ICO is one of the many quality first party titles released by Sony this year. In development since before the launch of the PS2 console, ICO is a hauntingly beautiful puzzle adventure game like no other. This game is the perfect merger of next-generation technology and artistic vision, and the end product is something that transcends the boundaries of gaming. It is art.

First off, the story of the game is miniscule. You play the role of an outcast horned boy named Ico, and your objective is to escape your castle imprisonment with a lovely young princess named Yorda. Simple enough. But it's quite a refreshing return to days gone by, when games were meant to be played and not watched. ICO doesn't bash you over the noggin with cut scenes and story elements. It doesn't need to. The fundamental design of the game is to let the player figure out what to think and what to do next. Where Capcom tried to inject half-assed story elements into an action game (and failed miserably) with Devil May Cry, Sony has made the correct choice by stripping ICO down to it's bare essentials. "There's a princess, you'd better rescue her." Brilliant. There is background to discover, but it is implemented with a subtlety not often seen in today's age of "go here next" storytelling.

The play mechanics work wonderfully with the design of the game. Essentially ICO is a puzzle game, one in which the vast environments themselves are the puzzles. There's none of the usual "The door is locked, but a Rusty Key may help" crap. Ico can use and modify his environment in a large variety of ways. He can push or pull blocks, climb and swing from ropes, destroy walls, create bridges, and basically move heaven and earth to clear a path for Yorda. She doesn't possess the range of abilites that Ico does, so you have to modify the environment in order to help Yorda progress. On top of all this, you've got to protect Yorda from the shadowy wraiths that inhabit the castle. A few whacks with a stick or sword will usually do the trick. If Yorda is captured and sucked into one of the black holes created by these baddies, then it's game over. Don't let it happen!

The basic premise of helping someone else is a wonderfully refreshing game play idea. It's immensely gratifying to not only play for my character, but to play for a character who relies on me to make the correct choices. The emotional effect these characters have is hard to understand, but it's there nonetheless. There's something primal and invigorating about protecting a near-helpless little girl from hordes of shadowy bad guys (not to mention her mother!). The puzzles themselves are a joy to solve, some quite simply, others fiendishly deceptive, but all of them are well thought-out and well-integrated with the environment. Simply put, the game is fun. Fun to play, fun to look at, fun to daydream about. And fun to review.

The aesthetic design in ICO is peerless. Quite honestly, I've never seen such breathtaking graphics in a game. From the beautiful architecture, to the warm lighting to the enormous environments, this game is a technical and artistic triumph. The environments in ICO boast the most 3D stuff on screen at the same time. The lighting is so saturated and full of color and depth, that I actually feel warm when Ico is standing out in the sun. The sense of scale is amazing, when you see a wide-angle shot that shows you just how tiny Ico and Yorda are. I nearly wept with joy upon first glimpsing the waterfall area... Michelangelo himself could not have concocted a more serene and captivating image.

The environments are large and varied. Huge, cascading waterfalls, dizzying cliffs, a windmill by a lake, and peaceful, forested courtyards populate the ICO landscape. Buildings are visible for as far as the eye can see in any direction... no fogging, no pop-in... no technical glitches at all. Oh, and it's anti-aliased too? Big check. At a time when big-name third parties continue to struggle with the hardware (*cough* Capcom *cough*), Sony's first parties have led the way in showing how things should be done.

The sound is also perfectly suited to the game. There's very little background music. Actually, there's none. Each environment is brought to life through the use of ambient sound, such as birds chirping, or a subtle breeze blowing, or the rush of water. These sounds greatly aid the sense of immersion the game is attempting to create. It's a very peaceful and relaxing game to play. There are arranged tracks that play during the opening and closing segments which are perfectly suited to those scenes. The end song is particularly stirring, featuring a young girl singing about the adventure from Yorda's perspective. Coupled with the somber ending, this song could melt solid steel at the south pole.

ICO is a very short game, clocking in at around 6 hours. But it is exactly as long as it needs to be, and the creators didn't try to artificially extend it's playtime with silly side-quests or lengthy cut scenes. It's short length allows me to play it over and over again in a reasonable time frame, while still leaving plenty of time for my other games. Some people bitch about paying $50 for a game that offers less than 20 hours of game time. But those people are missing the point. ICO is a work of art, plain and simple. To quibble about it's length is to forget what gaming is about: having fun and enjoying the hard work and artwork the developers have poured into the game. ICO provides both in spades.

ICO is one of my all-time favorite games. I absolutely adore it, and I'm so incredibly saddened that more people are not enamored of its intangible charms. There are rare occurences when entertainment exceeds what is normally seen in every day life, and becomes a work of art in it's own light. And then there are exceedingly rare instances where a work of art becomes so great and so powerful that it transcends the boundaries of art itself, and becomes something even more. It becomes magic.

ICO is magic. The creators of this game deserve recognition for their efforts, and the vast riches that accompany such fame. Massive congratulations and thanks to Sony for making such a wonderful gaming experience.