The Last Guardian

[Kigh_all]

This is the game that will finally force me to buy a PS3!

[Shaun Hatton]

I'm very much thinking the same thing.

[rey-o]

Similarly, this is one of the main reasons I purchased one a few months back - knowing that Fumito Ueda would be doing something for it.

Both ICO and SOTC have been hugely inspirational/influential games for me. Super excited.

[Kigh_all]

I'll second that rey-o, SOTC has sat in my PS2 tray for longer than any other game I've owned. It helped me overcome some difficult times when I picked it up. Back with the initial announcement of a third game for PS3, I figured that'd be the logical time to get one. It's been a tough wait! Sadly I missed out on ICO. It's on my list should I ever come across it.

So what can we speculate from the video?

[Shaun Hatton]

We know the footage is about two years old ;)

Other than that, I have no idea what the game might be about other than the fact that these two character's lives are intertwined in a playful yet touching way.

[rey-o]

There was a brief period of time when Ico was dirt cheap and you could find it in pretty much any bargain bin at your local Real Canadian Superstore. Sadly those days are past us now. You still might have a chance in finding it at a smaller game shop.

As far as speculation goes, here are a few thoughts:

Enemies: SOTC was a vast wasteland filled with colossi and a smattering of smaller animals. Ico occasionally pitted you against shadows. In both cases the worlds were sparsely populated. The armoured guards we see in the trailer may suggest a more populated world. At least comparatively speaking to SOTC, I'm not expecting Dynasty Warriors!

You can also see that the guards have curiously long necks, they might not be human. Their eyes look similar to the Colossi eyes, glowing.

Horns : One constant thread between ICO and SOTC is the horns. Without spoiling anything about their stories, it's enough to say that horns play an important part in both. This time around the large creature has horns, which are still growing (it's also worth noting that the creature is young, possibly a baby). In the past the horns have represented a kind of curse/redemption cycle, I wonder if that theme will continue in TLG.

The name : Seems to tie in with SOTC. Is this creature a part of the race of colossi? Will the creature eventually resemble them with stone bits of architecture?

Well that's all I can really think of for now. When I first saw the leaked footage, I couldn't get it out of my mind! I'm glad at least I can jot down some thoughts here!

Also there is some good info about the game in this 1up interview here: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3174577

[Kigh_all]

Before I read the interview I was going to remark on the caregiving aspects. We know that's confirmed as a game mechanic now. Guiding the Griffon around instantly makes me think of ICO just from what little I know about the game. However the Griffon can be exploited to climb on etc. whereas the girl in ICO was something of a crutch if I'm not mistaken?

Enemies: The main thing I noticed, regarding the armoured guards, was that the boy seems to be alone in fighting them. We don't see (apart from the opening cinematic) how the Griffon may interact with enemies, or if at all. I'm interested to see if there'll be combat involving your feathered companion or if it's taken on a role similar to Agro.

The Griffon: Is it a young creature, or just naive and helpless in the world after being locked up? I'd agree it seems like a baby from it's emotions in the video. Also I'm not certain whether it's wings have been ripped off (as I read somewhere) or if they've yet to grow in, giving credence to the above theory.

Could we see flying in this game and will it remind everyone of Falkor in The NeverEnding Story? Will I be shouting "Atreyu!" at my tv? :P Either way i'd like to see how it's A.I. reacts to the environment without guidance and will probably spend a good deal of time following it around instead of the opposite.

[Jorge]

I've never had the pleasure of playing SOTC.  I remember hearing a lot about it, and then I got a Wii.

My wife and I saw Reign Over Me which featured Adam Sandler's character playing a lot of SOTC, and I thought to myself Wow, I'd love to play that game, but I'm not going to buy a PS2 just so I can do that.

Now, I'm pretty happy to be owning a PS3...

[Reay]

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/6/8/

[Shaun Hatton]

I'm pretty sure that while you're playing The Last Guardian, some dick kid ends up running up the side of your dragon and trying to kill it to save his girlfriend.

[Kigh_all]

hahaha what a twist!

[rey-o]

lol @ that Penny Arcade strip and Shaun's comment.

It's crazy how the idea of the creature or the boy dying has really taken off. I suppose it's a possibility but I'm more interested in the journey of the game, if that makes any sense. It's also worth noting that 'death' as it appears in Team Ico's past two games is never completely literal.

Here's an older interview with Fumito Ueda and Kenji Kaido about Ico, I think it illustrates the attitude they have when approaching game endings and even death in their games: http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3144673

[Jorge]

What they need is a game that pairs a fat ugly lard-ass guy with missing teeth and a three legged horse that likes to urinate on flowerbeds.

Oh wait.

We're trying to GET people to LIKE the main characters...

[Kigh_all]

What's not likeable about either a fat ugly lard-ass guy with missing teeth OR a three legged horse that urinates on flowerbeds?! Actually I believe that's the winning formula that will finally defeat the Uncanny Valley problem.

Also wasn't that the whole premise of Disney's beloved The Hunchback of Notre Dame?

[Jorge]

True.

But they made him cute.

And removed 50% of the urine.