videogames: overrated Ico is like Tomb Raider
If I'm going to throw away 40+ hours of my life on a game it has to be superlative. I bought a PS2 solely to play Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, a gargantuan achievement. I got GTA III at the same time and finished that after GTA:SA. And then nothing for over a year. I got Tony Hawk Underground cheap, it's OK button mashing but barely an improvement on THPS2 for PSOne. I bought SSX: On Tour just to fill time over the Christmas tropical rains, it's nothing special.
Then I bought the Official Playstation Monthly for OPM's Essential 100: PS1, PS2, and PSP Games You Must Play Before You Die list, and Ico caught my eye since "for many, Ico was "the first videogame to be considered 'art'" and "if you have not at least tried this game, you are missing out on one of the most moving experiences in videogames". Tons of 5 star reviews on Amazon.
So I ordered it through Amazon Sellers and popped it in. Damn, how come nobody points out this thing is a rehash of "Tomb Raider"! Exactly the same "big operating knob poking out of wall". Exactly the same "big block to push and pull". Extremely similar "Gaze out on big vista as best you can using bad camera controls", except that this time you're looking around a vast castle in the mist, instead of vast underground tombs in shadow. Same lack of soundtrack. Ico is five years later but incredibly similar, despite some superficial differences (young boy instead of woman, the useless Princess you have to drag around). So far I prefer Tomb Raider because you scramble up or slide down surfaces in it, and Ico is very upright. I hope it improves.
And needless to say neither game is in the same league as Super Mario 64, the greatest videogame of all time.
Categories: videogames, Ico, TombRaider, PS2
Then I bought the Official Playstation Monthly for OPM's Essential 100: PS1, PS2, and PSP Games You Must Play Before You Die list, and Ico caught my eye since "for many, Ico was "the first videogame to be considered 'art'" and "if you have not at least tried this game, you are missing out on one of the most moving experiences in videogames". Tons of 5 star reviews on Amazon.
So I ordered it through Amazon Sellers and popped it in. Damn, how come nobody points out this thing is a rehash of "Tomb Raider"! Exactly the same "big operating knob poking out of wall". Exactly the same "big block to push and pull". Extremely similar "Gaze out on big vista as best you can using bad camera controls", except that this time you're looking around a vast castle in the mist, instead of vast underground tombs in shadow. Same lack of soundtrack. Ico is five years later but incredibly similar, despite some superficial differences (young boy instead of woman, the useless Princess you have to drag around). So far I prefer Tomb Raider because you scramble up or slide down surfaces in it, and Ico is very upright. I hope it improves.
And needless to say neither game is in the same league as Super Mario 64, the greatest videogame of all time.
Categories: videogames, Ico, TombRaider, PS2
3 Comments:
no offense, but your an idiot
By Anonymous, at August 04, 2006 12:22 AM
"You're" is the correct contraction in "You are an idiot". "Your" is the possessive pronoun, as in "Your comment lacks details, but thanks anyway".
By skierpage, at August 21, 2006 11:07 PM
I didn't like ICO either or it's sequel Shadow Of The Colossus. Don't believe the hype and make your own decision. I found it boring, unfocussed but granted it's beautiful to look at. Just not what a game should be in my opinion - fun to play and absorbing! I guess you love or hate these types of games. Give me a Katamari to roll any day!
By Anonymous, at September 16, 2006 7:12 AM
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