If video games aren't art, then ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection is not a video game. It's a staggering compilation of two of the most creative, intimate and emotional pieces of interactive entertainment ever conceived.
Both start off with a light story and focus on brilliant gameplay, but their respective closes end with more emotion and character than you'd find most anywhere else. If you've yet to experience either, you owe it to yourself to rectify this at the earliest convenience.
The masterpieces contained within the Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection get a glorious HD makeover in an experience that is as rewarding, deep, and fresh as it was all those years ago on PlayStation 2.
Team ICO's first two games were able to join the terms art and videogame in one single product. Ueda's studio delivered two astonishing titles thanks to their visuals, shocking the user through the design of the environments or the gigantic colossus. Both of them were able to produce different sensations in the player: love, loneliness, fear... they weren't just fun, but magnificent storytelling experiences. Two masterpieces that are now available in HD and 3D.
ICO and Shadow of the Colossus belong to the best PlayStation games ever made and it's wonderful that both are back with an HD upgrade for the PlayStation 3. Despite the lack of any extra content, this collection is a must buy for those who haven't had the chance yet to play the original games.
It's difficult avoid feeling nostalgia after playing Ico and Shadow of the Colossus again after all these years, and while the core of each experience withstands the test of time, the control issues that were easy to overlook the first time around simply can't be ignored today.