While some of us enjoy Team Ico's latest endeavor and others wait for its post-launch "pre-order" to arrive, let's take a trip down memory lane with two of the most influential games ever released on the PS2.
And that's not an understatement either: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metal Gear Solid 3, Uncharted 3, the Souls series, all of these have been in some way inspired by Ico, whether it's the visuals, the music, the scope, Ico was really influential, despite being the less talked of the two *cough* NA boxart *cough*. So it seems like the developers' choice is Ico and public opinion says Shadow is better as a lot of big Youtubers played it.
While both share the theme of "someone else" important to the main character, Ico's friend is included in the gameplay while being in the center, being essentially an escort game. Whereas Wander's story involved his loved one being his central motivation that kicks off the adventure.
Both also take some very interesting design choices: Ico decides to keep combat and dialogue to a minimum to maximize the "play" aspect, in contrast Shadow has you not doing much outside of fighting the Colossi. Ico has you platforming while keeping your friend safe, that's character and worldbuilding, and Shadow has you clinging in the monsters to find their weak spot while attempting to hold on into them, that's making full use of a setpiece that ends with your victory or defeat.
If I have to pick one (against my will, because both are good and worth checking out) I would go with Ico, there is something about the atmosphere and the way we slowly descend into this world with this other person we slowy develop a connection to that gives me a feeling of accomplishment, in the sense i want more of this world. And while Shadow has the best soundtrack, Ico has the best ending song - You were there.
PS.: I just figured something out: in Ico, the main goal is to escort a lady; in Shadow of the Colossus, it's to find and kill 16 monsters; in the Last Guardian is to escort a monster. So Team Ico's fourth game will be about finding and killing 16 ladies, so you've heard it here first.
And that's not an understatement either: Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metal Gear Solid 3, Uncharted 3, the Souls series, all of these have been in some way inspired by Ico, whether it's the visuals, the music, the scope, Ico was really influential, despite being the less talked of the two *cough* NA boxart *cough*. So it seems like the developers' choice is Ico and public opinion says Shadow is better as a lot of big Youtubers played it.
While both share the theme of "someone else" important to the main character, Ico's friend is included in the gameplay while being in the center, being essentially an escort game. Whereas Wander's story involved his loved one being his central motivation that kicks off the adventure.
Both also take some very interesting design choices: Ico decides to keep combat and dialogue to a minimum to maximize the "play" aspect, in contrast Shadow has you not doing much outside of fighting the Colossi. Ico has you platforming while keeping your friend safe, that's character and worldbuilding, and Shadow has you clinging in the monsters to find their weak spot while attempting to hold on into them, that's making full use of a setpiece that ends with your victory or defeat.
If I have to pick one (against my will, because both are good and worth checking out) I would go with Ico, there is something about the atmosphere and the way we slowly descend into this world with this other person we slowy develop a connection to that gives me a feeling of accomplishment, in the sense i want more of this world. And while Shadow has the best soundtrack, Ico has the best ending song - You were there.
PS.: I just figured something out: in Ico, the main goal is to escort a lady; in Shadow of the Colossus, it's to find and kill 16 monsters; in the Last Guardian is to escort a monster. So Team Ico's fourth game will be about finding and killing 16 ladies, so you've heard it here first.
