Ico isn't a game, it's a cultural experience.

User Rating: 9.5 | ICO PS2
By Uesugi-dono | Review Date:
I'd long heard about Ico. Both in print and by word of mouth the legend came to me. There was this sleeper hit, a game simply called Ico, and it was the most unique RPG experience ever crafted. I ignored it for years, but the name Ico kept popping up. It seemed that I, as a gamer, was missing out on something cultural... like Star Wars, A Clockwork Orange, Deliverance... something that persisted in cultural memory and would continue to haunt me unless I, too, shared in the experience. So I bought Ico in 2008, seven years after it came out. And I promptly continued to ignore it in favor of the PS3/360 games that now littered my collection.

March 20th, 2009. An old friend came up and as we tired of Street Fighter IV and sought something different to do I brought up Ico. "Hey, I've got this game. It's old but it's supposed to be amazing. We could take turns..."

Four hours and forty-five in-game minutes later and my life is enriched. Ico is all that it's cracked up to be. It WAS an experience. For such a short game to live so vividly in play... this is the game that Myst should have been. Described as minimalist it is, nevertheless, rich beyond description. Ico flys in the face of modern gaming logic that decrees that all must be loud and powerful and complex in order to satisfy. My experience in Ico will not soon fade and will never be forgotten.

I'd love to tell you more about this game but I refuse to give any spoilers so here's the rundown:

Story: 10 - A perfect 10. This story is everything it needs to be.

Gameplay: 10 - Intuitive controls make this a pick up and play for everybody, regardless of skill level.

Music: 10 - Most of this game's sounds are ambient. Birds, footsteps, breathing. When music occurs it is ethereal and appropriate.

Camera: 9.5 - The camera is the only annoyance in an otherwise perfect experience. It is locked in each room and although it is movable it always snaps back in place. It can make navigation a bit of a challenge and the game's expansive setting could have been more richly experienced without the snap-back feature.

Replayability: 9.5 - The North American release is shafted of ALL of the cool extras. Regardless the short length of this game means it's not a hassle at all to play through it again. In fact I can almost guarantee you'll want to.

Bottom Line: Get this. While it's length makes for a great rental your collection is improved by the inclusion of this masterpiece. I can say if the PAL version ever hits the PS3 store it is mine in a matter of seconds.

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