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Anyone else think ICO is a bit overrated?

I think what all these reactions show is that different people want/expect different things from different games...

I very much liked ICO...very atmospheric and deliberate, which is great for when I am in the mood for that sort of thing, which is not always, but sometimes....

The thing that I admire about ICO is not so much what it is for me, but for what it represents to games; an artistic statement that is polorizing to players (games like this are important) and didn't go by a "the market demands you have this, this and this"-type checklist that you see in many games today....

I guess I am trying to say I "admire" ICO more than I "appriciate" it, if you get my drift....

Its not for everybody, which is probably why it is so coveted by the people who "get it"....and why the people on the outside looking in are wondering what the big deal is and the ICO fans are like "WTF????have you no TASTE???"

I can understand this very well being a big MGS3 fan(only here I am in the inside looking out), a polorizing game if there ever was one....
 
Fwiw, I found ICO's gameplay to be, dare I say, innovative. Because, it was one of the first games in 3d to totally nail that Prince of Persia/Out of this World vibe. Also, the way combat was structured around yorda being seperated was rather original. It's just not an action game as much as it is a climb-around-and-solve puzzles-game.
Honestly, I think of it as a game I'll be able to play ten years from now and still enjoy. And the quality of its content warrants replay because it's a richly layered and complexly detailed game world with simple and fun play mechanics. I can't necessarily say the same about Devil May Cry, as satisfying an action romp as that may be.
 
Less is more. For me, ICO is the most moving experience I ever had with a game.

ICO is art indeed, so some people will never 'get it'.
 
GAFHYPE made me buy it in the first place. Big mistake.
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Unfortunately, I'm on that list as well. Ico got such deafening on praise on this board that I was finally intrigued enough to try it out for myself.

To bad, all those pretentious threads about this game being "the first videogame that was truly art" or some shit neglected the fact that the block puzzles were largely mundane and that the combat was about as deep as whack-a-mole. While the game's sense of scope and style can't be denied, the complete package hardly adds up to a great or brilliant game.

Overrated? Absolutely, particularly around these parts.
 
axxxj said:
Ico is one of those games that i became scared of...

...Now afer all this time i was hesitent to play it as i had built up my expectations to sky high levels.
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Bingo. We have a winner. People do not know how to approach a niche title touted as revolutionary and atmospheric after finally playing it; you see this alot in gaming.
 
I know I bought it off someone on here, RevenantKioku maybe?

I didn't get very far, and turned the game off. Now it forever rests on my shelf, waiting for someone to gaze in awe...then play a better game. :)
 
Ico is shallow because you don't have five different attacks and twenty hit combos? This is the vibe I'm geting and that's a pretty lame argument. The game is an adventure/puzzle game and one of the best. Enemies are distractions/obstacles, but they are not duels or part of a large battle. If they were meant to be so then you'd have an argument. The fact is enemies are part of a larger challenge, if you do too much with them then you over complicating a subtle game. Meanwhile, puzzles intergrate with the enviroment wonderfully and require thought. Everything is part of a large concept, you are a boy so your combat will be simple, you are in a strange castle so you'll need to be inventive to find a way out, you are escorting a girl so you need to balance how much you want to fight with the chance of survival. This game wasn't put together by generic parts.

If you want to complain about lousy combat, go bitch about a game like GTA where it's much more relevant.
 
siamesedreamer said:
Does anyone sell it new?
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I found a brand new copy at a nearby Kmart for 8 bucks. Actually, I think I might have gotten it for less. It was on clearance, and the last game I bought on clearance at Kmart was NOLF 2 for 2 dollars.
 
Love ICO. One of my favorite games this gen. Just played it again recently, loved it the same. It's too bad some people feel it's overrated, because this game is quite the artistic achievement. It also has some great puzzles.
 
Ico is great if you view it more as a piece of interactive art, more so than a traditional game.

The gameplay seems intentionally simple, so as not to bog down the player and interfere with the grace and flow of the narrative.
 
Rhindle said:
Ico is great if you view it more as a piece of interactive art, more so than a traditional game.

The gameplay seems intentionally simple, so as not to bog down the player and interfere with the grace and flow of the narrative.
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excuse me but what fucking narrative? :)
 
It's like the only good thing most of these people say is that it was some achievement in art or some other bullshit.
 
Ramirez said:
It's like the only good thing most of these people say is that it was some achievement in art or some other bullshit.
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It has great puzzles and the castle is extremely well designed. Layout and all is natural and the combat is fairly intuitive, albeit super simplistic. Artistic direction IS one of the main aspects that makes ICO so appealing, to deny such a thing is outrageous. The way Yorda lays on your shoulder when you save. The way you delicately prop her up over a cliff that she can't get over. The glow. The language barrier that exists, and which you still get around because you're in a similar situation and in each other is the only way to escape. And the bond that is formed through this is shown through the artistic expression, which is why it's such an amazing experience for me. The story is so simple, and yet the game perfectly illustrates how a little care can catapult any concept to the next level. The ending is also perfect.
 
Amir0x said:
It has great puzzles and the castle is extremely well designed. Layout and all is natural and the combat is fairly intuitive, albeit super simplistic. Artistic direction IS one of the main aspects that makes ICO so appealing, to deny such a thing is outrageous. The way Yorda lays on your shoulder when you save. The way you delicately prop her up over a cliff that she can't get over. The glow. The language barrier that exists, and which you still get around because you're in a similar situation and in each other is the only way to escape. And the bond that is formed through this is shown through the artistic expression, which is why it's such an amazing experience for me. The story is so simple, and yet the game perfectly illustrates how a little care can catapult any concept to the next level. The ending is also perfect.
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Stop being pretentious and overrating ICO, man.
 
I wonder if a lot of the "love it" and "overrated shit" groups can be separated into the people who played the game before or after the hype on messageboards and in the mags. I was following the game for a while before it was released (remember the viking helmet promos?), bought it the first day it came out and loved it. If I bought the game later on solely based on people gushing about what a masterful piece of art is was, who knows, I might've thought it overrated as well.
 
Ico is shallow because you don't have five different attacks and twenty hit combos? This is the vibe I'm geting and that's a pretty lame argument.
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Heh, the vibe I get is that Ico's defenders are constantly trying to explain away the game's short comings and give the developer a free pass on areas that were either rushed or never fleshed out.

The context of the game clearly doesn't fit a combo system like God of War. It seems like several people in this thread can't seem to figure out that there's a middle ground between Ico's stick-swinging and the juggles/combos found in Devil May Cry. But it's probably safe to assume the hyperbole defense is automatic by now.

This thread happens about every six months.
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It figures, the game has been pumped so full of hot air that it's got to be brought back down to Earth from time to time.

It's just too bad that there probably won't be a PS2 sequel. I would've liked to see the developers make a truly great game, something that would've deserved all this praise and at the same time expose the flaws of the original.
 
KilledByBill said:
Heh, the vibe I get is that Ico's defenders are constantly trying to explain away the game's short comings and give the developer a free pass on areas that were either rushed or never fleshed out.

The context of the game clearly doesn't fit a combo system like God of War. It seems like several people in this thread can't seem to figure out that there's a middle ground between Ico's stick-swinging and the juggles/combos found in Devil May Cry. But it's probably safe to assume the hyperbole defense is automatic by now.
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Flawed or not, I'm pretty sure the combat was designed that way deliberately.

And I personally don't need to explain anything away. I could just as easily say that the combat hurt the game's quality and still praise it highly. But I don't feel that way.
 
KilledByBill said:
Heh, the vibe I get is that Ico's defenders are constantly trying to explain away the game's short comings and give the developer a free pass on areas that were either rushed or never fleshed out.
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You seem to believe certain elements of the game are "shortcoming" or "rushed" and not "fleshed out". On what basis? You have this notion that ICO should be something else, rather than what it is -- one a lot of people find to be perfect considering the context. ICO is the game it is, and the game that a lot of people love, simply because of these elements that you think are "rushed", not "fleshed out" or "shortcomings" etc.
 
famcon_ico.jpg
 
20010928l.gif


Escort missions are my most hated level type in any game, designing a whole game around it = vomit.
 
If you're expecting the world in a game, then yes. But what Ico delivers, is a very personal story of 2 characters. And it does it in beautiful environments, with slick animation and control, with awesome puzzles. It doesn't try to make the greatest game ever, and in that, succeeds on a different level. They created a unique game, that I'm not going to soon forget.
 
J2 Cool said:
If you're expecting the world in a game, then yes. But what Ico delivers, is a very personal story of 2 characters. And it does it in beautiful environments, with slick animation and control, with awesome puzzles. It doesn't try to make the greatest game ever, and in that, succeeds on a different level. They created a unique game, that I'm not going to soon forget.
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Beautiful enviroments.... eh the castle was pretty cool. I wouldn't call it too varied.

Awesome puzzles... again I kind of take issue with that. I'm sick of moving blocks/crates and that goes for all games.

slick animation... absolutly. The characters and enemies looked awesome.

See I know what you're saying, and I can understand why some might get into it, but what I'm sick of is the elitist gamers around here that say the game as ART and list it among the greatest games of the generation. Then they leave off Halo 2 or GTA 3 as the best games.

Presentation and atmosphere only get you so far.
 
DrLazy said:
See I know what you're saying, and I can understand why some might get into it, but what I'm sick of is the elitist gamers around here that say the game as ART and list it among the greatest games of the generation. Then they leave off Halo 2 or GTA 3 as the best games.
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Why should those be automatics for some of the best games this gen and not ICO?
 
I hate having that bitch follow me around the whole time, I always wanted to beat her with my stick or throw her over the castle. Do something for yourself you lazy hooker.
 
Schafer said:
20010928l.gif


Escort missions are my most hated level type in any game, designing a whole game around it = vomit.
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That cartoon and your comments sum up my thoughts exactly. I got it for the equivalent of 5 dollars, and I still feel ripped off.
 
What I don't understand is why a thread like this pops up every 6 months. Ok, many people dislike Ico. So what? Why on earth can't these people respect the fact that a minorance liked the game so much? I can't understand this arrogance, this elitist attitude to tell other people what games are and how they should be done here from eternity. Just play your RE4 and carry on with your lives. All this hate is just absurd.
Or do these people wish that eveyone who liked Ico should change their mind just to make them happy? I don't go around making threads about all the games I didn't like. Above all, I don't go making threads bitching about how other people liked a game I didn't like. Sounds just retarted to me.
 
I bought a PS2 so that I could have ICO in my game library. Easily one of my favorite game experiences.

I don't blame people who don't get the game though. Games that try to do something different are always going to get a significant amount of backlash. Electroplankton will face a similar fate, for instance.
 
JasoNsider said:
I don't blame people who don't get the game though. Games that try to do something different are always going to get a significant amount of backlash. Electroplankton will face a similar fate, for instance.
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shenmue
 
JasoNsider said:
I don't blame people who don't get the game though. Games that try to do something different are always going to get a significant amount of backlash.
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0156010690.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg



Oh sorry, I forget. ICO is above all critisism on GAF...
 
JasoNsider said:
I bought a PS2 so that I could have ICO in my game library. Easily one of my favorite game experiences.

I don't blame people who don't get the game though. Games that try to do something different are always going to get a significant amount of backlash. Electroplankton will face a similar fate, for instance.
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Exactly. I wouldn't expect that most people would appreciate and understand the game for what it is. People are trying to write-off the game as being simplistic, as if that must be a bad thing. When in reality, a lot of the most fun games are extremely simplistic.
 
iced lightning said:
Exactly. I wouldn't expect that most people would appreciate and understand the game for what it is. People are trying to write-off the game as being simplistic, as if that must be a bad thing. When in reality, a lot of the most fun games are extremely simplistic.
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also in reality a lot of simplistic games are not fun.
 
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