Gameplay

Genre-busting?

ICO can be described as a puzzle-adventure game. Most of the puzzles involve finding out how to reach switches by climbing up different ledges, doing various jump puzzles and pushing blocks around. There is also a high level of interaction as you can pick up various objects throughout the castle and there are frequently multiple ways to solve the same puzzle. Occasionally you'll the encounter the smoke-monsters where you'll have to decide whether to fight them off or run away. The puzzles don't involve twitch fingers as what you'd expect from platform games like Sonic Adventure or Mario, and instead has a calmer pace far more similar to the original Prince of Persia, with reportedly 15-30 hours of gameplay.

A box in the middle of nowhere?

Must be there for a reason

There is no visible life bar and although you can fall to your death in extreme cases, the game is very forgiving, with two story drops leaving nary a scratch. If you die, you have infinite continues and can just start again in the same area of the castle. The challenge is in finding your way throughout the castle, and the game is designed to give you the time you need to solve it. You'll have to explore the environment quite a bit before you figure out what you're supposed to do.

So is Ico just a Prince of Persia for 2001? Not quite. You see, the girl you're rescuing is far more fragile than you are and has no means of defending herself. Thus, a significant portion of the game involves defending Jorda and leading her through the castle along a path she is able to follow. So, while you may be able to engage in dangerous Jackie Chan-esque stunts to find your way out of the castle, Jorda cannot.

Adding depth

In "The Lost Vikings," you controlled three different Vikings with different talents. Each had a unique talent such as being able to shoot an arrow, or glide down using a shield as a parachute. In Ico, you can't control Jorda at all. Instead, you lead her through the castle by holding her hand. She is dependant on you for her freedom. At the same time, she is also an independent character and at times acts very much like a child, free from concern. If you leave her alone for a while, she will be frightened - or she may choose to explore the environment herself, perhaps following the sound of a bird.

The white dress provides strong contrast

Trust me

What makes the game more interesting is that Jorda does not speak the same language as Ico. Thus, Ico can only call to Jorda and hope that she will understand what you want her to do. The first time you play through the game, only Ico's words are subtitled. However, once you finish the game, you can play through again, this time with Jorda's words subtitled as well.

Ico has a unique calmness to it. There is usually no background music, with just the soothing sounds of the environment. The developers of the game, Sony themselves, have also attempted to present the story with as little text or narration as possible, giving it a mysterious, ethereal quality. However, what really completes the distinctive feel to the game is the graphics.