The Last Guardian

[Cloud.]

The third game in the "Trico" trilogy, The Last Guardian follows the hit successes of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Developed by Team Ico, led by the genius Fumito Ueda, the story centers around a young boy and his developing relationship with the legendary, mythical Trico, the "great man-eating eagle" of the game. The creature is initially bound to a chain, with spears and arrows embedded in his back. The two find each other trapped in a forbidding fortress, having to trust each other to find their way to freedom. Prepare to live out a fairytale.

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Gameplay

The Last Guardian is a third-person perspective game that combines action-adventure and puzzle elements. The player controls the unnamed boy who can run, jump, climb, and perform other actions similar to the gameplay in Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. This is augmented by interaction with the giant creature which the boy can climb upon and ride. As stated by Ueda, the creature is driven by natural behavior and animal instincts, and it is up to the player to guide the creature, "taking advantage of his natural behavior", in order to complete puzzles. For example, the player may have the boy throw a barrel that gains the creature's interest, causing it to move to a specific location. The player may also need to find the way for the creature to sit still in order to allow the player to complete a section, while the natural tendency of the creature is to run ahead of the player. The player will also have to care for the creature, either by feeding it or removing spears and arrows that are stuck in its body.

Physics

The game uses a full physics engine, an aspect not included in Team Ico's previous games. Ueda said that one scene in the trailer which shows the boy throwing a barrel at the creature who then bites down and eats it is fully based on that physics engine, including the contact of the barrel with the creature's beak. The game's engine builds on the team's previous development of AI processing from Ico and transformative collisions from Shadow of the Colossus. Ueda claims within the physics engine, the effect of wind is modeled separately for each of the creature's feathers.

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Now, this is a PS3 exclusive. Which makes me cry as I'm a 360 owner, but I'm hoping by the time this games rolls around, I'll have my hands on a PS3. Here's hopping for a price cut. So yeah, this games look beautiful. I love Team Ico's style. And this game has that Neverending Story, Iron Giant feel to it. A young child, a humongous beast, and a heartwarming friendship. Awww. I'm a sucker for that. And Team Ico chose to expand on the great relationship players had with Agro, the horse, in Shadow of the Colossus. So, if they're taking that and making it the main focus of the game, I'm sold. It looks great, sounds great, and this is the one title on my radar right now. Nice.

Watch the trailer, it's fantastic. And uses the song from Miller's Crossing. Then look at this pic and marvel.

[Brojasu]

A day 1 buy for me