ICO (Sony PlayStation 2, 2001)

This game has been a fan and reviewer favorite.
Why? Because it's unlike anything else on the market.
Even it's new relative, Shadow of the Colossus, is not the same.

The story revolves around a young boy trapped in a huge sprawling castle,
the girl he meets there, and how they try to escape.
The two can barely communicate, with no shared language (and the player
can't understand either of their languages). But the bond that so obviously
forms between the two, and the risks that they will take to help each other,
that is what this game is all about.

While the castle and its fascinating and seemingly infinite traps and puzzles keep the game going, it's the trust between the characters that impressed me.
The first time the girl leaped off a precipice, knowing the boy (player)
would catch her before she plunged to her death 800 feet below,
I was moved to tears. And I laughed until I fell off ther couch when I accidentally threw myself into a chimney.

The enemies are scary and challenging, the huge environments a series of puzzles and skill tests. I don't do platformers and I was fine with this game.
The fighting was very hard for a puzzle-lover like myself, and the puzzles
were interesting and kept me focussed.

Story - the best, graphics- good and realistic, characters- A+++!,
enemies- very good, music- good, gameplay- very smooth, fighting skill level- medium, puzzle skill level- medium.
Might not be suitable for very young players, as it can be scary,
but excellent for everyone, say, over 10-12 years of age.

Okay, maybe it's not THAT exciting, but it's definately something to be excited about! This Gorgeous under appriciated game is made by your favorite people who brought Shadow of the Colossus, except this came out before it. The atmosphere of the game is haunting but serene. Basically, this action-ish adventure game let's you play as a boy who has to protect a girl while they try to excape a castle full of demons together. You can hold her hand or leave her to wander not far from you as you push blocks, pull levers, and wack demons with a stick. It's more about thought provoking puzzles than anything, but the demons are foes you cannot under estimate either. This game has a much deeper and mysterious feeling that can only be experienced. a lot of people who enjoyed the classic Sierra and Lucas Arts adventure games seem to enjoy this fine piece of work too. Whether an adventure gamer or not, this is a game people can appriciate for it's beauty and originality.

I've been wanting to play this since it came out, but I did not have a PS2 at the time and years later when I got one I couldn't find it in any stores. I ended up getting Shadow of the Colossus, which was awesome and further made me want to play Ico. I finally got a copy through Ebay and it met every expectation. The game at its base is an extremely toned-down Zelda game. There is little fighting, and the core concept is to solve the environmental puzzles that lead to the next area. What the game has that others don't, however, is serious emotional depth. Not forced feelings brought on by cheap dramatic narrative, but an authentic involvement achieved through genuine interest in the characters and beautifully crafted environments. The simplicity really is the key- toning down the action and leaving out power-ups and varying weapons allows a person to focus on the characters and their surroundings. The detailed settings and perfect sound effects really make you feel Ico's position of being abandoned and lost in an unfamiliar place, but not without hope. The emotional connection created between Ico and Yorda, who speak different lanuages but relate in their predicament, is remarkable. It is an incredibly short game, but I did not feel cheated in the slightest. In fact, the brevity might have been to game's benefit, as emotional involvement or not, the gameplay never really changes and possibly would have dimmed the game's resonance if drug out further. Anyway, it really is a worthwile experience all around. I wish more games would exercise this sort of artistry in their development. I'll probably just have to wait for the follow-up to Shadow of the Colossus.

Ico is a legendary game for the playstaion 2, it is deffintoly a tend setter and a unique experiance like no other, its a very fun game that makes you use your mind and wit to solve and learn how to play rather than some tutorial or some one telling you how to play.

The game itself has a great storyline allthough short, as the game can be beat in one to two sitings or around 8 hours its very enchanting and brings new things to the table with charicters youll never forget. it also feels very human as the charicter you play allthough having horns growing from his head is a normal boy with no powers, so it is easier to connect to him as you try to fight your way through the baddies and taking yorda by the hand and helping her along the pathways and puzzles.

all and all its an amazing game and is a must have for any RPG owner, as even 10 years from now ill have to break out my ps2 and play it to relive the epic story that is ICO.

I originally bought ICO when it first came out some years ago. The gameplay first appears to be fairly simple; solving puzzles while running around outdoor environments and fighting monsters. However, unlike seemingly similar games, the focus of the gameplay is the protection of a second character whom is unable to attack or defend. Additionally, the second character is uncontrollable by the player, and must be led through the labyrinth of puzzles by holding her hand and dragging her along while demons and monsters attempt to return her to her place in the prison. As both characters are right at that prepubesent / early adolescent age, there is an innocence and a necessity in their relationship not easily found in videogames these days. There is no swearing, gunplay, extreme violence, or nudity; just stunning gameplay. ICO is a true testament that these elements do not always denote a masterpiece (tetris anyone?). Controls for the game are perfect and the camera never ruins the experience. Additionally, the feel of the game simply has to be experienced first hand and is not easily described. The visuals in the game are breathtaking as they are expansive. The player always has that "jack and the beanstalk" feeling while roaming the areas, yet never seems to waste time walking from one end of the world to another. The puzzles always push the player in the right direction. The audio is also perfect for the game. Music scores do not play continuously (much like Tombraider 1), adding emotion and feeling to certain areas of the game. In addition, the lack of music at times is sombering. You can hear your footsteps echo in the large areas and through corridors. You hear your companion yelling in an undecipherable language from around the corner or outside where you left her as demons/monsters attack, dragging her away.
I am a hard core gamer at heart, but my wife is not. However she fell in love with this game as well. So this is kinda like a benny for all of us gamers out there whom have girlfriends / wives keeping away from the video game scene. This one will make her see the hidden beauty and depth which a video game can possess (worked for me, and now she's hooked).
It is simply an understatement to call ICO a must have game. It is a masterpiece. Get it if you are able and experience why this title, which is rarely written about in the mainstream video game circles, always seems to crop up when discussing the top video games of all time.

Hope my gushing over ICO convinced YOU to buy a copy of your own.

Thanks for reading,

Baughercl