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ICO Review
Kevin Berryman
00/12/0000
ICO`s atmospheric visuals and presentation will astound you.
Videogames have come a long way over the years. We started with very simple 2D graphics and reached a perfection of 2D gaming. During the peak of the Genesis and SNES era, gaming was starting to be talked about as a possible art form. Then came the 32-bit generation and graphics expanded into the 3rd dimension. It is still being debated if games can be art and 3D graphics are still in their relative infancy. I donāt know if videogames are art or not, but if any game can prove they are its Ico.
The game opens with a lengthy cut scene with very little dialogue. We are shown a young boy with strange horns sticking out of his head. He is being transported be force to an enormous castle. A little later it is revealed that he is to be sacrificed because he was born with horns. The men place him in a metal container and leave, but he is able to rock the
container over and break free. Itās now up to us to get him out of the castle and hopefully to freedom. He soon meets an enigmatic girl locked in a giant birdcage. He decides to set her free and take her with him, which is good because she has the ability to open the doors that stand in his way.
The game may seem light on story and dialog, but its not light on gameplay. The story is actually very interesting, and there are a number of twists and turns throughout the plot. Although little is said, dialogue is well written and cut scenes are driven buy very cleaver visual direction. The only reason the game is low on dialog is because the main characters donāt speak the same language and have very little to say to each other. This fact actually makes the game even more unique and adds to the atmosphere. Gameplay is simple puzzle solving. Although the boy you play as can jump and climb just about anywhere the girl you are helping can not. Most puzzles require you to clear a path for her so you can get to the next room. The game starts off pretty easy but not all obstacles are so simple to get though. You must take everything in the environment into account when trying to figure out the problem. To make matter worse strange shadow demons can appear out of nowhere that try to steal the girl.
You have to keep her safe or itās game over. Ico is one of those games that you just canāt put down. Iāll play it for hours and after every save say to myself ājust one more puzzleā.
The graphics in Ico are truly amazing although a little inconsistent. The first thing I noticed is the character animation. The characters are not made of high polygonal models or the best textures but they animate so well its hard to notice anything else.
Their clothes blow in the wind, they stumble when they jump long distances, and tug each other when holding hands. They move in a realistic manner but not always totally realistic.
The environments are so beautiful that I often found myself staring and looking around at every stop. Credit must go to the developers for the sheer scale that is shown in the game. The castle that the game takes place in is enormous, and you often find yourself leaping across chasms thousands of feet deep.
I have a small fear of heights and this game has given me the willies on more then one occasion. Then there is the spectacular lighting effects which really do outshine all other graphical effects, (no pun intended). Inside the castle there is very little light and most of the time you canāt tell if its day or night. Outside the castle is another story
altogether were the sun saturates everything. The developers have used light unlike any game I have ever seen. When outside the game looks almost over exposed, so bright you wonder why itās not hurting your eyes.
The contrast of lights and darks looks like an impressionist's best work, and really makes the gamer feel like they have stepped into another world. I said above that the graphics are inconsistent, and they
are, but let me explain. This game is beautiful,nobody can dispute that, nothing about the graphics takes away from the sheer beauty of it all. But textures are not always all they can be and some are just plain pathetic compared to other PS2 games. But it doesnāt take anything away from the game, and most of the time the lighting effects cover up any lack of detail.
I canāt complain about anything in the sound department. The music is fitting in everyway, itās as mystical as the world of Ico and drives the suspense of the best scenes. The sound effects are some of the best Iāve ever heard. Seagulls squawk in the distance, the characterās footsteps echo off the walls, the wind howls and the sea is a constant. Two fantasy languages were created for Ico, one for the girl and one for the boy. All dialogue is subtitled and only the boyās is written in English. Everything the girl says is complete gibberish and her subtitles are in strange hieroglyphics. Words can not express the feeling of atmosphere created be the sound alone.
