ICO and Shadow of the Colossus emulated in HD

By Richard Leadbetter Published 1 June, 2010

Does PC emulation show us a PS3 future?

Rumours are rapidly gathering pace suggesting that Sony is looking to follow-up the success of its HD "remastering" of the God of War titles with a similar gaming double pack featuring the classic ICO and Shadow of the Colossus.

Digital Foundry took a good, long, hard look at the God of War Collection at the tail end of last year, comparing the original PlayStation 2 titles with the new 720p60 PS3 revisions, and came away supremely impressed.

Sony Santa Monica's original PS2 art worked beautifully in high definition, and the improved performance level could only be a good thing.

We were also intrigued by the approach that the conversion team took. Rather than attempt to run the game under emulation, Sony Santa Monica's original C code was essentially ported over to create the new PS3 versions. In our feature we compared the PS3 versions with the source PS2 titles, running not just on the original hardware but also on the PC via the open source PCSX2 emulator.

The result? The PC emulation turned out to be very, very close indeed to the HD remixes, proving that the conversion team had replaced no original in-game art, aside from the on-screen text and button graphics.

With that in mind, we decided to check out ICO and Shadow of the Colossus running on the same emulator in order to get some idea of how the original titles would scale up to high-definition resolutions. The results were... intriguing.

First up though, a word of warning. Both ICO and Shadow of the Colossus's technology exploits the PlayStation 2 in aspects that the emulator creators have still yet to fully implement in PCSX2 - so while the PC experience draws closer to the PS2 on both games with each successive release, it's still not the absolutely precise carbon copy you might expect.

This is perhaps best exemplified by ICO. While the software renderer is a close reproduction of the original game, the GPU-accelerated version still lacks the fog effects of the original game.

So to kick off with, here's the ICO intro sequence captured with both software and hardware rendering - it's easy to see where the HD emulation is off-beam, but at the same time, it is equally apparent that ICO's artwork still has much more to give when liberated from the confines of standard definition.

ICO software vs HD hardware renderers. Emulation still has some way to go but does give us an indication of the potential. Use the full-screen button for an HD view or click the link below for a larger window.

Away from the external environments, emulation offers a far closer representation of the original game, and you can see that in effect in this cut-scene.

Texture detail and filtering are enormously improved, and there is a definite hint that any HD "remastering" of the game should be something quite special - even if the original art assets are used without any replacement, higher-resolution assets in place.

Away from the exterior environments, the emulation of ICO gets much, much closer to the real thing. Use the full-screen button for HD resolution, or click the link below for a larger window.

ICO's core technology - especially in the use of bloom lighting and animation - is simply remarkable, but the SCE team's next project, Shadow of the Colossus, saw them pushing the PlayStation 2 technology to absolute breaking point.

The engineers produced a close emulation of HDR lighting, tone-mapping and motion blur (including per-object - wow!). Astonishingly the SCE team even mimicked something approximating the look of the kind of fur pixel shaders seen in PS3 titles like LittleBigPlanet. Programmable pixel shaders were still in their infancy when Shadow of the Colossus was produced, and the PS2 hardware itself offers no support for them, so the inclusion of an equivalent effect within the game was all the more phenomenal.

The terrain streaming mechanics, the brilliant physics and the shadowing systems were remarkable for their time. Indeed, Shadow of the Colossus even features character self-shadows and cloth simulation. There's also an outstanding implementation of volumetric fog, adding another layer of atmosphere and ambience to the game.

The downside? All of this remarkable technology comes at a cost. The frame-rate in Shadow of the Colossus is, to put it very simply, very poor indeed by today's standards.

Putting this to the test, we decided to go for the purest possible conditions: no launch PS3 hardware emulation here, we unearthed our vintage "fat" PS2 and ran the game directly at 480p from component into one of our capture stations. Hold onto your potatoes, this ride is rough!

Shadow of the Colossus features some astonishing tech for the PS2 era, but the hardware simply can't sustain a respectable frame-rate. A PS3 HD remix could make all the difference...

Shadow of the Colossus runs with an uncapped frame-rate. In very, very rare occasions, you may even hit 60FPS, but as the tests reveal, in its original form 15 to 20FPS is the norm.

In the current era, where 30 is the standard, it's surprising how much the gameplay is impacted, especially in terms of the controls which feel inconsistent, sloth-like and sluggish. Adjusting for the additional lag in the controls proved to be a big ask, as some of the boneheaded platforming footage in the clip reveals.

So, the chance to bring the game to PS3 in the form of an HD "remastering" offers new opportunities: not just in unlocking the detail of the original art, but also in bringing some kind of consistency to the frame-rate.

Hopefully, we wouldn't just be seeing an improvement to the definition of the game's visuals, but also in terms of temporal resolution too: smoother gameplay and with it hugely improved, consistent, controller response. 720p60? Yes please, but we'd take a rock-solid, v-locked 720p30.

Intriguingly, with the latest version of the PCSX2 emulator, Shadow of the Colossus looks very close to the PS2 original. Sure, there's a small ghosting/offset problem and the odd glitch in the intro, and in our gameplay video, some of the bloom appears to be a touch overwhelming compared to the original, but we reckon that these videos give a good insight into how an HD SotC would look... first up, here's the intro:

Shadow of the Colossus' epic intro, rendered in high-def via emulation. The difference compared to the original PS2 playback is remarkable. Use the full-screen button to watch in HD, or click the link below for a bigger window.

And now, the same initial confrontation with the first colossus that we featured in the performance analysis, but this time presented in full high definition. Note that in these videos, not only are we seeing a vastly increased resolution but we're also showing the game locked at 30 frames per second.

The initial face-off against the first Colossus, rendered in HD courtesy of PCSX2. Over three times the pixels and up to twice the frame-rate. Once again, use the full-screen button for full HD, or click through for a larger window.

Assuming the HD remix rumours are true, it will be very interesting to see how the game creators roll with any potential HD versions of these classic games.

We've taken the emulation approach to showing how the games could look in high definition, but assuming the developers port the code across as opposed to emulating it, all manner of possibilities open up: Shadow of the Colossus' LOD system, for example, could be tweaked so that the extra processing power of PS3 gives us the full detail models at all times.

Porting also opens up the opportunity to replace any art that doesn't quite make the grade when rendered in high-def, although it would be surprising if this happens based on our tests. The core art is more than up to the task at hand.

So yes, we're genuinely fascinated at how this story plays out. We'll let you know!

Picture of Richard.

About Richard Leadbetter

Rich has been a games journalist since the days of 16-bit and specialises in technical analysis. Commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future.

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Leadbetter archive page.

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Comments (103) 1 year ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • muscleblade #1 2 years ago

    Two games ive never got the chance to play thanks to not owning a PS2. I chose Xbox and Gamecube last gen.

    I would love to play them someday.
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 14:27

  • Cylinder #2 2 years ago

    Aye, they should release them on Steam. I'd buy them in a flash. Always wanted to play them.

  • menage #3 2 years ago

    Come on Sony, bundle them with Last Guardian for 100 bucks and I'm sold!

  • CaptainTrips #4 2 years ago

    I doubt we'd see a release on Steam, due to both games being made by Sony Entertainment.

    Ico is for me the high point of the entire PS2 life cycle. Shadow of the Collosus was really good also, but didn't wow me in the same way its predecessor did.

  • Azazel #5 2 years ago

    SotC was my game of the last generation. Now all I have are my memories and a bricked PS2. Oh the humanity etc.

  • Zomoniac #6 2 years ago

    Wasn't Ico originally about a quarter of the res of most PS2 games anyway? The art direction was beautiful and the atmosphere stunning, but it was blocky and pixellated as fuck and that always hurt the experience for me, it looked like a beautifully shot PS1 game. Playing it in a decent resolution would be amazing.

  • Nazo #7 2 years ago

    Love Ico but never played Sotc, I'd love an HD re-release.
    Of course I'd love it even more if Sony could release a general purpose HD PS2 emulator for PS3 that would let me enjoy all my old titles but that's just a pipe-dream.

  • Ka-blamo #8 2 years ago

    I like the blur/glare/gloss/bloom whatever on the PS2 version.....Having crispy visuals isn't always a good thing.

  • Old_Books #9 2 years ago

    Colossus seems to always get the plaudits but ICO was a far better game for me; I still consider it one of the few perfect games i've played. The sequel got a little repetitive and on the odd occasion, frustrating. Still great though, and truly unique.
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 14:40

  • MrE26 #10 2 years ago

    @ RobJenx
    Ico & SOTC look awful upscaled to HD. They werent the sharpest games to begin with & playing them on a modern TV just makes them look like a blurry mess. Part of the appeal of these games is the gorgeous world they take place in, so in this case, a nice shiny HD remake with a decent framerate would actually increase my enjoyment of the game.

    For most games, i'd tend to agree with you though.

  • GamesConnoisseur #11 2 years ago

    Got both games but very guilty for not finishing both of them to the end, as there were too many distractions at the time.

    Would dearly love HD update for PS3 and I sincerely promise that I will finish both to the end as the games and I deserves!

    Would sells quite well I believe, as some classics are just too big to be left on the shelves, these two could be said to be a better representatives of what defines a PS2 classics than GoW 1 and 2.

  • koopa #12 2 years ago

    Coincidentally, I'm just half-way through playing Ico on PCSX2 (1080p, 4xAA etc.) and aside from the low-res environment textures the game still looks pretty good. The repetitive combat, problematic camera and slightly generic puzzles don't hold up that well though, but I'm still loving its story, style and atmosphere...

  • Mr_Bogus #13 2 years ago

    There's a forum thread on neogaf.com about running Gamecube/Wii games in HD on the dolphin emulator. Mario Galaxy & Resi 4 look amazing.

  • apoc_reg #14 2 years ago

    Can you tell us what version of PCSX2 was used and what the detailed settings where?

    I have an absolute beast of a PC but neither of these two games work as well as this.

  • Allnatural #15 2 years ago

    @Zomoniac
    I don't know if it's quarter-res, but I have read that it's lower than the norm for the PS2. Most last-gen games look fine on my HD set imo. Not as good as a CRT obviously, but perfectly playable.

    Ico on the other hand looks dreadful. I don't own a PS3, but I'd probably buy one in a heartbeat if it's re-released.
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 14:53

  • Buztafen #16 2 years ago

    That HD emulation of SotC is stunning!

  • bi-gE #17 2 years ago

    I really hope that Sony will release these two games on the PS3. I really would like to play Shadow of the Colossus again, that game was simply fantastic.

  • UncleLou #18 2 years ago

    SotC was my game of the last generation. Now all I have are my memories and a bricked PS2. Oh the humanity etc.

    I know how you feel, my PS2 bricked before SotC was released (hence I never played I), but Ico was last gen's highlight.

    I'd snap up a HD doublepack (or trilogy, for that matter) in a heartbeat.

  • geeza2020 #19 2 years ago

    Wow, that video of SoTC locked at 30fps really made me realise how bad the framerate was. Although when i originally played it I have to say that i didnt notice it at all. Must be a result of us now being in the "every game must be HD in 720p60" nonsense of a generation :( It didnt used to be necessary for me to enjoy a game so why is it for so many others now?

  • Evolution #20 2 years ago

    If the atmosphere of the game is not impacted, consider it bought. To be honest though, the frame rate never bothered me much as I was too busy staring in awe at everything I came across.

  • DoctorFouad #21 2 years ago

    ICO was graphically astonishing at its time, the game blwed me away with its beautiful graphics !

    Each time I remember ps2 games I am more and more astonished by what Emotion Engine allowed developers at that time, and I am more and more intrigued by what developers could achieve with the CELL knwoing that it is 50 times more powerful than the emotion engine ! Incredible...HDR, Tone-Mapping, motion blur, Bloom, Fur, some shaders, sometimes even bump mapping...were emulated by emotion engine...what the hell the CELL could achieve if pushed to its limits ? it keeps me wondering...


    today it is rare to play 60 fps games, at that time with ps2, knowing that MGS2, jak 3, GT4 were all 60 fps games is simply mindblowing...
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 15:02

  • hiddenranbir #22 2 years ago

    I bet DF torrented for the bios! :p

  • JayeM #23 2 years ago

    I haven't played the original releases, but I'd consider this an instant buy. Been recommended countless times.

  • andywilkie35 #24 2 years ago

    I pray to Jeebus that these will be re-released.

  • Gecks #25 2 years ago

    i've replayed both ICO and SOTC on my HDTV via PS2 component (the only way to fly when PS2 HDTV gaming), and i think they look lovely, especially SOTC with its progressive scan mode.

    that said, i'd probably get an HD remake as it's an excuse to play them again, but ICO is still the greatest looking videogame regardless of how "pixelated" it is.

  • jamhead #26 2 years ago

    I have clung onto my PS2 originals of both Ico and SoTC for years in the hope that some kind of PS2 emulator would appear that could do them justice. I'm not generally bothered about having physical media in this day and age, but I enjoyed these games so much I think I have actually attached a bit of nostalgia to the disks themselves!

    I would have to buy them again in HD remake - though it's a shame it'll only be 720p on the PS3 mind...

  • BlinxHDD #27 2 years ago

    "I'll buy it for a high price."

    Especially if stuff is added like removed Colossi, doesn't need to be integrated with the story mode. Just load the boss up directly like the challenges.

  • butler` #28 2 years ago

    I will fucking bow down if they release these two remastered/ps3.

    They're quite hard to get on ps2 even these days so i haven't bothered but always wanted to play them.

  • alcides #29 2 years ago

    I would pay for it.

  • HandOfBeadle #30 2 years ago

    Both of these are games that would look worse at 60fps than 30, even if the IQ was identical. The filmic quality that lower framerates gave both titles cannot be ignored. SotC, in particular, would lose a lot of that sense of heft and dramaticism without the choppier imperfections that a movie-esque framerate around the 24fps mark gives you. I feel this is generally true of any game which doesn't require lightning reactions on our part; RDR just wouldn't be the same if the framerate was Eastenders smooth. It needs to be grainy and rough like the source material it imitates. The same cannot be said for games like Wipeout, or CoD, or Counterstrike.

  • rarehobo #31 2 years ago

    i would buy it just to able to play them using a wireless controller.

  • Collymilad #32 2 years ago

    @HandOfBeadle

    Yeah, I agree. 60fps is good for some games but it does have a weird effect of making them look a bit less realistic, don't know why exactly. It's like things are "too smooth"

    I would probably buy an HD remake of both, ICO because I've never actually played it but it looks good. I have a copy of SotC for PS2 which I'm half way through, but as others have said it looks awful (distractingly so) on an HDTV.
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 15:37

  • Retroid #33 2 years ago

    These looks absolutely amazing! Ico sold me a PS2 - infact, I owned my copy of Ico before I owned a PS2 :D

    Such a pity Sony chucked the integrated-into-the-PS3 PS2 hardware baby out with the cost-cutting bathwater, I would've loved games like these released on PSN*.

    *I say PSN because I would've grumbled but contributed to the cost of continued BC development with PSN downloads in HD but running games from disk in upscaled SD

  • sneetch #34 2 years ago

    @CaptainTrips
    I doubt we'd see a release on Steam, due to both games being made by Sony Entertainment.

    Well, Sony have a number of games on Steam already, mostly MMOs I believe. Who knows. I doubt it though.

    I'd love a chance to play these on PC or PS3 as I didn't have a PS2.

  • Killdare #35 2 years ago

    ICO and Shadow of the Colossus in HD? You had me at 'ICO'. Mind you, if they're going to brush up the visuals, it would be great if they could also brush up the English translation on SotC - I remember having to grit my teeth at this wonderful game being sullied by some pretty shoddy sentences.

  • old_skool #36 2 years ago

    Well I bought the remastered versions of God of War I & II and was very impressed, well worth the money, it felt like it should have been made from the very beginning for the PS3. If Sony remasters ICO and SOTC it will be a definite buy.

  • kule #37 2 years ago

    I love a re-release of ICO preferably with an invert x-y axis option - I just couldn't play the last one spent half the time looking at the ceiling and floors :)

  • kule #38 2 years ago

    Sotc was fantastic, sure a couple of the guardians were a bit frustrating but the world, and the way it made you feel - it's the absolute joy of seeing a beautiful collosus for the first time, then the mental challenge of figuring out how to take it down and once finally killed it really gave you an almost gut-wrenching guilt of taking down something so beautiful - brilliantly done.

  • Retroid #39 2 years ago

    No-one's really matched the 'fantasy world' feel of Ico & SotC. They both felt like real places even though you're given next to no information about them, you just have to pick things up about it as you play.

    Marvelous.

  • dudefella #40 2 years ago

    Thank you for this DF, this is a wonderful birthday present! Let's hope it comes to fruition, as SotC is one of my favorite games of all time.

  • Dizzy #41 2 years ago

    Oh well, easier money than making actual new games I guess.

  • Pikol #42 2 years ago

    Like HD is anything new, i've done hundred of HD images and videos on the emulator, even 2 years ago.
    You can see them at http://www. youtube.com/user/PikolUploader
    And I know the complains about the frame rate, but I got a beta Shadow of the colossus in my hands, and it runs better, but looks much worse. so yeah, be happy with what you have, unless we get a remastered version of Sotc. To be honest, if you're playing in more than 720p, it shows the lack of details in the terrain, looks rather ugly.
    Edited by 2 at 01/06/10 @ 17:21

  • KayJay #43 2 years ago

    @ kule "preferably with an invert x-y axis option"
    Im playing the PAL version on the PS3 at the moment and I have the option in invert both the X & Y axis...
    In fact I think I can invert a couple of other things too. Is the Arrow aiming? possibly.
    Its defiantly there.

  • iago71 #44 2 years ago

    Never played these as I never owned a PS2. I Would love to play them. A definite purchase if they do get released.

  • Chufty #45 2 years ago

    The engineers produced a close emulation of HDR lighting

    Er no. The dynamic range of the lighting in SOTC was very low, I'd say lower than most games. It was just really bright. HDR doesn't mean bright.

    /pedant

    This is gonna be awesome!

  • comedian #46 2 years ago

    HD remix on the PS3 or on steam , I'd buy in a heartbeat.

  • chaywa #47 2 years ago

    How about we give these games the proper remastering treatment, that of course being rendered using CryEngine3 *drool*

  • Retro_ #48 2 years ago

    check out the options menu in SOTC, you should fine the option to display using PROGRESSIVE SCAN, this sharpens up the picture considerably on a 60gigger PS3.
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 18:49

  • crazyhorse174 #49 2 years ago

    I think what you've forgotten to mention here is that you need an absolute beast of a PC to emulate PS2 games at a decent framerate and a high resolution.

  • Pikol #50 2 years ago

    Not anymore you don't, a 2Ghz dual core can handle this game on the emulator.

    And yea I recommend buying composite cables, and run this game in progressive scan, beautiful!

  • Soton4084 #51 2 years ago

    I'd like to see the Hitman games, GTA Vice City/San Andreas and both Getaway games in HD PS3 versions

  • kule #52 2 years ago

    @kj66246

    Hey thanks I'll double check my version then must've missed it somehow - after playing sotc I really would like to play this all they way through.

  • DoctorFouad #53 2 years ago

    @ soton4048

    I am expecting the getaway for PS3 to show in this E3 2010 ediction ! if this happens, I am sure the london studios will blow aeveryone minds because of the incredible graphics and use of CELL !

  • Gecks #54 2 years ago

    @pikol - I think you mean component cables; composite is shite.
    /pedant :)
    Edited by 1 at 01/06/10 @ 19:31

  • Pikol #55 2 years ago

    My bad, component indeed.

  • trl_path #56 2 years ago

    I'd like to see Persona 3 and 4 in a PS3 pack, with Persona 5 coming out on PS3 I've got my fingers crossed!

  • Luckyjim #57 2 years ago

    Two of my favourite games. Both of them absolute masterpieces.

  • knocker #58 2 years ago

    It might be a case of being a luddite ...or a hopeless romantic. But for me this is getting close to "colorizing" classic black and white films.

    It's not all about the pixels ....

  • jarek98 #59 2 years ago

    Ico in HD? I would buy it - even for a full price - with no hesitation.
    I was not a big fun of SotC, but it was mainly because I just coudn't agree with the story.
    Now I know, that in the end everything fits, so maybe I will try in HD...

  • Obiwanshinobi #60 2 years ago

    I think Ico, much like the original Silent Hill, actually benefits from low resolution, provided you play it on a CRT via good cable (and no, it doesn't look like a PSX game; the polygon count is higher, the lighting fancier than PSX could muster - especially at this framerate - and the hardware acceleration makes fairly huge difference). Seriously, did some people forget how software 3D accelerated games look like? Not like Ico, that's for sure.
    SotC, on the other hand, was a performance disaster. No, it won't look much better rendered in high resolution than it looked on a CRT (play a PC port of any PS2 game: Silent Hill 2, Project: Snowblind, Psi-Ops - you name it, and you'll know what I'm talking about; in some cases high resolution only makes the graphical shortcomings more apparent - games look more antiseptic, textures even lousier than before and that's it), but improved performance would be welcome.
    Who came up with this "HD remix" buzzword bullshit anyway? GoW for the PS3 is a straight port of the original. We don't see Sony games ported to anything all that often, but it's not like Sony Santa Monica invented porting.

  • Slipstream #61 2 years ago

    These games are aging incredibly well due to some neat little tricks that have been used.

    HD up these games and you've got two PS2 classics literally on-par with Nier looks wise.
    Edited by 1 at 02/06/10 @ 10:21

  • Artemus #62 2 years ago

    Oh man that music, bringing it all back. Sony make this happen!

  • webcider #63 2 years ago

    Damn that game is just so sentimental every time i see a footage or play it I get goosebumps.
    I would pay a large sum of money to get worthy Team ICO collection to the PS3. its just such a huge experience.

  • TaniumZX #64 2 years ago

    Shame they dont make good quality CRT TVs anymore. I still prefer the picture quality over LCD/Plasma in many respects (but thats another argument for a different site lol). PS2 and HDTV is a no go for me. CRT's scanlines made the PS2 resolution appear HD. Incidently I tried playing ICO on my HDTV using component cables and it would not work, something to do with the lower than normal resolution.

  • Kaminari #65 2 years ago

    Richard,

    Your Colossus benchtest is fundamentally flawed.

    First, you're using the 16:9 ratio, which is seriously impacting the framerate. Second, by enabling the progressive mode, you're stressing even further the bandwidth.

    But most of all, I'm surprised most people didn't notice that the progressive mode also has a major PQ issue: not only does it force the 16:9 ratio (thus slowing the framerate down), it also zooms in the camera onto the action (which means it's not as widescreen as the interlaced mode); but in the process it doesn't readjust the mipmapping level, which makes all the close textures appear very blurry.

    The only professional way to do a real benchtest of Colossus is to output it in 480i with a 4:3 ratio, like Ico.

  • smithdown #66 2 years ago

    I'm a bit gutted about this, but only cos I still have my mint copies of the limited edition versions of both games that will be de-valued by this release! Seriously awesome news for gamers though, two of the best games of the last gen (ICO was THE best game in my opinion) brought to a whole new crowd. Can't wait for The Last Guardian!

  • RandomTerrain #67 2 years ago

    I shall be interested to see if this happens. Can't wait for the third game. :o)

  • Obiwanshinobi #68 2 years ago

    @Kaminari
    The only professional way to do a real benchtest of Colossus is to output it in 480i with a 4:3 ratio, like Ico.

    Ico isn't interlaced (more like p240).

    @TaniumZX
    Incidently I tried playing ICO on my HDTV using component cables and it would not work, something to do with the lower than normal resolution.

    See above. Your TV seems to have a problem with the lo-res prog-scanned signal via component. Disgaea (and some other Nippon Ichi games for the PS2) might not work either.
    Luckily I purchased one of the last brand new CRT SDTVs on the market. Not only 2D oldies (which I play a lot) look just dreamy on it via humble RGB (SCART) lead, but Ico is a pretty handsome game as well. Even some PSX 3D antics (such as Sanvein) still look pretty hot. That's the power of CRT.

  • NimbusTLD #69 2 years ago

    Wow, you can actually make out Yorda's face now!!!

  • Hotcooler #70 2 years ago

    Kaminari

    Frame rate analysis does not really work with interlaced output.

    SPAM

    Actually that's what free money is for publishers e.t.c. Re release something you have already done and sell it to people that already own it :)

  • Badassbab #71 2 years ago

    +1 First post. I owned all 3 but never bought those two so would probably buy them this time around like I did GOW Collection.

  • Retroid #72 2 years ago

    @Kaminari

    I'm curious why you think enabling 16:9 mode would impact the framerate* on a PS2, seeing as it would kick out the same resolution just with altered geometry to account for the aspect ratio and waited for the screen to display it appropriately. PS2, Xbox & Gamecube didn't have 'widescreen' SD resolutions.

    *unless SotC does something specific in this mode which does as you describe

  • BuckEntropy #73 2 years ago

    I have mixed feelings about this, it'll depend on the actual results. That SotC intro vid just looks bad to me, I'll echo the "sterile" impression, or just flat somehow. Though the fur (if nothing else) looks nice in the gameplay vid. But in general I cannot agree the assets hold up in HD, not for SotC at least, the PS2's textures are stretched awfully thin in that game.

    I believe ICO mostly ran at 60fps already (or 30fps x2 technically, field rendered) so that should be nice regardless. SotC's framerate never bothered me at all, even playing pro-scan / widescreen. So if it ends up 60 or 30 or even unlocked again, it'll be all good imo. ICO is a very special game, but Shadow of the Colossus was one of my fave games of the gen, and probably second only to Sky Odyssey for fave PS2 games. If they really deliver the goods I'll be all over this, but I can still be impressed by playing the original SotC anyway.

    @Retroid - SotC is definitely not changing the resolution for widescreen, that's plain enough. Though there were some XBOX games I thought might, mainly I remember Burnout 2 didn't have the extra jaggie horizontal res look. It'd be interesting to know for sure.

  • Obiwanshinobi #74 2 years ago

    I have mixed feelings about this, it'll depend on the actual results. That SotC intro vid just looks bad to me, I'll echo the "sterile" impression, or just flat somehow. Though the fur (if nothing else) looks nice in the gameplay vid. But in general I cannot agree the assets hold up in HD, not for SotC at least, the PS2's textures are stretched awfully thin in that game.

    Aye, low resolutions coupled with CRTs of yesteryear used to make for some "detailed texturing" that really wasn't there. I have no doubts that Ico, MGS3 and some other PS2 games got their "organic" looks "for free" so to speak. With the PC port of MGS2 and PS3 port of GoW there's a different story, because for the most time the automatic camera renders them attractive pretty much regardless of resolution (look around in FPP mode in MGS2 and the graphics lose their glamour; I'm sure GoW wouldn't look quite as hot in FPP either). Same goes for Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, where you can rotate the camera, but you can't zoom in.
    Now in SotC you get to peer at many textures closely and that's when the original texturing stretched up to high resolutions rears its now-ugly head. If they just port it as it is, people who don't know what to expect will be complaining. If they retexture it and put some funky mapping on, they will possibly mess with the original minimalistic style too much. History knows a couple of "enhanced ports" where something important got lost in the process of porting.
    As for "the current era, where 30 is the standard", it's not like this era standard is something to write home about. Rather SotC's framerate is depressingly below its own era standard. I can't think of another PS2 game performing this poorly. Yup, it is THAT bad. Putting fervent apologies aside, give me one example of worse framerate in a PS2 game, please. I mean, worse all the way, not just framerate drops here and there.
    Edited by 1 at 02/06/10 @ 05:25

  • flanker22 #75 2 years ago

    reading though these comments I see how controlled people are, why cant people act the same on any xbox articles? just frustrating seeing you guys have composure here but then turn into raging trolls elsewhere.

  • Gecks #76 2 years ago

    @Obiwanshinobi
    " give me one example of worse framerate in a PS2 game, please. I mean, worse all the way, not just framerate drops here and there."
    - Global defence force (edf 2)
    - Odin sphere
    - the gta games?

    GDF is nearly unplayable, but I honestly played SOTC from beginning to end without having a problem with the framerate.

  • BuckEntropy #77 2 years ago

    @Obiwanshinobi

    As an aside, since you mentioned BD: Dark Alliance, did you ever play the Champions of Norath games? An evolution of the same engine, but quite remarkably more impressive. In fact CoN and SotC are the two most distinguished tech showcases on PS2, imo.

    But I think I can give you at least one other PS2 game that performs worse overall than SotC: GTA3.

    @flanker22

    Based on my own perspective as an XBOT from day one - literally ONLY day one though, I was actually more hyped for Gamecube that year - and the days of being relentlessly treated as 'illegitimate' as a gamer... it's almost surprising how much of the underlying dynamic still remains. But as an admittedly gross generalization, I think for people who're biased towards the XBOX/360 it's just a genuine matter of preference, and not because they're invested in any idea that they own the 'best' console. As such, at least speaking for myself, I don't begrudge anyone else their preferences, or their prizes.

  • bluetoothion #78 2 years ago

    Why is EG trying to fill up site space.....if Team ICO decides to remaster those exceptional games i doubt it will the equivalent of some emulator upscaling process... some of us are lucky enough to play games when they came out and had that special ''new'' thing on them that differenciated from everything on the market then...i m not sure how many ofi todays gamers will appreciate that....having all that tech mambo jumbo on their minds resolutions and jaggies and frame rates. would buy them i n HD all over again since i own them already but i d ratherTeamIco bring on Last guardian and hopefully it will do the same for PS3 as the previous games did for PS2.

  • LHH #79 2 years ago

    Bit late to the party here.

    PS2 games are the PS3s future then?

  • BuckEntropy #80 2 years ago

    Well, someone brought up the Star Wars films...
    which is a good example of 'newer' =/= 'better'

    Hence the concepts of "nostalgia and "classic". :)
    Edited by 1 at 02/06/10 @ 09:07

  • dwalker109 #81 2 years ago

    Good grief, there are some really rather pathetic comments in here amongst the interesting ones. It pains me to see some serious games journalism "picked apart" by bedroom experts.

    Fascinating article, interesting to see some hires emulation too.

    I have never played either of these; I would jump at the chance.

  • Zebula77 #82 2 years ago

    Both games are on my top ten of all time best games, so this would be a no-brainer. Loved the GoW collection so this should be even better. I have both games in my collection, but I have no qualms against buying them again in HD. :)

  • Rabbinash #83 2 years ago

    The last part of the SotC intro always leaves me in awe. It just perfectly seams into the main menu, and I can quite happily leave it idle before playing the game.
    I really would like to see a SotC on the PS3 with no tech limitations. Like, really really.

  • Rubarack #84 2 years ago

    Considering how good these games can look just upscaled it baffles me how modern games can be as expensive as they are always purported to be.

  • Obiwanshinobi #85 2 years ago

    As an aside, since you mentioned BD: Dark Alliance, did you ever play the Champions of Norath games? An evolution of the same engine, but quite remarkably more impressive. In fact CoN and SotC are the two most distinguished tech showcases on PS2, imo.

    Caught a glimpse of Champions: Return to Arms. Technically as impressive as expected, but I missed the bouncing boobs, the bunny jumping and the character design of BG.
    I've yet to see a PS2 game more technologically impressive than Jak II. There was nothing quite like it around, even on more powerful hardware.
    SotC tech was like a PC benchmark if you ask me. Impressive in a "what could have been" way, but of not much relevance right here, righ now. I do understand some people can live with it, though. Personally I can live with Silent Hill, which can be considered just as broken by some.

    - Odin sphere

    I know the NTSC version caught buckets of shit for the performance (and loading times), but the PAL version I played through in 60 Hz was nothing like SotC. There is some rampant slowdown now and then left (most notably during the dragon bossfight in the sewers), but SotC (again, PAL version in 60 Hz interlaced 4:3) performs a lot worse all the time.

    The animation of Argo in SotC, the fur (vector unit code for the emotion engine) and the water(against the water Colossi), the lighting, world data streaming(no loading) and the brilliant story, really showcase the passion Sony bring to the games industry as an entertainment company.

    The horsie animations are good because team Ico gave up and used motion capture this time around. The "hand made" animations of Wander walking and running are nearly as robotic as Ico walking and running, four years down the line, whoa.
    Still, Ico sports some top class, subtle animations of "body language", whereas the only top class thing about SotC's animations is the horsie. I must admit that the gal in Uncharted reminded me of Agro (ironically, just when Naughty Dog finally got their character animations together, they halved the framerate, so it was one step forward, two steps back trade).
    As for the "world data streaming (no loading)", quite a few PS2 games did that better than SotC.
    Edited by 2 at 02/06/10 @ 15:13

  • BuckEntropy #86 2 years ago

    I only played much of the first J&D, but those games along with R&C, GoW, MGS2 and the like are yet impressive in the way I just expected PS2 to impress. So I chose the word "distinguished" quite deliberately. ;)

    And... I'm still trying to figure out what vizzini's getting at with that.
    But I couldn't help imagining him wearing a foil hat while typing it.

  • np #87 2 years ago

    I want this to happen so badly I would literally sells my organs...

    The two best consoles games from the last generation refreshed and in HD, it can't get any better than that surely? Oh wait yeah, The Last Guardian is coming out!
    Edited by 1 at 02/06/10 @ 16:26

  • Obiwanshinobi #88 2 years ago

    @vizzini
    I think it is very poor form of Eurogamer/DF to do an article like this without the first paragraph being an advisory note that discourages piracy/torrenting of either game; and illegal use of the emulator.

    “Don't cut off the hand that feeds you!”; as this article will have undoubtedly increased piracy of these great piece of SCJ software.

    Just in case you typed it down seriously:
    I do own kosher copies of Ico and SotC. Having said that, I'd gladly try them out emulated if only my PC was up for the job. I could even dump the BIOS off my own PS2 to stay legit.
    You think the emulation is where most of the piracy's going on? I beg to differ. Why don't you demand such discouragements in the 360, Wii and PC reviews comments threads? These platforms are pirated to hell and back, you know.

  • irrelevanthuman #89 2 years ago

    Ico was genuinely moving,would love to play it again.Beautiful game.

  • jampar #90 2 years ago

    I think there is a massive risk free opportunity in these sorts of things for both Xbox and PS3.

    so here it is:

    Sony/Xbox produce a teaser trailer for an HD remix of a game. they then ask you to sign up if interested. you recieve an e-mail which details the deal:

    Sony are very proud to announce SoTC HD remix, but with a catch. without knowing the true potential of this title, we NEED your help to get this up and running. So if you are keen to see this game made please sign up. if xxx number of users sign up, we will produce a hi def demo level of this game, which is representative of the finished product. when the hi def demo is up and running, you will be given the option to purchase the full title. This also has a catch - the game will only be produced if enough people sign up to purchase the full version (much like Keynoir and mycitydeal here in the UK). Bank details are given and payment is made when the tipping point is broken (ie enough people sign up to purchase the full version so that sony at least covers the cost), the game is produced, and when ready downloaded via PSN.

    this is a sure fire way to get all of our favorite games re-made in HD, as long as it is handled as well as GOW collection, and carries little or no risk for Sony/Microsoft as costs are covered at the very least. The only thing that can stop it is if Sony produce a crap version - then everyone loses anyway.

    the question is - are their enough hardcore fans worldwide to support the cost of making the game? I think the GOW collection probably had a lot of 1st time sales which helped it... but what of other games?

    shooting a little from the hip.. what do you guys think?

  • vizzini #91 2 years ago

    “Sony/Xbox produce a teaser trailer for an HD remix of a game. they then ask you to sign up if interested. you receive an e-mail which details the deal: “

    I think updating the software is already a given; as games are intellectual property assets that can't be monetized without porting to future hardware.

    I'm sure Nintendo's Miyamoto said something similar about classics on the Wii store a few years back; comparing the problems that games have for transcending platforms (and being forgotten) where music, film & Tv have very few obstacles.

    Like the film industry, no one needs to ask for (culturally less relevant) films to be restored; it is a judgement call by the intellectual property owner, to assess whether the asset has become worth less than the cost of restoration.

    For older games that have inherent value, the real question becomes when will it happen, & how much effort will be spent remastering/modernizing.

  • funkateer #92 2 years ago

    "I doubt it would be financially sound to release them. Both games are only really known by gamers who post a lot on the Internet. Like Shenmue. "

    On the other hand it's fairly cheap to produce these ports (GOW collection only took 3 months by a very small team iirc) and these games do have something of a cult status. Together with the upcoming The Guardian, I'm quite sure it could turn a good profit.

  • Grayvern #93 2 years ago

    I hope this happens. Expanding on the concept there a definately a few late game PS2 games that it would be nice to see ported especially if they were for donload on the store.

    As to the comments on hd giving games a sterile look I prefer that on my hd lcd tv to eye strain headaches. And I dont have the room for the backup sdtv.
    Edited by 2 at 03/06/10 @ 13:54

  • ShiroBen #94 2 years ago

    I kind of like the dreamy, not-quite-there quality the low frame rate gives SotC. At times it feels like the kind of dream where you know you have to get somewhere but you just can't quite make it.

    With that said HD remakes of these two games would probably convince me to buy a PS3.

  • opeth13 #95 2 years ago

    Digital Foundry > the World.

  • lukaz #96 2 years ago

    Do these games support 16:9 aspect ratio? At least the HUD looks wrong.

  • freakzilla #97 2 years ago

    As someone who is slowly losing interest in gaming I would greatly appreciate if HD versions of these games would be released so that I could get back into gaming a bit more.

    Getting a bit tired of combat and competition, want a moving story.

  • Pikol #98 2 years ago

    Well, you'll have to make up 80% of the story by yourself lol.

    Dunno about ICO but Sotc supports 16:9.

  • Bangaioh #99 2 years ago

    Hoping these get a relase similar to GOW 1 and 2. I loved them both and would enjoy playing through them again on PS3.

  • Svalbaard #100 2 years ago

    ICO remains one of my favourite video games ever alongside Deus Ex. Unfortunately I traded in the PS2 for a first gen Xbox when they announced that Deus Ex 2 would be on Xbox only, so also missed Shadow of the Colossus when it first came out.

    What a mistake that was on my part.

    Happily though I'm back with a PS3, so if this is story is true then it'll be an insta-purchase.
    Edited by 1 at 08/06/10 @ 11:10

  • xilix #101 2 years ago

    I haven't owned a console since Sega Gensis, so I missed out on all console exclusives up until the 360, which I just bought two months ago. I just started using the PCSX2 Emulator, and this is by far the most impressive/ambitious emulation project in the history of console emulation. Still needs tons of work, but these guys are really going for it and progress is moving along faster than ever.

    I just started playing SoTC for the first time now and I'm very impressed with the visuals given this was on a PS2, especially in HD, it looks great. I've yet to fire up ICO, but am looking forward to it. I urge anyone with a powerful dual/quad core rig to try PCSX2. Running these games in HD is awesome, and as long as you have a C2D/C2Q or AMD equivalent running at 3.6+Ghz, along with a decent graphics card, you're good to go. Once you get used to the settings and what they do, it's easy to get each game up and running, however, you will run into games that don't work at all.

    And if you do try it and like it, make sure you drop by the PCSX2 forums and say hello and thank the devs for all their hard work.
    Edited by 1 at 25/06/10 @ 21:10

  • whatsthecoo #102 1 year ago

    Well guys- we finally got em... Spring 2011...Can't wait...

  • syax #103 1 year ago

    Well im an Xbox player and i really dont like the PS3....In fact i swore id never buy one as im anti ps3! although If ICO and Shadow where ever re-vamped to modern game standards, i just might think about getting one (2nd hand) just for those two games alone and change my whole attitude. Yes the games are that good. you have but to jump into your DeLorean and take a look at what else was being made around that time to see that the whole design and atmospher of the games where well ahead of their time. Other companies took influence from them as well "caugh caugh @ Ubisoft".
    i still own my old ps2 with ICO and SOTC and find it hard to get rid of them, even if my mate says i can get a lot for them on ebay.
    I think Sony would be pretty foolish to not push for these titles to me re-done. what about a totally new tiltle too? hell, throw in a horse and a sword, but do something there is money to be had there at the very least.