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Game Information
- Platform: PlayStation2
- ELSPA Minimum Age: 3
- Media: Video Game
Frequently Bought Together
Product Features
- Adventure game
- Incorporates elements of strategy, fighting, and role-playing genres
- Play as a courageous young boy trying to save a princess
- Inventive puzzles
- For 1 player
Product details
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
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. Unsurprisingly, you 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 and 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. --Raymond M Padilla
Product Description
ICO incorporates elements from puzzle, adventure, strategy, fighting and role-playing-game genres. It's the tale of a courageous young boy on a heroic journey through an unknown castle to save a princess and discover his own mysterious fate. Faced with numerous puzzles, ranging from simple mazes to complex brainteasers, ICO invites gamers into a deep, mysterious story line with beautiful, dreamlike graphics.
As the story goes, once every generation a boy is born with horns. Thought to be the minion of an evil spirit, the afflicted but innocent ICO was captured at age 12 by the village's leaders and brought to a deserted castle to be sacrificed for the good of the community. After the villagers bury him alive in a castle tomb and leave him for dead, he is able to break free of his confines; he then learns of a beautiful young princess who is likewise held captive. From there he embarks on a challenging course through the castle ruins to save her.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
In order to truly undrerstand the impact Ico had on me you would need to speak to me fac-to-face, so I could at least attempt to convey the emotion involved. I have NEVER been so awed or involved in a game. The storyline is one of the most simple yet eternal themes ever to be written, and it appeals to us on more levels than we would care to admit. The interaction between Ico and Yorda seems to represent everything good we believe the human spirit is capable of - love, courage, compassion, empathy. Yorda is the woman you have dreamed of rescuing. As you battle to save her from the shadows (which are never explained, adding to their mystery) you almost want to jump in to the tv and kick their asses yourself!
But the action is not where Ico excels - the puzzles will have you scratching your head for a while, before someone pipes up "well, what about that window/bomb/chain?". Whilst Ico is a one player game, you can happily sit around in a group and play for hours (the night I bought it I and three mates played it for four hours with hardly a word muttered that didn't involve the puzzles). You will be so engrossed by the beauty of the castle (I defy anyone not to give a gasp as they look out from the top of the windmill,or gaze up at the waterfalls) that you will give up your life in the quest to see what is next. And perhaps this is the game's main downfall - you become so lost in Ico and Yorda's struggle for their freedom that the game is over before you are aware what you have accomplished - I finished it in less than nine hours. If you have an analytical mind and a 'feel' for games of this kind (think Zelda 64 type puzzles, but more intricate) than you may find this title rather short. However, the game is SO beautiful and the ending SO heart-breakingly affecting that you will forgive it any flaws. Ico is an astonishing gaming experience and a leap forward in game design..
But the action is not where Ico excels - the puzzles will have you scratching your head for a while, before someone pipes up "well, what about that window/bomb/chain?". Whilst Ico is a one player game, you can happily sit around in a group and play for hours (the night I bought it I and three mates played it for four hours with hardly a word muttered that didn't involve the puzzles). You will be so engrossed by the beauty of the castle (I defy anyone not to give a gasp as they look out from the top of the windmill,or gaze up at the waterfalls) that you will give up your life in the quest to see what is next. And perhaps this is the game's main downfall - you become so lost in Ico and Yorda's struggle for their freedom that the game is over before you are aware what you have accomplished - I finished it in less than nine hours. If you have an analytical mind and a 'feel' for games of this kind (think Zelda 64 type puzzles, but more intricate) than you may find this title rather short. However, the game is SO beautiful and the ending SO heart-breakingly affecting that you will forgive it any flaws. Ico is an astonishing gaming experience and a leap forward in game design..
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
I'm not going to go into detail here. The reviews posted here already do that. I just need to praise this game.
Right from the start it's obvious you're experiencing something out of the ordinary. You are immediately caught up in the beautifully created atmosphere, thrown into another world. An enchanting place, totally immersive in fact, almost inducing a dream like state (no, I haven't been drinking). From start to finish it's a joy to play. Mentally relaxing and stimulating all at the same time. It is all over a little quickly, but that's probably largly due to the fact that you won't be able to put it down for more than five minutes.
Console gaming needed something different. This is the breath of fresh air I'd been waiting for. Yes it's got great graphics (I swear those trees are real) and sound, but so have so many others. What stands it head and shoulders above it's rivals is that spark. The shiver up your spine that so few games provide these days. A Sony exclusive, this should reassure any PS2 owners with any doubts of whether Sony's machine can stand up against Microsofts' consoles raw power. This is the third place.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
In this game, you play as Ico, a young boy emprisoned because he has horns. Soon the shell-like cell where he's held captive breaks and Ico manages to get free. That's where you take up the reins.
Upon visiting your prison, you stumble across the girl Yorda and save her from a bunch of shadow-like monsters. Taking her by the hand, you can now escape together. You'll have to help her, and she'll sometimes help you in return. Don't leave her alone for too long or more shadow wraiths will try to drag her back to their holes.
In short, the game is series of puzzles where you have push crates, light torches, climb up chains and ladders, activate switches or throw bombs to open your way further, with a kind of "mix between Zelda and Myst" feel to it. But summing it up to this isn't doing Ico justice. Granted, it is rather short, with only about eight to ten hours of gameplay. However, it's set in a world so fascinating, so poetic and mysterious, the whole game taking place in one huge, breathtakingly beautiful fortress of sun-bathed sand-coloured stone with patches of bright green grass, that it's definitely worth a try.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Refreshingly minimalistic - a great game.
I played this on the PS3, and chose to review it here because I haven't played through SOTC yet (the two games come on the same disk on the PS3). Read more
Published 28 days ago by Mr. Julius D. Schwartz
Great game
This game was amazing! 4 years ago I made the mistake of trading my game in and regretted it ever since until I managed to become old enough to order this online. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Rosie
Outstanding
Quite simply, one of the best games ever made on any platform. Atmosphere, gameplay and sheer enjoyment make this a must by for any gamer.
Published 4 months ago by Mr. C. Priest
Favourite game ever.
While younger gamers might find its appeal a bit limited, its a beautiful game- in every sense of the word. It'll take you on a journey.
Published 14 months ago by Stunt Goat
Beautiful and astounding
I just want to add to what all the other reviewers have said about this game.
I no longer own a Playstation - having moved onto a Wii - and I sold all my Playstation... Read more
I no longer own a Playstation - having moved onto a Wii - and I sold all my Playstation... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Katerina
ps2 still kicks ass
you can find footage of this on youtube in its original ps1 format- it was then moved to ps2 effectively making it one of its first games i guess- its a game that in concept of... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Steven Dunne
Yes & No
Well for a start the game has got AMAZING detail.
And the sound is WICKED.
Plus the story-plan is SO GOOD, that you could make it into a book or film! Read more
And the sound is WICKED.
Plus the story-plan is SO GOOD, that you could make it into a book or film! Read more
Published 18 months ago by Maxwell
The best game ever on PS2 - It's had a huge impact on me
If you don't know about this game it's not surprising - for some reason it didn't do very well on it's release... Read more
Published 22 months ago by The Truth
Absolutley incredible game...
I played a lot of games in my life, but Ico is without doubt one of the greatest ever made. This game was so ahead of its time when released, its amazing to play it now, knowing it... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Pancakeing
Some games are more artistic than others.
Many people will claim that videogames are not "Art", I (thanks to ICO and Shadow of the Collosus) can safely disagree with them. Read more
Published 24 months ago by O. Bowden
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