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The most unique puzzle game on the PS2...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I can't wait for a sequel, though it would be a tough challenge to match such a great game. The game is becoming short in supply since it is an older game. Even with all the new PS2 titles it is still remains one of the PS2 best games...

Why is it one of the best?
-Great for all ages.
-Story, graphics, sounds, and environments are awesome.
-Puzzles are great and challenging, but not impossible.
-Unique game style; find ways to get a girl throughout a castle
protecting her from monster shadows with only a club until a
sword is found. (No blood you fight black smoke!)
-Teaches people how to help others. What a concept teach kids
something good for a change while having fun. Wow, moral
lessons!
-Seven hours of quality gaming...

What's wrong?
-It's almost impossible to fing anymore...
-Only about 7 Hrs of game play,
You'll be sad it's over...
-Not much replay other than to enjoy the environment.
-I haven't found any game like it,
which is rather disappointing for the PS2.

A must have... ~Umpa

One of a kind.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Few video games can be referred to as art, but ICO truely deserves the title. Understated and poetic, ICO blends engaging puzzle solving and emotional simplicity together wonderfully.

Amazing game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: August 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

One of my friends had this game for almost 2 years and I never played it until a few weeks ago becasue I had nothing else to do. I never thought of playing it because it looked like a pretty lame and boring game. But boy, was I so incredibly wrong.

This is my all time favourite game ever created. I've never played a game so intriging and amazingly fun. The puzzles were hard but beatable and the fighting was something unique that I've never seen before.

I can't remember how long it took me to beat Ico but I think it was somewhere around 8 hours. But those were the best 8 hours of my life (I'm not kidding). Why hasn't there been a sequel to this game? I have no frickin idea. Ico was incredible. Instead of focusing on making crappy sequels to crappy games, why not make a sequel to one of, if not thee, greatest game ever made.

Graphics - 9/10
This graphics are some of the best I've ever seen in any game. I don't know why old games like this and the Bouncer have such incredible graphics.

Gameplay - 10/10
What's there to say, the puzzles are amazing, the fighting is unique and fun and don't forget the collection of sweet weapons to use.

Sound - 9/10
The music is... well there isn't any music, save the rare few in cutscnes or the ending theme. But the sound effects make up for the loss of tunes immensely. The sound is perfect, the clashing of metal, the lowering of a bridge, the splashing of water, it all fits in perfectly.

Replay - 4/10
Sadly, the only downfall I can see in this game is the replaying of it. The puzzles lose most of thier lustre the second time through which was the funnest part the first time. Though it still is fun the second time using the secret weapon which I wont mention to spoil those who haven't seen it yet.

Overall, this game is a must and should be bought immediately. Screw renting, go buy now, you don't know what you're missing.

Understated Epic of an Untold Legend

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: April 12, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game was originally made for the PS1 but ended up released with the PS2. A previous reviewer recommended us to "stay away from the bargain-bin price" and referenced "numerous problems" in the game. Well, if you aren't an ARPG fan, then screw it. This game has some touching elements in it reminescent of early Zeldas for gameboy, sublimely delicate graphics and movement like newer FFs, and controls like the earlier Prince of Persia. Though there are few speeches, everything is conveyed powerfully through scenery, purposeful encounters, and strong and symbolic statements. Each moment works to contribute to the final heart-tugging climax of the game with no crap in between. The only concern you might have with buying the game is the difficulty of the puzzles. They are not that hard if you use some common sense, and all those mini-goals give you a sense of satisfaction once you've solved them. As for repetitive scenery, there are a few overused wall tiles (you are, in the same castle, afterall), but each puzzle is fresh and new, taking you from a convincingly Aztec-feeling tomb, to scaling the side of a mountain, leaping perilously over dangling cogs, or negotiating a bridge in dizzying scenic heights. At certain points, it even presents you with moral choices (For those who've played, i'm referring to the pre-boss battle with horned wraiths. Didn't it make you stop and think?)ICO is the most beautifully understated piece that has ever graced my ps2, and everyone I know who's played it certainly reserves a special place in their hearts for this heart-warming tale.

Simply Beautiful

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I got this game based on the reviews and was not disappointed.

Once I started, I could not stop. The graphics are beautiful. The pan and zoom views were detailed. The movement of the characters are so endearing that I too fell into the trap of worrying about Yorda.

Really well done!!!

Awesome

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I -hate- MYST games...
ICO was a real treat though...this game is short on words, but is an -explosion- of ambience. Even my "X-box forever" friends were impressed with the game. (yeah, I got those "Man, just think about how good this would look on x-box" comments. *sigh*)
The next time you look for a new game to play and "everything looks the same", grab this one!

short and sweet

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: November 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game is short (can be completed in ~12 hours by even a mediocre player like me) and has low replay values, so i can't whole-heartedly recommend buying it; but it has other good qualities to make it worth renting.

The most impressive aspect of the game is its art design. The setting looked absolutely breath-takingly beautiful. The way the water was rippling, the way sunrays beamed through the forest, and the way the trees swayed in the wind looked almost like cinema footage. Simply having the characters strolling through the grounds of the castle was a worthwhile experience.

Although I didn't find the premise of the story very compelling, I did develop some degrees of empathy for the main characters. We play the character of Ico, who must wander through the game while keeping his eyes on a waifish girl named Yorda, helping her with tough jumps and shooing away shadowy creatures that come for her. Initially, we don't know who she is; we don't know what she wants. It wasn't clear why we'd want to drag her everywhere (other than the practicality that she can open locked doors). While the plot remains rather sketchy throughout the game, I felt that the rapport between the characters (and between me and the characters) does grow. It is a nice change to have this kinder, gentler game-play that focuses on extending a helping hand rather than shooting bloody zombies.

My biggest disappointment with the game is its puzzle element. Every puzzle seems to have come straight out of the Lara Croft series. In that sense, it might not have been a bad thing that the game is short. After all, you can only expect me to push boxes around so many times.

Great Graphics, Excellent Gameplay, Too Short

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: October 02, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I picked this game up inresponse to the general hype, and I wasn't let down. The game played well and was a delight for the total eight or nine hours it took to do a complete walkthrough (and I even got lost at one point).

The graphics are beautiful, and the characters move very realistically. The camera angles get a little weird at times (annoying when you're in a hurry to rescue Yorda from some creeps with your mighty stick), but are overall well placed. The interaction between the character models was just fun to look at. I love how yorda stumbled when I was dragging her around like a madman, and I love how they take stairs at their own gaits. Or how they leave one foot on one step with the knee bent and the other leg one step below. That's the sort of attention to detail that I'm all about. There are a couple of instances where body parts somehow go through solid stone or chains (and how the hell do you climb a chain while clutching a stick that size, anyway). The random birds are very very nice, and their reactions are pretty interesting.

I'd highly recommend the game to someone who just wants to get away from reality for a while (just not a terribly LONG while).

beautiful but short and not too hard

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This is a beautiful game that really shows off the PS2's capabilities. The breath-taking views and attention to detail really suck you into the game and into its other-worldly mood. I'm 32 and my heart was pounding every time I heard the princess call for help as the shadow demons attacked her and tried to drag her down thier black and smokey hole. The puzzles all revolve around finding a way to get Yorda (the princess) to parts of the castle that you can get to but she can't. The puzzles tended to be pretty easy and the fighting was easy too. The biggest challenge of the game was to not leave Yorda unattended for too long so that the shadow demons didn't drag her off. If you couldn't get back to her fast enough you were turned to stone. The game as noted by others is finished in a matter of hours. It has an interesting epilogue though, so don't run away after the credits start rolling.

Totally Immersive

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: February 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I have just returned to gaming after a break for a few years. I used to marvel at the scale of Elite Frontier, lose weekends on Civilisation and go for the highest score on Ghouls & Ghosts.

As the game platforms developed, I just never found anything "Interesting" any more... and thought I'd just grown up! I guess Doom and all it's copycats just got really old very quickly for me...

ICO has changed my view of modern gaming!

I'll agree that the gameplay is often sometimes simple, that the girl can be a little frustrating and that it was over all to quickly.

But...

What a delight just to explore the castle. Once I got past the windmill scene (great water...), I just couldn't stop playing! And towards the end of the game, my heart was in my mouth.

I played the game on a large screen projector and was just gobsmacked by the scenery... everything from watching the leaves blowing in the trees, to fearing vertigo would take my life and return me to where I was more than an hour before, had me hooked.

This game deserves a mention in anyone's all-time favourite games!

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