ICO Comments by Kristan Reed

Quote by Zero:
"Mario Kart is simply superb, no other game has surpassed it for multiplayer racing."

What about Halo 2?

I'm going to pretend I didn't read that... it will be difficult, but I will try...

But Ico 10/10? Absolutely. 10/10 goes to the best games out there, titles which are inspired, or perhaps genius, maybe revolutionary to the industry or may be titles which are the pinnacle of their genre. Ico is a lot of this. It's simple but deceptively complex, it's beautiful with a belying darkness to it, it's rewarding and yet at times challenging.

Above all though, the game just feels right. It has a charm that hooks you, and it is rare to find games like this. Iko (I say "Eeko" but that's just me) is genius. For less than £20, it's an absolute steal...

When the PS2 launched, I couldn't afford to buy one, primarily because as a high-schooler at the time, I could only afford to support one console, and that was my Dreamcast, and then later the Xbox (long-time Bungie fanboy). One of the games that convinced me to purchase a PS2 was Ico. However, by the time I scraped together the cash to buy the console, Ico had become rarer than tits on a bull. I hunted around for it a bit at the time, but eventually gave up because I was informed that the Australian release had been discontinued. This wasn't an unknown experience for me, having suffered through the same thing with just about every Dreamcast game I ever got, as well as several of the more obscure PS2 RPGs such as Disgaea. Usually if you didn't move on it in time, you'd never see a new copy of it again, and I don't buy used games any more owing to some bad experiences during the Playstation era.

I thought I'd never have a chance to play Ico, so when I heard that Ico was getting a re-release alongside its quasi-sequel, I was extremely excited. Both games are excellent, and as a first-time player (I had only previously seen it in action for about ten minutes) I have to say that Ico feels fresh even four years after its initial release.

One thing is certain: February 2006 has been an incredible month for PAL PS2 gaming. Within the space of a week we've seen the re-release of Ico along with the releases of We Love Katamari and Shadow of the Colossus (I'm not sure if it was a week for the UK - the Australian release of Katamari seems to have been a little later, and Shadow / Ico was a couple of days earlier). I've been a gamer for 20 years, and I don't think I can recall there ever being three games of this caliber made available on the same platform within a week of each other before now. Certainly not in the last ten or so years.

Re-issue went in at No.23. Not bad for a game that hasn't been promoted.

@NegativeZero
As a fellow Aus gamer I totally agree with you - I hadn't bought a PS2 game for ages and then two on the same day (SotC and Katamari). It almost feels bizarre to have the dual shock back in the hands!

"Do have to finish Burnout Revenge and Spartan Total Warrior first though..and Vagrant Story."

Vagrant Story. What a game; my third favourite on PS1 (and possibly of all time..) After FFVII and Metal Gear Solid. Beautiful game, superb designs, excellent characters and an astounding story. Infact, I thought the gameplay was probably the weakest aspect, but even that was much better than most Jap RPGs.

ico...i will buy it this time but i bought colossus first. Big monsters win in the appeal stakes

What'dya mean, re-released? This is the first time I've heard of this thing.

Best game ever made

This is one of the best, most sincere accurate and emotional reviews I have ever read.The way this reviewer experienced ICO is the one, true path to follow if you really want to feel all that it has to offer...and that surely is a lot.

Rarely has any artform (and I am a friend of many, including literature, music and cinema among others) produced the ammount of emotional ecstasy in me that this glorious masterpiece has.Hope, happiness, despair and anxiety are just some examples.

I finished this title about two months ago and this review made me want to play it all over again.A message to all of you who have never done so - give yourselves the chance to live a truly glorious experience.