Ico is the most beautiful, clever and engrossing game that I have played in a long, long time! It's one of those games that every gamer should have the chance to appreciate! It's very unfortunate that it didn't sell particularly well at retail.
The game is the story of a boy named Ico who is banished from his tribe because he was born with horns – a trait that for generations has lead the tribe to take the "deformed" youth to be locked alive within a crypt deep within the walls of a mysterious castle. Ico manages to escape his crypt and encounters a pale girl named Yorda with whom he can't communicate with (they speak different languages). This results in Ico leading Yorda through the castle by the hand in an attempt to escape its confines and also free Yorda from the shadow creatures that keep trying to take her away.
It's a puzzle game at heart presented with stunning graphics and an amazing atmosphere! It really is an art-form and you'll often find yourself admiring the world around you while searching for a clue to the current puzzle you're trying to solve.
The graphics are fantastic, the control spot-on and the audio suits the game extremely well.
Ico is quite short (you'll be completely done in about 7 hours and a game that draws you in like this only makes you want for more!). My only other criticism is of the camera angles on occasion leading to some unfortunate falls. In every other respect, Ico is a masterpiece and a game that really creates a genre of its own, one in which I hope there are many more games to come.
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