Childrens Toyshop
Welcome to The Childrens Toyshop, here you will find all the latest and traditional toys in our toyshop. You can search and locate the best selling Toys Games & Puzzles to purchase online and have delivered to the door. We have a large selection of Video Games with reviews.
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Video Games : ICO
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Rating: 
- Almost enchanting
The scenery is beautiful, the characters are likeable and nicely animated, the theme of innocent kids helping each other to escape is a nice change from the usual large-weaponned fearless adventurers, and we just loved the Save Sofa. Another refreshing change is the way the dialogue (what there is of it) is left in Ico's native language rather than the usual intrusive bad voice-acting - the foreign language and English subtitles give it an arthouse film ambience and actually work very well.
That said, however, wandering around a castle holding a stick looking for switches to press and blocks to move has been done to death somewhat over the last few years, and can quickly become a tedious chore (rather like the later Tomb Raiders) when you find yourself stuck, and for all its charm and loveliness we lost patience with the game within a couple of hours.
At one point Yorda steps onto a particular (beautifully rendered) high rampart and is attacked by the dark spirit things. You leap to her defence but they knock you down, drag her off and it's Game Over. Continue Y/N? - Yes! Cross the courtyard again, climb the chain, push the block, help her up the ledge, through the door, up the stairs, again. There doesn't appear to be anywhere else to go. Step on the rampart. Get attacked and beaten, again: Game Over. Continue Y/N? With grim determination you select Yes. Courtyard ... chain ... block ... steps ... rampart, dark spirit things, Game Over. Continue Y/N? Er, No...
Rating:
- Something different!
This game is very different from other games, its got new ideas and everything. Not much to say really, all I can say is that its a game for anyone. I thought I wouldn't enjoy this game at first because I heard that it doesn't have much action, but I do enjoy it, its my favourite game now. The graphics are awesome, loads of detail, after all it is developed by Sony. You should see the water effects! This game is very very addictive and after playing it for a couple of hours you wont want to stop, and if you do take a break from it, you wont be able to stop thinking about it, like whats going to happen next, how you are going to solve a puzzle if you are stuck. This game is a must have, although it is short. If you dont want to spend your money on a short game then rent it instead.
Rating: - Beautiful.
No complicated dice rolling hit points or bloated self important hour long cut scenes - it's simple controls and subtle interactions between the characters make something quite innocent and charming of the whole experience.
Ico the main character of the game dashes about with boyish abandon, Yorda the mystery girl in his charge scampers after birds scattering them to the sky. Sun dapples the courtyards and bleaches the high ramparts while the audio consists mainly of breathless footsteps, wind passing along the castle walls, flapping sounds as a dove hurries past and the occasional call of encouragement from Ico to Yorda.
The puzzles for the most part are integrated seemlessly into the plans of the castle which itself becomes another character in the game. It is a little short but in a way that makes it more compact than incomplete. This may make renting it a good choice but if you collect ps2 games then your shouldn't go without owning a copy of this one.
To quote Bruce Lee, it's got emotional content.
Rating: - Ico, an emotional and cerebral masterpiece.
Summary
I have always disliked reviews that start off with grandiose endorsements. That said, to illuminate the importance of Ico as a milestone in game development, I feel it necessary to begin with some very broad statements. Ico is a special game of immense beauty. It is an emotional and cerebral masterpiece so revolutionary that it sets a standard by which all other PlayStation 2 games (and indeed games on other platforms) may be judged. I have never played a game that compelled me as Ico did. Neither has my wife (who upon watching me play, also wanted to play). Nor has our daughter or our friends and neighbors (who we went out of our way to share this extraordinary experience with). Thus, I make this heartfelt endorsement. Every PlayStation 2 owner should have this game in their collection. In fact, every gamer (regardless of their preferred platform) should experience Ico. Ico is a glimpse into the future of interactive entertainment - a glimpse no one should pass up.
Over the last few years, some amazing games have been produced. Black and White, Halo, The Sims, Grand Turismo 3, Final Fantasy 10, Max Payne, Grand Theft Auto 3, Red Faction, Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty - these are all wonderful games that are frequently mentioned in reviewer's top game lists. However, amongst this sell-out crowd of greats, Ico quietly and gracefully stands head and shoulders above.
Ico takes video gaming in new directions by removing the traditional constraints presented in RPG, adventure, puzzle, and action games. Presenting a singular world with characters that are alive and emotionally moving, Ico gives players the freedom to think and to participate. As such, Ico represents the beginnings of a kind of interactive entertainment not yet seen. There are no "find the key", "manage scant resources", "worry about health points", "can't go here before going there", or "character leveling" mechanics in Ico. The theatrical world presented pulls players in like no game yet created. You don't so much play Ico, as take in the experience of having done so.
Although arguably a fairy tale, Ico has a universal appeal brought about by its ability to touch even the most staid of gamers with the plight of its central characters. If you haven't played Ico, you're missing something incredibly special. Ico is the reason I bought a PS2. If you own a PS2 and don't already own this game, go and buy a copy now. If you don't own a PS2, Ico is reason enough to buy one. For my money, Ico is unequivocally the game of the year. There is no other game on any current platform (PC, XBox, GameCube) with the same degree of artistic vision, storytelling, and technical quality. Forget Grand Turismo 3. Forget Final Fantasy 10. Forget Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty. (All great games by the way.) If you haven't played Ico, you simply haven't experienced what the PlayStation 2 is capable of. You've also missed a gaming experience not likely to be duplicated for a long while.
Gameplay
Produced by an internal development studio at Sony, Ico tells the story of a little boy sacrificed by his village because he is born with horns. After being taken to a mysterious castle and entombed, he is left to die. However, Ico's spirit and will to live are like no other. In his journey to escape the castle, Ico meets Yorda - a young girl equally imprisoned and whose language he cannot understand. Thus, the children begin their journey to escape against surroundings of impenetrable odds, yet immense beauty.
There is much more to the story than I have revealed. Haunting segments are scattered throughout the puzzles that make up the majority of the game. Usually, this type of storytelling annoys me, but the bond between Ico and Yorda is so great and the depth of their fate just as compelling that this hardly seemed to matter. After the game is finished, it is almost impossible to stop thinking about it. While the story is complete, many details have startling implications and are left to the player's interpretation. Like the revelation in the film The Sixth Sense, Ico takes on a completely different context when played a second time.
During the game proper, there is intentionally little story being told. The player is left to deal with the obstacles faced by the children. The bulk of the story's resolve comes during the last quarter of the game. This minimalist approach actually works to Ico's benefit. Had there been more revealed during the game, players would not be able to give attention to the immediacy of the tasks at hand nor would they find themselves as involved in them. When you finally come to understand how Yorda is inseparably bound to the castle, the dramatic impact leaves ones stomach feeling empty. I can't think of any game that has had the ability to affect me this way.
During many parts of the game, Yorda seems curiously detached and wonders away from Ico. At first this seemed like a bug or omission in programming. However, as the story is revealed, it becomes startlingly evident why Yorda has no real motivation to leave the castle. The power in the story is that Yorda is still inexplicably drawn to Ico and to his need to escape. (Note, it is important not to turn the game off as the ending credits role. If you do, you'll miss a significant part of the story that occurs after the credits have finished.)
While a difficult game to classify, it is certainly possible to identify what Ico is not. Ico is not an RPG or an adventure game in the traditional sense. Ico is not a survival/horror game, or a sports title, or a puzzle game (although, in an odd way, Ico is closer to the puzzle genre than to any other). Ico is not an action or fighting game despite the fact that there are battle sequences. Ico's gameplay is deceptively simple: get from point A to point B. It is in how you do this that sets Ico apart.
Ico's puzzles come from the environment that the children inhabit. To escape the castle, Ico and Yorda must navigate drawbridges, windows, caverns, windmills, ladders, ropes, and the great sea that separates them from land. Ico's agility allows him to climb and to leap great distances, however, Yorda is frail and unable to cross obstacles requiring such strengths. Ico must first determine his own path and then assist Yorda or find a new path that she can traverse. While this pairing might seem one-sided, Yorda's body possesses a magic that neither child understands. The essence of Yorda's abilities ultimately traps her in the castle's grasp, but these abilities also allow the pair to open passages that Ico alone could not.
Ico is the playable character, while Yorda will follow or may be left alone so that Ico can explore the greater surroundings. If Yorda is left for too long, the castle's creatures attempt to steal her away. Thus, Ico must solve the puzzles before him while protecting Yorda along the way. This need to protect Yorda whilst dealing with your own dilemma is what creates such an incredible sense of connection between the children and the player. When Ico takes Yorda by the hand and guides her gently to safety, the result nourishes both the mind and soul. Equally as compelling are the times when Ico must tug Yorda along with great haste. She simply cannot keep up and players feel every ounce of her delicate nature. Thus, while the puzzles themselves are extremely well designed, it is the context in which they are presented that takes the game to higher levels. Ico and Yorda are incredibly believable characters, perhaps two of the strongest characters yet seen in a video game. The fact that this believability is achieved with little spoken dialog is a testimony to the ability of the storytellers. Ico's story is experienced, not told. After walking a mile with Ico and Yorda, you really feel as though you've been right alongside them.
The puzzle design in Ico is nothing short of brilliant. That's because you are never really presented with puzzles. The puzzles exist because of the environment and because of the strengths and weaknesses of the children. Even speech plays a role as both children can speak but neither understands the same language.
The solutions to all the puzzles are in the game. Yes, I know we've all read this before (and been duped), but in Ico this is actually true. Using a walkthrough guide or cheat codes doesn't make sense. Firstly, if you use these, there is no game left to play - you have robbed yourself of the entire point of the experience. Secondly, because solutions are deduced by interacting with the environment, the answers, when discovered, feel incredibly sensible - this gives immense satisfaction in figuring them out. (There are no Tomb-Rader-like puzzles requiring Vulcan mind melds with the developers.) Having said this, some of the puzzles are challenging. You must examine what you know and sometimes think a bit outside of what you know. Every puzzle can be figured out by deduction and by performing actions in the game. That's one of the things that I love about Ico. It doesn't fe
Rating:
- Is this The Third Place?
Sony has come under some critisism for lack of original games on PS2. ICO goes some way to rectify that.
You play as the titualar Ico, a mysterious boy born with horns. The local villagers assume that he is a devil creature, and so bury him underground. After escaping, he stumbles into a mysterious castle, inhabited by a strnage, ghost-like girl. Your task is to guide this girl through the castle, and so to safety.
The graphics are wonderful, the sound-effects fantastic and everything is so very atmospheric. It draws you into it's dream-like world, and he puzzles are clever without being too frustrating. Sony's concept of the Third Place becomes a reality when you play this game. The downside? It's relatively short, compared to other adventure games, lasting about 12 hours.
- Almost enchantingThe scenery is beautiful, the characters are likeable and nicely animated, the theme of innocent kids helping each other to escape is a nice change from the usual large-weaponned fearless adventurers, and we just loved the Save Sofa. Another refreshing change is the way the dialogue (what there is of it) is left in Ico's native language rather than the usual intrusive bad voice-acting - the foreign language and English subtitles give it an arthouse film ambience and actually work very well.
That said, however, wandering around a castle holding a stick looking for switches to press and blocks to move has been done to death somewhat over the last few years, and can quickly become a tedious chore (rather like the later Tomb Raiders) when you find yourself stuck, and for all its charm and loveliness we lost patience with the game within a couple of hours.
At one point Yorda steps onto a particular (beautifully rendered) high rampart and is attacked by the dark spirit things. You leap to her defence but they knock you down, drag her off and it's Game Over. Continue Y/N? - Yes! Cross the courtyard again, climb the chain, push the block, help her up the ledge, through the door, up the stairs, again. There doesn't appear to be anywhere else to go. Step on the rampart. Get attacked and beaten, again: Game Over. Continue Y/N? With grim determination you select Yes. Courtyard ... chain ... block ... steps ... rampart, dark spirit things, Game Over. Continue Y/N? Er, No...
Rating:
- Something different!This game is very different from other games, its got new ideas and everything. Not much to say really, all I can say is that its a game for anyone. I thought I wouldn't enjoy this game at first because I heard that it doesn't have much action, but I do enjoy it, its my favourite game now. The graphics are awesome, loads of detail, after all it is developed by Sony. You should see the water effects! This game is very very addictive and after playing it for a couple of hours you wont want to stop, and if you do take a break from it, you wont be able to stop thinking about it, like whats going to happen next, how you are going to solve a puzzle if you are stuck. This game is a must have, although it is short. If you dont want to spend your money on a short game then rent it instead.
Rating:
- Beautiful.No complicated dice rolling hit points or bloated self important hour long cut scenes - it's simple controls and subtle interactions between the characters make something quite innocent and charming of the whole experience.
Ico the main character of the game dashes about with boyish abandon, Yorda the mystery girl in his charge scampers after birds scattering them to the sky. Sun dapples the courtyards and bleaches the high ramparts while the audio consists mainly of breathless footsteps, wind passing along the castle walls, flapping sounds as a dove hurries past and the occasional call of encouragement from Ico to Yorda.
The puzzles for the most part are integrated seemlessly into the plans of the castle which itself becomes another character in the game. It is a little short but in a way that makes it more compact than incomplete. This may make renting it a good choice but if you collect ps2 games then your shouldn't go without owning a copy of this one.
To quote Bruce Lee, it's got emotional content.
Rating:
- Ico, an emotional and cerebral masterpiece.Summary
I have always disliked reviews that start off with grandiose endorsements. That said, to illuminate the importance of Ico as a milestone in game development, I feel it necessary to begin with some very broad statements. Ico is a special game of immense beauty. It is an emotional and cerebral masterpiece so revolutionary that it sets a standard by which all other PlayStation 2 games (and indeed games on other platforms) may be judged. I have never played a game that compelled me as Ico did. Neither has my wife (who upon watching me play, also wanted to play). Nor has our daughter or our friends and neighbors (who we went out of our way to share this extraordinary experience with). Thus, I make this heartfelt endorsement. Every PlayStation 2 owner should have this game in their collection. In fact, every gamer (regardless of their preferred platform) should experience Ico. Ico is a glimpse into the future of interactive entertainment - a glimpse no one should pass up.
Over the last few years, some amazing games have been produced. Black and White, Halo, The Sims, Grand Turismo 3, Final Fantasy 10, Max Payne, Grand Theft Auto 3, Red Faction, Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty - these are all wonderful games that are frequently mentioned in reviewer's top game lists. However, amongst this sell-out crowd of greats, Ico quietly and gracefully stands head and shoulders above.
Ico takes video gaming in new directions by removing the traditional constraints presented in RPG, adventure, puzzle, and action games. Presenting a singular world with characters that are alive and emotionally moving, Ico gives players the freedom to think and to participate. As such, Ico represents the beginnings of a kind of interactive entertainment not yet seen. There are no "find the key", "manage scant resources", "worry about health points", "can't go here before going there", or "character leveling" mechanics in Ico. The theatrical world presented pulls players in like no game yet created. You don't so much play Ico, as take in the experience of having done so.
Although arguably a fairy tale, Ico has a universal appeal brought about by its ability to touch even the most staid of gamers with the plight of its central characters. If you haven't played Ico, you're missing something incredibly special. Ico is the reason I bought a PS2. If you own a PS2 and don't already own this game, go and buy a copy now. If you don't own a PS2, Ico is reason enough to buy one. For my money, Ico is unequivocally the game of the year. There is no other game on any current platform (PC, XBox, GameCube) with the same degree of artistic vision, storytelling, and technical quality. Forget Grand Turismo 3. Forget Final Fantasy 10. Forget Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty. (All great games by the way.) If you haven't played Ico, you simply haven't experienced what the PlayStation 2 is capable of. You've also missed a gaming experience not likely to be duplicated for a long while.
Gameplay
Produced by an internal development studio at Sony, Ico tells the story of a little boy sacrificed by his village because he is born with horns. After being taken to a mysterious castle and entombed, he is left to die. However, Ico's spirit and will to live are like no other. In his journey to escape the castle, Ico meets Yorda - a young girl equally imprisoned and whose language he cannot understand. Thus, the children begin their journey to escape against surroundings of impenetrable odds, yet immense beauty.
There is much more to the story than I have revealed. Haunting segments are scattered throughout the puzzles that make up the majority of the game. Usually, this type of storytelling annoys me, but the bond between Ico and Yorda is so great and the depth of their fate just as compelling that this hardly seemed to matter. After the game is finished, it is almost impossible to stop thinking about it. While the story is complete, many details have startling implications and are left to the player's interpretation. Like the revelation in the film The Sixth Sense, Ico takes on a completely different context when played a second time.
During the game proper, there is intentionally little story being told. The player is left to deal with the obstacles faced by the children. The bulk of the story's resolve comes during the last quarter of the game. This minimalist approach actually works to Ico's benefit. Had there been more revealed during the game, players would not be able to give attention to the immediacy of the tasks at hand nor would they find themselves as involved in them. When you finally come to understand how Yorda is inseparably bound to the castle, the dramatic impact leaves ones stomach feeling empty. I can't think of any game that has had the ability to affect me this way.
During many parts of the game, Yorda seems curiously detached and wonders away from Ico. At first this seemed like a bug or omission in programming. However, as the story is revealed, it becomes startlingly evident why Yorda has no real motivation to leave the castle. The power in the story is that Yorda is still inexplicably drawn to Ico and to his need to escape. (Note, it is important not to turn the game off as the ending credits role. If you do, you'll miss a significant part of the story that occurs after the credits have finished.)
While a difficult game to classify, it is certainly possible to identify what Ico is not. Ico is not an RPG or an adventure game in the traditional sense. Ico is not a survival/horror game, or a sports title, or a puzzle game (although, in an odd way, Ico is closer to the puzzle genre than to any other). Ico is not an action or fighting game despite the fact that there are battle sequences. Ico's gameplay is deceptively simple: get from point A to point B. It is in how you do this that sets Ico apart.
Ico's puzzles come from the environment that the children inhabit. To escape the castle, Ico and Yorda must navigate drawbridges, windows, caverns, windmills, ladders, ropes, and the great sea that separates them from land. Ico's agility allows him to climb and to leap great distances, however, Yorda is frail and unable to cross obstacles requiring such strengths. Ico must first determine his own path and then assist Yorda or find a new path that she can traverse. While this pairing might seem one-sided, Yorda's body possesses a magic that neither child understands. The essence of Yorda's abilities ultimately traps her in the castle's grasp, but these abilities also allow the pair to open passages that Ico alone could not.
Ico is the playable character, while Yorda will follow or may be left alone so that Ico can explore the greater surroundings. If Yorda is left for too long, the castle's creatures attempt to steal her away. Thus, Ico must solve the puzzles before him while protecting Yorda along the way. This need to protect Yorda whilst dealing with your own dilemma is what creates such an incredible sense of connection between the children and the player. When Ico takes Yorda by the hand and guides her gently to safety, the result nourishes both the mind and soul. Equally as compelling are the times when Ico must tug Yorda along with great haste. She simply cannot keep up and players feel every ounce of her delicate nature. Thus, while the puzzles themselves are extremely well designed, it is the context in which they are presented that takes the game to higher levels. Ico and Yorda are incredibly believable characters, perhaps two of the strongest characters yet seen in a video game. The fact that this believability is achieved with little spoken dialog is a testimony to the ability of the storytellers. Ico's story is experienced, not told. After walking a mile with Ico and Yorda, you really feel as though you've been right alongside them.
The puzzle design in Ico is nothing short of brilliant. That's because you are never really presented with puzzles. The puzzles exist because of the environment and because of the strengths and weaknesses of the children. Even speech plays a role as both children can speak but neither understands the same language.
The solutions to all the puzzles are in the game. Yes, I know we've all read this before (and been duped), but in Ico this is actually true. Using a walkthrough guide or cheat codes doesn't make sense. Firstly, if you use these, there is no game left to play - you have robbed yourself of the entire point of the experience. Secondly, because solutions are deduced by interacting with the environment, the answers, when discovered, feel incredibly sensible - this gives immense satisfaction in figuring them out. (There are no Tomb-Rader-like puzzles requiring Vulcan mind melds with the developers.) Having said this, some of the puzzles are challenging. You must examine what you know and sometimes think a bit outside of what you know. Every puzzle can be figured out by deduction and by performing actions in the game. That's one of the things that I love about Ico. It doesn't fe
Rating:
- Is this The Third Place?Sony has come under some critisism for lack of original games on PS2. ICO goes some way to rectify that.
You play as the titualar Ico, a mysterious boy born with horns. The local villagers assume that he is a devil creature, and so bury him underground. After escaping, he stumbles into a mysterious castle, inhabited by a strnage, ghost-like girl. Your task is to guide this girl through the castle, and so to safety.
The graphics are wonderful, the sound-effects fantastic and everything is so very atmospheric. It draws you into it's dream-like world, and he puzzles are clever without being too frustrating. Sony's concept of the Third Place becomes a reality when you play this game. The downside? It's relatively short, compared to other adventure games, lasting about 12 hours.