All 21 reviews for ICO (2002)

I wouldn't bother...

circusmaximus from Birmingland , 13/04/2007

A game should draw you in and give you incentives to want to persevere, and not have you reluctantly play it for 9 minutes and then slip it back into its paper sleeve and then back into an envelope.

The lack of any instruction manual, or info on how to play it within the game didn't help either.

Allright if you like that type of thing...

thundercat from Manchester , 22/04/2006

I was looking forward too this game... probably a bit too much because when I played it I found it a bit.... boring to not put too find a point on it. To be fair I didnt stick at it so it could get better but I didnt have the patience to find out. Dragging the princess around is a real pain. Saying that, the game is visually stunning, my advice? watch the pretty game while your mate plays it and has to worry about dragging the princess around.

Gaming aspires to art

A customer from East Anglia , 09/10/2007

Quite simply the best game i have ever played. Utterly original and compelling. Rather than base a game around the usual predictable elements of: kill bad guy - complete level - get bigger sword (ad infinitum), the developers had the guts to create a game where your sole purpose is to rescue a girl from a vast dungeon with only a wooden stick to fight off the shadows that want her back. If this sounds simple, it is, but it is also perfect, and its simplicity is key to that perfection. Every one of the games stunningly crafted, highly atmospheric environments will have you staring in awe. There is simply to much to look at to ever be bored, and the puzzles are great. This is perhaps the closest gaming has come to art.

11 out of 10

A customer from Notts , 10/05/2006

probably the best ps2 game i've played

got totally drawn into it

Not a good game for goldfish

bAdDoG from GLOSSOP , 27/04/2008

If you suffer from :

a) a short attention span

b) a limited imagination

c) an unwillingness to step out of your comfort zone

and most importantly

d) complete loss of contact with your inner child

then you can forget this game.

Personally I found it an exquisite & moving experience, but then I am 56 & sick to the back teeth of games where the 'heroes' consist of serial killers, sociopaths, mercenaries, psychos & GTA murdering b*******.....

fantastic!!

A customer from Edinburgh , 27/04/2007

thought this game was absolutely brilliant. the scenes and views were epic! The seamless play of the game made it really enjoyable. although i found the game quite easy (completed it in a couple of days) i greatly enjoyed playing it. recommend it to anyone who likes a game with good puzzles and not to much fighting.

Frustrating combat but addictive

A customer from n.ireland , 11/04/2008

The graphics are relatively poor and dull, the combat is hard to control, the puzzles are very simple with long amounts of walking, there is almost no storyline development or voice acting. But somehow this game is really great and feels fantastic to complete, great to rent.

Fairly Decent Puzzler

Straith from Nottingham , 07/02/2008

After reading only good things about this game I was looking forward to getting to grips with this. Although admittedly, this is an original and atmospheric game I felt slightly let down by its longevity and difficulty, I completed this game in just 7 hours. It is basically a puzzle game (move boxes, pull switches, climb ladders) with the aim to move from screen to screen with a girl to help her escape from a castle. The puzzles weren't overly challenging and the girl's AI could frustrate at times due to her slowness in following you. The control system is simple to comprehend (a use button, a jump button and a 'get girl to follow' button). There is little in terms of a plot/story and hardly any dialogue, but the game has enough to it to overcome this. Overall this is a solid title and is worth renting, but due to its length and lack of replay value I wouldn't reccommend purchasing this game.

Absolute classic.

A customer from London. UK. , 30/08/2007

This is one of the best gaming experiences i had on the PS2. The level design is (in places) incredible, the story is both emotionally engaging and beautifully told and even though the game play is, at its core, quite simple its still one of the most worthwhile games i've ever completed. I'm not going to go into details though - as that would ruin the experience.

So if you missed it first time round i urge you to rent it asap. I also envy you - as you still have it to enjoy. Oh - and just a warning - it starts a bit slow - but stick with it and i can (almost) guarantee you will be greatly rewarded for your efforts.

What's another word for 'Atrocious'? ...

Seeker360 from Coventry/Lancaster , 27/03/2009

I rented this game because ever since its release I had heard such amazingly positive things about it, particularly from games review magazines and websites.

Unfortunately, I am sorely disappointed by this game - so much so that after three or so hours of playing it, I have come to the conclusion that I would rather have two stakes ploughed through my eyes than I would play any more. On a superficial level, it is graphically and technically a poor effort, even by PS2 standards, with glitches aplenty. That said, as an RPG fan, I can appreciate great games even if the graphics are poor...However, gameplay is no better... It's repetitive, unrelentingly difficult and doesn't offer any help or guidance. Every time you enter a new room you feel like the disc may as well have stopped running because it is uninspiringly dull, unatmospheric and offers no motivation to play. Each environment is drab and samey, and the music is soulless and offers nothing but further annoyance to the game. The story is a lot weaker than I was expecting, and fails to capture you at all. Overall, my experience of ICO was one of the worst I have had in the 16 years I have been playing games. I would STRONGLY recommend leaving this one be - I only hope that Shadow of Colossus does not fall foul of the same unjustified praise...

Very chilled, very artistic game.

A customer from Selby , 20/01/2009

This is what Prince of Persia might be like, if it had taken half a Vallium. Set in a massive castle, it's a classic story told in a nice, gentle, unassuming, artistic way. Ico isn't an incredibly long game, and the puzzles are relatively easy to solve, so renting it won't hog a DVD slot for months. You should get through it in 8 to 10 hours, even if you're a casual platformer. The game has a little bit of action from time to time, where speed is moderately important, but (quite frankly), you don't have to be a button-mashing hero to defeat the enemies at all. In fact, most enemies can just be run around (which is what I did for the most part). The graphics are stunning, and the music is just divine. More art than game. I love it!

Intriguing and innovative - in short, brilliant!

BigCheese from Fordingbridge , 05/07/2008

Whether you love or hate this game, you have to acknowledge its originality. I for one love it: the lack of in-game instructions or a tutorial level (which I absolutely hate in games like this) and even the lack of an immediate clear goal or an explanation of how the universe works makes this a challenge -and a very enjoyable one- for this experienced adventure gamer.

The graphics are realistic and atmospheric, but you do have to remember that is the atmosphere of a prison-like castle, so don't expect an enormously visually 'stimulating' game (in the Mario or Half-Life sense). At times the collision detection is a little glitchy - still, you have to remember the game is six years old!

Perhaps the bravest move is the lack of any in-game background music -unheard of in a game of this genre- but this for me only adds to the atmosphere of the whole thing, as you can hear the rush of water in the underground caverns or wind on the battlements and almost feel you are there

The game also achieves that rarest of things: being genuinely sweet in the depiction of the relationship between the main characters, without being nauseatingly twee and over-the top; there are also some really nice touches in the way the characters interact - and even how you save the game!

In short, the whole thing really draws you in: this really is the closest thing I have found to a truly interactive film-like gaming experience!

Good but hard

pyromantis from Nottingham [Highly rated reviewer] , 20/06/2008

Everyone raved about this game. As did they about it's half-sister, Shadow of the Colossus. But I can't quite see why. It is VERY pretty, and I suppose the story is reasonably heartwarming. You do develop a strange attatchement to the waif that is Yorda when you're dragging her around as behorned Ico and hitting shadowmen with a stick. But after about an hour of puzzling, puzzling and not much else, you realise it's very simple. ICO is like one of those flash games on the net. Essentially, throughout the entire game, all you're doing is finding a route out of each room, and then figuring out a way to get Yorda to the same place. It's not necessarily boring, it's just a bit of a let down. I was expecting an epic story with fight or flight mayhem and a decent platform/adventure side, and what i got was a glorified escort-and-puzzle game! If that's what you're expecting from ICO, rent it now, you'll love it. If you're thinking, as i did, that you're going to get an advernture with twists and turns and upgrades and items and OTHER THINGS TO DO BUT SOLVE PUZZLES, rent something else.

Sweet

Beetl3 from Malvern , 24/04/2008

This game is beautiful. It's challenging, sweet and endearing. Even my wife liked it!

Rent it play it, you'll love it!

Boring

A customer from England , 12/07/2007

Played this game for 5 minutes, got bored of the tedious tasks and foreign language

Not as good as the hype

A customer from Manchester, England , 24/07/2006

Ok, maybe it was a bad idea to play this straight after dragon quest 8, and certainly not with the high hopes that I had, but as visually stunning as the graphics were it didn't compensate for having to drag some daft girl around by the hand. If she's too stupid to follow me, then really is she worth rescuing???? Nah, it seemed a decent enough game, but I didn't have the patience to play beyond the first few levels (and that is amazingly rare for me). It's a perfect game if you are ill or it's a rainy day, otherwise I'd go out and do something less boring instead

Excellent

A customer from Brighton, England , 26/04/2006

Very clever game that has lots of replay value - my daughter got me to play it 3 times in a row! It never gets too difficult but the puzzles do take some thinking about the first time round. This has got to be one of the best games on the PS2 or any other platform for that matter. highly recommended.

You HAVE to play this game

Chantal [Highly rated reviewer] , 19/03/2006

And when you are done play Shadow of the Colossus.

This game isn't very long but it is one of the best game ever.

Disappointing

A customer from Leicester , 03/12/2008

I didn't like this title as much I thought I would. I won't be getting this any time soon.

Hated It...

A customer from Coventry, England , 26/04/2007

Having read high reviews about this I was willing to play it as it was something different, so when I first started playing, yes it was different but then it became annoying having to keep pulling this girl around, after half an hour I stopped playing in frustation. To be honest I don't see how this rubbish can get high reviews, its boring and irritating, I'm just pleased I rented before buying it. On a high note the atmosphere is created well and the graphics are fairly good but unless you like this sort of game just rent it and give it a try and you may like it, but I hated it!