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!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2559 in Video Games
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2001-09-25
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Platform: PlayStation2

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

• Most players will finish it in fewer than 10 hours
• Battles are too easy

GameSpot Review
Considering all the talk about the PlayStation 2's DVD capabilities, movielike graphics, and exorbitant game development costs, it's refreshing when a game like ICO comes along to show us that Sony hasn't let all its PR speak go to its head. Sony Computer Entertainment's ICO is the antithesis of its PS2 hype. Part action, part adventure, and part puzzler, ICO ignores gratuitous but nonfunctional camera angles and cans full motion video in favor of straightforward, old-school gaming action.

ICO's puzzler-adventure gameplay centers on the quest of a young boy to rescue a princess who is trapped in a fantastic castle. The castle is filled with challenging puzzles and hidden dangers. Standard stuff, so far. Rescuing the princess is just the start of your adventure, though. You must then lead the near-blind princess out of the castle and to safety. This will prove to be the most difficult aspect of ICO and the crux of the adventure. The severely impaired princess will often become lost and unwittingly imperil herself. You'll need to closely tend to the princess if you expect to survive the trials of the game's many levels unscathed.

Gameplay generally follows the basic platform standards, but that isn't to say there won't be innovation in ICO. Besides the prerequisite capabilities of the main character to run, jump, duck, dodge, and perform multiple attacks, perhaps the most striking element is what's not in the game - any text or dialogue whatsoever. In a unique move - especially when you consider its puzzler nature - SCE is attempting to use a dynamic camera system to narrate the story of the game. This means that the camera will zoom in on important details and focus itself on certain items to give visual clues. This more subtle approach to the storytelling will be a refreshing change if it is accomplished with the grace the developers promise. Of course, it could also lead to gameplay headaches and a distant feel to the story if the style comes off as vague or dispassionate. Early indications, however, show that - despite the Tomb Raider feel of the standard camera angle - there are plenty of instances where the camera, coupled with visual signs, succeeds at providing the silent narrator Sony envisions.

Graphically, the game is currently in a state of limbo. Pictures at E3 were discouraged because the title was still undergoing a massive conversion from the original PlayStation format to the PlayStation 2. Textures still appeared fuzzy because they were shown in a low resolution, and no anti-aliasing was apparent. Despite these shortcomings, though, many graphical effects stood out. In particular, a recurring villain, a dark mass, would appear out of the shadows with foreboding menace. Thanks to some PS2 lighting techniques, and movements that were humanlike in their grace and purpose, the shadowy figure looked eerily real and contrasted well with the rest of the environment. Also of interest was the architecture of the castle - windows would cast amazingly realistic light patterns across the floor, and several of the rooms shown featured intricate detail that appeared to be due more to some detailed polygon work rather than texture application.

Sony promises that the game's textures have since been redone in high resolution and that the title is well on its way to being fully converted for the PS2. Whether ICO makes it to the crowded PS2 launch, though, is another matter altogether. Though ICO is still listed by many retailers as a launch title, this information may be incorrect. Sony has confirmed that there is no available timetable for when ICO will be finished.

With a provocative combination of action, adventure, and puzzle elements, ICO's throwback appeal could easily make it one of the hidden surprises in the PS2 launch lineup - if Sony can indeed ready the title in time. Unless we hear confirmation from Sony saying otherwise, look for ICO at the PS2 launch on October 26.--Chris Kirchgasler--Copyright © 1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

Customer Reviews

Definitive proof that innovation exists in gaming.
Every once in a while, a game comes along that redefines innovation and sets a standard for all others to follow. "Legend of Zelda" for the NES defined adventure-style gaming, "Final Fantasy VII" for the PSX brought RPGs to the mainstream, and "Super Mario 64" for the N64 is what all 3D platformers are compared to to this day. Joining this list of games is "ICO" for the PS2. So what does "ICO" redefine in terms of innovation? The experience.

"ICO" at its core is a platformer and puzzle-solver with some basic combat elements, but its deeper aspects make it far more than that. The title character, Ico, must lead a young girl called Yorda out of a rundown castle and protect her from shadow creatures that try to reclaim her. The gameplay is very simplistic and yet contains one of the richest experiences ever found in gaming. The way Ico leads Yorda around is so beautiful, so powerful than it makes the player forget that he's playing a game and is instead living a dream. The dual-shock controller adds to the experience by causing the player to "feel" Ico leading Yorda by the hand. Add in realistic body physics, and the feeling is one that remains etched in a player's memory.

Adding to the unforgettable experience are superb graphics, some of the best the PS2 has seen. While the characters can look a little hazy sometimes, they always look, act, and seem real. The environment itself is a work of art. Unlike games like "Myst", where puzzles are just put there with no purpose other than to be solved, the castle is a living and breathing puzzle that is there for a purpose. Textures, lighting effects, and water effects all add to the magic the gameplay already casts.

Soundwise, there isn't a lot of music in the game except during cutscenes, pause menu, and the ending. But had there been music duing gameplay, it might've actually ruined the experience. A whistling castle with dripping water, crackling fire, and the footsteps of Ico and Yorda is all that's needed here. It simply adds to the experience. Also, the original voices were left in the game, and subtitles have been provided.

With all the good that "ICO" has, is there bad? Unfortunately, yes. The game is sadly quite short. Seasoned players can finish this game in 7-10 hours or even less, and replay value isn't very high for some players. The battles in "ICO" are very easys, usually requiring hack-slash-and-retreat tactics (although, personally, I feel a grandiose fighting system would've been ridiculous). Also, there is a small bug in which the pause menu sometimes pops up and freezes the game. I've only come across this once, but it is there.

But in the end, "ICO" outshines all its faults. From beginning to end (the ending was one of the most satisfying endings I've ever seen in gaming, far more satisfying than the ending of "Final Fantasy VII"), "ICO" is a masterpiece, albeit sadly a short one. Some players will want to buy this game and relive the experience again and again. Others will only want to live it once through a rental. Either way, this game deserves to be played by anyone and everyone.

a great game that holds up over time
I bought ICO over a year ago, but never completed it. That is, until recently. This weekend I popped it back in to my PS2 and finished it off...and boy, am I glad I did.

ICO is an absolutely wonderful game. It has impeccable art direction, superb gameplay, and a very charming story. I was blown away by the scope and design of the environment. Even today.

The story is simple. ICO is a small boy out to rescue a fair princess in a huge, daunting castle. Finding your way out of the fortress is just half the battle, as you are able to do things and go places the fragile princess is not. You must figure how to get her out, too, while fending off the dark spirits out to steal her back. The game is a moderately-paced fairy tale in the absolute best sense. From opening to closing credits, this game is top notch.

If you like puzzle adventure games, you have to play ICO. It's vast, cinematic, and wonderfully played out. At it's current retail price it's a bargain. The used prices are just too good to pass up.

Really. Do yourself a favor and play this game if you never have. It's an early PS2 title, but it's still one of the best, and probably one of the most genuine games you will ever play.

The best demo I've played
The demo is amazing.. if you look for the "summer jampack" disk which is only 7.99 - then you can experience this (if it sounds like your kind of game). What follows has no spoilers.

It starts with a good setup movie, which explains how the horned boy got locked in the castle (inside an urn).. the movie is rendered with the game engine! (it is not silicon graphics pre-rendered footage).

After the movie setup leaves the camera alone in this huge prison room in the castle, the floor crumbles and your urn spills open tossing you (the boy) onto the ground.

The initial room is *huge* with 36 of these mysterious urns lining the wall. Since one assumes each urn has a (presumably dead) person in it, this is a spooky setup indeed.

The sound of ICO is very striking.. there is no music while playing, but with brilliant footfalls, torches and other sound effects who needs music?

Movement of the boy is almost flawless.. beautifully animated he walks, trots, runs, trips, jumps and a dozen other things with high realism.

The resolution of the view inside the castle is high (unlike the comment left by another poster), although the rough hewn stones that form the walls and floor, slightly shifting camera, and misty corners to the rooms can give a negative impression to some.. but if you take time with the 2nd analog stick to move the view up and around, looking at the high roof and the detail you will be amazed.. having a quality TV with S-video or better connections helps a lot as well.

Moving through the demo you are required to solve some very simple puzzles and bring down the cage holding the mysterious girl, who is animated with a soft glowing quality that is quite wonderful..

It is only when one reaches the outside of the castle (with girl in hand) that the power and resolution of the ICO graphics engine reveal itself.. the view distance is astounding, with moving clouds in a bright super-white sky, and shifting sea far below.. the grass is almost floro green in the sun, but dark in shadow. A spectacular windmill rotates (with creaking sounds) over a pool of clear water .. the water reflects the windmill and also bounces wavering suns rays onto the wall above it..

If you leap into the pool, the waves spread from your impact, changing the reflections correctly and in real time .. its quite quite stunning, and the best in-game water possibly ever seen.

Shifting the view around one can appreciate the vastness of the castle surrounds, and get an idea of the adventure that awaits the boy and his strange friend in the full game.. there remains only one more puzzle to solve (how to help the girl across the bridge).

Ending the demo reveals an amazing cinema (once again, all in-game clips) that shows night, rain, waterfalls, explosions, trees with leaves waving in the wind, more switches and puzzles and demons. The 1 minute music track that goes with this cinema is also spot on.

Playing the ICO demo (which can be done in little over 10 minutes) over and over again I've spotted more things each time and cannot wait for the full game..

Some (kids) will undoubtably think ICO is "boring" or does not involve blood or guns and so is not for them.. but I'm convinced ICO is going to be one of the top 5 games on all platforms for the year 2001, and will be a game for adults who still have a child inside, and can still lose themselves in a fairytale world.. especially one as beautifully rendered as this.