Ico...I don't get it.

[whoisKeel]

I recently acquired and played through Ico. I know there's alot of hype behind this game, which is one of the reasons I bought it.

I just don't get it. Aside from the absolutely beautiful environments and architecture, the game is just plain bland. For a puzzle game I was expecting at least a bit of challenge, there was only 2 points (early in the game) where I got stuck, and only because I didn't quite realize that Yorda could jump so high if you reach down to her. The rest of the game was just straight through, without even a hint of puzzle solving.

On top of that the camera angles were just aweful (when you needed them, not when they were just showing off), the fighting sequences were disturbingly boring, the story was shallow, and there is zero replayability.

Really, and here's where I'm gonna get flamed :), Tomb Raider did it alot better.

[Sylentwulf]

I'll kind of agree with ya. But Ico was also released what, 5? 6? years ago?

Games have come along since then that borrowed elements from Ico so we've gotten used to them. But the environments and mood/setting is still unprecedented.

[hydr0x]

I'll kind of agree with ya. But Ico was also released what, 5? 6? years ago?

eh WHAT? i'd say more like 2 years ago

[towerofsong]

I'll kind of agree with ya. But Ico was also released what, 5? 6? years ago?

eh WHAT? i'd say more like 2 years ago

Came out September 25, 2001 in States...so almost 4 years ago

[Griking]

So are you saying that they hadn't come up with fun and exciting gameplay until the past few years?

Face it, it was just another game that had all the "ooo's and aaahs" in the visuals but was nothing special gameplaywise.

[le geek]

I still really dig ICO. It was the game that showed me the PS2 would have more than PSOne games with prettier graphics...

[Raedon]

That white girl drives me crazy.. When it came out it was amazing though.

[ddockery]

This game drove me nuts. I played it for one torturous hour and gave up. having to yell at that bitch every 5 seconds so she wouldn't wander off was just too damn much.

[vulcanjedi]

This game drove me nuts. I played it for one torturous hour and gave up. having to yell at that bitch every 5 seconds so she wouldn't wander off was just too damn much.

Grab her hand and yank her with you :)

There is an old 8 bit game called Whistlers Brother where you have to guide an absent minded character around a few dozen platform screens. You do this by whistling every few seconds.

Kinda like Marco Polo huh :)

VJ

[Sylentwulf]

No, I'm not saying it was all about the graphics. Ico was one of the first games to have the one-button-does-what-you-want interface. Push the X button near a chain, he climbs, push it near a ledge, he goes up, or down, near a boulder, he pushes it. No matter where you were when you pushed X, Ico did what you were thinking and what you wanted.
Same thing with helping the girl, instead of fumbling and trying to figure out how to give her a hand, you just push a button and the game knew that's what you wanted to do.

This system was revolutionary back when it came out, but a lot of games have used similar systems since then and we've gotten used to it, making Ico a little less innovative if you were to play it for the first time now, after having played all of the games released since then.

[robotriot]

No, I'm not saying it was all about the graphics. Ico was one of the first games to have the one-button-does-what-you-want interface. Push the X button near a chain, he climbs, push it near a ledge, he goes up, or down, near a boulder, he pushes it. No matter where you were when you pushed X, Ico did what you were thinking and what you wanted.

Have you played computer games before 1994 or so and VCS games? They all relied solely on one button, the way it was meant to be ;)

I didn't think ICO was too easy though, I still haven't finished it yet. But then again, I'm not a good player :D It's a great game though, I like that it doesn't need a HUD and the graphics/animation is just great. The only really annoying thing are the black smoke creatures which pop up too often :/

[The Plucky Little Ninja]

I think Ico's simplicity is one of the things that makes it such a great experience. Yeah it's pretty straightforward, but it has a real sense of place. It really is a throwback to a lot of the older adventure games. A genre which has almost completely fallen off the map in the last decade.

I love the sense of isolation that I feel when playing it. You exist in this huge world that's really only populated by three people, one of whom could snap you like a twig if you weren't more than a petty annoyance to her.

I also love the way that Yorda catches on to what you're doing as the game progresses. After dragging her ass around for a few hours she actually starts climbing and making jumps on her own.

The biggest problem with Ico is that it has definitely been overhyped. I had heard it was an enjoyable game before playing it, but I've read countless opinions on how great an experience it is since. I can see how it's getting to the point where people's expectations far exceed the actual game.

[sabre2922]

Ico is similiar to Shenmue in that most gamers either love it or hate it.

I also dont think that its been overhyped it is a beautiful game to look at and the ease of control is great not that the game itself is easy.

I can understand many ppl not understanding or "getting" Shenmue but when it comes to ICO well its a masterpiece of video-game artistry and Shadow of the Colossus will be even better.

[Snapple]

I'll kind of agree with ya. But Ico was also released what, 5? 6? years ago?

Games have come along since then that borrowed elements from Ico so we've gotten used to them. But the environments and mood/setting is still unprecedented.

I disagree with this assertion a lot. I don't think "the puzzle" was invented in 2003. There were plenty of games that played like Ico well before it came out.

I wouldn't even say we're living in a golden age of video games. Newer doesn't mean improved in my book.

[ddockery]

and Shadow of the Colossus will be even better.

Yes, let's sing the praises of games we haven't even played yet shall we?

[PDorr3]

I recently acquired and played through Ico. I know there's alot of hype behind this game, which is one of the reasons I bought it.

I just don't get it. Aside from the absolutely beautiful environments and architecture, the game is just plain bland. For a puzzle game I was expecting at least a bit of challenge, there was only 2 points (early in the game) where I got stuck, and only because I didn't quite realize that Yorda could jump so high if you reach down to her. The rest of the game was just straight through, without even a hint of puzzle solving.

On top of that the camera angles were just aweful (when you needed them, not when they were just showing off), the fighting sequences were disturbingly boring, the story was shallow, and there is zero replayability.

Really, and here's where I'm gonna get flamed :), Tomb Raider did it alot better.

well, Im not gonna comment, people have their opinions about games but ICO is still my favorite game of all time, it is the only "perfect" game in my opinion.

[qbertandernie]

i, too, bought ICO used and long after it came out. there was a huge thread about it a year or so ago, where everyone claimed it was great, and one member(whether jokingly or not) claimed to have cried at the end. so, for $5 i gave it a shot.
i thought it was ok fun-wise, and very easily completed, though the environments were nice to look at. the thing was, the game didn't grab me, and its by far not my favorite ever. when Yorda dropped me, i didn't care. at the end, i didn't cry. it was good enough to play throguh, but its hardly a genre defining game or one that i'd insist everyone play. maybe for its time it was fantastic, but now, there are games that have surpassed it.

[Sylentwulf]

I disagree with this assertion a lot. I don't think "the puzzle" was invented in 2003. There were plenty of games that played like Ico well before it came out.


Nowhere have I mentioned anything to do with any puzzle. I'm talking about the fact that the game knows what you're trying to accomplish by walking up to something and pushing a button in an intuitive manner.

Think I'm gonna have to bail on this post though, apparently absolutely everything that I've typed has been taken the completely wrong way.... maybe I should re-read what I've typed here or something.

[classicb]

i think it's an outstanding game but I think that's because it just seems to suit my taste, i haven't finished it yet so thanks qbertandernie for spoiling it.

[whoisKeel]

i think it's an outstanding game but I think that's because it just seems to suit my taste, i haven't finished it yet so thanks qbertandernie for spoiling it.

Nothing is spoiled, because you really don't play a game like this for the story, that's like me telling you you beat Dr Willey in Megaman. But, I find it hard to believe you call a game outstanding when you haven't finished it, considering its a 5-8 hour game.

[Gamereviewgod]

I agree with everyone who didn't "get it." Great look, great style, boring as hell to get through.

[CreamSoda]

Hmmm, looks like a good thread for me to voice my opinion...

I HATE ICO! LOL

I'm sorry, but I picked up this game for $5 and Frequency for $5 also one day.

I played through Ico once and I just didn't enjoy it, I'm sorry but the game is just not for me.

The puzzles were boring.
The fighting was bland and simple(Lets beat Shadows with Sticks!)
The story is pretty much nothing
The whole game is an escort mission. :(

I'm sorry Ico fans, I just can't stand this game. I'm glad you all like it, but I'll take Shenmue over this anyday!

:/
Awesome graphics and sound are the high points to me.

[classicb]

Hmmm, looks like a good thread for me to voice my opinion...

I HATE ICO! LOL

I'm sorry, but I picked up this game for $5 and Frequency for $5 also one day.

I played through Ico once and I just didn't enjoy it, I'm sorry but the game is just not for me.

The puzzles were boring.
The fighting was bland and simple(Lets beat Shadows with Sticks!)
The story is pretty much nothing
The whole game is an escort mission. :(

I'm sorry Ico fans, I just can't stand this game. I'm glad you all like it, but I'll take Shenmue over this anyday!

:/
Awesome graphics and sound are the high points to me.

why are you sorry i'm not sorry i don't like games like GTA and HALO. Everybody likes different games.

[CreamSoda]

Hmmm, looks like a good thread for me to voice my opinion...

I HATE ICO! LOL

I'm sorry, but I picked up this game for $5 and Frequency for $5 also one day.

I played through Ico once and I just didn't enjoy it, I'm sorry but the game is just not for me.

The puzzles were boring.
The fighting was bland and simple(Lets beat Shadows with Sticks!)
The story is pretty much nothing
The whole game is an escort mission. :(

I'm sorry Ico fans, I just can't stand this game. I'm glad you all like it, but I'll take Shenmue over this anyday!

:/
Awesome graphics and sound are the high points to me.

why are you sorry i'm not sorry i don't like games like GTA and HALO. Everybody likes different games.

Well, your right... But I just mean I'm sorry if I offended anyone that did enjoy the game, I'm not trying to just pointlessly bash it and say "OMG DIS GAME SUX"

One game I have no regret or care about saying it sucks is: FFX and FFX2. LOL

[RCM]

I played a demo a while back and it didn't do anything for me. Wanda and the Collosus looks fucking amazing though.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[sabre2922]

To each there own man :D

All I have to say is that anyone who does NOT want their copy of ICO please let me know Ill gladly give them double for thier respective copies :D

[Crush Crawfish]

I picked it up recently, and from what I've played it reminds me of Prince of Persia: sands of time with its environment-based puzzle solving. I can't say I've been absolutely blown away by it, but it is quite fun. Shadow of the Colossus, on the other hand, looks freakin' stunning. Can't wait to pick that one up!

[qbertandernie]

if you havent completed the game yet, you wouldnt know that what i posted isnt a spoiler...

when you get to that point, its not really a shocker anyway.

[mezrabad]

Hate to make a "me too" post but . . .

I loved Ico. I did notice some similarities between the environments and the interface for PoP:Warrior Within. However, for PoP:WW I don't get a sense of one big contiguous space (or two big temporaly seperated contiguous spaces, whatever.).

One way in that Ico was neat to me was that if there was a far camera shot of an area and I could see another part of the castle in the distance, I'd knew we'd either been there or we were going there eventually. It just felt like one big real place had been modeled meticulously and that Yorda and I were going everywhere in it.

In the European version, after you finish the game you could play it 2 player, one person as Ico the other as Yorda. There's also a light sabre in that one.

I can't recall a game prior to Ico, on a console at least, that had such a detailed 3D environment and that sense of place.

The battles terrified my children when they watched me play, so that's a plus for it as well. I think we also enjoyed the fact we weren't just protecting our little horn-headed freak, we had to protect this beautiful fragile creature who could open the stones for us.

Point to a game released prior to Ico to which it is similar in gameplay, storyline and design because I'd be really interested in playing it. Tomb Raider isn't similar enough, but not a bad recommendation, either.

Not liking Ico is fine, but dismissing it as "just another puzzle/platformer" without at least appreciating its environmental design is to perform a disservice to anyone who hasn't yet played it.

Is the next game called Shadow of the Colossus now? I'd liked the name before, what was it, Wanda and the Colossus? or something . . .

[RJ]

I was one of them "a year ago" who bought it used based on reviews & what I read here. I respect peoples' opinions on the game but it is definitely overrated & I personally wouldnt consider it "art".

I thought the environments were astounding- that one could get vertigo/dizzy from the sheer feeling of height in the game. I was so afraid of falling around the edges...

The fighting was somewhat secondary in the game- popping up at seemingly inopportune times & felt included (not so much "thrown in") to give you something to do besides solve puzzles & drag Yorda around, which got old pretty quickly for me. I guess I have a bit of a short fuse bc I was sick of waiting around for that chick to catch up to me! Once she simply WOULD NOT climb up a ladder she could have/was supposed to (bc we'd climbed DOWN it moments before!)

The puzzles werent exactly brain-busters- I only got stuck on the "sewer puzzle" which, in hindsight, wasnt supposed to be as dififcult as I'd made it. Most of the puzzles' solutions were evident & obvious. ("Hey, what do you suppose those bombs are for?" or "Hmm- should I climb the SINGLE CHAIN hanging in the middle of the room?")

I DID like the atmosphere, & the final boss battle against the queen was relatively short & easy. I hope no one considers that a spoiler, but by now IMO if you havent played it yet, you shouldnt expect not to hear anything about it.

Strangely enough, more talk about it lately, plus the fact it's being mentioned in back issues of magazines I'm going through (just finished the OPM Sept 2001 cover story on it last night) makes me want to play it again...

[diskoboy]

This game was total crap. It ranks on my top 5 of "The worst games I've ever played" list. I played it for an hour and had it, completely. I took the game back and got a full refund. Total waste of $50. I wouldn't even buy this game if it was $1.