Sure it's not Shadow Of The Colossus but it's a great original game on its own merits.

User Rating: 8 | ICO PS3

I think theirs no question that everybody knows and love Shadow of the Colossus but what about the other game that was made and paired with it on the Hd release for the ps3 and it was also critically acclaimed, did Team Ico deliver on this game also? Lets find out.

Story: So basically the start of Ico is started with a boy named Ico being taken by a group of men to a castle, the reason why is because he was bored with horns and this is considered to be a bad omen, so the people in the village take him to this castle to basically get rid of him. As Ico explores the castle he meets Yorda the daughter of the Queen who plans on using her body to extend her life, Ico must get her out of the castle and to do so he must take her and keep her away from these shadowy creatures. Their isn't a whole lot to the story but again like Shadow Of The Colossus it makes you decide what to think of it which for me makes it great.


Presentation: While this game may not look as good as Shadow of The Colossus per say it's got it's own little style and their our some really great animations in the game making it look amazing, The soundtrack while not as expansive as SOTC is really great has some really memorable tracks and makes this game come alive. The presentation is great.


Gameplay: When it comes to gameplay Ico does pretty much everything right most of the games our just puzzles and you must go through the game getting through the castle with Yorda by your side this lead to some intricate puzzles that are more then worthwhile, as you go throughout the castle you must be careful though because these shadow like creatures will try and capture Yorda you must make those beasts shy off with your sword or stick and keep moving on. The whole games progression is based on a checkpoint system I mean you are the checkpoint because you have to be the one to save on the couch you just used at first I didn't like this because if you got really far and ended up dying you would have to start all over again at the checkpoint, but I realize that the reason they did this is because this is a short game and if you progressed closely with the checkpoint you would probably be done with this game in probably three and a half hours, this actually brings me to my next point I wanted to mention the length even a player that is new to the game will probably finish the game in about six hours, I guess this isn't terrible but it is a bit short, I guess its acceptable because they wanted to base this game on just going through the castle and it wouldn't feel right if it was this massive castle so I can forgive it for being a little short. I only have one nitpick for the gameplay and that is the mechanics for climbing there a bit iffy but once you get used to them their not that bad, oh and also one other thing why does it take Yorda so damn long to climb the stairs her AI is pretty much perfect through the game but yet she struggles climbing up stairs. The gameplay is pretty much perfect the puzzle are blended with a perfect sense of progression making the gameplay a joy to play.

(Spoiler Alert)The final boss is the queen it's not one of the most epic boss battles but its definitely original and it was kind of fun, pretty simple but not to the point of being unimaginative. After beating the queen it seems like this is the end for Yorda, she puts you in a boat and sails you away, later on in the ending the castle crumbles and she somehow appears on the island the boat has stopped on after that its pretty much the end, just like Shadow Of The Colossus they make you interpret the ending,


Overall lets be honest Ico is not close to as good as SOTC but Ico has its own sense of charm and wonder and I love that, Ico doesn't try to tackle anything to big but instead takes you on a journey on its own, Ico may not be SOTC but in its own merits it still make for quite the adventure,