View Full Version : Just started playing ICO
SkiDragon
09-26-2006, 01:46 AM
I realize this game is about 5 years old, but I just started playing it. I know it got really good review, and the person I am borrowing it from liked it. I have only played for a half hour to an hour or so, but I dont yet see why this game is so good. Maybe it was good five years ago and not so much now, or maybe I have to play it more, or maybe it's just not my kind of game.
I was wondering if people here liked the game, and why.
I liked it the puzzels were lots of fun. I played and beat the game about a year ago. Fantastic visuals as well.
CastNoShadow
09-26-2006, 03:09 AM
I agree with Nez. Good puzzles and graphics. Not the most exciting game, but at least it's more innovative than most games. Give it a little more time, and maybe you'll come around.
Also, have you played Shadow of the Colossus? That game is truly amazing and worth every penny you can throw at it. Plus it's greatest hits now and pretty cheap.
Hokkus
09-26-2006, 03:09 AM
It's a great game... until you have to fight. Like Nez said, puzzles and visuals are excellent, but fighting is so tedious and boring. I just can't stand it.
It's a shame. I really wanted to love this.
-hellvin-
09-26-2006, 04:16 AM
The fighting was allright, it wasn't overly annoying like in other games I can think of. I think the game is absolutely beautiful, it feels very isolated and mysterious, and I love the classic fairy tale type of final battle against the evil queen. It's quite fun, and the platforming and puzzles were great. Shadow of the Colossus is just as amazing and defenitely worth checking out, even if ICO doesn't quite grab you.
slip81
09-26-2006, 05:40 AM
I never got into it either. I had it, started playing, but after a few hours got sick of the fighting and never really cared to continue.
It's definately an interesting game though, and I plan on restarting my game in the future and giving it another shot when I don't have so much going on in life.
Sothy
09-26-2006, 06:32 AM
I always wanted to kill the broad that you drag around
roushimsx
09-26-2006, 06:48 AM
I just recently tried to play it again (I bought it 3 years ago) and yet again I just could not get into it. My primary problems with it are:
a) Combat sucks
b) Leading around that girl is annoying as hell
It's a very pretty game, but playing it was an absolute chore. No idea how anyone could find it fun (and I traditionally enjoy action and adventure games). Also, I found it annoying that it did not work with component cables, so when I wanted to play I had to disconnect the component and hook up the svideo.
roushimsx
09-26-2006, 08:18 AM
I played via component.
Wild. Myself and nearly everyone I've talked to that has tried got an awesomely fucked up display...I wish I had some way of capturing screenshots/video of the way it looked via component.
I played via component.
Wild. Myself and nearly everyone I've talked to that has tried got an awesomely fucked up display...I wish I had some way of capturing screenshots/video of the way it looked via component.
Are you using 3rd party, do you have it enabled in the dash board?
le geek
09-26-2006, 09:18 AM
I'm in the "I love ICO" camp. Granted I played it when it came out, but it was the game that switched me from a "why did I buy a PS2? I'm a dumbass!" to "This PS2 is pretty cool!"
It's one of those games where you figure it out as you go along, like Heart of Darkness or Out of this World. And I thought the combat wasn't that bad, it added dramatic tension.
But yeah games where you have to escort someone can be hit or miss. While I had no problem with ICO, I found the second half of Silent Hill 4 to be annoying...
Cheers,
Ben
Nature Boy
09-26-2006, 09:55 AM
b) Leading around that girl is annoying as hell
It's a good bet that if you hate this part of the game you're going to hate the entire game :)
I loved it because
a) it looked gorgeous and
b) I felt drawn into the story and characters and
c) it was short
I'm also a fan of the adventure genre which helps. My wife, whose video gaming usually consists of solitaire, got hooked for the same reasons just *watching* me play, and eventually picked it up and beat it as well.
allsport11
09-26-2006, 10:14 AM
ICO was the game that made me like Sony if only for a moment. The game is still beautiful to look at and I still pop it in once in awhile to give it a go. Haven't tried it since I got my HDTV and component cables. Will let you know if there are any problems once I get home tonight. ;)
Leo_A
09-26-2006, 11:25 AM
I'm confused, you have to do something in the dashboard to use component video? I just plugged the cord into the PS2 and into my normal tv (not hd or a widescreen) and it seems to work? Ico is fine as well.
SkiDragon
09-26-2006, 08:15 PM
"Component" is not the same thing as "480p" or "HDTV". I dont have this hooked up with component, but I can confirm it works with S-video.
roushimsx
09-26-2006, 09:57 PM
"Component" is not the same thing as "480p" or "HDTV". I dont have this hooked up with component, but I can confirm it works with S-video.
Hook it up via component and see if you get a massively fucked up video or not. I have no idea what causes it (tried with first and third party component cables) and toggling video options in the bios don't fix anything.
Maybe it's just a tv-set specific problem where my tv doesn't like the seriously low resolution over component or something. I don't know. Pretty much everyone I've talked with have experienced the same problem, which is why I'm curious how Nez was able to play it like that.
allsport11
09-26-2006, 10:46 PM
Hook it up via component and see if you get a massively fucked up video or not. I have no idea what causes it (tried with first and third party component cables) and toggling video options in the bios don't fix anything.
Maybe it's just a tv-set specific problem where my tv doesn't like the seriously low resolution over component or something. I don't know. Pretty much everyone I've talked with have experienced the same problem, which is why I'm curious how Nez was able to play it like that.
Just ran it via component and everything looked and ran fine. Not sure why you have had problems. :(
GaijinPunch
09-26-2006, 10:51 PM
a) Combat sucks
O_O If you're playing this for combat, you're missing the point.
SkiDragon
09-27-2006, 01:32 AM
a) Combat sucks
O_O If you're playing this for combat, you're missing the point.
For a game not focused on combat, I think it's a bit too prevalent.
-hellvin-
09-27-2006, 01:50 AM
"Component" is not the same thing as "480p" or "HDTV". I dont have this hooked up with component, but I can confirm it works with S-video.
Hook it up via component and see if you get a massively fucked up video or not. I have no idea what causes it (tried with first and third party component cables) and toggling video options in the bios don't fix anything.
Maybe it's just a tv-set specific problem where my tv doesn't like the seriously low resolution over component or something. I don't know. Pretty much everyone I've talked with have experienced the same problem, which is why I'm curious how Nez was able to play it like that.
I played this game via component. No problem at all. Had to have had something to do with the tv set I'm guessing. I played it on a crappy 60 inch first generation HDTV and it worked fine. Nice and big, but doesn't have the best display.
Trebuken
09-27-2006, 06:08 PM
a) Combat sucks
O_O If you're playing this for combat, you're missing the point.
They do seem to be missing it...
Maybe they liked Shadow of the Colossus?
Later,
Trebuken
atomicthumbs
09-27-2006, 06:22 PM
Just love putting this strip anywhere I can!
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2001/20010928h.gif
and this one too!
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2005/20051021h.jpg
c0ldb33r
09-28-2006, 09:19 AM
and this one too!
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2005/20051021h.jpg
lol, that's hilarious. That's from the sequel right? What was it called?
atomicthumbs
09-28-2006, 09:59 AM
lol, that's hilarious. That's from the sequel right? What was it called?
Shadow of the Colossus. I can't remember where I read it, but in the next one I think you can get together with a bunch of people online and work together to take down different colossus. I've never really played online since the Dreamcast, but that sounds like a lot of fun!
spunibard
09-28-2006, 02:33 PM
i think it was the whole enviromental 'feeling' i got from the game that made me like it. made me just want to figure out what was around the next corner. other than that there wasn't much to it, but for some reason i still like it alot.
i'm guessing if you don't like it by the time you get through a few rooms you proabably won't ever.
atomicthumbs
09-28-2006, 02:47 PM
One thing about the design of the game that I am eternally grateful for is the massive number of save areas. Because I just can't resist hurling the little horned boy off of the highest precipice to his certain death.
whoisKeel
09-28-2006, 05:59 PM
One thing about the design of the game that I am eternally grateful for is the massive number of save areas. Because I just can't resist hurling the little horned boy off of the highest precipice to his certain death.
:)
I'm in the overrated category as well. Beautiful game, but that's about it for me. I thought the puzzles were all obvious and straight forward. I don't really remember any climaxes per se, pretty much the entire game is like the first few rooms. Some of the rooms are different shapes and sizes though, and you even get to go outside! You might as well finish the game though, it's nice and short.
SkiDragon
09-28-2006, 10:12 PM
I looked at a FAQ to see how far I was and it looks like I am about half way through. It's slightly unique and kind of good so I will probably finish it.
Alucard79
09-28-2006, 10:44 PM
Mega 64 has a video about ICO. You can see it here:
http://www.mega64.com/ico.htm
SkiDragon
09-30-2006, 11:33 PM
I should change the title to "Just finished playing ICO". The game is pretty short, but thats not really a bad thing, since I am usually short on time. I was borrowing it from a friend anyway so now I can return it.
After playing through the whole thing, I think I can deem it worthy of playing, because it is rather unique and the investment of time is pretty small. It only took me 6 or 7 hours to beat it. If it was counting time when I had the game paused than it took me less than that.
So, since Shadow of the Colossus is supposed to be similar or related, I was wonding how that game was in comparison to this.
Alucard79
10-01-2006, 11:55 AM
Shadow of the Colossus is great. It's also a short game too. I know that I was really impressed the first time I came up to a colossus, and was like, damn, I gotta kill this thing? I would imagine that you'll like it more than ICO, I know I did.
SkiDragon
10-01-2006, 04:38 PM
I was wondering, is it more of an action game, or more of an exploration, puzzle adventure thing like ICO?
atomicthumbs
10-01-2006, 08:00 PM
It's hard to say. Other than the colossi there are no other foes in the game. Instead of figuring out puzzles to get somewhere, the puzzle is in figuring out HOW to take down each colossus. Try it out, you won't be let down.
atomicthumbs
10-01-2006, 08:07 PM
http://ps2media.ign.com/ps2/image/article/609/609220/shadow-of-the-colossus-20050501100858084.jpg (http://shadowofthecolossus.com/)
Click the picture for a link to the official website (choose English UK for language) - It's much better than the US site and will give you a great feel for what the game is about.
SkiDragon
10-01-2006, 08:33 PM
That does look pretty good. Do you know where I can get it for cheap?
Thanks.
Leo_A
10-01-2006, 09:16 PM
Anywhere, its a greatest hits title now.