In the video game industry, a handful of development studios are revered above all others.

Perhaps no team has ever ascended to this status faster than Sony Japan’s Team ICO. In their entire 14-year existence, Team ICO has developed only two games, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus — both of which were met with universal critical acclaim when they were originally released.

With six years having passed since their last project, Team ICO is on the verge of releasing their next epic, The Last Guardian.

To commemorate this occasion, and perhaps feed the fire of fan anticipation, Sony has released the previous two Team ICO titles on a single Blu-Ray disc. Re-mastered in high definition with updated frame rates, Sony is looking to introduce an entirely new generation the greatness of Team ICO.

Ico, released in 2001, follows the story of a young boy imprisoned in a castle by fellow villagers who believe him cursed. After escaping his cell, the boy befriends a young girl named Yorda who is likewise trapped in the castle.

Together they attempt to escape, all the while traversing traps, puzzles and the shadowy figures that seek to capture them.

Ico is a relatively no frills action platformer, and while adequate at the time of its original release, the gameplay has not held up well over the years. Movements feel clumsy and inaccurate, and Yorda’s A.I. can be beyond frustrating at times. Combined with a relatively short campaign and shallow gameplay, Ico, while a great nostalgic addition, comes off more an accompanying piece to the other game than it does the return of a classic.

The real draw in this collection is Shadow of the Colossus. Originally released in 2005, Shadow of the Colossus is a wholly unique approach at third person adventure gaming.

The protagonist, a young man named Wander, is seeking to retrieve the soul of his love from the afterlife. A solution presents itself at a mysterious temple where a spirit offers him assistance if he can destroy 16 ancient stone idols that adorn the temple walls.

While this may seem like a simple task, each stone idol is in fact represented by a real life colossus that Wander must vanquish in order to destroy the idol.
This is where things get a little different. The game has no levels, no minor tasks to partake in and no dungeons to crawl. There is no special equipment or magic to use, no towns or shops to visit, and there aren’t really even any other characters in the game with which to interact.

There is simply sprawling scenic countryside to ride through on his horse in search of the next colossus. While these ventures begin smoothly enough, as the game progresses they can become complex expansive journeys through the minimalist terrain. Combined with the lack of dialogue or accompanying music, these treks are wonderful at conveying an all-encompassing sense of solitude and desperation.

The colossi themselves appear in tremendous scale, each the size of a mountain.
Each of these leviathans is so massive they must be climbed to be defeated, and each possesses a weakness players must decipher before they can even be ascended. Shadow of the Colossus is arguably the single largest influence on the modern day “boss battle” across the entire gaming industry; however, most imitators have focused on the size aspect as opposed to the emotional context that makes this game so fantastic.

The gameplay itself is actually rather shallow. There is a jump button, a grab button and a weapon button. These are the commands used to navigate the environment as well as scale, and attack the colossi.

Still, this elementary control scheme does little to curb the thrill Shadow of The Colossus can provide. Battling each colossus is enthralling, and felling one imparts a huge sense of accomplishment. As the colossi begin to fall by the wayside the game’s difficulty will ramp up profusely, resulting in a very challenging experience.
Due to the size of the colossi, the original PlayStation 2 game suffered from notable frame rate drop when they appeared on the screen. The updated specs keep things running smoothly throughout the game, and the already breathtaking title is superbly re-mastered in high definition.

Despite being especially old in game industry terms, Shadow of the Colossus still stands as one of the single strongest testaments to video games as art, even today. It is an emotional journey wrought with loneliness and unwavering dedication. The game is truly an experience not to be missed. Those who adored the original will be very pleased by the faithful remake, and those who’ve never played the game should prepare to have their preconceptions shattered.
Shadow of the Colossus is worth the price of admission alone, and when combined with the imaginative jaunt that is Ico, it represents a tremendous value at a price of $40.

The Ico and Shadow of the Colossus Collection is worth your time and effort, for gamers of all kinds.