Best Game You Never Played: Ico

While everyone will be busy with games like Crysis and Halo this holiday season, it's easy to forget that games can have a milder, less violent tone to them. I know, it's true, like zomg!!!

One such game came out for the PS2 back in 2001. It was called Ico, and it was from the same developers that brought us the excellent Shadow of the Colossus. I'm sure many people have heard of the game, but have never tried it, seeing how it has had limited releases in the past. But I urge, if not beg you, to try and pick up a copy of your own.


The story is simple, you play as a young boy, named Ico, who is being sacrificed at a castle with apparently no admission fee, because of the set of horns that have grown on his head, which supposedly brings his village bad luck. While locked away in his "sacrificial pod" some rumbling of the dated machinery of the castle loosens the rock the pod is sitting on and thus it tumbles open, freeing our protagonist. Along the way, you find a girl named Yorda that was also locked away, and thus you being your quest to escape the castle.

The main gameplay mechanics are simple, and is similar to what we have seen in games like Prince of Persia and Tomb Raider. You explore the environment, solving puzzles that will lead you to the next door. But in this game, you also have to guide Yorda around since she has a magical power to open certain doors to make you progress. Of coarse, Yorda is not as nimble as you, so you must leave her behind and create simpler paths for her to follow, sometimes using her as elements of the puzzles themselves.

Just to throw in a bit of action, occasionally shadowy figures will come and try to capture Yorda, which obviously prevents you from moving further. A fairly simple combat system involving a piece of 2x4 also adds a challenge in itself since attacks must be planned and quick. This adds yet another level of depth to the game.

On top of all this, you also have a fantastic artistic style (yes, similar to SotC) with a great use of Bloom lighting, atmospheric sound effects, and the perfect musical score.


The icing on the cake though is your connection to the characters. You really care for Ico and Yorda, as they obviously care about each other. This is further supported with a story that gives you just enough to know whats going on, and it all leads to a satisfying ending.

My only complaint was that it was rather short, but the fun to be had is well worth it. If nothing else, it offers up a true gaming "experience" that not many titles can mimic.

The New Renaissance- A Game for All Ages

It's been awhile since I first sat down and squealed with glee when Little Big Planet was debuted to the public for the PS3 and I have some thoughts. The title reflects what I feel is a New Era of video games that we should all can be excited about.


For those of you who don't know what Little Big Planet is and for the other smaller half who's been living under rocks; Little Big Planet is a game developed by Media Molecule in which the object of the game is to build, play and share simple levels where the only object is to reach the end. The game features a robust creator in which players can create levels seemingly straight out of a children's books and then share and play over the internet or in the comfort of their own home.

Simple fun gameplay is Little Big Planets motif and quite frankly I'm glad. Not for Little Big Planets sake (Yes, I'll buy a PS3 just for LBP) but for the game industry at large. Video game developers have been throwing flashy, hardware intensive games at us and we the market have been eating up. While ingenuity is often praised, there was for a long time only ho-hum sequels to franchises and renditions of older styles. We as video gamers began to finesse over the subtle differences between games that had one time gimmicks or fancy visuals when really the same ideas have been around for at least 5-10 years.

But over the past 3 years or so a new crop of games have arisen that put the focus back on simple gameplay and not on graphics. These games have always been there, but from I can remember they first became readily available around 2001 when ICO was released. It was the first time in awhile when you had to just save the princess; that was it. The game received good reviews commending its easy to use design and focus on action and not glamor.

Over the following years more games would be released that put the focus back on new and simple ideas; where leveling up or customizing weapons wasn't the focal point. Games like Katamari Damacy, Shadow of the Colossus, and Lumines later followed and although they weren't Halo-ish blockbusters; they both earned a respectable amount of sales and awards.

Of course the culmination of this trend came with the Launch of the Nintendo Wii which was so successful I feel because it brought games that anyone could play with small learning curve. Sure it has graphics that pale in comparison to others, but the people have spoken and beauty truly is on the inside (and on the wii-mote).

The new renaissance is starting to makes it way to the PC market as well. So called snobby PC gamers have been enjoying the old classics such as Myst, but also applauding new ones like Penumbra.

I for one am happy to see this once neglected market starting to thrive again alongside the hardcore gamers of the world. I do enjoy extremely technical games like Supreme Commander, but rolling my Katamari into cats and people brings a child-like smile (not the durrrrrr durr type smile) to my face and gives me a chance to just relax while playing a game. I expect to see games being developed and released by lesser known developers with smaller budgets become more and more popular.

To sum it all up I feel that the video game industry is redefining itself. Often viewed as a nerdy hobby; its now cool to play video games. "Normal" host parties just drink and play the Wii. People now can choose from games for all types from many different backgrounds without being ridiculed (or shoved into lockers....*sniff*). And these games are now fun for everyone! I don't care what you think some people just won't understand what's exciting about World of Warcraft. And all of this is because video game developers are being creative in the simplest of ways. I guess much like children, video games are starting to embrace the simple pleasures in life and now give everyone a chance to be friends and just play.