2005 Euro launch for NICO/Wanda
Except that's not its name. "Shadow of the Colossus" is the one you should remember from now on.
Sony Computer Entertainment has confirmed its Japanese ICO development team's second game, known to you and us as Wanda And The Colossus, will be released in Europe during 2005.
In a brief missive sent to hacks this morning, Sony offered no specific details on the game other than its European name. Wanda, often referred to by its working title NICO, will henceforth be known as Shadow of the Colossus around these parts.
As you may recall, Shadow of the Colossus (which isn't as good a name in our books, if we're honest; "Wanda" had character) sees the player taking on huge, well, colossal creatures whose very bodies are the game's levels, which our hero has to navigate if he wants to find and exploit a weak spot to kill them.
You can find more details in a couple of successive items here and here, published following last year's announcement
For those of you who never played ICO, - the game that gives us so much faith and enthusiasm for the Colossus project - we suggest tracking it down forthwith. It's a gloriously simple, elegant and innocent adventure shared by a boy and a girl who share no mutual language, and it's one of only a few games ever to receive top marks on Eurogamer.
We're very hopeful of being able to get our hands on Shadow of the Colossus at this year's E3 trade show in LA. And assuming we do, it'll probably be all you can do to stop us jabbering about it.