Ico - Mad World

Any kingdom where a boy with horns can be imprisoned to his fate must be mad.

Read more

Ico - Save Me (remix)

Ico and has some very dream like music, but for some it can be a little too somber. The music helps create the correct mood for the game and is a crucial element to how the game feels whilst playing. It tends to get under your skin and I've found myself humming the tune at times. Perhaps that's just me, but it's a fact that the music in any media is necessary to convey the entire story across.

Fortunately, other artists feel the same way and have provided a remix of one of Ico's melodies.

Related Soundtrack

Read more

Ico - The Beginning

This is the introduction to Ico. It's worth noting that, although the amount of spoken language is minimal, a great sense of mood and meaning is gained simply from the imagery. This is an art which not many developers adopt these days relying instead on hammy dialogue and/or scrolling text.

Truly an iconic introduction to a game and an indication that you're about to play something quite different from anything else.

Read more

A Real Boy With Horns

Life imitating art? It does happen, and when it does it is usually something which is debated, studied and discussed.

The New York Times has a remarkable story of a young boy of 13 months whom, for whatever reason has started growing horns from his head. Unfortunately there are no pictures to substantiate the claim.

I am intrigued as to the reasons for such a growth, and I'm also feeling a little sorry for the child in question whom is sure to become the object of many tests and sermons during his life.

It's a real shame that our differences are treated in such a way. One would've thought that our many features which make us unique would be celebrated.

Related Links
The Boy With Horns (New York Times)

Read more

The Ico Companion

If you're a fan of Team ICO then you are in the right place. If you read this blog you may notice that I have an unhealthy obsession with Team ICO's work. I don't stand alone though, Ico and Shadow of the Colossus both have massive following both critically and throughout the gaming masses and The Last Guardian; the next game from Team ICO is sure to follow.

As well as the more 'mature' of us gaming fellows there is one person whom has taken this obsession very seriously. His name is Redmond and his blog on Team ICO is one of the most comprehensive available on the Internet. As well as regularly posting articles regarding any scraps of news on Team ICO's activities, he has developed a website which is devoted entirely to the games of Team ICO. Due to go live sometime in February, the site will be a collection of his work and writings over the last four years.

In addition to this he has produced a lavishly detailed companion e-book and paperback containing all there is to know regarding Team ICO's games. Due to be released on the 4th February 2010, coinciding with the re-release of Shadow of the Colossus in Japan. A copy of the book can be obtained from either the blog or the website. I have already reserved my own copy and if you are a fan of Team ICO's work it is recommended that you do the same.

Related Links
The ICO Companion
Team ICO Gamers Blog

Read more

Flu

Once upon a time there was Ico; a game largely ignored by the gaming masses despite critical acclaim. Then there was Shadow of the Colossus; a game entertained by some of the gaming masses despite critical acclaim. With the advent of 2010 the next delight to emerge from Team ICO will be The Last Guardian, a game surely to be largely bought by the gaming masses as well as enjoy critical acclaim.

TLG is something of a disease. Ever since I was ‘infected’ with the knowledge of it’s development, my appetite for information, screenshots or videos of the game has increased over time. My ailments include saving for a PS3, writing this blog and playing Ico and SotC endlessly as well as trawling the internet for morsels of info. The prognosis is looking promising however. I simply need a dosage of TLG, but for this treatment to commence I will have to wait, and then wait some more until the game is finally released in the UK.

Although my disease is treatable the side effects of treatment can be substantial. A total loss of social life is expected as well as the inability to track time accurately. Thankfully I may just manage to consume food and drink to keep me alive but a total loss of sleep is almost certain.

So a great start to the year is expected, obviously you can tell that from my tone. I trust I will be fine so long as TLG is released before I eat my joypad.

Have a great new year…

Read more

Gravity Of Love

Enigma have created some of the most angelic melodies of recent times. Full of emotion and wonder it's no surpise that the music suits perfectly this video of Ico.

Read more

If You Stand By Me

Just a lovely song from their native tongue concerning the wonderous Ico.

Read more

The Last Guardian – The First Story

I have a feeling. It’s just an idea born from trying to understand how the latest game from Team ICO could possibly continue the legend of the boy with horns. While watching the announcement trailer I’m aware that Trico (the beast) has horns and while this is not unusual one has to assume that nothing is there without purpose or meaning (except the tortoise in SotC) and that these horns may provide an important clue as to the story behind all three games.

In Ico, the boy with horns is imprisoned within the castle for reasons of superstitious speculation. “For the good of the village” is the only reason garnered from the anonymous figures that guard Ico’s freedom. The boy without horns in The Last Guardian appears to befriend a beast with horns and it’s certain that the due embark on many wonderful adventures as they progress through the game.

The origins of Ico’s horns have been widely accepted as the direct result of Wanders fate in SotC. The horns on Trico are not at all similar and appear to be the horns of a juvenile creature as they are underdeveloped, one even appears to have been cut or blunted. But what if these horns were hiding a dark secret? What if the beast within was Dormin and that The Last Guardian tells the tale of his imprisonment unto the Forbidden Land found in SotC.

There are a lot of questions and, while The Last Guardian may provide some answers I’m sure that we will all be left a little bemused as the plot develops and more questions arise. To be perfectly honest I don’t care, not enough to spoil my enjoyment, because the act of playing Team ICO’s games is such a natural and wonderful experience that any pondering on the fate of the plot or the motivations of ‘the village’ are inconsequential.

Read more

Ico - The End

This is it. The ending to Ico. If you havn't finished the game yet, I would highly recommend you do. But if you can't or you just want a spoiler then watch...

Read more

You Were There

A song to dream by. You were there; Ico OST.

Read more

Affinity Motivation

Ico was imprisoned to his fate for reasons of speculative superstition. During his meandering attempt to escape the massive crumbling castle he was entombed within, he encounters a young girl whom he learns is called Yorda. Upon liberating her from her iron prison she is shortly abducted by dark magical creatures which attempt to sink Yorda into the castles very composition.

At the sight of such monstrous magic I myself would surely be afraid, but Ico, himself a boy with horns whom appears no older than a pre-teen shows no fear in his attempts to rescue Yorda from the beast with nothing more than a stick of wood. This selfless act of courage is quite surprising and as it turns out is essential to his survival and subsequent escape from the mysterious castle.

The motivations of Ico are unclear, perhaps he felt an affinity with Yorda as she too has been entombed beyond her will. Or perhaps Ico felt an attraction to Yorda, or even a sense of companionship in the few moments they have together before the attempted abduction. Whatever his motivations, they clearly help them both to tackle the adversity they find themselves in, because without Yordas’ help Ico would not be able to escape, and vice versa.

Despite the apparent lack of character development the player immediately feels compelled to help the avatar escape with the mildly distracted Yorda in tow. The abduction is a brilliant moment which is dealt with sensitively and with a true sense of emotion, impelling both characters into the hearts of the player to assist in their extradition. It’s one of my favourite moments in any game and one which I play with frivolous empathy.

Read more

Another Mans’ Poison

Ico and SotC are two of the most delightful videogames of our time. I find it difficult to understand players who fail to appreciate the lure of either. There are few games which are as deep, emotional, human or beautiful, but as sales figures show not everyone agrees with this position.

As a child of the Seventies I was brought up on a staple diet of incredibly poor graphics yet extremely enjoyable games. The constant yearning for better visuals meant that many of the simple games were blessed with my own imagination to fill in the blanks left by the limitations of the gaming hardware at the time. I figure that this period in my gaming life gave me a valuable insight into why a game is enjoyable. Games such as Atik Atak or Imagine were very playable but lacked visual substance and although I wanted the visuals to improve I was rarely dissatisfied with a game.

Later in my gaming journey as the hardware became more capable, graphics have been given a more pronounced position within the design process. This design ethic leaves games feeling quite cold and empty and the novelty of the pretty pictures quickly wears off. Playing a modern frag-fest such as Gears of War for instance is a very thrilling ride, the graphics are top drawer and the game is playable, but after a few hours of play, after the billionth bullet fired I am so bored of shooting the enemy that I wish for an early gruesome death and experiment with new ways of dying before switching the game off.

Both Ico and SotC have meaningful narratives and both are visually stunning without making the aesthetics a priority. This is rare in today’s’ high definition society and is something which is desperately missing from many modern games. There are some exceptions to this; Farenheit is one highlight of recent times where the visuals are functional but the game-play is designed to encourage the player to make decisions about the development of the plot. I really appreciate games which I can really get my teeth into or games which think ‘outside-of-the-box’ or challenge modern game design to become something more than a visual feast.

The Last Guardian will become a true classic if it retains the same design code that Ico or SotC possess. As the game is on a next generation console its visuals will surely be incredible, but the narrative and game-play should be equally accomplished elevating the game beyond the melee of bump mapped moronic titles which unfortunately occupy the vast majority of the game industries sales. At least I can be relatively sure that Team ICOs’ games will continue to be produced, due in no small part to their critical acclaim, even if the majority of gamers are too shallow to understand such delights of modern design.

Read more

It's a Tragedy...

Studying Greek Mythology as part of my English Degree has allowed me to conclude that the story behind SotC is a tragedy. I have discussed the transcript of the game with a good friend of mine, an English lecturer at Lincoln University here in the UK and we both agreed that the game can comfortably be classified as such and that this tone helps impact the game upon the moral consciousness of the player.

If the protagonist ‘Wander’ had survived the ordeal to resurrect the maiden the story would not have the same impact. Tragic events allow stories emotional weight and deliver messages or carry feelings the characters experienced during the tale to the player.

A similar conclusion can be drawn against Ico. Although in this tale the ‘hero’ did not meet death, his heroin’s fate was not clear and many speculate that she was not resurrected, but her soul became the Queens possession. Her soul therefore became a part of the crumbling castle, never to escape. The ending of Ico requires the player to draw their own conclusions about the fate of Yorda and I suppose it depends greatly on the attitude of the player, pessimist or optimist.

The Last Guardian may also have the same tone throughout, although early observations believe the story to have a warmer feel to it plainly because of the relationship between the beast and the boy. It’s safe to assume from previous experience that The Last Guardian may have some moments of bitter pain or loss equal to the fall of Agro in SotC.

Team ICO appear to portray tragedy consistently and with a purpose, to draw in the player into the game deeper than if it were devoid of tragedy. This is something I have come to expect and indeed revel in experiencing.

Read more

Yawara! Ico

YAWARA! anime, also known as Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl, is a Japanese manga series by Naoki Urasawa. I just thought I would post this video showing Yawara as Yorda as it made me wrinkle my forehead then laugh out loud. Very strange...

Read more

The Next Generation for Ico & Shadow of the Colossus, Maybe...

Fumito Ueda has hinted in a recent interview with Kotaku that both Ico and SotC may be enhanced and re-released on the PS3, just like the God of War games enjoyed last month.

"I do have an interest in that. Next week, I'll have a meeting [about the possibility] ... But it might not be so easy, because, with both titles we really stretched the limits of the PS2. It's complex. So it's not such an easy transfer to the PS3. But I want to discuss it." said Fumito Ueda.

The prospect of running Ico or SotC on enhanced hardware is so lush. I'd love for Sony to allow this to be developed and I'm sure it would help raise the profile of both games. Team ICO would have involvement but a dedicated team called BluePrint Games would handle a majority of the code as they did with God of War. No official announcements have yet been made but I will be sure to confirm the moment I hear anything.

Related Links
BluePrint Games
Kotaku
Buy God of War

Read more

The Ico Mace

Escaping a castle isn't easy, especially if the only weapon available to you is a stick of wood. Ico does eventually find a sword which becomes essential in completing some of the tasks at hand. But hidden behind a secret door in one of the many gardens is a Mace. Obtaining the secret weapon involves Ico to shoot-some-hoops. Watch the video to learn of the Maces' location and instructions on how to retrieve the secret weapon.

Read more

Ico and the Little Big Planet

If you haven't played Little Big Planet on the Playstation3 then you really are missing out. The game consists of a building set where you can literally create any kind of level you want and share them with the rest of the world. It's also 2 player and is a real laugh, a lot of fun indeed.

Here we have pretty much the entire Ico game faithfully reproduced. The designer Mushroom_Samba has been very clever to get all the game in there. I've posted it because I'm really impressed with this and I hope you find it amusing too. Enjoy.





Related Links
Little Big Planet

Read more

Ico - Prototype PS1

This video shows development prototype for Ico, which was initially destined for the Playstation1. I for one believe that Ico should've been released for Sony's debut console as it would've given Team ICOs' games great symmetry, like the way every generation has a Kubrick movie, every one of Sony's consoles would have a Team ICO game. And I'm sure that the impact of the game would've been more profound as the visuals haven't lost much of their fidelity which is some achievement. I don't mind though, I'm just glad Ico was released and I'm eternally grateful for that.

Read more

Team ICO Tribute

As the title suggests, a tribute to Team ICO. Put together by ScOULaris, an experienced video editor. Enjoy.

Read more