Appaloosa has made a habit of swimming in
dangerous waters. Having been brave enough to
take on the development of the first
non-Japanese Contra-a lofty task to say the
least, during which the game would also be
yanked from its 2D roots-they did an admirable
enough job, but consumers and press alike, eager
to club it to death in protest, pummeled it with
a vengeance. Like the forthcoming Terminator
sans Cameron, fans can and will be doubly cruel
whenever a major license changes hands and falls
even a little bit short. While Ecco and Ecco 2
for the Genesis may not hold a candle to the
Contra franchise, the game has a major hardcore
Sega following who have waited patiently to swim
once more, and Sega can ill afford to rock that
boat. Fortunately for everyone involved,
Appaloosa has delivered their finest game to
date by not only creating a formidable sequel,
but actually improving on the original formula
while bringing the game into a stunning 3D
universe. Considering the game's surreal
overtones, vivid topographic worlds, and
underwater physics, this must have been hard to
fathom to say the least, and, having played my
share of Dreamcast, I can attest to the team's
stalwart efforts.
The trick was in maintaining the game's
otherworldly guise while making it fun but, at
the same time, keeping it from looking like
something aimed squarely at the Discovery
Channel demographic or worse, new-age
freakazoids. Appaloosa has accomplished this by
making Ecco, first and foremost, one hell of an
involved video game, standing as the most
sinisterly adventurous title I've ever played.
It will twist your mind in knots. To
successfully traverse these waters takes a
certain measure of talent, the right frame of
mind and, most importantly, patience, and lots
of it. Your reasoning skills together with your
concentration and reflexes will be tested like
never before. The game presents a series of
riddles (seemingly written by Yoda) from which
you must first derive exactly what the goal is
(which is often a challenge in itself) and then
set out to achieve it. Ecco moves through the
massive network of tunnels, pools, and
passageways by learning different techniques and
interacting with the creatures of the sea, so
the game presents non-stop puzzles and
task-based missions that take several passes to
fully understand, let alone complete. And
everything is linked, so if you have a bad
memory, good luck. This is a constant journey of
discovery, a deep, hyper-involved
action-role-playing game in every sense. Because
of its overwhelming complexity, if it were
anything less than magical to see, hear and
play, I'd have nothing to do with it.
Which brings me to the game's stunning
graphics. Standing as one of the most beautiful
games ever made, Ecco is drenched in
breathtaking visuals. The models are
unprecedented from the smallest fish to the
largest whale and the environments are in a
word, stunning. Together with the heavenly and
uncannily befitting audio after a few hours no
matter how frustrated Ecco will lull you into a
trance like state. Its really quite special and
endlessly engaging. With so much ocean to cover
laden with nooks and crannys the game does have
some collision hitches should you wedge Ecco
into a tight spot, but I found that if you just
lay off the controls he almost always
repositions himself automatically. All in all
the game is tight and the control is just about
perfect. If you bought the game and just swam
around it would probably be worth the price of
admission. I guarantee, you put on this game in
front of anybody sans maybe a serial killer and
the result will be instant ooh's and aah's. You
may actually get attached to Ecco, like a pet.
The game evokes a mood that is almost
indescribable. For you vintage Yes fans out
there I can only describe it as a Roger Dean
cover come to life like living art. I was
especially happy to discover the game brimming
with gorgeous 2D levels providing some of the
best puzzles and a visual flare youll have to
experience to believe. As great as this all
sounds I must warn you the game is hard. Its
almost overly complex, hardly ever
straightforward and presents a whole new batch
of variables to contend with. Ecco has to
breathe for one thing and much of the game takes
place in tight tunnels. You need to feed him
too. Not to mention the many hazards of the sea
like poisonous fish, piranhas, rays, eels,
coral, and sharks. There are many times when you
simply wont have any idea what to do when
resourcefulness and or intense reasoning are
your only devices but at the same time a school
of hammerheads wants you for lunch. If you like
your adventures challenging and thought
provoking however and you're in the mood for a
good long quest you absolutely under no
circumstances should miss this game. I've said
it many times but Ill say it again, with games
like this Sega's future is rock solid, or in
this case water tight. are, in a word, stunning.
Together with the heavenly and uncannily
befitting audio, after a few hours, no matter
how frustrated, Ecco will lull you into a
trance-like state. It's really quite special and
endlessly engaging.
With so much ocean to cover, laden with
nooks and crannies, the game does have some
collision hitches should you wedge Ecco into a
tight spot, but I found that if you just lay off
the controls, he almost always repositions
himself automatically. All in all, the game is
tight and the control is just about perfect. If
you bought the game and just swam around, it
would probably be worth the price of admission.
I guarantee, if you put on this game in front of
anybody except for maybe a serial killer, the
result will be instant oohs and aahs. You may
actually get attached to Ecco, like a pet. The
game evokes a mood that is almost indescribable.
For you vintage Yes fans out there, I can
only describe it as a Roger Dean cover come to
life like living art. I was especially happy to
discover the game brimming with gorgeous 2D
levels providing some of the best puzzles and a
visual flare you'll have to experience to
believe.
As great as this all sounds, I must warn
you, the game is hard. It's almost overly
complex, hardly ever straightforward, and
presents a whole new batch of variables to
contend with. Ecco has to breathe, for one
thing, and much of the game takes place in tight
tunnels. You need to feed him too, and there are
myriad hazards of the sea, like poisonous fish,
piranhas, rays, eels, coral, and sharks. There
are many times when you simply won't have any
idea what to do when resourcefulness and/or
intense reasoning are your only devices, but at
the same time a school of hammerheads wants you
for lunch. If you like your adventures
challenging and thought provoking, however, and
you're in the mood for a good long quest, you
absolutely, under no circumstances should miss
this game. I've said it many times but I'll say
it again: with games like this, Sega's future is
rock solid, or in this case, water
tight.
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