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Back when the Dreamcast first
launched and all the excitement centered around Namco's Soul
Calibur, Sega's Sonic Adventure, and Sega Sports' NFL 2K, another
game developer was lurking in the shadows, avoiding the spotlight,
content to continue quietly working away at a game which at that
point had already been in development for a couple of
years. It was back in the days of
the Sega Genesis that Appaloosa introduced the gaming world to it's
first underwater adventure hero, a dolphin by the name of
Ecco.
It's years later now, and thanks to
the power of the Dreamcast, Appaloosa set out to free Ecco from the
limitations of his original 2D environment and submerse him into a
new three dimensional world, one that is every bit as beautiful and
dangerous as the ocean itself. However, the gameplay, they decided,
should remain the same as before. I guess they figured you shouldn't
mess with a good thing. So back in 1997, Appaloosa began work on
bringing Ecco the Dolphin into a new 3D world, while keeping his
classic gameplay from the 2D games intact.
Another all-important aspect of the
game needed to be addressed as well. It wasn't enough to be able to
control a dolphin inside a realistic-looking undersea world. They
needed a great story to tie the game together, and for that, they
sought the help of a science fiction writer, one who could come up
with a story equally as impressive as the game's environments. And
now, after three years of tireless effort, everything has to come
together and Appaloosa has delivered a game that, unfortunately,
could have used a little more work.
That's not to say Ecco The Dolphin is
a lost cause. Far, far from it. Even with all it's problems, which
we'll get to it a second, Ecco has made an incredibly impressive
journey to the Dreamcast. If it wasn't for the frame rate issues,
this would easily have been the best looking game ever released. The
game's various levels have an almost magical quality to them, with
lighting effects from the heavens and a level of detail never before
seen in a video game. Even the dark, murky waters never looked so
good. And just wait till you see the undersea creatures in motion.
Screenshots are one thing, but to appreciate this game's graphics,
you need to see it in motion. The great white shark at the end of
the game's second stage, for example, brought back the same feelings
of terror from when I saw the original Jaws for the first time in
the movie theater. I almost fell off my chair when he came charging
at me. Even the smaller fish are bright and colorful and swim around
in schools, turtles move slowly and gracefully through the water,
other dolphins race around playing games with each other, plants
sway back and forth in the currents, jellyfish hover in dark caves
and narrow passageways... everything is exactly like you'd expect to
see if you were watching a National Geographic special. If I didn't
know better, and truthfully, I don't, I'd swear Appaloosa spent
quite a lot of time underwater observing sea life. This is the most
accurate representation of it you've ever seen.
Equally as impressive are the sound
effects and music. Combine them with the graphics and you've got
something much more than simply another video game. Playing Ecco is
like staring through a window into another world. And it's a very
relaxing world to be sure. With the exception of an occasional heart
attack-inducing moment such as the giant shark I mentioned, Ecco The
Dolphin: Defender Of The Future is so peaceful and relaxing, I had a
tough time keeping my eyes open. The longer I played, the stronger
the urge became to set the controller down for a while and head off
into dreamland.
As you can probably guess from that
statement, Ecco is not the most action-packed game on the market. It
begins with a short but impressive opening movie which explains the
game's story. Ecco takes place in a time when the world is not
simply ruled by humans, but rather by humans and dolphins together.
Both species have learned to live together in harmony, sharing their
talents, knowledge, and skills to make the world a better place.
Everything would be great, if it were not for a ruthless alien enemy
known only as the Foe, who have had their eyes set on Earth for a
very long time. The Foe sees humans and dolphins as it's most hated
enemy, and continually attacks the planet Earth. Fortunately, a
mysterious crystal shard known as The Guardian maintains a powerful
force field around the planet, preventing the Foe from causing any
damage. That is until one day when one of the Foe ships crashes into
the force field with a devastating blow, causing the Guardian
crystal to shatter, it's pieces being scattered all over the sea.
From this moment on, it will be up to you, playing as Ecco, to save
the humans, the dolphins, and the world.
Along your journey, you'll be faced
with realistic underwater challenges. Sometimes you'll be confronted
by another sea creature, but more often than not, the environment
itself will be your main obstacle, from strong underwater currents,
to narrow passageways, to dark caves... even large wide-open spaces
will cause you problems. As it is in real life, you can't see very
far ahead when you're underwater, so wide-open areas will leave you
feeling like you're in the middle of nowhere, without any reference
points to help you with a sense of direction.
Unfortunately, that's a big problem
with the game. Many areas look exactly the same as other areas,
making it difficult to judge where you are or where you're headed.
To make matters worse, the game's story unravels so slowly,
sometimes you're left swimming around without any clue as to what
you should be looking for. The first several minutes of the game,
for example, offer you no reason for being there. The game does
offer you clues along the way in the form of riddles, but they are
widely scattered throughout the levels. Ecco relies more on
exploration than anything else, which means if you enjoy your game
action-packed and short, you'll want to look elsewhere. This game is
all about taking your time and seeing the sights. If you've got the
time and the patience for it, you'll be rewarded with a gaming
experience unlike anything before it, and one that will stick in
your mind as one of the truly great moments in the life of the
Dreamcast.
Ecco's first adventure on the
Dreamcast is certainly not without it's problems. It has a sluggish
frame rate at times, it's environments will leave you wondering
where you are and what you're supposed to be doing, and controlling
Ecco can sometimes be a problem, especially in narrow areas. Getting
him to swim towards an exact spot, especially at high speeds, can be
a challenge. And as I just mentioned, players requiring arcade-like
action with their games can look somewhere else. You won't find it here.
But what Ecco does offer far
outweighs any of it's flaws. Playing Ecco is like transforming your
room into a submersible underwater vehicle, with your tv screen
being your window into the ocean depths. It's about as close to
being a life simulation as you can have without getting into
something like Seaman. This game's environments alone are worth the
purchase price. If you were impressed by Ecco on the Genesis, you'll
just about fall over backwards when you see what he's like on the
Dreamcast. An almost perfect game, held back mostly by technical
issues that could have been resolved with a little more tweaking,
Ecco is yet another great reason to own Sega's gaming system, and a
shining example of the kind of unique gaming experiences you just
won't find anywhere else.
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Screenshots
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