| Ico | 
 enlarge | From: Sony Computer Entertainment
Category: Video Games
Buy New: $28.91
Buy New/Used from $28.91
Avg. Customer Rating:   (212 reviews)
Sales Rank: 969
Platform: Playstation2
ESRB: Teen
Media: Video Game
Age: 12 - 20 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: 71132
UPC: 711719711322
EAN: 0711719711322
ASIN: B00004YUWA
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
They say the mind bends and twists to deal with the horrors of life...sometimes the mind bends so much it snaps in two.Prepare for the next chapter in car combat. Designed and developed by the makers of Twisted Metal and Twisted Metal 2, Twisted Metal: Black sends players on a deranged journey through a world rife with horror and desolation. The infamous Calypso returns to host the ultimate contest of wreckage and devastation. Calypso has plucked a motley crew of contestants straight from the lunatic asylum, promising these otherwise doomed souls a chance to have one wish granted, should they emerge victorious in a deadly battle of twisted metal. As the carnage unfolds, so does the horrifying tale behind each of these tortured souls. Discover why these manic motorists were locked up. Slip into their minds, take a walk around their mental anguish, and come out screaming for more!
Amazon.com Review
Ico weaves the tale of a young boy trying to escape his imprisonment in a large, vacant castle. Along the way, he discovers another captive--a beautiful princess named Yorda. Players control Ico with the goal of escaping the castle with the princess safely in hand. Although it looks like an adventure game and has some rudimentary action sequences, Ico is mostly about solving puzzles. Players will run, jump, and climb their way through the gargantuan castle as well as figure out which objects and environments are interactive. Yorda is very much a damsel in distress, and isn't nearly as capable as Ico. A great deal of the puzzles require the player to create a safe path for Yorda, who isn't physically able to get to the places Ico can. The puzzles are quite brilliant, although a few are so tough that players will feel like ditching the princess. Graphics, particularly the lighting effects and animations, are fantastic. The developers did a superb job of conveying the enormity and beauty of the castle. When Ico and Yorda move and interact, their actions seem totally lifelike. The ambient soundtrack and simple controls let the player focus on the tasks at hand. Sony has crafted a very unique game that anyone can play. Few games are as elegant in their simplicity as this puzzler from Sony. --Raymond M. Padilla Pros: - Excellent puzzle design
- Aesthetically and stylistically brilliant
- Appropriately understated sound
Cons: - Most players will finish it in fewer than 10 hours
- Battles are too easy
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| Customer Reviews: Read 207 more reviews...
 Unique and fun experience! January 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you ever find the opportunity to buy this game, you should certainly do so. ICO provides a unique and unparalleled gameplay experience all wrapped up in a moody and atmospheric setting.
Here's basically how it works: you play as a young, horned boy named Ico. You've been banished from your home village and offered up as sacrifice, due to what is implied to be a curse of sorts. But a stroke of luck gives you the perfect chance to escape. On your way out, you find Yorda, trapped in a cage dangling several stories from the ground. While you cannot communicate with her through words (both characters speak different non-existent languages), you still feel compelled to save this alluring young lady.
In order to achieve your escape, and that of Yorda, you must pull her around by her arm (or in some cases, call her to follow you) and guide her through puzzles and obstacles through environmental manipulation, while overcoming well-thought-out and clever platforming tasks to do this. You must also use simple but fun combat techniques to keep the evil shadows from pulling poor Yorda into a dark portal, thus ending the game.
Sound boring? Well, it's really not. Read on!
While most games that require you to lug an extra character around tend to be bothersome and tedious, there is something so gratifying about tugging Yorda around the gloom-and-doom castle in which this one-of-a-kind fairy tale takes place.
With every intricate puzzle, you will have "ah-ha!" moments, and "huh?" moments, and sometimes you will even get "wow!" moments. Few games have provoked so much response from me as a gamer, and anyone looking to connect emotionally with the on-screen character (or in this case, characters), would be a fool not to play this game.
Some gamers complain about the brevity of this adventure, but I am compelled to disagree: the game is simplistic in nature. If it were any longer, it might have seemed a bit...excess. I won't say I wouldn't have appreciated more length to the game, but at the same time, when all was said and done and I was faced with the finale (which is, by the way, very fitting), I didn't feel cheated. I felt like I had experienced something very special and now I was fortunate enough to go and tell others about it!
I wholeheartedly recommend this fantastic work of art, and I hope it finds its way into your hearts and into your PS2s very soon, if it has not already.
ICO November 1, 2007
0 out of 11 found this review helpful
I bought this game for someone else. They liked it, I guess. It's an older game, and it doesn't interest me. If it interests you, try it I suppose, 'cause it's probably cheap. And if it's not, you're getting ripped off.
ICO is a Rare and Inspiring Quest for the Ages. Don't Miss This One! October 6, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
ICO is an absolutely brilliant, gem of a game. I won't give away the ending, but it has an amazing, yet simple twist of fate. The makers of this title were superb in their thirst for creating adventure. It is extremely well done, complete in details and seamless design. But when I say that it's "imaginative" I don't JUST mean the game's design. I also mean that the game inspires the imaginations of its players. As I was helping ICO solve the doomed castle's puzzles, my mind was racing as it tried to imagine the complex back story of the castle, its dark queen, ICO and his princess. I would not hesitate to buy this game's sequel, if ever one is produced, but I would be even more interested to see a prequel brought to bear on this tale. The game itself feels like the middle chapter in an epic trilogy of the Lord of the Rings genre. I would love to hear what the game's designers had to say about the story before we meet ICO and what lies ahead in his and Yorda's path. The game was an instant classic and even after beating it you will have a hard time letting it go. It is just that enjoyable. Give it a shot; you won't be disappointed. And if you are part of the industry, please, PLEASE make a prequel or sequel to this inspiring quest!
 Very engaging, definately worth at least one play-through. June 2, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
That, however, is the only caveat: I played this game once, and only once. I'm sure I'll play it again someday, and I enjoyed playing it very much, but I when I was done with it, I was done. It's been on my shelf for quite a while now.
If you can find it for 20 bucks or so, it's a great deal. Otherwise, you may want to put purchasing this game on a backburner.
One of the All Time Greatest Games ever! January 25, 2007
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
I have just completed playing this game all the way through and I was moved to write a review on it. It is, in my opinion as a gamer, one of THE best games to ever grace a console. If you own a Playstation 2, you must play this game. Whether you are into adventure or action, you must play this game. If you have never played this game, consider yourself deprived. In all of my years as a gamer and that is many, many years, I have never come across a game such as this. This is just totally awesome. Once you play it, you will never come out the same. You cannot stop playing this game. I was totally addicted.
The puzzles in this game are just pure genius. The action, although it takes a back seat to the puzzle elements, are sufficient. If I were to compare this with any other game, it would be Zelda. But this game is in a league of its own. It simply OWNS the genre called adventure. I would wonder if the guy that calls this game a rehash of Tomb Raider actually played this game through. I have played Tomb Raider and I don't think that it is anything at all close to ICO. It's like comparing a Mercedes with a Hyundai.
I was totally engrossed by this game. I was up until the wee hours during the ending. This game will grab you by the shirt and never let go. It has one of the greatest cinematic effects in any video game. It plays like a movie. All the elements of a great game are in it. Along with the great graphics (even by today's standards), awesome sound and absolute perfection in gameplay execution.
If you own a Playstation 2, you owe yourself a play through with this masterpiece. I am now a believer. All those "effusive" rave reviews are all warranted. If I knew how great this game was before I had purchased it, I would have easily spent the fifty dollars that other games are going for (most of which are not worth the list price). People say that this game is short but I say that it is perfect. Believe me it is not short unless you go to sites for game cheats. It will suck out time from your life but it will be all worthwhile. Besides, its not the length of the game, it's the quality of the time. And this game has it all in spades!
So to conclude this review I have to say that this game is one of THE greatest games of all time!
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