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Ico 'ICO or Ico' is an action-adventure game exclusively released for the PlayStation 2. The game was developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The player of the game takes on the role of "Ico", a young boy born with a pair of horns, who must escort a princess named "Yorda" safely out of a castle without her being kidnapped by the animated shadows that infest the castle or the player being killed by the castle's numerous environmental hazards. Despite high critical reviews, the game fared poorly in stores, though it has developed an undercurrent of devout respect among video game enthusiasts. ICO is noted for its highly individual artistic style. Key factors contributing to the game's absorbing atmosphere include the lack of any HUD; a bleak and washed-out use of colour; low key use of in-game music, played only in selected scenes of the game; and atmospheric ambient background sound effects. It makes effective use of minimal dialog and story to forge strong emotional connections with the characters and environments in the game. It includes action, adventure and puzzle elements. There are major differences between the releases of the game in different locales. The US version was rushed to release to meet an early shipping deadline and as such misses features present in the EU and Asian releases, such as expanded dialogue (on a second playthrough the subtitles that were indecipherable runes the first time through are now translated) and the option to have a second player control the princess. A successor from the same studio, ostensibly retaining the atmospheric style of ICO, is in development; its Japanese title is Wanda to Kyozo which may be translated roughly to Wanda and the Colossus. In Europe it will be marketed as Shadow of the Colossus.
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Recognition AIAS (The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences) - 5th AIAS Achievement Awards - Game of the Year
- Original Game Character of the Year
- Excellence in Game Design
- Excellence in Level Design
- Excellence in Visual Arts
- Game Innovation Spotlights
DVD Extras European DVD Edition Extras External Links
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