Ico - PS2 Playstation 2 Game Review

The only reason I picked up this game was because of the glowing reviews it had received in nearly every publication and website. I would have certainly passed on a puzzle-based game starring a small child with horns, who's trying to free a mysterious girl from an evil castle. The story and gameplay description wouldn't have gotten me to select this obscure title, but the reviews did. Will this be another glowing review?

Most definitely! Ico is worthy of all the praise, and I'm here to give it a little more. It's a great breath of fresh air and a nice change from the racing, sports, and hack and slash games that me and most gamers are constantly playing. With that said though, Ico is still not perfect. But before we get to the nitty gritty, let me tell you about the basics:

-Ico is the story of a boy who's been imprisoned because of the horns growing out of his head. He escapes his cell, only to find a similarly captured, somewhat magical girl. Rather than just leave her, the game revolves around your quest for freedom...together.

The game has the gameplay of a Mario style game with free-roaming 3D action. You must leap cliffs, swing from chains, hit switches, etc. to advance on your quest. But all the while you must accomplish these feats and keep the girl right along with you. She can't figure anything out on her own, so you must take her hand to lead her through doors, pull her up ledges, or call for her to jump to your arms. It's a gameplay mechanic that the entire game revolves around.

The gameplay is Ico's strongest part, but it's beautiful graphics are a nice bonus. The mind puzzles are never too frustrating and often perfectly expand on something you learned previously. Controlling your character is also a breeze as he climbs, jumps, and runs as good as any 3D game since Mario 64.

I've thrown alot of praise on Ico, but it does have some bad points. At times the puzzles seem more like work than fun. And it's frustrating that any time you leave the girl for an extended period of time, monsters will attack her and you must rush back to save her. Another gripe I have with Ico is it's a tad short (I completed it in around 8 hours) and it could use a much more interesting storyline or some variety in it's puzzles. It's just puzzle after puzzle, with a nearly non-existent storyline. It doesn't aspire to be anything more than a normal videogame, but it could have been much more.

The Good!		The Last Word(s): All in all, Ico is a great game for a change of pace, and is certainly worth picking up and completing. You'll enjoy actually beating a game for a change, but you'll know it could have been much better and deeper. Some more variety, some RPG elements, more storyline, and this could be a perfect game. But as we've learned, nothing's perfect, but Ico is close enough. Final Rating: 83% Hotter than Prison Sex
Incredible Graphics. Actually beatable. Excellent gameplay. Breath of fresh air.
The Bad...
Sometimes feels like work. Somewhat short. Repetitive at a point. No storyline.
The UGLY.
None.

BY THE NUMBERS:

For those of you with too much time on your hands, here's the overly-complex system of how it's done:

Each game is given a rating from 1 to 5, with 1 being horrible to 5 being outstanding, in 6 different categories. We then take an arbitrary number from the deepest crevices of our ass (basically what we think the game deserves without averaging any numbers together), and then a GYEAH.com stamp quote. 1-10 (Pure Husk); 11-20 (DEAD); 21-30 ("companies" buttchild); 31-40 (Terriable); 41-50 (L.A. Clippers-ish); 51-60(Average as your girlfriend); 61-70(Coolio); 71-80(Way Pimpy); 81-90 (Hotter than Prison Sex); 91-99 (Iconish); 100 (GOD-LIKE). Enjoy.