Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future Review - Sega
Author:
Raven E-Mail: http://www.sega.com
Developer: Sega Publisher:
Sega
1 player Standard controller VMU
compatible VGA cord JumpPack compatible
ESRB
rating – E for everyone
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Introduction:
Defender of the Future is the third in
the Ecco series, with the first two titles appearing on the
Sega Genesis, and the Sega Game Gear, a number of years ago. I
was extremely fond of Ecco the Dolphin and I thought it was a
very clever idea for a game at the time. With the wealth of
mediocre titles out there it comes as a lovely surprise when a
company actually builds a great title that really is heads
above the competition. It is an even better time for gamers
when they redo a game for a high end game system and actually
do it justice the third time around. After being totally
hooked on this latest incarnation of Ecco the Dolphin for the
last few days, I can now tell you what I think of
it.
Now, with the new game, you are again playing Ecco.
It is the dawn of the 30th century, after five hundred years
of unity and fellowship, now dolphin and man are setting out
from Earth to explore space together. However, an alien
civilization simply named The Foe has its eyes on the Earth
for itself. They find a weakness in the defences of Earth,
called the Guardian, and Ecco is the only dolphin that can
save the Earth. He discovers that the Guardian has been
shattered and spread all over the Earth's oceans and in
different times. You as Ecco must go out and try to save the
Earth from The Foe and you will need to find the various
pieces of the Guardian in order to learn what to do
next.
It sounds fairly straightforward, but the one
thing that will be said about Ecco over and over again is that
it is really unbelievably difficult in some spots. In fact, a
lot of the game is hard. But the reward contains some of the
most beautiful graphics ever seen, a great story, and let's
face it, a very personable dolphin that you will grow to love.
It was amazing to me how much I got wrapped up in the story as
Ecco experienced it. So aside from the difficulty of solving
the game, you will be so wrapped up in the story, the graphics
and the great characters that you will struggle through the
hard bits, just to see more.
Da
Graphics:
What do you say about a game of this calibre?
It is truly one of the most beautiful games I have ever seen
on any platform, anywhere. You absolutely believe you are
underwater with gorgeous lighting that ripples and changes.
The plants float and sway in the water, the animals and fish
move so well I was delighted just to watch them. The locations
are so incredible that it is really handy that there is no
time limit because you will want to soak it all up.
Of
course then there is Ecco himself. He moves in a very
realistic way, with his body twisting and tail fin moving. You
will spend many minutes just having him jump out of the water,
so you can see him do stunts. He has some great moves, jumps,
twists and other acrobatic moves that are a joy to behold. In
any game there are always a few small glitches, and this one
has them. Ecco can occasionally get stuck in a background
texture and this is annoying, but I am willing to overlook it,
due to the flawless nature of the rest of the
visuals.
Da Sound:
Once again, in this area
the developers have excelled. The sounds are very appropriate,
with dolphin's squeaks and chirps for communicating and plenty
of other sounds for the other creatures. There are lots of
water sounds of course and the music is a beautiful soundtrack
that seems to accompany the gameplay just
nicely.
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