Ico, a hidden gaming treasure

Once in while a game appears that is so beautiful, so compelling in its uniqueness, that one cannot help be amazed at the team that developed that put it together. Ico is such a title and in the gaming world a hidden treasure.

Ico was released in 2001 for the then fledgling PS2. It was originally intended as a late launch for PS1 but Sony wisely asked the developers to switch formats. It came to the US with little fanfare and no marketing support. The critics loved it, but the general public ignored the title and it went nowhere in terms of sales. Years later, Ico has become a cult hit and collector’s item. Fortunately for the development team, their follow-up “Shadow of the Colossus” was a rather successful title.

The Plot: Ico is a 12 year old boy that had the misfortune of being born with horns. The people of his village took this as a bad omen and drag him in chains to an enormous, seemingly abandoned castle. There he is imprisoned inside a standing sarcophagus as a sacrifice to whatever ghostly entity these people haunts this building. Ico has a stroke of luck when an earthquake comes along, allowing his to escape his entombment. He then has one purpose, to leave this rather creepy place. As he makes his way he comes across the mysterious Yorda, an ethereal and beautiful young waif, trapped in cage. He frees her with the desire to have her come with him. It turns out she is the daughter of the evil queen who owns the castle. The queen is dying and seeks to spiritually possess the body of her own daughter in order to live on. The two of them begin working together to escape.

The Presentation: This game comes closer to being art than perhaps anything else. The environment is almost Monet-like in its beauty. The castle is well detailed, with fantastic architecture, giving the player a variety of environments to wander through. The lighting and particle effects (dust falling off old surfaces for example) and executed wonderfully. The character models are an interesting mix of cell-shading and CG, and the movement animations are really well crafted. The large vistas are conveyed with suitable grandeur and the sight distances are truly phenomenal for being as early in the PS2 cycle as this was. Simply put it was a fantastic effort. In terms of sound there is a minimalist approach here. There is no background music for most of the game, just ambient sounds. The environmental sound effects are well done and perfectly pitched to actions. There is very little in the way of dialogue, a sort of Japanese elfish. The story is conveyed almost entirely by the player’s actions. The operatic song at the end credits makes it a worthwhile experience to stick around after the final battle.

The Game play: Ico is a single player third person real-time action adventure game in a massive 3-D world.. The controls are easy to learn and fairly responsive. Ico moves through the environment, solving various puzzles and finding ways to get to the next area. In the first part of the game the main objective is to open a massive set of doors at the front of the castle. The castle itself could be seen as one giant puzzle broken down into smaller components. The other objective is to protect Yorda from an assortment of the queen’s minions who seek to recapture her. Yorda has no combat ability to speak of but is needed to open doors (as a side benefit when she opens these doors, the energy dispels the monsters in the room) as the game progresses, Ico comes across weapons of increasing strength to use. If Yorda is successfully captured the game ends so be careful. The monsters themselves are made of a smoky substance and will simply dissipate if hit enough times. The mechanics are well done and Ico’s movements are very natural. The game is fairly forgiving so no there are “cheap deaths” here. The Yorda AI is pretty good at following Ico, though sometimes she will wander off, and Ico can call her back to his side. The combat is on gentle upward curve as the game progresses but nothing overwhelming. The monster’s primary focus is on Yorda not Ico; they only will fight with Ico if Ico attacks them. Interaction with the environment is also handled very well.

Kids Corner: This one is ok around the young ones. There is a suggestion of romance between Ico and Yorda, but nothing remotely sexual. The dialogue is in an invented language so if there are any four letter words, they would never be understood. There is violence, but the opponents are made of smoke and simply vanish if struck enough, nothing here bloody or gory . The concepts and game play may not appeal to the younger kids out there.

In the end Ico is a true classic. If you ever come across this title at the bargain bin in your local Gamestop or EB or on Ebay, and have a PS2 or backward compatible PS3, snag this one. You will be in for a beautiful gaming experience that is truly unique.

I was looking at "Shadow of Colossus" a while ago. Is that one good as well?

Yes indeed, its excellent, I have purchased and played this one several times. The game is not a direct sequel to Ico, but it takes place in another part of the same world. The world itself is an enomous outdoor environment, that is beautifully crafted( and fully streaming) with lots of diverse areas to explore. The game does away with a lot of the adventure conventions . The objective is seek out and slay 16 colussi, in essence the game is made up of "boss" battles. These things are wonderfully animated and are the stars of the game. Beating the first few is a straightforward task but as the game progresses the monsters require more sophisticated startegy to kill, in essence becoming living puzzles, a very cool idea and well executed. Like Ico there is a certain beautiful starkness to it all. The last battle is paticularly dramatic. The only weakness is that the controls can get a bit tricky in spots, but nothing off putting If you want to know more about this title your are welcome to PM me with any questions. In short definately more than worth your 20 bucks worth!