Dreamcast September 20, 2000
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 Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future
  
Adventure
Developer: Appaloosa
Publisher: Sega
Available: Now
Players: 1
Written by Dave Halverson

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.

  
Republic Says: Although frustration can set in due to Ecco's unique universe and scenerios, it's well worth the investment, as the pay off is truly wondrous.
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