Something Fast
06-03-2006, 07:39 PM
Ico was first released in 2001 and has recently been re-released (2005/6) to accompany the release of Shadow of the Colossus, a game by the same developers. Ico is essentially an adventure game, the player taking control of a young boy called Ico, who has been imprisoned in a castle. Ico has been taken to the castle and left for dead as he was born with horns, apparently a bad omen for the village. In order to ensure the safety of everyone else in the village, Ico is essentially sacrificed. Ico manages to escape the sarcophagus he has been placed in and on his way to find his way out of the castle he finds Yorda, a young girl apparently made of light. Some evil shadows suddenly attack and it’s on for young and old. Ico has to escape the castle with Yorda in tow literally as most of the game is spent holding Yorda’s hand so she doesn’t wander off or get snatched by the shadows.
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/1165/art014rp.jpg
This isn't a game where the screen is cluttered up with health bars, ammo counts, inventories or other status windows. This leads to an immersive yet daunting experience at first, as the player learns what distances Ico and Yorda are capable of jumping and how far Ico can fall without killing himself. In many situations, Yorda will refuse to jump somewhere, requiring the player to find another way to get her where they want to go. This all soon becomes second nature, though.
This game does have a fair amount of action in it, as Ico has to protect Yorda from the shadows trying to capture her. To do this, he has to beat the crap out of the shadows with a large piece of wood that looks suspiciously like a 2X4. While there's not much to combat, apart from occasionally having to drag Yorda from shadowy holes the Shadows try to pull her into and avoiding being suckerpunched by the Shadows, it is still challenging and interesting enough to be fun. (Strangely satisfying, too). Shadows can also be killed by getting Yorda to open the stone doors blocking your path.
If you leave either character for any length of time, they will start wandering around the room they're in and look around at their surroundings. This can help the player solve a puzzle sometimes (although this help is unlikely to be necessary), but is mainly another reason to keep a firm hold of Yorda's hand at all times, as she will wander off in the opposite direction given half the chance.
While the controls for this game are excellent, there are some problems sometimes with the AI controlling Yorda. For instance, she’ll climb all the way up and down a gigantic ladder repeatedly on occasion. These aren't major problems however and don't make the game much more difficult than it should be, at best resulting in the player screaming abuse at Yorda (believe me, this will happen. Go on, you know you want to). At worst this results in a minute or so extra play time as you have to guide Yorda to where you want her.
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5136/ico4ej.jpg
The graphics of this game are really incredible and show just how excellent this game is. Even in 2001, most games were still struck with an impenetrable and mysterious fog (Does anyone remember the Turok games?). Ico however is a game where the air is miraculously clear. The player can see (and zoom in) to areas hundreds of metres away with little to no loss of detail. This really helps show the immense size of the castle Ico and Yorda are trapped in, and the daunting nature of their escape. This wouldn't mean much however if it weren't for a good level design. Thankfully, Ico has some of the best level design in a game yet. While none of the puzzles are fiendishly difficult, they keep the player entertained and even after climbing up the 500th odd ladder reaching up 7 or 8 storeys the game is still fun. Water in the game is made to look very realistic, no mean feat for a game 5 years old. Lighting throughout the game is muted although the player can always see exactly what's happening on screen, unlike some games where muted lighting means the player has to do alot of squinting. Despite the fantastic nature of the architecture in the game, the brilliant way textures and lighting have been handled by the development team make the whole setting seem realistic.
The soundtrack is good, with the atmosphere built up by quiet ambient sounds. If the player moves Ico and Yorda too far apart, you can hear Yorda call out to Ico. Conversely, when the player calls to Yorda, the call becomes quieter the closer you are. The only music occurs in certain key sequences, as well as situations where Yorda is under threat from the Shadows. This music is subtle however, and never intrusive as it can be in some games.
The developers made some attempts to provide more content for players wishing to play through the game again, with Ico getting a lightsaber-like sword to hack at enemies with. Yorda can also be controlled by a second player, although the novelty of this soon wears off and is more a gimmick than any real extra. The main incentive to replay the game is that some characters in the game can now be understood, with the subtitles for Yorda being in English rather than the strange symbols the player would have seen on the first play-through. Even despite this lack of many unlockable extras, the game is one worth replaying as it is not one that loses its charm or entertainment value quickly.
Apart from a second player being able to control Yorda on the second play-through, there is no real multiplayer or co-op content to Ico.
Considering the fast rate at which each generation of games leave previous games in the dust, it's incredible that this game has stood the test of time and is just as impressive as it was five years ago. This is a game that should have pride of place in any PS2 owner’s collection. Since it’s been re-released at a decent price, go buy it. Now.
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/1165/art014rp.jpg
This isn't a game where the screen is cluttered up with health bars, ammo counts, inventories or other status windows. This leads to an immersive yet daunting experience at first, as the player learns what distances Ico and Yorda are capable of jumping and how far Ico can fall without killing himself. In many situations, Yorda will refuse to jump somewhere, requiring the player to find another way to get her where they want to go. This all soon becomes second nature, though.
This game does have a fair amount of action in it, as Ico has to protect Yorda from the shadows trying to capture her. To do this, he has to beat the crap out of the shadows with a large piece of wood that looks suspiciously like a 2X4. While there's not much to combat, apart from occasionally having to drag Yorda from shadowy holes the Shadows try to pull her into and avoiding being suckerpunched by the Shadows, it is still challenging and interesting enough to be fun. (Strangely satisfying, too). Shadows can also be killed by getting Yorda to open the stone doors blocking your path.
If you leave either character for any length of time, they will start wandering around the room they're in and look around at their surroundings. This can help the player solve a puzzle sometimes (although this help is unlikely to be necessary), but is mainly another reason to keep a firm hold of Yorda's hand at all times, as she will wander off in the opposite direction given half the chance.
While the controls for this game are excellent, there are some problems sometimes with the AI controlling Yorda. For instance, she’ll climb all the way up and down a gigantic ladder repeatedly on occasion. These aren't major problems however and don't make the game much more difficult than it should be, at best resulting in the player screaming abuse at Yorda (believe me, this will happen. Go on, you know you want to). At worst this results in a minute or so extra play time as you have to guide Yorda to where you want her.
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5136/ico4ej.jpg
The graphics of this game are really incredible and show just how excellent this game is. Even in 2001, most games were still struck with an impenetrable and mysterious fog (Does anyone remember the Turok games?). Ico however is a game where the air is miraculously clear. The player can see (and zoom in) to areas hundreds of metres away with little to no loss of detail. This really helps show the immense size of the castle Ico and Yorda are trapped in, and the daunting nature of their escape. This wouldn't mean much however if it weren't for a good level design. Thankfully, Ico has some of the best level design in a game yet. While none of the puzzles are fiendishly difficult, they keep the player entertained and even after climbing up the 500th odd ladder reaching up 7 or 8 storeys the game is still fun. Water in the game is made to look very realistic, no mean feat for a game 5 years old. Lighting throughout the game is muted although the player can always see exactly what's happening on screen, unlike some games where muted lighting means the player has to do alot of squinting. Despite the fantastic nature of the architecture in the game, the brilliant way textures and lighting have been handled by the development team make the whole setting seem realistic.
The soundtrack is good, with the atmosphere built up by quiet ambient sounds. If the player moves Ico and Yorda too far apart, you can hear Yorda call out to Ico. Conversely, when the player calls to Yorda, the call becomes quieter the closer you are. The only music occurs in certain key sequences, as well as situations where Yorda is under threat from the Shadows. This music is subtle however, and never intrusive as it can be in some games.
The developers made some attempts to provide more content for players wishing to play through the game again, with Ico getting a lightsaber-like sword to hack at enemies with. Yorda can also be controlled by a second player, although the novelty of this soon wears off and is more a gimmick than any real extra. The main incentive to replay the game is that some characters in the game can now be understood, with the subtitles for Yorda being in English rather than the strange symbols the player would have seen on the first play-through. Even despite this lack of many unlockable extras, the game is one worth replaying as it is not one that loses its charm or entertainment value quickly.
Apart from a second player being able to control Yorda on the second play-through, there is no real multiplayer or co-op content to Ico.
Considering the fast rate at which each generation of games leave previous games in the dust, it's incredible that this game has stood the test of time and is just as impressive as it was five years ago. This is a game that should have pride of place in any PS2 owner’s collection. Since it’s been re-released at a decent price, go buy it. Now.