Warning, contains a MAJOR spoiler! From the mesmerising visuals, to the haunting sound Ico is simply a masterpie
I shall try starting from the beginning though. The game opens with a long cinematic, a boy with horns is carried on horseback with his hands tied. His captors carry him into a strange castle in which they place him inside a strange sacrificial box. They leave, the boy struggles and due to some sort of minor earthquake the box tumbles over and he is freed. I say a long cinematic and I mean it, and by the description I gave, I'm sure it sounds a little mundane and would be the sort of cut scene you'd want to skip. But believe me the direction and the animation will have you sitting there your eyes glued to the screen.
Soon after escaping he discovers an almost ethereal girl trapped in a cage. Naturally being the Good Samaritan that he is he helps her escape! As the pale white girl thanks him we see just how damn good the animation is as it zooms in on their faces. Though she doesn't speak (and to use another cliché!) Her face says a thousand words.
It is then that we are introduced to the black demon-like creatures that will be the bane of Ico's existence. Luckily a torch has fallen from the wall. So naturally Ico picks up the stick and slays the beast.
This brings us to the combat in the game. To attack you simply hit the square button and Ico will swing the weapon he holds. It's very simplistic, but there is some strategy involved. Most of the enemies do not attack with Ico facing them and will try and sneak around behind him to grab Yorda. Often you will have to lure them in to trying to grab her with your back turned to them and at the last moment turn around and let them have it! It may not be the most complex system but on your first play through you genuinely fear for both Yorda and Ico.
In Ico and Yorda SCE have come across a truly special mechanic. You can call Yorda over to you by holding down the R1 button, and when she stands next to you, you can take her hand. As you run and pull her along behind you the controller vibrates softly and gives you the sensation of holding someone's hand. It's simple details like this that make Ico such a special game.
And details are what you'll get! The castle in which Ico and Yorda are held captive is truly magnificent, from the oppressive strong architecture to the rust that collects underneath the many chains that hang threateningly from beams holding up the castle's heavy roof, everything is full of detail. When you're outside and have explored the castle a little you'll see places you've come from, from different angles, and you'll see the ocean, forests and unreachable doors that help give the castle a "real" feel.
The sound is fantastic as well, there's little music, in fact the soundtrack lasts only 24 minutes, but it's all the better for it. You can hear the howling wind, the burning torches, and your on sandals pitter patter across the stone floor. And when the sound is used it's used to effect, when enemies appear there'll be sinister music and you'll immediately become tense and watchful.
600 words in and I haven't even said anything about the game play! Admittedly it is a little derivative, but masterfully designed. The combat, like I said is simple, but it's effective. But combat isn't what Ico is about! The castle though oppressive, begs to be explored, and explore it you shall! From waterfalls, to dungeons it feels huge, even if it does only last for 6 hours.
And here I am again! Sidetracked. The game play consists mostly of puzzle solving, enter a room and work out how to get across to the other side. This could of course get repetitive and boring but it doesn't. For one thing the puzzles are logical and a joy to solve, and the fun of climbing never gets boring. But the mechanic of having to watch out for Yorda makes things infinitely more interesting, you can't just climb across a ladder and run through the next few rooms before coming back to Yorda because she'll be captured again. Now you've got to not only solve the puzzle but protect here as well! Besides you won't get very far without her as there are doors only she can open.
Which I suppose could be considered lazy developing, almost a deus ex machina (only to stop the game from progressing, not to end it!). But it's not, if there wasn't enough incentive to protect her before there certainly is when you skip ahead without her and find that you can't go any further! And honestly if you do that it serves you right if she's then captured behind your back.
My one criticism would be the ending, SPOILER let's just say at first it would seem it's very likely that Yorda dies. After all that work to escape and save her it's naturally very sad, and indeed a little frustrating. So naturally killing her off probably isn't the "correct" ending. Luckily it isn't the actual ending! After the credits you wash up on a bright beach and eventually find Yodra, alive, washed up near by. Now that's all well and good, and quite honestly one hell of a relief, but it's quite ridiculous having her wash up on the beach like that and raises many questions. Especially considering she could've just jumped in the boat beside Ico! End SPOILER
But that's a minor criticism and certainly doesn't detract from the experience.
I don't think I've given it justice, artistically it's one of the most beautiful games you'll see, and its animation puts to shame most 'current gen' games-If your heart doesn't skip a beat when you watch Yorda jump across a 2 metre game leading down to a certain death then you're a braver man than I!
It can be hard to find and a little pricey for such an old game, but for Yorda and the art alone it's worth getting. Just make sure you download the European cover and stick it over the US box art!