I can tell you why Ico is not a runaway success, besides offering up the reason that Sony's effort to market this game can be described as shamefully nonexistent. The story is less than riveting, the action is far from hardcore, gameplay doesn't involve intense button mashing, but it does require some skill - hardly the ingredients of what constitutes as a wildly popular video game by sales standards. There's certainly no hype behind it and its sales were mostly pushed by word-of-mouth reviews, making it a sleeper hit among gamers who were looking for something out of the ordinary.
This puzzle-driven adventure is quite different from the rest with its rather simplistic formula. While designers tend to go all out, SCEI opts for the minimalist approach, giving the game a very atmospheric feel. The story does not saturate, yet it's whimsical and mysterious, content to flow along. Graphics are low contrast with muted colors that doesn't make something more distinct than the other. Music has been done away with. Instead, the game uses silence to an effect, where echoes and footsteps elevate its ambiance to levels never reached before in a video game. It's fitting to say that Ico's simplicity is what makes it shine.
About A Boy //
The story unfolds like a fairy tale, where once upon a time, a boy named Ico had the unfortunate fate of being born with horns on his head. The fearful villagers perceived this as a bad omen and believed he should not be allowed to live among them. On his twelfth birthday, masked men arrived to take him away, as they previously did with other boys who had horns. Traveling through a deep forest, they reached a lone fortress wherein they tossed him and shut the doors, leaving him to rot. Fueled by a dream, Ico breaks out of his tomb and immediately searches for a method of escape, finding much more when he encounters a girl inside a suspended cage. He manages to set her free, only to meet the wrath of shadow demons who want her in confinement. What exactly is going on? She doesn't offer an explanation, though - unable to because she does not speak his language. It seems she'd suffered a similar fate, so he takes her hand and they both began looking for a way out.
Gameplay //
Literally prisoners inside the castle-like fortress, you're given the ultimate task of helping Ico and Yorda (the girl) break free and this involves solving puzzles to get them from one area to the next, paving the road to freedom. How do you go about it? By interacting with environmental stimuli and using everything you can find to aid in your quest to escape. Chains, levers, boxes, and ladders along with the most inconspicuous of things are necessary to solve the puzzle. The same can be said for interacting with your surroundings - a couple of ledges along the wall may be all you need to advance. With Yorda in tow, Ico has to make sure she follows along, but she doesn't always make great leaps and bounds like he does. So you've figured out how to get him from one spot to the next, but is Yorda beside him? Finding a path for her to proceed opens up another puzzle altogether, so it isn't exactly getting from point A to B, then not having to look back.
Every once in a while, progress is hindered when the shadow demons surfaces again to reclaim Yorda. This gives you the opportunity to beat them off with a stick (wow, what an adrenaline rush.) Let me tell you right now that playing Ico for the action will not be very fulfilling. There's no fancy assortment of weapons, no life meter, no special attacks... the enemies don't die because they've run out of HP either. All you gotta do is drive them away and prevent Yorda from being pulled into a dark portal. Fun, you say? Well, the action is only secondary to the puzzles, but it doesn't give you a chance to be lazy. You'll have to do some selective battling if you want to keep Yorda in sight, and that means not always having to attack whomever's the closest.
So while the gameplay is somewhat slow-paced, it'll keep your mind alert, unlike some no-brainer games out there. The puzzles themselves can be difficult at times, but not maddeningly so. Logic should be applied in solving them and this will require some thinking on your part. And when you've solved them, the feeling is rather satisfying :)
Graphics/Sound //
Ico is a game that's not to be merely played, but to be experienced. The game achieves a certain appeal to the senses through graphics and sounds that are very understated, yet bursting with ambiance. The lack of any onscreen displays leaves nothing to distract you from fully immersing in the breathtakingly enormous setting of the fortress and opening yourself to its sights and sounds. The graphics are decidedly low-key, but immaculately detailed from the character's facial expressions to movements that are actually realistic, such as the quickening of steps or dust kicking up from under Ico's feet. The lighting is nothing short of marvelous. Without any music to accompany the gameplay, it actually enhances the experience and lends to the game's atmosphere. There's very little dialogue between the characters, yet the way they connect with each other conveys a great amount of emotion. The AI (artificial intelligence) that controls Yorda is also impressive - she'll check out her surroundings when left alone and peer over to see that you're not hurt when you fall, among other things. Sounds are used where they fit: the flutter of birds outside the fortress, the winds up high, chains clanging and the like.
Controls //
The control system is also characteristic to the game - simple. It's not very complex and it took no more than a couple of minutes for me to get comfortable with them. The left analog stick moves your character and the right analog gives you a first person view of your surroundings, which is very useful. Holding down R1 calls Yorda to Ico, so he can hold her hand. Circle enables you to push and pull levers or objects, or pick up items and Triangle allows for jumping. The controls are quick, easy and responsive; you'll be hard-pressed to find any flaws here.
Final Recommendation //
Ico is currently one of the most underrated titles for the PlayStation 2 and there's no reason why you shouldn't own it. It falls a bit short in length and replay value, and some moments are bound to be frustrating, but it's lots of fun, not to mention visually pleasing and a total trip. It offers an experience that's all too often missing from video games, so if you find yourself complaining about the shit being put out these days, you'll find something new in here.
