So, it looks even more likely thatour dreamsof an HD Ico and Shadow of the Colossus may be indulged. Why? Sony has been putting arounda new questionnaire, the subject of which is enhanced PS2 remakes. It’s an open question, with no pre-selected games to choose from, but if anything, that makes us even more excited.
The reason? That might, just might, mean that Sony isn’t limiting its thinking solely to first-party games. After all, there are plenty of old, unenhanced third-party PSOne games downloadableon the PSN now, and with enough fan enthusiasm, deals can obviously be done. So we’ve been thinking about which PS2 classics – other than the obvious Team Ico duo of splendour - we’d like to see given the God of War Collection treatment, and so far we’ve come up with these. Whether overlooked series or ones that could really benefit from modernday tech,they all deserve another chance to shine. Take a look and tell us what you think.
Silent Hill Trilogy
The reason: Silent Hill used to be the most fresh, terrifying, intelligent, atmospheric and relevant horror series around. But through repetition and a spiralling plug-hole of innovation it’s now on the ropes. With no clear direction with which to put the series back on top, we want to revisit the games that made us fear and respect SH’s immense artistry in the first place.
Bleak, harrowing, emotional, and deeply, uniquely visually arresting. That’s what the first three games were, and along with their intensely punishing Akira Yamaoka soundtracks, that’s what makes them completely relevant to the HDretouch treatment. A whole generation has missed out on ‘real’ Silent Hill, so let’s reintroduce it in a style that befits its grandeur. And yes, we've cheated by allowing a PSOne game in here. What are you going to do about it?
Jak %26amp; Daxter Trilogy
The reason: While Ratchet and Clank have thrived on the PS3, the PS2’s other heroic sci-fi platforming duo are still nowhere to be seen in the land of HD. Bizarrely we’ve recently had a fourth, non-Naughty Dog entry on the PSP and PS2, but that’s just not good enough. We want the original three games popping off our plasmas and drenching our happy faces with their bright, colourful cartoon wonderment. We want to play through the whole, increasingly forgotten saga again as if it was brand new again, and if it sold well, the Jak collection could maybe just maybe lead to a proper new full-sized sequel. Sony, get on it.
Timesplitters 2
The reason: Timesplitters 2 is Free Radical Design’s finest hour. And that’s no small statement when you consider that much of its staff also made Goldeneye. Essentially the spiritual successor to the N64’s beautiful slice of bullet-genius, it’s as still slick as an iced eel to play, has storming level design and a brilliantly gigglesome sense of movie pastiching humour. And crucially, its cartoony character design is bright, bold, brilliantly animated and packed with personality.
That, in HD, with online multiplayer over the PSN. We’d be happier than an opium addict in a poppie field.
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Trilogy
The reason: The Prince of Persia isback on top form againwith fourth part of the trilogy The Forgotten Sands. And Ubisoft’s revisitation of the Prince’s hair-trigger gymnastic glory days has us hankering to go back and plough through the whole original trilogy again.
So let’s do it all on one Blu-ray disc and in HD. All three games are excellent (yes, even Warrior Within, now that we’re over the shock of the Prince’s grump-tastic heavy metal makeover) but never got the commercial recognition they deserved. The original Sands of Time is still an incadescant beauty of a game, bursting with colour and dripping with fairytale Eastern ambience, and it would all look stunning through the magical lens of full 1080p. And Warrior Within wouldseriously benefit. Darker and drabber in palette, but still densely atmospheric, it suffered from muddy textures and blurrily disguised platforms in its original incarnation, but a cleaned up version would really let it shine. Or smoulder, as that incarnation of the Prince would probably prefer.
