Past Expiration is my clever term for talking about a game that is way past its prime. In this case, a whole game based around an escort mission that came out in 2001. Topical!

ICO (Escort Mission: The Game)

ICO is one of those games that I always heard about but never played. I had only played Shadow of the Colossus after my roommate bought it because he loved ICO and convinced me to try it out. A few weeks ago, one of my friends started talking about ICO (running high on anticipation for The Last Guardian) and decided that I should play through it to right the wrong in my life that I had not played it yet. I admit, I was a little uneasy. Even with the praise ICO gets... it's essentially an entire game based around escorting a helpless mystical princess through a castle full of puzzles and shadowy dudes trying to brush up on their kidnapping skills. I almost didn't finish it, but I'm glad that I did.

This game starts out pretty damned frustrating. It's really inconvenient if you're trying to play through in small bits. There are practically no checkpoints and save points are few and far in between. If you mess up on a series of complicated jumping puzzles you die and have to play from your last save. There are no halfway points. You do it right or you don't do it at all. I accidentally played a marathon to the finale of the game because I was desperately looking for a save point so I could stop playing. Next thing I know I was fighting the last boss. Leading up to that is a whole carnival of tough-as-nails jumping puzzles that I did not want to play through again. I considered the game couldn't possibly have such a long stretch without save points and maybe it was quick saving behind the scenes... but there's no way to tell.

Combat is rough too. I appreciate the idea that whacking shadows with a stick wouldn't do that much damage but these guys take a million goddamn hits. They usually operate in mobs and when you're done fighting them off, another wave spawns and you're back to hammering one button as they jump back to avoid you and waste your time. There is literally one area in the game where a bunch of shadows spawn that can't kill you, can't kidnap Yorda, have no bearing on the story, so they're only there to harass you. That's a dick move of the highest caliber. The little spider shadows have a few places in the game where they can stun lock you by repeatedly knocking you down as you try to get up.

All these problems are probably exacerbated with the fact that I didn't care about Yorda at all. To give you an idea, I pushed her off a ledge once because it was a whole lot faster than dragging her down a ladder and helping her up several platforms. I would leave her if I could but she opens up all the doors. She's a useless load and pretty damn particular when it comes to the assist moves. She has to line up in just the right way before she does anything like climbing or jumping or saving the damn game. I once sat on a save couch and watched as she stumbled around trying to sit next to me for five minutes. However, it's a lot of fun to grab her hand and drag her around. That was probably the best animation from the game. Dragging around Yorda is great to watch.

So this game has a rough start. Things got a little easier when I learned that opening Idol Doors nukes all the shadows in the area. It becomes the best policy just to ignore the shadow guys and run for it. Then you get the sword and combat becomes almost bearable. Then you get to this area under the castle and the game gets awesome.

The thing I like most about ICO is the level design. This game has some of the greatest level design I have ever seen. I love any game where they give you this big crazy place and you can see other areas you'll visit later. Or as you play through the game, see old areas from another angle just to remind you how far you've come. Under the castle you can see this crazy series of water wheels that looks really complicated and I was like "Dude, I'm totally going there". And I got there eventually, just not when I thought I would and that was great. While jumping around can be touchy at times I like most of the platforming puzzles. It seems totally natural that the game designers would come up with Shadow of Colossus like "What if you climbed something that was moving, and it didn't want you to climb it?"

Running around the castle is the greatest part of this game, and I wish that was the only thing you did. If they dropped the annoying combat with enemies that take eight billion hits to kill (and maybe drop Yorda too) ICO would be better off. I know that you're supposed to make some connection with Yorda as you try to escape but she speaks in a language you can't understand and causes the lions share of frustration. It's really hard to care for her. By the seventh time she's standing directly next to the dark pit the shadows are trying to suck her down, or bumping into a wall when I'm trying to help her up a ledge, she's more like a necessary evil. I suppose she gets hers at the end of the game. But the story is so vague that it allows a lot of interpretation. That's a good thing I think, so you can make of it what you want.

Glad I played ICO. It has it's fair share of rough spots but once you learn how things work it becomes an enjoyable adventure. Those shadow guys can die in a fire though.