ICO

"This is an outrage! I believe the shadowdemons in this game were misrepesented!"

Intro
Ico... ICO... Doesn't matter how you put the words together. It equates the same thing. A short, but extremely fulfilling work of art bestowed unto us from Sony. I didn't know what to think of this game when I first saw some screens of this game. I just saw some little boy helping a girl up a cliff. I never actually thought that this could be one of the best games I'd play this year. How did they do it, you ask? Great scripting? Immaculate graphics? A killer soundtrack? Lots of pop culture references? The worth of this game actually did take me by surprise, and I'll mention that in the Final Word.

Ico and His Woman
In this game, you play as a young boy named Ico. Ico was born with horns, which is a huge negative omen in his village... That and the reappearance of Ellen Degeneres in another sitcom. Anyone with horns is blamed for anything bad that befalls the village, especially another Police Academy sequel. So, the residents of his village make one, final decision as they do with all boys born with horns. They must take him to the abandoned castle and lock him up as a sacrifice when he turns 12. Well, the clock has just struck midnight for Ico, and he's off to be locked away. Well, at least the place has free room and board, assuming you can catch any stray insects while being bound at the wrists. While confined in his little chamber, Ico tries hard to break free and succeeds. He gets out to find himself inside the old castle. After much exploring, he finds that they've neglected to repair the castle for centuries... and that there's a strange girl in a cage. After freeing the girl, Ico decides to try to find a way out of the castle while taking the girl, Princess Yorda, with him. However, thwarting his advancement are the forces of darkness, and no, I don't mean N'Sync.

The Environment
Sure, you're confined to one castle, but the environment programmed therein is just amazing! The castle was designed very well with different side ''decorations'' to give it that official feel. The best part about the castle happens to be the fact that it feels like just one, big puzzle. Imagine playing an RPG and going into a dungeon that has a bunch of puzzles. Now, imagining a game that is basically just one big RPG dungeon with tons of puzzles everywhere. The whole basis of the puzzles plays off the environment. It encourages you to look around and actually think and use logic and reasoning skills. The puzzles do involve you to interact with different environmental stimuli as well as revolve around Yorda's role in the game. Getting Yorda safely from one place to another as well as providing a route for her where it seems like there might not be one clearly visible. In short, very engaging gameplay. I wouldn't go so far as to say that the puzzles are Alundra difficult, but they are somewhat difficult at different points. They're not too extremely hard to figure out if you just use a little bit of logic. As you might have read in my Alundra review, I'm a big puzzle freak, so was in Heaven with this game.

Back, Foul Demon!
While guiding Yorda through the game, you will be attacked by the minions of the castle. They are the tormented souls of the horned boys who have been sacrificed and all those who have died within the walls of the castle. Battling is quite basic, but the idea approach is quite interesting. Fighting the demons takes basic attacking. Fighting them off effectively takes a bit of fighting, fleeing, and selective attacking. You basically have to fight the enemies off and kill them while trying to protect Yorda. So, it's not always best to just go crazy on one enemy while another sneaks up and grabs Yorda. You actually have to be a bit selective at times as to who you attack. One interesting little bit of battle you should know is that you cannot die by ''losing life.'' Simply put, there is no life bar in this game at all. I like the approach. It takes something completely different and definitely outside the norm. The only way to die during battle (not counting falling off an edge that's much too high) is if Yorda is taken by one of the demons into their little portal. If she's being pulled inside, you can still pull her out. Just don't let her get too far.

Major Element Blend
Possibly another factor that made this game such a great title was the blend of different genre elements. The elements came in at very appropriate times, too. Solving the puzzles just seemed to give you that strategy or even a puzzler element to the game. It didn't feel like any puzzler out there, though. It wasn't like playing a Tetris or Adventures of Lolo clone. It felt a bit more like Soul Reaver, only with a bit less block pushing. There was adventure added to it. All the climbing, jumping, diving, swinging, etc. gave helped build that sense of adventure. I liked the sense of taking all the detours to go from A to B. At the same time, you had to explore your options and know the world around you very well. There's even a hint of survival/horror in the game. I love the atmosphere that builds when you fight enemies. You'll be lead into a false sense of security and those demons will just pop up out of nowhere and attack. The music also helped sell the horror feel to the game. You kept thinking every big move you make was going to trigger a battle and I'll say it made me quite paranoid all the way through the game. I kept thinking that jumping each gorge, throwing each switch, opening new passages, almost everything I did was going to rouse the spirits to wake.

Graphics
When I first saw the opening FMV for this game, I wasn't totally impressed with the graphics. It didn't look like they had ver good resolution at first. It wasn't until I started playing the game an I saw the character designs a bit better and the actual animation while Ico was running. It was completely stunning. Everything I saw from the beginning to the end conveyed very hard work on the part of Sony in the graphical area. The water moved so lively, almost real. The light seems to pour in with beam of light that look almost exactly like the type you see pouring in through a living room window. When Ico falls in, small bubbles rush below him and the waves react so realistically. The expressions on Ico and Yorda and even their design and motion was just awe-inspiring. So what if I'm lulled by realism! I think the graphics in this game really helped to convey the true beauty behind it. In short, everything were well designed from the actual structures, to the motions and animation, and even down to the games color pallet.

Sounds
Sounds were not a major part of the game, but they filled their part greatly. There is very little music in the game. The only music that really plays is when fighting and during the closing credits. I enjoyed even those few songs, though. They hit just the right emotion they were aiming for. The sound effects, much like the graphics, were also quite realistic. Ico falling, hitting a wall with his weapon, or even that gurgling noise when a portal opened... it all fit its given event quite well. The voices were also very well done. Ico had that confident tone to his voice, Yorda sounded innocent, and The Queen had that conniving, evil voice to her.

Controls
The controls were well put together. I liked how the right analog stick can be used to shift the camera around in different directions or even using the shoulder buttons for zooming or calling Yorda over to you. The best part is they left everything simplistic. Each button is assigned a simple function. Nothing too complicated. No button combos to push to get some extra special effect. No complexities to worry about. You a adjust to the button set up almost immediately.

Final Word
All those elements added greatly, but one thing contributed the best to this game. The emotion factor. They didn't need a script to sell the storyline. They didn't need a bunch of background information on each character to develop them. What few cut scenes that took place developed them quite well. What in those cut scenes set off good development? The emotion behind it all. The facial expressions say it all. Just by looking into Ico and Yorda's eyes and faces, hearing their voices and seeing each arising situation, you can actually feel a bond there. I could almost sense the strength in the emotion between the two. They didn't need some soggy love scene to show that Ico really cared enough to help Yorda. They didn't need any hugging, kissing, or Shakespear to show a bond there. We didn't see a scene were it fully formed, but you know it's there when you see the cut scenes. Ico tries desperately and against all odds to get out of a castle and he takes this girl he's only just met with him. He risks himself and achieves highly athletic deeds to rescue himself and Yorda. Even when it looked like his chances were slim, he still rose to the occasion. In short, Sony emphasized just the right elements of the game in making Ico. They made a near perfect game, despite its short game length. All I can say is, bravo!

FINAL JUDGMENT
Graphics: Well put together. They help capture the essence of the game. 10/10
Sounds: Very few used in the game, but they were used effectively 9/10
Controls: Look Ma'! No complexities! 9/10
Plot/Storyline: There may not seem to be a whole lot of development, but the emotion factor was very high. Sure, you know I hate save-the-maiden storylines, but this one put forth so much more than just that. 10/10
Gameplay: Very fun and addictive. Balanced difficulty, too. 10/10
All Together: 10/10

Perks
*Addictive
*Superlative graphics
*The emotion factor
*Atmospheric
*Well used elements
*Unique

Downers
*I think it needed a bit more of a replay value after you finished. Too bad they didn't give you that ability to translate Yorda and Queen.

Recommendations
If you like adventure games or games that have lots of puzzles to solve, this game is for you. Anyone who doesn't like thinking games or is impatient may want to pass this one up or just get a FAQ (I'm currently resisting the temptation to self-promote!).

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/10/01, Updated 11/10/01