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[malfcn]

My disc was loose and I bought from Amazon.

Mine was loose, and from Newegg.

 

[MrCookiepants]

I hear people say this all the time. "Oh, why do you care". I care. That's why. It is a deal. Maybe not big to you, but it certainly isn't a big deal to let me turn off those notifications. Trophies can be in my game, and maybe I'll do one or two, but I think the "you progressed in the game" trophies can go fall off a cliff. They're stupid and add nothing.

In most games, yeah, sure, they're just there. But SoTC is not your typical game experience. You're in a world void of anything but yourself and Agro. You're supposed to feel alone, cut off, lonely, but determined. It is a wonderful feeling. It is why I enjoy playing the game. So when I'm reflecting on what Wanderer is really going through for this girl, and the emotions he must be powered by to not care about the sacrifices Dormin tells him about, as that sort of "oh, we did something huge, but we're really only doing this for that girl. What are we really doi - DRRRLNG"

It catapulted me out of the great feeling I had. Suddenly I was playing a PS3 game.

Can't wait for SH2 HD to completely ruin the first sight of Pyramid Head by popping up a "Meet Pyramid Head" trophy when I see him down the hall.

I dunno. It's nice to see a friend playing the game and to check their trophy list and see how far in they are.

Don't mean to be dickish, but you'd have to have the attention span of an infant to be thrown off by something so insignificant. And if the trophy wasn't there to remind you that you're playing a PS3 game, then the little box asking if you want to save that pops up a few seconds later sure would.

 

[Itchy//Tasty]

The first game I ever saw using the over the shoulder viewpoint for shooting was Manhunt, which was in 2003, pre-dating Resi 4 and Gears by a couple of years. No-one ever seems to remember Manhunt though. :/

BACK ON TOPIC I will be starting SOTC today on a 42" TV with surround sound, not 3D though. Can't wait!

 

[gunbo13]

Was wondering, does this collection look better on the PS3 or when run on PSX2 with a super PC?

Ico easily goes to PS3. SoTC is still PS3 with improved motion blur and proper effects. While pcsx2 can generate 1080p at 60fps (sorta) it had to go through a series of hacks to emulate SoTC game effects. Now, you might say "well it is an emulator after-all." But this is different where extra hacks on top had to be applied to fix lighting, shadows, etc...

Once I loaded up SoTC on pcsx2 and saw my first texture flicker not in the original, I was out. I had previously seen the busted lighting but the flicker was the second, last straw. I'm way much of a SoTC purist to tolerate that. Same with Chrono Trigger.

 

[abstract alien]

The trophies appear in the loading screen that takes you back to the temple. It's not a big deal. It's really not a deal at all.

As said, its obviously a big deal to some the same way it isn't a big deal to you. Different strokes. I turned the game off the moment one popped up and have yet to play it again. I've already played them on ps2, so I'm ok with that. Probably won't be getting the Silent Hill collection if the trophies are going to be as stupid as they have been in past games. That is one series that can not afford to have the atmosphere ruined for me, as the mechanics certainly aren't the shining point of it all.

As far as Ico/Shadow, were there any sort of bug fixes that went into the HD remake that were present in the originals?

 

[Adamm]

My Copy arrived yesterday(now my 3rd copy of each!)

My god, no matter how many times i play this game I still i still cant over what glorious games they are!

& now i want the last guardian more than ever

 

[StuBurns]

Finished Ico, sure it wasn't my first time, but the trophies never bothered me, they do delay them for down moments like Heavy Rain at times too.

 

[semiconscious]

Few more things regarding SOTC:

-Said before that I don't think I'll get the emotional draw from SOTC like I did when I was younger. Fuck that, I'm all in now. Like so many have said, it's the little things...the way the boy says 'Agro' quietly when he's close, the way the horse screeches to a halt before he runs off cliffs, the way you can jump off temples on to the horse if you do it right and you're lucky. The way you can see temples from light years away. The way there's no music(this one is actually kind of huge), but you always hear the wind. The way the boy never rests and has no concern for his well being. And most significantly, the way the character's frustration and single-minded focus is expressed in the gameplay. Etc. etc.. It is powerful stuff in its own subtle way. The indie/art game scene - largely non-existent at the time this game was released - has tried endlessly to master somber minimalism, but none of those games do it as well as this game.

-It is even more unbelievable today that something like this was made. How did this team get so much money - and, clearly, so much raw technical talent - thrown at them to make something so unmarketable? It goes against the very tenets of capitalism. It is an anomaly in a world of carefully budgeted games. What are the chances that one of the industry's most notable artistic achievements would also be one of its most jaw-dropping technical achievements? I guess you could argue that Valve carries the same combination of artistic vision and technical wizardry...but I don't think they reach quite the heights on either count...

great post! & not sure i've got anything to add. i'm every bit as caught up in, & blown away by, this game now as i was when it was originally released. compared to everything else, it might as well've been developed on another planet ...

 

[Nocturnowl]

I just had to rage quit on ICO of all things, this never usually happens to me in puzzle based games.
Now i've looked at the solution like the weakened man I am and I feel so stupid.
For those interested it's the section with the small sewer and the two doors.

Spoiler

ALL I HAVE TO DO TO GET HER OUT OF THE SEWER IS TO PULL HER OUT THE HOLE I ORIGINALLY DROPPED IN?! I was setting up ridiculous schemes! I left the area through one of the side windows and waited until the monsters nabbed her so that she got pulled to the portal by the water pipe (and then screwed up my jump over twice....)

Sometime the solution is indeed the obvious one.

 

[Maddog]

I just had to rage quit on ICO of all things, this never usually happens to me in puzzle based games.
Now i've looked at the solution like the weakened man I am and I feel so stupid.
For those interested it's the section with the small sewer and the two doors.

Spoiler

ALL I HAVE TO DO TO GET HER OUT OF THE SEWER IS TO PULL HER OUT THE HOLE I ORIGINALLY DROPPED IN?! I was setting up ridiculous schemes! I left the area through one of the side windows and waited until the monsters nabbed her so that she got pulled to the portal by the water pipe (and then screwed up my jump over twice....)

Sometime the solution is indeed the obvious one.

This one got me too.

Spoiler

I dont get how she can't jump onto the chain yet can somehow jump up that hole

 

[Ostinatto]

This one got me too.

Spoiler

I dont get how she can't jump onto the chain yet can somehow jump up that hole

me too, 10 years ago.

now im prepare

 

[Ladyboy101]

now this is a tru hd collection. re hd collection is just plain pathetic

 

[rhino4evr]

I just had to rage quit on ICO of all things, this never usually happens to me in puzzle based games.
Now i've looked at the solution like the weakened man I am and I feel so stupid.
For those interested it's the section with the small sewer and the two doors.

Spoiler

ALL I HAVE TO DO TO GET HER OUT OF THE SEWER IS TO PULL HER OUT THE HOLE I ORIGINALLY DROPPED IN?! I was setting up ridiculous schemes! I left the area through one of the side windows and waited until the monsters nabbed her so that she got pulled to the portal by the water pipe (and then screwed up my jump over twice....)

Sometime the solution is indeed the obvious one.

Lol..yeah I think a lot of people overthink that one. I spent like an hour or two scratching my head until I figured it out by accident

 

[Maddog]

Lol..yeah I think a lot of people overthink that one. I spent like an hour or two scratching my head until I figured it out by accident

Spoiler

The worst is that she keeps pointing up at the hole and I thought nothing of it

 

[Septimius]

I dunno. It's nice to see a friend playing the game and to check their trophy list and see how far in they are.

Maybe we need another way of showing this to others. I don't mind others seeing what I have and haven't done - that doesn't mean I should get a trophy for simply reaching the next check-point. But, yes, I don't mind this.

Don't mean to be dickish, but you'd have to have the attention span of an infant to be thrown off by something so insignificant. And if the trophy wasn't there to remind you that you're playing a PS3 game, then the little box asking if you want to save that pops up a few seconds later sure would.

What does attention-span have to do with this? If anything, a short attention-span should help forget that the trophy happened. About the save thing, then that's different. I know I'm playing a game. I can forget it, but I know it. What I mean to say is that when that trophy pop ups, a lot of associations come with it that are in no way connected to this game. This game asks to save in its way - a trophy is not showed in its own way. It's this whole meta-game discussion that we luckily don't have to venture into to explain what I mean.

These games are in peculiar spots. As I explained earlier, not only is the atmosphere completely different to most other games, but most of us have already experienced this. Trophies feel even more alien to this game, because they have nothing to do with them. This game is a master-piece where every detail is carefully considered. The time it takes for the darkness left by a colossus to hit you, the music that plays, the way it fades - you can bet your ass that they were handcrafted to induce the feeling they wanted to in you.

When a trophy completely arbitrarily pops up a second later, without going into Yahtzee territory of analogies; it breaks flow. This pertains nothing to attention-span. It pertains to a deep, immersive experience that people get lost in - and frankly I would be bored by this game if I weren't immersed, the way I previously described. That immersion takes time to build up. You're gradually lulled into the game's world, and it takes one poorly placed trophy achievement to wake you up. It's like dreaming; when you wake up, you're annoyed and it takes a long time, and luck, to get back into the same dream.

Some games I love for other reasons. This, and other games, I love because of the immersing experience, the same way I love concerts and certain movies. Now, I am not one to say that you seemingly haven't experienced this because you're not 'waked up' by trophy notifications. But the point here is that I was. I love this game, and I love the way I feel playing it. That trophy notification ruined it for me. Frankly, you can't argue for or against it, so you should rather acknowledge the fact that it hurls some people out of the experience, and see why there is no logical reason not to let those people turn these notifications off. At the same time, you can thank yourself, either for always being so deeply immersed in games that nothing will ruin it - or ponder upon the fact that you've never been deeply immersed in a game.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Ico easily goes to PS3. SoTC is still PS3 with improved motion blur and proper effects. While pcsx2 can generate 1080p at 60fps (sorta) it had to go through a series of hacks to emulate SoTC game effects. Now, you might say "well it is an emulator after-all." But this is different where extra hacks on top had to be applied to fix lighting, shadows, etc...

Once I loaded up SoTC on pcsx2 and saw my first texture flicker not in the original, I was out. I had previously seen the busted lighting but the flicker was the second, last straw. I'm way much of a SoTC purist to tolerate that. Same with Chrono Trigger.

Thanks. Guess I'll pick up the collection soon.

 

[MrCow]

I finished ICO yesterday and now i'm playing through SotC again.
This time i want to collect all the lizzards and fruits because i have never done that and never tried time attack and new game+ and the hard mode.

so how should i proceed when i want to collect everything?
play through normal first and then collect the lizzards or should i collect them on my first run through and will i keep the lizzards i have collected in the hard mode, too?

and i heard of this lizzard stone thing? what does it do and should i wait until i got it and then go collecting?

 

[Yuterald]

Picked up the collection on Tuesday, but I was too exhausted from work to play it during the week so I finally dug into Ico last night and have been playing it all morning. I actually played through Ico a few years ago so the game is sorta fresh in my mind.

I know a lot of people prefer SotC, but I think Ico is such a short, perfect, compact game. The design of the castle reminds me of how well designed old Resident Evil games were. I loved this era of design. NO ONE makes games like this anymore. I love how the castle wraps around at certain points. There are so many moments where you say to yourself, "Hey, I was just down there!" or "oh shit! this leads back here!?". The puzzles and the level design are so cleverly intertwined.

Oh, and the save music is so perfect. Again, it reminds me of how surreal and calm RE save room music is. There is definitely something missing in most games today.

 

[N30RYU]

would kill for a high res and clear one

sorry, not clear

 

[RoadHazard]

Just started playing SoTC (never played it before). Really like the openness of the world, etc. Feels really epic!

However, people have been saying that this game is significantly longer than ICO. Hmm, well, after only about

Spoiler

45 minutes

(and a lot of that was cutscenes - feels like I've only actually been playing for

Spoiler

30 minutes

or so) I've already taken down the first two colossi, and am on my way to the third. Are later colossi gonna take longer? Am I going to have to traverse greater distances (the first two have both been really close to the temple)?

I suppose the game is just easing me in? I was just surprised I got through the first few colossi so quickly, given the comments about the game's length.

Another question: What happens if you try to take them on in the wrong order? Can you even do this, or can you only ever get to the one you're supposed to?

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

The grip is definitely bugged. Even though I made it up the 6th colossus before but I got careless and thrown off, I can't get back up. There's never an instance I can move or jump and grip depletes FAST.

 

[Ratrat]

Picked up the collection on Tuesday, but I was too exhausted from work to play it during the week so I finally dug into Ico last night and have been playing it all morning. I actually played through Ico a few years ago so the game is sorta fresh in my mind.

I know a lot of people prefer SotC, but I think Ico is such a short, perfect, compact game. The design of the castle reminds me of how well designed old Resident Evil games were. I loved this era of design. NO ONE makes games like this anymore. I love how the castle wraps around at certain points. There are so many moments where you say to yourself, "Hey, I was just down there!" or "oh shit! this leads back here!?". The puzzles and the level design are so cleverly intertwined.

Oh, and the save music is so perfect. Again, it reminds me of how surreal and calm RE save room music is. There is definitely something missing in most games today.

Demons' Souls.

 

[Doomrider]

Just started playing SoTC (never played it before). Really like the openness of the world, etc. Feels really epic!

However, people have been saying that this game is significantly longer than ICO. Hmm, well, after only about

Spoiler

45 minutes

(and a lot of that was cutscenes - feels like I've only actually been playing for

Spoiler

30 minutes

or so) I've already taken down the first two colossi, and am on my way to the third. Are later colossi gonna take longer? Am I going to have to traverse greater distances (the first two have both been really close to the temple)?

I suppose the game is just easing me in? I was just surprised I got through the first few colossi so quickly, given the comments about the game's length.

Another question: What happens if you try to take them on in the wrong order? Can you even do this, or can you only ever get to the one you're supposed to?

Some of the battles are longer than what you've experienced so far, yes. In some of them, it will probably take you longer to realize what you have to do to. Also, given that some of the colossi are really far away from the temple, yes, you'll be travelling greater distances.

And you are not able to engage the colossi in the wrong order. The fight won't begin that way.

 

[Grisby]

Just started playing SoTC (never played it before). Really like the openness of the world, etc. Feels really epic!

However, people have been saying that this game is significantly longer than ICO. Hmm, well, after only about

Spoiler

45 minutes

(and a lot of that was cutscenes - feels like I've only actually been playing for

Spoiler

30 minutes

or so) I've already taken down the first two colossi, and am on my way to the third. Are later colossi gonna take longer? Am I going to have to traverse greater distances (the first two have both been really close to the temple)?

I suppose the game is just easing me in? I was just surprised I got through the first few colossi so quickly, given the comments about the game's length.

Another question: What happens if you try to take them on in the wrong order? Can you even do this, or can you only ever get to the one you're supposed to?

Yes, to both of your questions.

I don't believe you can do them out of order.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Just started playing SoTC (never played it before). Really like the openness of the world, etc. Feels really epic!

However, people have been saying that this game is significantly longer than ICO. Hmm, well, after only about

Spoiler

45 minutes

(and a lot of that was cutscenes - feels like I've only actually been playing for

Spoiler

30 minutes

or so) I've already taken down the first two colossi, and am on my way to the third. Are later colossi gonna take longer? Am I going to have to traverse greater distances (the first two have both been really close to the temple)?

I suppose the game is just easing me in? I was just surprised I got through the first few colossi so quickly, given the comments about the game's length.

Another question: What happens if you try to take them on in the wrong order? Can you even do this, or can you only ever get to the one you're supposed to?

There's an order. The light guides you to a specific colossus.

 

[SparkTR]

SotC is the most visually pleasing game I have ever seen, fighting the 13th colossi was pure eye euphoria.

 

[SleazyC]

SOTC is just epic in 3d. wow

Please elaborate!

I got a 3D TV coming in on Wednesday and I've been holding off playing SoTC because I want to do it in 3D.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Nevermind about my grip meter issue. Guess I can't

Spoiler

go to my right, its left.

Maybe it's still a bug but whatever.

 

[RoadHazard]

There's an order. The light guides you to a specific colossus.

Yeah, I know that. The question was whether or not you can do them in the wrong order, if you know where they are. But I got that answered!

 

[Kabuki Waq]

Please elaborate!

I got a 3D TV coming in on Wednesday and I've been holding off playing SoTC because I want to do it in 3D.

well at first it just looks ok. But then turn up the 3D to full in options and be amazed. Zero ghosting and just a little fram hit. When you see the first colossus in 3d it is one of those wow moments.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

well at first it just looks ok. But then turn up the 3D to full in options and be amazed. Zero ghosting and just a little fram hit. When you see the first colossus in 3d it is one of those wow moments.

Whoa. Picking up a 3d tv today because my tv's banding has been killing the experience. Glad it looks good.

 

[Syn23]

Maybe we need another way of showing this to others. I don't mind others seeing what I have and haven't done - that doesn't mean I should get a trophy for simply reaching the next check-point. But, yes, I don't mind this.

So the problem isn't that there are story related trophies, but that you can't turn off trophy notifications.
So, IIRC there was this page where you can report to Sony about things you want to be added to PS3. It's a pretty easy thing to include in a firmware update, so maybe it's worth a try.

Edit: I tried searching but I can't find that page/site url. :\

 

[Gvaz]

Played an hour of SotC for the first time and am having much more fun. Beat the second colossus. Only complaint is the wonky horse controls and a few player control issues. Otherwise it's fun so far.

Just so you know, the horse controls are fine. Agro however has a mind of his own and won't always listen to you.

That is an intentional design.

 

[blackpensnowbird]

has anyone ever said ICO has the best save music of all time? because it does.

 

[Yuterald]

Demons' Souls.

My point is that there are NOT ENOUGH games like this. Demon's Souls sits upon a throne that is untouchable this generation. I merely did not mention it because it is understood at this point.

 

[Gvaz]

Demons' Souls.

Xenoblade.

 

[Yoshichan]

I'm trying to redeem my codes (the themes) but it's not working... saying it's invalid. I'm on my EU account and I'm redeeming EU vouchers... what's the problem with PSN now? First RE4 and now this? Fuck you Sony

 

[Rain_ng]

I'm trying to redeem my codes (the themes) but it's not working... saying it's invalid. I'm on my EU account and I'm redeeming EU vouchers... what's the problem with PSN now? First RE4 and now this? Fuck you Sony

Happening to me too, apparently they won't work until Monday.

 

[KennyLinder]

Found something weird in Ico that I don't remember from PS2..

Spoiler

I think the save point is called Waterfall, the area with the large waterfall and multiple levels. You can go right down to the bottom where the dark pool is, although there doesn't seem to be any point to that. Up one level is the save point. Go outside and there are the arches and a lift to take Yorda up/down. Sorry, can't explain it more but the next area is - I think - where the PAL version had a puzzle adjustment.

Before the puzzle bit, back where the arches are before you both climb two ladders, is a large block on a grassy area, and there doesn't seem to be any function for this. There doesn't seem to be any need for this block.


Does anyone firstly know where I mean in the game, and secondly know what the block is for? I really don't remember it from the multiple times I've completed Ico!

 

[The Lamp]

How the hell do I save in Ico?

I had to leave 30 minutes into the game yesterday and couldn't figure out how to save so I just turned it off.

If there's no auto-save and I lost my progress, then I'm probably just not going to get around to Ico. Screw games that don't make easy features like saving to take the player's time into consideration.

 

[SolidSnakex]

How the hell do I save in Ico?

I had to leave 30 minutes into the game yesterday and couldn't figure out how to save so I just turned it off.

If there's no auto-save and I lost my progress, then I'm probably just not going to get around to Ico. Screw games that don't make easy features like saving to take the player's time into consideration.

Sit on a couch with Yorda.

 

[Gvaz]

How the hell do I save in Ico?

I had to leave 30 minutes into the game yesterday and couldn't figure out how to save so I just turned it off.

If there's no auto-save and I lost my progress, then I'm probably just not going to get around to Ico. Screw games that don't make easy features like saving to take the player's time into consideration.

There's a save point immediately after you get the girl and go through the doors. it's the couch on your left on the bridge.

There's no auto-save, this is an hd version of a 2001 game

 

[The Lamp]

Sit on a couch with Yorda.

lol wtf how are people supposed to know this.

Okay ._. I guess if I want to play it again I have to go through all that beginning stuff again.

 

[Gvaz]

It probably said so in the manual, also the freaking couch glows

 

[Septimius]

So the problem isn't that there are story related trophies, but that you can't turn off trophy notifications.
So, IIRC there was this page where you can report to Sony about things you want to be added to PS3. It's a pretty easy thing to include in a firmware update, so maybe it's worth a try.

Edit: I tried searching but I can't find that page/site url. :\

I would never want to be the front to remove story related trophies. I think they're a mocking of the entire concept of achievement/trophy, but what do I care if I get them. I just don't want to be catapulted out of immersion by arbitrary meta-checkpoints in a system enforced on me, that I don't really care if I can't opt out of, that decides to yell at me "YOU BEAT THIS THING". Thank you, PS3-OS, I thought that was pretty clear from the game itself.

lol wtf how are people supposed to know this.

Okay ._. I guess if I want to play it again I have to go through all that beginning stuff again.

In a game that doesn't even tell you how to jump, I think Yorda walking over to the couch that's all sparkly and interesting looking is as big of a "HERE IS SOMETHING YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT" sign we'll get in Ico.

 

[snap0212]

Just got the collection. Quick question: Are there any mandatory or optional installs?

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

Just got the collection. Quick question: Are there any mandatory or optional installs?

Nope.

 

[snap0212]

Nope.

Awesome. Thanks for the fast reply!

 

[one85x]

Found something weird in Ico that I don't remember from PS2..

Spoiler

I think the save point is called Waterfall, the area with the large waterfall and multiple levels. You can go right down to the bottom where the dark pool is, although there doesn't seem to be any point to that. Up one level is the save point. Go outside and there are the arches and a lift to take Yorda up/down. Sorry, can't explain it more but the next area is - I think - where the PAL version had a puzzle adjustment.

Before the puzzle bit, back where the arches are before you both climb two ladders, is a large block on a grassy area, and there doesn't seem to be any function for this. There doesn't seem to be any need for this block.


Does anyone firstly know where I mean in the game, and secondly know what the block is for? I really don't remember it from the multiple times I've completed Ico!

http://guidesmedia.ign.com/guides/14833/images/ico_32.gif[ /img]

[/QUOTE]
[spoiler]I believe it's just used as a quick shortcut back onto that grassy area. To get to that area initially you had to run up a couple levels, climb a ladder, and swing across a chain.[/spoiler]

 

[ashbash159]

Just got my copy of the collection today at GAME by using my credit earned by saving up points of my GAME reward card. I got it for free! Pretty happy about that.

So far I have defeated the first colossi and played a little of ICO.

They should have made it clear that the code that comes with the game won't work until the 10th October. I didn't know, so I spent 10 minutes wasting my time by entering the code over and over again!