There was once a time where games were looked upon as more of an art form, than anything else. Money didn't dictate what was released, and developers took chances on being innovative. As time went on, gaming was brought to the forefront of the entertainment industry, companies began to get money hungry, and developers began to lose their backbones. Instead of giving the gaming public something new and exciting, we were treated to a constant bombarding of rehashes and "me too" games.
That was until ICO was released.
ICO is one of those games that sits quietly on a store shelf patiently waiting for an unsuspecting gamer to pick it up. The box art isn't anything spectacular, and frankly the thought of an adventure/puzzle game is considered boring amongst all of the games that let you kill prostitutes, and shoot innocent people (Oh how I long for the golden days of gaming). It has a sort of mysterious quality about it and you don't really notice it until something seems to almost attract you to it. You don't choose ICO, ICO chooses you.
I'll admit I picked up ICO after its initial price drop. At the time I had read many reviews praising its genius, but I also read that the game could be completed in several hours of hardcore gaming. Why must we always judge a game by the length of time it takes to play through? After playing ICO, I will never make that mistake again.
The gameplay of ICO is not so hard to explain, as it is to understand. There is not alot of physical action, but there is an abundance of intellectual action. ICO is best explained as a series of puzzles that truly test your knowledge, while staying in the boundaries of common sense. There will not be many challenges that will have you saying "Why is that there anyways?"
As ICO you will guide Yorda, a fragile young woman, through a castle inhabited by shadows that will challenge your companionship at every corner. While there is a small bit of action that comes with fighting off the shadows, you will never truly feel that it is an important part of the game. It's more used as a way to develop a stronger tie to Yorda than anything else. After playing for a couple of hours, the minute you hear Yorda scream for help, you will run for your life to save her. I can honestly say that there will never be a time that you will not run back for her. Even if you know it's a lost cause, you will try.
ICO is truly one of the most beautiful games to grace any system. It doesn't rely on thousands of polygons, spell effects, and bit mapping, but instead relies on immersion. The castle that has captured you almost feels as if it is alive, and is a character of it's own. The architecture is amazing and many times you will find yourself holding your breath as you hang off a ledge overlooking the forest below. The characters move fluidly and many times I found myself forgetting that they were actually not alive. Yorda chases birds, falls asleep in ICO's arms, and holds ICO's hand as a real child would. It may sound a little farfetched in writing, but as you play the game it almost gives you a new appreciation for the time put into creating these small little details.
Immersion is the outcome of all the fine tuning, and detailing in ICO. You will forget that you're playing a game, and feel as though you are controlling a movie, or even better, a fairytale. Not once did I find myself wanting to play another game during the time I spent with ICO. It simply drew me in and wouldn't let me go until I saw the total picture of the masterpiece that was being created before me.
Overall, I feel ICO has been the greatest game of this generation if not of all time. It has created a cult following that has carried over to the hundreds of message boards across the Internet - it's a shame that mainstream gamers can't enjoy the Internet's word of mouth. Maybe we would be introduced to games that actually make a difference to people once again.
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