ICO

Fear & Friendship

Imagine inheriting something that sets you apart from your friends and family; a physical feature you cannot hide but which will see you cast out from your homeland. A tragic inevitability haunts your birth - you know you will never reach adulthood. Alone and entombed, exiled from your family as a harbinger of bad luck, isolation is your only friend...

Now imagine finding a kindred spirit in the darkness that surrounds you. Looking up and seeing a light so bright that it illuminates your path and asks for your help. Suddenly, escape seems possible. There are two of you now, and together you know much can be achieved. You know that a friendship like this can overcome whatever lies in your way...

Story

Ico is a story of a young boy who - born with an abnormality which, makes him grown horn - is destined to die, to ward off the 'evil eye' that his horn represent. Any misfortune that befalls his village is attributed to Ico, and when the boy turns 12, the villagers decide the time has come to erase his existence before more calamities befall them.

Ico is taken away to a secluded cliff-side on which lies a dank, dark and disturbing ancient fortress. Those that place Ico here intend to leave him to starve or freeze to death within these ruinous wall - only then will his curse be lifted from their village. The fortress is uninhabited, they believe, and if any should exist there, it will be in the form of malign spirit who will surely scare the boy to death if the cold and hunger don't get to him first.

But Ico is not alone. In his feverish, dreamy state, the vision of a ghostly female appears before Ico. And when he breaks free from his tomb, Ico learns that this was no dream or trick of the mind - the girl is flesh and blood, and is hanging above him like a delicate, celestial caged bird. As much as Ico needs her help, he soon realizes this mysterious girl needs his help, too.

So begins a journey which you, playing as Ico, support Yorda as you look for an escape route. For Yorda, this means freedom from an evil mother who intends to keep her imprisoned in the fortress forever more. For both of you, this means sealing the ultimate pact of friendship - without each others help, Yorda is doomed to be shackled down by shadowy spirits that lurk in the darkness and you are destined to fulfill your tragic fate. But together, you can overcome evil. Where Yorda is weak, you can be strong. When you don't know where to look, Yorda can point to the light. With each others encouragement, you can both wake up from your nightmares.

ATMOSPHERE

Ico is very different game. It's an adventure game but it has a look and feel that's world's away from many other adventure titles. The scenery drips with atmosphere and distracting music replaced by an evocative soundscape that includes characters' breathing, the flickering of candles and the melancholy chorus of early morning birds.

Never has before looked so ethereal in a game as it does in the shimmering, luminous dress worn by Yorda. And never has a game fused dreams and reality so seamlessly. It's this unique atmosphere that lends Ico a truly involving experience for the player - this is a game that totally transports you to another world where the ambiance is almost another character in its own right.

GAMEPLAY

The relationship between the young characters Ico and Yorda is at the heart of this game. You'll fall under the spell of the two friends as you take on the role of Ico and try to lead the fragile Yorda to safety. Ico's physical stamina must be enough for the two of them, and Ico must assist Yorda in overcoming a variety of different obstacles. If Yorda unable to climb a chain, Ico must find an alternative route; if Yorda is overcome by fear when contemplating a dangerous jump, Ico must use reassuring words to give her the confidence to make the leap.

Ico's gameplay is grounded in the concept of teamwork. The modern mantra of 'each man for himself' is replaced by an almost mythical idea of gallantry, a theme rarely seen in the most adventure games. As Ico and Yorda help each other traverse the perils of the fortress, their heroism, friendship and selflessness will offer you a truly emotive gaming experience.

PLAYABILITY

Ico is a game that's quick and easy to pick up. It's the title where the uncluttered environments (no distracting inventory or energy bars to worry about) are echoed in the intuitive game controls. Unlike many adventure titles, Ico doesn't call for arduous learning of button combination; instead, ease of gameplay means you can pick this up and get straight to the heart of the game - the perfect way to unwind at the end of the day.

GRAPHICS

All the in-game animation in Ico has been created by hand, not through motion capture. As a result, Ico and Yorda have a filmic grace to them - there are no sharp edges, stiff movements or glaring colors to these characters. Instead, you can almost feel Yorda's frailty thanks to the realistic animation that lies at the heart of the game.

Graphically, playing Ico is like looking at the soft tones of an old sepia photograph - subtle, evocative and melancholic. Harsh color are replaced with a beautiful palette of earthy tones which brings to life the fortress and the shadowy figures that populate it, as well as the unforgettable characters of Ico and Yorda.