Anyway, the latest scraps of detail to appear come courtesy of the game's US localisation producer. Writing on the message boards at PlayStation.com under the pseudonym 'Viper99', he was keen to outline that, 'You have to realise that this is the same team and they liked Ico as much as we do.'
'There will be a number of things which may cross over from palettes, art style, environments, etc. We may find a few nods/homages to Ico here and there. In fact, you may walk away with a number of questions which may lead you to want to play Ico again. If you don't know squat about Ico, you will have some surprises; if you are a fan of Ico, you will have some extra surprises.' Which, if you're a fan of Ico to the same extent as PALGN, is intriguing to say the least.
'Viper99' also assures us that there'll be 'many diverse environments', with the 52 areas on the game map each measuring 600 square metres in size. There'll also be 'a number of interesting things that will be possible once you have made it deep into this game,' according to the producer. Somehow we're guessing he doesn't mean an unlockable mod which allows you to perform lewd sexual acts between the lead characters, but who knows in this day and age, eh Hillary?
'There are some things that you can find and pick up in the game that will add to the experience,' he continues, before pointing out that 'most are not available the first time through the game. Pretty much you have a sword, a bow and a horse the first time around.' There'll be good reason to finish the game again though, with Viper99 promising that, 'Once players do complete it, they'll get a few unlocks, such as a new mode or two. And besides, there's a lot of replayability as the Colossi do not always co-operate the same way.'
We're also told that the control scheme won't prove an obstacle, with the producer noting that, 'The controller config has been carefully thought out so as to be intuitive in the context of the different actions you need to do at the same time (i.e. hold on for dear life, camera lock on the colossus, power up a jump, etc.). The team feels that they have it down and trust me, it will grow on you.'
Finally, when it comes to the game's lifespan, our friend in the know reckons that, 'With a strat guide and no deaths, the game could probably be beaten in 8-9 hours. Realistically, without a strat guide and dying a few times it will take 12+ hours.' Which translates as 25 hours if you possess PALGN's level of gaming skill.
Anyway, the game is due out in the States in September, though both the European and Australian arms of Sony have said the game will be with us PAL lot at 'some point during Q1 2006'. Terrific.
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