When I heard that the team that created Ico was going to create another game, I was excited.  Ico was released years ago near the PS2's launch, and though slightly flawed, it was a wonderful game.  Now that the team had time to master the PS2, it could improve the graphics and make an Ico like game even better.  Well not quite.

You first start off in a temple, and you have to go after a Colossus.  You then ride your horse to the area where the Colossus is.  The area where you ride your horse through is expansive, though nice looking, is pretty monochrome.  The horse riding is a little annoying, because the camera is sort of half done, meaning that you can move the camera, but it will move back for no reason at random times, and there is no stationary camera angle.  Most games give you the option of keeping the camera directly behind you so you can move by the direction of the screen.  This does not, and I found it very, very annoying.

Once you reach the Colossus, you face a large lumbering stone giant, and you have to defeat it.  It's just like a giant boss battle.  You have to climb up it somehow (which is where the "puzzle" portion comes in) and hit the weak spots.

That is pretty much the game.  Ride to the Colossus, defeat it, rinse, repeat.  After about three Colossi, I was bored to death.  This game has a total of 16 of them.  Each one takes a really long time.  Uh, no thanks.

While the Colossi look great and the music is good, graphically, the rest of the game is fully of jaggies that really shouldn't exist in a game engine these days.  The world to explore is really very empty with nothing to do.  The camera angle is the biggest obstacle, and I found the controls to be awkward as well.  Like all boss battles, there is a lot of repetition in defeating the boss.  You get to a certain point, and you either die, or you fall and have to climb up the boss again.  So, there is a lot of repeating.  And no, you can't save in the middle of a boss fight.

I wanted ambiance, puzzles, thinking, new worlds to explore.  I wanted a new version of Ico or Prince of Persia, Sands of Time.  Instead, I got this.

If you are the type of guy that only cares about the final boss, this game is made for you.  If you wanted another thinking man's platformer, you'd better look elsewhere.
When I heard that the team that created Ico was going to create another game, I was excited. Ico was released years ago near the PS2's launch, and though slightly flawed, it was a wonderful game. Now that the team had time to master the PS2, it could improve the graphics and make an Ico like game even better. Well not quite. You first start off in a temple, and you have to go after a Colossus. You then ride your horse to the area where the Colossus is. The area where you ride your horse through is expansive, though nice looking, is pretty monochrome. The horse riding is a little annoying, because the camera is sort of half done, meaning that you can move the camera, but it will move back for no reason at random times, and there is no stationary camera angle. Most games give you the option of keeping the camera directly behind you so you can move by the direction of the screen. This does not, and I found it very, very annoying. Once you reach the Colossus, you face a large lumbering stone giant, and you have to defeat it. It's just like a giant boss battle. You have to climb up it somehow (which is where the "puzzle" portion comes in) and hit the weak spots. That is pretty much the game. Ride to the Colossus, defeat it, rinse, repeat. After about three Colossi, I was bored to death. This game has a total of 16 of them. Each one takes a really long time. Uh, no thanks. While the Colossi look great and the music is good, graphically, the rest of the game is fully of jaggies that really shouldn't exist in a game engine these days. The world to explore is really very empty with nothing to do. The camera angle is the biggest obstacle, and I found the controls to be awkward as well. Like all boss battles, there is a lot of repetition in defeating the boss. You get to a certain point, and you either die, or you fall and have to climb up the boss again. So, there is a lot of repeating. And no, you can't save in the middle of a boss fight. I wanted ambiance, puzzles, thinking, new worlds to explore. I wanted a new version of Ico or Prince of Persia, Sands of Time. Instead, I got this. If you are the type of guy that only cares about the final boss, this game is made for you. If you wanted another thinking man's platformer, you'd better look elsewhere.