Ico
They say the mind bends and twists to deal with the horrors of life...sometimes the mind bends so much it snaps in two. Prepare for the next chapter in car combat. Designed and developed by the makers of Twisted Metal and Twisted Metal 2, Twisted Metal: Black sends players on a deranged journey through a world rife with horror and desolation. The infamous Calypso returns to host the ultimate contest of wreckage and devastation. Calypso has plucked a motley crew of contestants straight from the lunatic asylum, promising these otherwise doomed souls a chance to have one wish granted, should they emerge victorious in a deadly battle of twisted metal. As the carnage unfolds, so does the horrifying tale behind each of these tortured souls. Discover why these manic motorists were locked up. Slip into their minds, take a walk around their mental anguish, and come out screaming for more!
Ico weaves the tale of a young boy trying to escape his imprisonment in a large, vacant castle. Along the way, he discovers another captive--a beautiful princess named Yorda. Players control Ico with the goal of escaping the castle with the princess safely in hand. Although it looks like an adventure game and has some rudimentary action sequences, Ico is mostly about solving puzzles. Players will run, jump, and climb their way through the gargantuan castle as well as figure out which objects and environments are interactive. Yorda is very much a damsel in distress, and isn't nearly as capable as Ico. A great deal of the puzzles require the player to create a safe path for Yorda, who isn't physically able to get to the places Ico can. The puzzles are quite brilliant, although a few are so tough that players will feel like ditching the princess. Graphics, particularly the lighting effects and animations, are fantastic. The developers did a superb job of conveying the enormity and beauty of the castle. When Ico and Yorda move and interact, their actions seem totally lifelike. The ambient soundtrack and simple controls let the player focus on the tasks at hand. Sony has crafted a very unique game that anyone can play. Few games are as elegant in their simplicity as this puzzler from Sony. --Raymond M. Padilla Pros: - Excellent puzzle design
- Aesthetically and stylistically brilliant
- Appropriately understated sound
Cons:- Most players will finish it in fewer than 10 hours
- Battles are too easy
Ico Accessories
 Shadow of the Colossus
Okami
Katamari Damacy
God of War
God of War 2
Beyond Good & Evil
Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES
Odin Sphere
Final Fantasy X
Ico Reviews
I let my wife play the entire game, since it is a bit slower paced, but it is very challenging puzzle wise. Glad I didn't miss out on the experience. I finally decided to get it and try it out. The epic scenes and vistas in this game are amazing. I always read the "best games of all time" lists on gaming sites through the years, and ICO always shows up near the top of every list. If you like adventure puzzle games that are HEAVY on puzzle, this classic is a definite pick up. The PS2 was obviously pushed to the edge with the tech used in this game.
But a stroke of luck gives you the perfect chance to escape. I wholeheartedly recommend this fantastic work of art, and I hope it finds its way into your hearts and into your PS2s very soon, if it has not already. Read on. With every intricate puzzle, you will have "ah-ha." moments, and "huh." moments, and sometimes you will even get "wow." moments. You must also use simple but fun combat techniques to keep the evil shadows from pulling poor Yorda into a dark portal, thus ending the game. On your way out, you find Yorda, trapped in a cage dangling several stories from the ground.
While you cannot communicate with her through words (both characters speak different non-existent languages), you still feel compelled to save this alluring young lady. In order to achieve your escape, and that of Yorda, you must pull her around by her arm (or in some cases, call her to follow you) and guide her through puzzles and obstacles through environmental manipulation, while overcoming well-thought-out and clever platforming tasks to do this. ICO provides a unique and unparalleled gameplay experience all wrapped up in a moody and atmospheric setting. If it were any longer, it might have seemed a bit.excess. While most games that require you to lug an extra character around tend to be bothersome and tedious, there is something so gratifying about tugging Yorda around the gloom-and-doom castle in which this one-of-a-kind fairy tale takes place. Sound boring. If you ever find the opportunity to buy this game, you should certainly do so. I won't say I wouldn't have appreciated more length to the game, but at the same time, when all was said and done and I was faced with the finale (which is, by the way, very fitting), I didn't feel cheated.
You've been banished from your home village and offered up as sacrifice, due to what is implied to be a curse of sorts. Here's basically how it works: you play as a young, horned boy named Ico. Few games have provoked so much response from me as a gamer, and anyone looking to connect emotionally with the on-screen character (or in this case, characters), would be a fool not to play this game. Some gamers complain about the brevity of this adventure, but I am compelled to disagree: the game is simplistic in nature. Well, it's really not. I felt like I had experienced something very special and now I was fortunate enough to go and tell others about it.
I bought this game for someone else. If it interests you, try it I suppose, 'cause it's probably cheap. It's an older game, and it doesn't interest me. They liked it, I guess. And if it's not, you're getting ripped off.
The game was an instant classic and even after beating it you will have a hard time letting it go. ICO is an absolutely brilliant, gem of a game. I would not hesitate to buy this game's sequel, if ever one is produced, but I would be even more interested to see a prequel brought to bear on this tale. Give it a shot; you won't be disappointed. I won't give away the ending, but it has an amazing, yet simple twist of fate. And if you are part of the industry, please, PLEASE make a prequel or sequel to this inspiring quest.
It is extremely well done, complete in details and seamless design. As I was helping ICO solve the doomed castle's puzzles, my mind was racing as it tried to imagine the complex back story of the castle, its dark queen, ICO and his princess. The game itself feels like the middle chapter in an epic trilogy of the Lord of the Rings genre. I would love to hear what the game's designers had to say about the story before we meet ICO and what lies ahead in his and Yorda's path. But when I say that it's "imaginative" I don't JUST mean the game's design. It is just that enjoyable.
I also mean that the game inspires the imaginations of its players. The makers of this title were superb in their thirst for creating adventure.
Otherwise, you may want to put purchasing this game on a backburner. If you can find it for 20 bucks or so, it's a great deal. It's been on my shelf for quite a while now. That, however, is the only caveat: I played this game once, and only once. I'm sure I'll play it again someday, and I enjoyed playing it very much, but I when I was done with it, I was done.
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