Ico

THE GOOD:
Fantastic atmospheric graphics
Sense of scale is incredible
Thought provoking puzzles
No stats, HUD or other distractions to worry about

THE BAD:
The camera fails at times
Yorda doesn't always do what you want
A little on the short side

SUMMARY:
In a videogame market obsessed with "Urban" murder simulations that shamelessly ape GTA without any of the charm, endless WWII shoot-em-ups and interchangable Devil May Cry clones, ICO stands out as a shining beacon of originality and fun, shaming the cash cow developers who throw out yearly sequels with an extra graphical tweak.

The story is simple. You play as a small horned boy (The Ico - pronounced Ee-ko - of the title) who is tasked with rescuing a princess named Yorda from a huge castle. Far from the most original or in-depth plotline, but that's the point. In a world where you load up Splinter Cell to be hit with...

THE GOOD:
Graphics, loneliness feel-of-the-game, Yorda!

THE BAD:
Too short!! >_<

SUMMARY:
I've been meaning to play this game for a while now and I rented 2 weeks ago. I fell in love with the game. I do have to agree though, not much of a story esp. cos I don't know what Yorda is saying most of the time but nonetheless, she's a sight for sore eyes. At times I felt as if I grew attached to Yorda just how Ico did in the game. The only drag about this game is its length. Ico can be completed at around 4-6 hours. Yeah, kinda short... okay, too damn short. But it's so much fun to play it over. I'm an only child so I didn't care much about the whole "loneliness" thing... I could relate to it. Don't know about you guys but this game got rather emo for me when both Ico & Yorda were separated at the bridge. The ending was quite a tear-jerker too. Good game and it was well worth the $ that I paid to rent. Now I'm...

THE GOOD:
The only good that comes from this game is that at the very start, I was excited, and hopeful that I was about to see a really cool story unfold. Also this game has good graphics, but that's it.

THE BAD:
sadly I was wrong, there is no really cool story to all this. This is a depressing, and dissapointing game that's extremely creepy and disturbing as well. From the start, it's very creepy and lonely, the whole way through this game, there's a disturbing kind of lonely feeling that always makes me feel sick to my stomach, just thinking about it is creepy, but I must write this so in the future people won't make the same mistake I made. The music (when there is any) is always creepy too, it made my blood crawl. The voice acting gives me a lonely, helpless feeling. And the action is always terrifying and creepy, I just wanted to run away all the time! The puzzles are challenging, but not in a fun way, they're simply hard, and at...

THE GOOD:
GREAT graphics, interesting gameplay, good story - this game rocks, period.

THE BAD:
The combat. You carry a stick-pole thing around, and whack the baddies. Thats pretty much it.

Sometimes there are some control issues.

SUMMARY:
Ico is one of the most amazing games I have ever experienced. The graphics are excellent, and the scenary and locations are breathtaking with detail, and sheer complexion. Ico is somewhat a mystery game...VERY quiet, and not really a loud, nerve-racking game. Though at times, it can get your heart pouding. What I liked, is that your always rescuing, and looking after a young girl - a princess named 'Yorda'. You can actually take her by the hand, and lead her around with you. It's also fun making her fall off cliffs, and killing her in different kinds of ways.
The baddies are amazing...

THE GOOD:
graphics

THE BAD:
loneliness

SUMMARY:
Ico is a young boy who was born with horns. In the mysterious world Ico is set in, this is the "Sign". At dawn on Ico's twelfth birthday, the faceless horsemen came for Ico.
This is where the story leaves off when the game starts. You see the faceless horsemen taking Ico deep into the forest on their horses. Ico has no idea where he is going or what will happen to him. You then see Ico and the horsemen in a small rowboat, paddling towards a massive ancient fortress. A huge gate rolls down under the water letting them access the fortress. The horsemen take Ico into a huge room with walls lined with stone caskets and take Ico to an empty one. They lock his hands into the built-in handcuffs so he can't try to escape and pull the stone lid closed. Ico is sentenced to spend the rest of eternity locked inside the casket alongside many others. The horsemen leave and a...

THE GOOD:
Total imersion in the atmosphere. Beautifully rendered.

THE BAD:
Saves are too far apart, though this isn't actually all that bad.

SUMMARY:
When playing most games, fights mean very little to me. I either win or I die. If I die, I must go back to the save point, and that's it.
For sime reason, playing ICO is completely different. In ICO you are never fighting for yourself, you are only fighting to protect the girl. Thus, you wheel around her, trying to keep between her and the spirits. You tug her hand to pull her away from the void. You struggle to get up off your back as quickly as possible in order to free her from the clutches of a shadow.
Often you must leave the girl behind before figuring out a path that she can follow. It pains me every time to enter a new space when she is not with me. I want to rush back to make sure that she is all right. And Heaven forbid a door closes between us,...

THE GOOD:
it is like a dream. The game is simply a master piece.

THE BAD:
the spirts get annoying

SUMMARY:
The game is a true action adventure. The music and graphics are the best I have seen on any system. Simply put, you don't play the game, you experience it. Some may think it is cheesy, but they also enjoy ramming their heads into walls. It is a steal at under $20. I paid $50 the day it came out, I would of payed more!!

Property of netjak.com and Syn

I can tell you why Ico is not a runaway success, besides offering up the reason that Sony's effort to market this game can be described as shamefully nonexistent. The story is less than riveting, the action is far from hardcore, gameplay doesn't involve intense button mashing, but it does require some skill – hardly the ingredients of what constitutes as a wildly popular video game by sales standards. There's certainly no hype behind it and its sales were mostly pushed by word-of-mouth reviews, making it a sleeper hit among gamers who were looking for something out of the ordinary.

This puzzle-driven adventure is quite different from the rest with its rather simplistic formula. While designers tend to go all out, SCEI opts for the minimalist approach, giving the game a very atmospheric feel. The story does not saturate, yet it's whimsical and mysterious, content to flow along. Graphics are low contrast with muted colors that...

THE GOOD:
Wow! What isn't good in this game? Incredible to look at - fantastic visuals, awesome sound effects, eerie lighting, cool monsters, great plot twist, false ending - original story idea - this game has it all

THE BAD:
The only partially bad thing is the combat - it is a button masher, but it isn't really that bad!

SUMMARY:
Ico is a visual feast. Everything down to the last detail is immaculately presented. The water and eveything looks just beautiful. The game is loaded with innovative and challenging puzzles, but is just a little bit short. It doesn't take very long to solve this game, especially if you are a veteran of puzzle type games.
Don't let this aspect of the game dissuade you from purchasing it though. The creepiness of the atmosphere and the shadow monsters is only outdone by Shadow Hill, but that isn't the effect the designers were going for. This is a whole world filled with beautiful...

THE GOOD:
-graphics
-environment
-stroy

THE BAD:
-too short

SUMMARY:
this is a wonderous game filled with beautiful things to look at. it has some of the best graphics in a ps2 game that i have seen. the environments are amazing and great to stare at. you will find that you will want to play through a couple times just to see the sites again. but sadly it is a rather short game.

you should rent it or buy it. if you rent it you will finish it probally that night/day. if you buy it you can expiernce it over and over again. its your choice