Ico Sequel Revealed

Jonathan Prugh writes "1UP has a story on Wanda and the Colossus, the "sequel" to Ico (formerly referred to by Sony as Nico). Screenshots are available at Namako Team, and IGN has an article on the sequel as well."

Re:Huh?

[RichardK]

Ico is pure art in a game. I'd almost consider it an interactive graphics demo.
The lighting, textures, and animation are the most realistic I've seen in a game for the PS2. When I first played it I couldn't get over the extent of the detail that the Ico crew put into the game.
Don't knock it till you try it. And just because YOU haven't heard of it, doesn't mean nobody else has. I recommend you play the game.

Re:Huh?

[Compuser]

In that case the screenshots don't do it justice.
That was horrible. All grey and washed out.
Didn't look like there were many weapons.
Lame character model.
Are you sure it looks good and this was just
inept screenshot taking?

Re:Huh?

[radio.cgt]

most of those screenshots are admittedly not very good. look for ico screenshots. its either the same or a similar engine, much better shots that way. Didn't look like there were many weapons. Lame character model. Every game needs lots of weapons? Believable character model.

Re:Huh?

[Maserati]

Go rent Prince of Persia. I had both from Gamefly at the same time and I was struck by similarities. The PoP developers have definitely played Ico. It could be called an homage. If only this team had done Enter the Matrix...

The PoP guys had the advantage of more PS2 experience and a larger art department. They had more animators for one thing.

The graphics in PoP are very good. If Wanda and the Colossus (incidentally, that's an unofficial translation of the Japanese title) can do as well, they'll have a beautiful game. Ico needed only a little antialiasing; they did things with light and shadow that really only PoP and Splinter Cell have approached.

Re:Huh?

[HAKdragon]

It's not so much the antialiasing that neededs work, but the fact that the game run in the Playstation2's low resolution (something like 320x240). If you go back and play it and then any other PS2 game you'll know what I'm talking about. But other than that, yeah, the engine for ICO was really pretty, especially considering that it's a first gen game.

Re:Huh?

[Scrameustache]

The graphics in PoP are very good.

Its superficially very well done. But it was a repetitive chore to play through.

Fight-puzzle-fight-acrobatics-fight-puzzle-fight -a crobatics, rinse, repeat.

And the fights?
Red enemy = hit, jump, hit.
Blue enemy = hit, freeze, wait until it hits the ground, drain sand.

Damn good use of voice narration. And I liked the rewind function. But the game was repetitive and had a HORRIBLE camera.

Re:Huh?

[Anonymous Coward]

And just because YOU haven't heard of it, doesn't mean nobody else has.

Actually, according to sales figures, no one hearing about Ico is as close to fact as you can get.

Re:Huh?

[Hadlock]

Rather than sell the "community" copy of ICO to gamestop, it keeps changing hands from player to player for what the previous person paid for it; usually $15. I currently own the community copy, and I'm the 6th owner, with about 4 more people that are waiting to play it. Sales numbers for a one time playthrough game mean nothing when it comes to overall market penetration.

Re:Huh?

[easychord]

Back this up with evidence of sales figures please.

I heard that it did fairly well, just not the multi million GTA3 style sales that it deserved.

Re:Huh?

[Fred Or Alive]

I should note it obviously sold well enough in the UK to get another print run, as the original cardboard box version got replaced by a standard PS2 DVD case as well.

One-time deal

[rinkjustice]

Ico had an emotional element to the game that is so completely absent in this medium. It pulled at your heartstrings. I remember actually giving a damn about the boy hero born with horns and the frightened spectre of a girl he was trying to protect. It also had a signature look and mood and it would surprise me if they could somehow upgrade the graphics and still maintain it's intangible qualities.

Re:One-time deal

[euxneks]

co had an emotional element to the game that is so completely absent in this medium
No crap! Those shadow things still scare the shit outta me. I actually wish that they would just let me solve the puzzles and leave me alone while I escape the incredible castle. =D

Re:One-time deal

[superpulpsicle]

From what I heard ICO for PS1 had a ridiculously sad ending. Though I have yet to even play the game. Does anyone know if the gameplay/fun factor is worth it to try the game?

Re:One-time deal

[Fred Or Alive]

Ico is a PS2 game, but I gather from other people (don't have a PS2, haven't had a chance to play it) that it's a great game. The graphics do look very good, especially considering it's an early PS2 game.

About frelling time !

[Maserati]

OMFG !!! This teh R0KZ !!!

Wait...

Ok, I feel better now.

But still, this looks amazing. The screenshots are from a movie made in the Ico engine, so if they just work on the anti-aliasing they already have a beautiful and moody engine in hand.

The story is of a boy (no horns) on a quest to awaken a girl. No details on the relationship are given. The player roams a vast lonely plain with only his trusty horse for companionship. Some of the enemies are huge and need to be climbed on; the gameplay for this will involve some maze-like elements and platforming elements to find a path up to the monster's weak point.

And there's some sort of colossus involved.

I'd say the outlook is for another critically acclaimed game that should sell pretty well based on Ico's [penny-arcade.com] word [penny-arcade.com] of mouth [penny-arcade.com].

Wow, I'm psyched

[amarodeeps]

Okay, so I'm a big Half-Life fan, I really can't wait for the sequel to that game to be released. But my OTHER favorite game of all time has to be ICO. This game approached, more than any other that I've ever played, the sort of ideal achievement that a video game should approach: it coordinated an atmosphere, along with an explorable world, and a simple objective with interesting puzzles, and deep characterization--although, ironically, you never really learn too much about any of the characters in the game. The sound cues are beautiful, and the graphics were extraordinary for the place and time (an early release on the PS2).

I realize this is kind of a fawning review of this game but really--if you think this is anything like something you would appreciate--check it out, and be excited for the release of the sequel. I believe ICO came closer than anything I've played before to being a work of art.

emersive...

[ddsoul]

What I loved about ICO was it threw you into this whole new world, it felt cold, it was HUGE and very emersive. I remember parts of the castle where it literally took me almost a minute to run across a path to reach the other end, but it was like the scenic route everywhere you went. The imagery was just so amazing that I could really literally stare at the screen running back and forth and admire this art in motion.

Its one of those games where you want to show it off to your friends, something I'm guilty of when I play a great game.

Now imagine the depth that ICO had but without the confinements of the castle walls - I can't wait for this unofficial sequel even though it may have no relation to the previous story. The thought of a new world with the style of ICO excites me. I think I can easily speak for all ICO fans when I say this makes US all giddy. =)

Best Camera Ever

[th1ckasabr1ck]

Ico is one of the few third-person games that I've ever played where the camera is actually an asset and not a liability. The way the camera panned and zoomed as you ran around the map was totally cinematic.

I also completely agree with the praise this game recieves. For me it ranks up there with Valkyrie Profile as one of the most underrated games I've played.

Ooompa!

Re:Best Camera Ever

[Ayaress]

Valkyrie Profile was definitely a wonderful game. Too bad that so many people are graphics whores and can't get past the fact that its 2D.

And now I forget the point and start ranting: So many console RPG fans are also anime fans, and most console RPGs are based on some anime or anime-like theme. Anime is all 2D, but the console RPG fans bitch and moan and complain if an RPG is also 2D.

And now back on the point: I only had one complaint about VP: The stats were sickeningly high. I had about 50,000 hp by th

PS2 or PS3?

[justforaday]

IIRC, Ico was originally slated to be a PS1 game. It eventually got pushed back and fancied up to be an early PS2 title. Any chance the same thing will happen here? Tell everyone that it'll be a PS2 game, but then delay it, gussy it up and make it a PS3 launch title.

Re:PS2 or PS3?

[Taulin]

Really? Are you sure about that? I saw an early demo at the Tokyo Game Show in 2001. But now you mention it, I remember the textures being really low quality, which is why I passed this game up when it first came out, and kicked myself after I played a retail version a year later.

As Wished For by G4-TechTV's Filter

[Thedalek]

Not too long ago, Filter (the Top 10 [insert adjective here] Games countdown show) featured Ico in the top 10 games deserving a sequel. I think it came in at 2, and was topped by Vagrant Story. Let's hope some of the other overlooked sequel-worthy games get their share of the spotlight, too.

Re:no gold chains and gatts?

[Anonymous Coward]

I think the parent makes a good point, if slightly overstated. Too many braindead devs are bowing to fads and needlessly thugging up games. Kinda like Hollywood must remake every TV show from the 60's & 70's as a hip movie, desparate game devs are rehashing old gameplay with mad stupid bling and straight trippin' of-da-hook shiznits.

As for me, I never been there. Well, perhaps once... but I was so engulfed in the O.E. I never made it to the doe. You speak of hardcoe.