The Last Guardian

We all know there are certain gems in gaming that are exclusive to consoles, like Halo and Gears of War for Xbox or Mario and Zelda for Nintendo. And though Playstation has their share of games and series like God of War and The Last of Us, there is an often forgotten developer who is by all means the very heart of all things PlayStation. Team ICO. It can't be denied that the Japanese side of the gaming industry has been waning for quite some time now, because gamers have been in favor of the Western market's gameplay style since the tail end of the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox era. Games like Final Fantasy and companies like Nintendo have been losing influence with their industry's audience, because it doesn't cater to everyone's taste. Though this may be true, there are particular games that can still amaze and delight us. Team ICO is known for two PlayStation 2 games known as ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. I have to admit, I've only just begun to play ICO, but it's a beautiful game. The developer made these games in a minimalist fashion to put nearly all emphasis on the setting and hero, and though this creates a lonely atmosphere, it immerses you into an adventure that challenges you to figure out how to complete your journey. I actually played Shadow of the Colossus when it first came out, and can tell you that it's a timeless game. It shares much of the same visual style as ICO, but provides some of the best action qualities you'll find in regard to battling the towering Colossi. Though I love these type of games, I realize they're by no means tailored to everyone's taste. Most people I know play GTA just to kill people and blow shit up without ever playing the story! I just feel that throughout the history of games, these titles are masterpieces in their own right. The picture you see is supposed to be the third  and possibly final entry of Team ICO's games that will be released called The Last Guardian. It appears to share a great amount of visual characteristics as the first two games, but offers a strange creature to interact with that hasn't been done before. The creature is a griffin-like animal who is just as much a central character as the human is. Nothing is truly known about the story to this game, but it's almost certain to become a cult favorite in the gaming universe.  I felt it was important to bring this title up and discuss the series, because The Last Guardian has had a very long and rocky development since it was begun in 2007. It was revealed to audiences at E3 in 2009 with a plan to release the game for the PS3 in 2011, but that time has since come and gone. What's known is that the series director has resigned from Team ICO, but is still involved as a consultant. What's speculated from random interviews with staff from Sony is that the game is still in the works, and that development may have been restarted to create the game for the PlayStation 4. It's possible we may finally see this released next year if it's announced at this years E3, but until then, I'd recommend anyone looking to try something different give Shadow of the Colossus a chance.