I got bored today so i did a little upgrade to Brownie's cage (Brownie is a dwarf hamster i'm taking care of for a friend this summer).
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To be honest, ICO was a seriously underhyped yet overrated games. Its group of niche fans in various gaming forums were very vocal! XD These rabid fanboys all lay on the praise claiming that ICO is such an "experience" that tugged on their emotions with its simplicity and amazed them with the beautiful visuals and design... Whenever discussions of "can videogames be considered art?" came up, sure enough, ICO was on the list.
FINALLY, I one day get to play this heralded piece of art. This is after I have played a bunch of newer games, so I'm not only jaded, but I came in with high expectations. Also, I've seen screenshots and heard all the spoilers already because I was trying to find out what made it so great. XD What did I find with this game? Some puzzle-solving adventure thing with simple battle mechanics when fighting useless shadowthingies. It wasn't even rewarding to hit the shadows (maybe would be better if they shattered or cracked instead? But that would break their concept of being shadows. haha). Not fun. Pretty boring.
Visually, it's alright. I see how the lighting, colour palette, and design really makes the game look filled with light. However, this "intimate yet simple and unspoken relationship between Yorda and Ico" that sent fanboys to tears was all "beh" to me XD. Yorda annoyed me. She walked slow, her "tripping" animation was annoying (also a little detail fanboys love). And the ending.. (spoiler for those who even care) why couldn't she just DIE like she was supposed to? Or maybe.. they ARE both dead! *is happy* XD
Anyway, the only thing this game had going for it was its atmosphere. That's it. No character (the's only like.. 3 of them) was likeable. The whole game was like a wash (I guess how a senseless dream feels like sometimes--you know, dreams that don't matter). 6.5/10.
Of course, they then go and make Shadow of the Colossus, which is a prequel of Ico.. I thought that looked interesting, but too bad it's 90% nothing and 10% giant boss battles (again, its fanboys also tout it as a piece of art that really evokes emotion blah blah blah). I only played the demo of it, but I hated the mechanics. XD You would think that adding in "those little touches" like trip and sway/balance animations would score some points.. but I hated them because it broke the speed of my play! Pressing a button only to WAIT for the animation to play out (so the stupid guy could climb a cliff or something) is so irritating. Ico was also guilty of this. From the demo... 7.5/10.
In conclusion: the FEEL (ambience) of these types of games is okay, but you got to have more than just feeling. I need a solid/fun battle system that is unhampered by uncancellable animations. I need to be able to interact with the environment more (the only example I am thinking of right now is the multiple ways you can slice a sign post in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time). In Ico, I practically had nothing to do, as most of the environment is a castle wall, maybe a few pullies, and a useless dead-weight princess. Of course, I did go in with very high expectations--but I wouldn't have even touched it otherwise (such ugly.. ugly.. cover art... and lame premise for a game...). So there you go! My thoughts! XD
- Prax, what did you expect?!
P.S.: It's true.. hamsters can smell! That's how it wins when it finds your "hidden" food!
To be honest, ICO was a seriously underhyped yet overrated games. Its group of niche fans in various gaming forums were very vocal! XD These rabid fanboys all lay on the praise claiming that ICO is such an "experience" that tugged on their emotions with its simplicity and amazed them with the beautiful visuals and design... Whenever discussions of "can videogames be considered art?" came up, sure enough, ICO was on the list.
FINALLY, I one day get to play this heralded piece of art. This is after I have played a bunch of newer games, so I'm not only jaded, but I came in with high expectations. Also, I've seen screenshots and heard all the spoilers already because I was trying to find out what made it so great. XD What did I find with this game? Some puzzle-solving adventure thing with simple battle mechanics when fighting useless shadowthingies. It wasn't even rewarding to hit the shadows (maybe would be better if they shattered or cracked instead? But that would break their concept of being shadows. haha). Not fun. Pretty boring.
Visually, it's alright. I see how the lighting, colour palette, and design really makes the game look filled with light. However, this "intimate yet simple and unspoken relationship between Yorda and Ico" that sent fanboys to tears was all "beh" to me XD. Yorda annoyed me. She walked slow, her "tripping" animation was annoying (also a little detail fanboys love). And the ending.. (spoiler for those who even care) why couldn't she just DIE like she was supposed to? Or maybe.. they ARE both dead! *is happy* XD
Anyway, the only thing this game had going for it was its atmosphere. That's it. No character (the's only like.. 3 of them) was likeable. The whole game was like a wash (I guess how a senseless dream feels like sometimes--you know, dreams that don't matter). 6.5/10.
Of course, they then go and make Shadow of the Colossus, which is a prequel of Ico.. I thought that looked interesting, but too bad it's 90% nothing and 10% giant boss battles (again, its fanboys also tout it as a piece of art that really evokes emotion blah blah blah). I only played the demo of it, but I hated the mechanics. XD You would think that adding in "those little touches" like trip and sway/balance animations would score some points.. but I hated them because it broke the speed of my play! Pressing a button only to WAIT for the animation to play out (so the stupid guy could climb a cliff or something) is so irritating. Ico was also guilty of this. From the demo... 7.5/10.
In conclusion: the FEEL (ambience) of these types of games is okay, but you got to have more than just feeling. I need a solid/fun battle system that is unhampered by uncancellable animations. I need to be able to interact with the environment more (the only example I am thinking of right now is the multiple ways you can slice a sign post in Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time). In Ico, I practically had nothing to do, as most of the environment is a castle wall, maybe a few pullies, and a useless dead-weight princess. Of course, I did go in with very high expectations--but I wouldn't have even touched it otherwise (such ugly.. ugly.. cover art... and lame premise for a game...). So there you go! My thoughts! XD
- Prax, what did you expect?!
P.S.: It's true.. hamsters can smell! That's how it wins when it finds your "hidden" food!
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