind-of-janky
40$ is too much, game looks cool though. 20$ may have had me on board, but if i spend 40 might as well get a new game and not a remake.
@nicksmi56: At E3, Yoshida hinted that there would be multiple control schemes: https://www.polygon.com/e3/2017/6/14/15800206/shadow-of-the-colossus-ps4-remake-e3
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out, but from the sounds of it, the IGN writer only played with the old control scheme. We probably won't know for sure until the game comes out.
Shadow of the Colossus is one of the best pieces of art ever made. Of course I'm going to replay this remake.
This......
90% sure this will be a day one pick up. I have the SotC/Ico PS3 thing but I barely played it. Didn't seem like much of a visual improvement.
Yes
Though I wish they had remade ICO as well
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