The first Project Trico footage leaked onto the interwebs still has us awestruck. But although beautiful, mysterious and artistically striking in the style of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus, the action on display is at least 18 months old. Well, now Trico has a new name, The Last Guardian, and the trailer debuted at Sony’s press conference shows just what Team ICO have been doing since then. Below, you’ll find a picture comparison between the Trico and Guardian videos and the new trailer provided by G4TV.com. What a difference a year (and six months) makes.

Above: The creature from the first trailer


Above: The final design of the creature from the latest video

If Trico’s version of the creature is a cute and cuddly newborn, then the beast seen in Guardian is its grizzled, moody big brother. It looks older, leaner and meaner now. Personally, we’re glad. We’ll stick money on the brute kicking the bucket tragically at some point. And, the less huggable the behemoth is, the easier it'll be to see it die.

Above: The boy from the Project Trico trailer


Above: The finished version of the kid from The Last Guardian video

The new version of the kid has clearly had some pretty drastic reconstructive surgery, as his head is no longer two times too big for his body. The art style is distinctly less cartoony, too – more in keeping with Wander’s look from Shadow of the Colossus. Finally, his robes are less Tribal in design and now look more like Ancient Greek garments.

The death-defying jumps that are such a trademark feature of ICO look set to return. Expect a platforming-heavy adventure.

It looks like sections without the creature feature stealth sections where the boy sneaks past guards. Here’s hoping these bits aren’t overused.

We say combat, but any fighting in the game looks like it revolves around the boy using his small stature and quick reflexes to get out of guards' attacks.

Seems the sprog has to feed his colossal companion from time to time. We suspect this might tie into a possible stamina bar for the creature.

The bit where the boy flattens a soldier by throwing a barrel down stairs, which then causes a shelf of debris to fall on the baddy, indicates there's some sort of advanced physics engine in the game.

Check out Secrets of the Project Trico trailer revealed for in-depth insight into why we reckon The Last Guardian could well be a prequel to Shadow of the Colossus.

June 03, 2009