ICO

I like to think that 'Ico' means 'beautiful thing' in some exotic foreign language. Because it is truly a thing of beauty. I'm not just talking about the dreamy fairytale vistas surveyed from the game's many vertiginous parapets, or the golden radiance of the sun flooding through some towering window. No. Not just that. The beauty goes way beyond anything as cold and hard-coded as graphics or technical spuffery. The sentiment is beautiful. The mood is beautiful. The emotion is beautiful. Yes. If there's any game that makes me waffle like a French poet, it's Ico.

If there's one thing videogames have become exceedingly good at, it's forcing tedious, mind-numbing busywork upon unsuspecting gamers. Repetitive and tawdry tasks, or uninspired, frustrating, cut-and-paste missions infest an inexcusable number of games, and it's getting pretty dire.

I'm sick of games making me do the same old shit, and it's about time somebody did something. Nothing solves the world's problems quicker than a sarcastic list column, so join me as I stomp my feet over the miserable chores that videogames keep imposing upon me...

Brace yourselves now, because we’re about to drop the most exciting news since we discovered Steven Seagal hates being filmed by games jarnalists. Ready? Right, two artists who worked on Uncharted 2 and Flower have teamed up and are currently designing a game inspired by Ico. Be still our beating horns.

Truly one of the PS2's most brilliant titles, ICO has gone on to become one of the most adored adventure games of all time. The heady puzzles, dreamlike visuals and tangible bond between cursed Ico and the ghostly Yorda would be standout features in any other game - to have them all in one, plus a stirring, subdued soundtrack, is a once-in-a-generation event.

Well, Shadow of the Colossus did it too. But ICO's music towers over even the mightiest mobile monolith...

No. I’ve not gone mad, honest. I’ve got a certificate from the doctor and everything. Yes, it’s the one Sony game everyone, including most of my colleagues, wanted to see at the company's E3 conference last week. But bear with me and I’ll tell you why Team Ico’s adventure doing a no-show might actually be a good thing…

Composers in games are always the bloody bridesmaids. While Kojima, Clifford Bleszinski the Third and Shigeru Miyamoto lap up all the credits, complimentary hookers and free mini muffin baskets, the men and women behind their games' epic music go unnoticed.

Steven Spielberg famously said that composer John Williams' score in Jaws was responsible for 50% of the movie's success. And when you consider the iconic tunes from Super Mario Bros. or Shadow of the Colossus' sweeping score, it's hard to underestimate the impact a well composed soundtrack can have on a title. That's why we're giving some of gaming's finest composers the long overdue recognition they deserve.

Yesterday the rumour dropped that some of us have been waiting for since the PS3 launched. And when I say 'some of us' I mean anyone who's finished Ico and Shadow of the Colossus three and seven times respectively <cough>. That's right, it looks like two of the most beautiful, evocative games ever <sniff> could be hitting PS3 in shiny Blu-ray form in full HD some time next year. And inside, you'll see just how purdy they'll look.

Way back in 2007 we cobbled together a fun little list of frequently mispronounced game names. Far more obnoxious than the simple “Mah-rio/May-rio” switch, these names are routinely butchered and for a defensible reason – they’re almost all nutty as hell.

We thought we’d expand on that original feature, as 2007 is like 70 million years ago in internet time.

They might not look all that, but give them the wrong look and the following group of surprising badasses will kill the hell out of you. Wimpy either in appearance, profession or nature it doesn’t stop these secretly Chuck Norris hard characters from saving the world and giving evil the bird, while murdering hundreds of baddies in the process.

Somehow, though, we’re just not buying their unexplained ass-kicking

Pac-Man and Mario owned the 1980s. Sonic, Lara and Snake took over for the 1990s. Their games are considered classics. Their names are timeless and iconic. Their images are burned into the memory of every gamer, even those who were born after the characters themselves.

Now we have another ten years worth of heroes, villains, sidekicks and love interests to occupy our imagination. Which, however, will remain there?