GAMES
NB: this was originally posted by qazimod under the DM account as part of a new posting template test thing (but it was crap), hence the “disposable media” author.
I can’t help but laugh at the “games are art” people sometimes. Well, not exactly laugh, but I do sympathise with them. I mean, it’s hard enough convincing people that games aren’t the spawn of the Devil, that they won’t destroy our inner humanity, that they aren’t about to defile our grandparents and bring about the collapse of society as we know it. So how on Earth are you supposed to put forward an argument for gaming as an artform? I don’t want to get into that debate just this moment, but I will say that Ico has frequently been touted as a game that provides ammunition for those who think games are more than just FIFA and Def Jam.
I haven’t had a lot of time to play the game, but I must admit to being suckered in by it’s lack of complexity: think of all the squad -based firstperson shooters where you’re launched into a chaotic battlefield with meaningless marine jargon babbling in your ear from the offset; it’s not the most subtle welcome, and after a while it gets a little predictable. However, Ico‘s introduction is nice and understated: you have a chance to get a feel for the surrounding architecture, mess around with the swinging and jumping of Ico himself (I really like the attention to detail in Ico’s animation, by the way), you meet Yorda, and then you fight the weird shadowy creatures.
One of the other things I like about Ico‘s initial combat sequences is that the shadow creatures have no distinct form, and you can vaguely swing at them and they’ll collapse beautifully. Again, the little details in the animation are brilliant; it’s like playing something like Flashback for the first time. And I thought Ico himself would be a lot more dorky than he actually is, but the characterisation isn’t all that bad (as for Yorda, the first thing I tried to do was swing my stick at her – old habits…)
Anyway, I’ve barely scratched the surface, and I’m in the middle of a few other titles as always, but it’s comforting to know that it is still possible to find a copy of the game if you are determined enough. 😛
Leave a Reply