reviews
...Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future
This heart-stunning adventure demands your attention - and a whole lot of your time
  facts
COST: £ 40
OUT: out now
PLAYERS: 1
TYPE: Adventure
BY: Sega
 
Welcome to the future. Man and Dolphin live in peace exploring the stars together. Back on Earth, just a handful of caretaker dolphins remain, overseen by the wondrous Guardian. Sensing the Earth is vulnerable to attack, an enemy known only as the Foe decides it's time to claim Earth as its own. The Guardian is shattered, time-lines are mucked up and, before you see the end credits, both humans and dolphins lose their way. Cue a whole heap of sonar-ific, time-travelling joy in the most original game we've seen in ages.

As videogames go, Ecco is a surprisingly subtle one. Your dolphin buddies give only the slightest of clues for help and when the air-meter runs dangerously low, Ecco simply emits a barely audible cry to warn you. Even the vibration feature is nicely muted.

Ecco is a tough game, but not because there are loads of baddies to trounce or difficult moves to master. Ecco's difficulty lies in the puzzles you encounter and the twisted, dolphin-logic you have to employ to solve them. The game will have you thinking like a dolphin. Or reaching for a walkthrough.

One of the finest things in Ecco is the way you can interact with objects and other sea-critters. Mystical glyphs - scattered shards of the Guardian - are littered about the bays and reveal clues about your task. Dolphins, whales, turtles and schools of fish will help you progress, and the five powers you collect in the first act are invaluable to your success.

Not content with dazzling us with breath-taking scenery and brain-frazzling puzzles, Appaloosa also wanted to blow gamers away with a suitably epic story for Ecco's Dreamcast adventure. Award-winning American sci-fi writer David Brin was a natural choice for the development team, as he had already written about dolphins and humans co-existing in his novel Startide Rising. Brin's story The Postman was made into a movie with Kevin Costner in 1997 and Startide Rising is also soon to get the celluloid treatment.

In spite of the complexity of play and hundreds of varied challenges, quick-fix action freaks will detest Ecco. It's the sort of game you really have to devote time to, for it to be enjoyed properly. It's likely that many gamers won't see much beyond the first of the game's four acts, as even the early puzzles require hours of swimming and exploring before you solve them. The puzzles themselves are generally odd and obscure, but as always, solving them makes you feel special.

The game is massive and although it's often tricky and time-consuming, you're always kept busy. Ecco looks fantastic, is hugely atmospheric and has a strangely hypnotic quality. The wonder and sense of awe you get from playing Ecco for the first time will remain with you long after you've either completed the game or, more realistically, grown tired of it.

what we thought
...Ecco gets so close to videogame excellence that it's all the more upsetting that the game feels slightly off-kilter. The relative lack of conflict makes for a welcome change in gameplay emphasis, but sometimes you'll pine for a good battle. Getting to know each area inside out is essential to progress and feels utterly magical, yet at the same time you'll sometimes be wishing for a more straightforward gaming environment. Ecco on Dreamcast is great and most definitely worth a look. Just be warned: it's challenges aren't to be taken lightly.