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Ecco The Dolphin: Defender of the Future




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Ecco The Dolphin: Defender of the Future
Review

The undisputed king of the virtual sea swims onto Dreamcast, but is Ecco really ready to defend the future? Or merely rehash the past?
Ecco stands at attention.
We'll admit it. When Ecco first began peeking his sleek 128-bit snout out of the clear blue water of Dreamcast, we were hooked from the word go. From the screenshots and the demos, the game simply looked astounding. Not only is this the first time that Sega's other blue wonder gets to flap his fins in full 3D, but every animation, every air bubble, every single strand of kelp waving in the watery currents just looks incredibly delicious.

Demos and screenshots only tell a minute fraction of the story in an overall game. An adventure, especially one that promised to be as open and free as Ecco, must have the gameplay to cash the check that its graphics writes. And we're happy to report that this is one game that ultimately delivers, stage after stage, even past the sometimes teeth-grindingly tough game difficulty and hokey New Agey hint-spewing vagueness.



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The game begins innocently enough, with Ecco chosen as the lone hero to save the world from doom as only a dolphin can do. After a string of very impressive intro movies (and even more impressive in-game graphics) telling the tale of the fate of man and dolphin in the future, living peacefully in some weird utopian human-fish world, we discover that this peace is now being threatened. Ecco must then travel back through a time portal to take out the evil encroaching from the past in order to (drum roll please) defend the idyllic future.

In order to do this, Ecco will need all the help he can get from the Guardian (in the guise of "hint stones" that provide you with clues) and every single one of the friendly denizens of the deep. Much like his former outings on Genesis and Sega CD, Ecco is able to do spiffy things like charge in order to bash sharks or move heavy rocks as well as use sonar in order to communicate with allies. Throughout the game, you'll also gain new powers and learn new songs in order to help you along.

After you've earned the right to use a new "gift" or power, you'll then be able to access different crystals scattered throughout the ocean depths to complete different objectives. Songs help you to carry out certain tasks, such as calling out to schools of fish to follow you. And just as in the game's predecessors, these skills add a distinctly deep adventure feel, giving players often complex tasks to perform in order to complete progressively more difficult objectives.

And it's these sometimes difficult missions that will scare off more timid gamers, simply because often players are left out of the loop in terms of where to go, what to do and how to do it. The amount of freedom you have in meandering the ocean floors and the stunning degree of beauty in nearly every texture and polygon belie Ecco's tough chewy center. Hintstones that appear throughout the different areas will become vaguer and vaguer, providing gamers used to more straightforward instructions with goofy riddles and touchy-feely haikulike directions. And though this can be frustrating, especially when you're stuck on the same level for countless hours, somehow the poetic nature of these "hints" lends itself quite nicely to the immersiveness and feel of Ecco's overall feel and concept.

For the determined gamer in the bunch, this will simply add to the challenge of solving every mystery hidden within Ecco, making the reward that much sweeter. So, when you stumble across that secret cavern (the hidden 2D stage tucked away in the level Up and Down is one of them) or make it through that cramped tunnel just in the nick of time to gulp some air at the end, you'll feel that you've really, truly accomplished something grand.

And it's in these small, but truly amazing, game moments that Ecco really flexes its dorsal fin muscles. When you slip through a crevice and emerge in a shady pool housing manta rays, the wow factor sets in. To say that Ecco is merely "gorgeous" is an understatement to the nth degree. With an amazing level of detail in every single object or creature,Ecco is quite possibly the best looking and most technologically impressive game to grace Dreamcast. Ecco's fluid dolphin-y animations and the natural way in which he interacts with his aquatic surroundings make this more akin to a dolphin simulator than anything else. Often you'll find yourself yearning to simply while your time away perusing aimlessly through cavernous underwater trenches or bright sunlit stretches of ocean. But if you want to proceed, you'll have to get playing.

In the end, Ecco is not a game for those looking for a pretty, casual or quick ride from start to finish. Those willing to invest the time and the persistence may very well have met their match. For these gamers, Ecco comes with the highest recommendation. With only a few camera issues to stomach and a raised eyebrow given to the level of difficulty (especially in later stages), Ecco's 25+ stages of fluid, gorgeous gameplay show it has the brawn to back up its beauty. The question lies in how many brave gamers out there are willing to shell out the dough and take up the challenge.

-Francesca Reyes

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"An adventure, especially one that promised to be as open and free as Ecco, must have the gameplay to cash the check that its graphics writes. "


Feed me Seymour. Feed me all night long.

Ecco about to get frisky with a large turtle.

Watch out Jaws, here comes Ecco, the bad-ass dolphin with attitude to spare.

Stats
Developer Apaloosa
Publisher Sega of America
Genre Action Adventure
Players 1


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