Ico

Ico -- PS2, rereleased for PS3 in HD
     Ico is the first of two games along the same theme by a small japanese studio.  Similar to many of the games I like and play, most aspects of the game are relatively minimalistic.  The story is never really made clear, however here is what I've gathered from the internet.  You are Ico, a boy thought to be cursed because he was born with horns.  The beginning of the game shows you being brought into the castle and locked up in what is essentially a sarcophagus.  Then a tremor shakes the castle and your sarcophagus falls and breaks open, allowing you free.  The game gives no direction, but you relatively quickly happen across an ephemeral girl, clad all in white, in a cage.  Once freed, you and she attempt to escape the castle.  But you find out that she is the princess, and her mother, the queen, doesnt want her to leave. 
     The majority of the game seems to be driven by the relationship between Ico and Yorba.  To start, it is never really made clear what their relationship is.  Though they certainly act like a couple--Ico refuses to leave without Yorba--they never really show affection, nor do they even speak the same language.  What is interesting however is that the queen and indeed all the creatures of the castle are essentially indifferent to Ico.  What motivates both the puzzles and the challenges in this game is Yorba.  With all of the puzzles the challenge is not to move Ico forwards--he can essentially scale the walls--but to create a path for the less nimble Yorba.  All of the fights are about fighting back black spirits which attempt to take Yorba.  The most attention the spirits pay you is to knock you over when you try to save the princess.  As such it feels to an extent like you are playing a sidekick, an aide to the real main character.  And to be sure, you do need her as well, only she can open doors throughout the castle, but most of what you do is help her without reason. 
     I also found the win condition interesting [Spoilers ahead].  Simply escaping the castle with Yorba is impossible.  The game does not allow Yorba to leave the castle, even once you both get out to the front gate and open it.  In order to "win" you must kill the queen and destroy the castle itself.  Furthermore, in doing so your horns, the defining characteristic by which you were cursed at the start of the game, are cut off.  The construction of the game almost suggests to me an internal struggle, Yorba being good, and the queen being bad.  In losing your horns you are removing that negative side and freeing the good. 
     Lastly a note about the graphics.  The game was actually rereleased in high definition.  That said, all that really means is that they smoothed out the lines, the animations weren't updated at all.  I did play in 3D however.  It was the first game I played in 3D, and I must say, I liked it.  Part of why I liked it however was that I didnt often notice it.   Because it was a port to 3D, and not the intended play the 3D really did just serve the role of making it slightly more real.  There were no flashy effects, it didnt feel like lens flare the way 3D normally does.  I thought that was nice.

Assassin's Creed: Revelations

Assassin's Creed--Ps3
    The latest installment in the Assassin's Creed series didn't introduce anything new.  That said it is a playstyle I generally like, so I was happy to play it anyways.  This time through I didn't play the multiplayer, which was a feature that I really liked in the last one, but I have other games that need my time.  Generally I felt the story improved in this one, and the missions were a bit more dynamic, less repetitive.  It more often asked you to remain hidden, which actually required a bit of thought. 
     The one part I felt was still clunky was the recruiting assassins.  The interface felt difficult and completing it brought no real benefit.  Still, another good Assassin's Creed.  I look forward to playing the next one.