Ecco the
Dolphin: Defender of the
Future
Author: Geronimo
Ecco the Dolphin, as most would
know, was an instant classic on the Genesis. But
is Defender of the Future good enough to follow
such a legacy? Well, depends. I personally was a
huge fan of the first game, so I was expecting a
lot, and I pretty much got it. But, there were
some slow parts in the game, and I could
wholeheartedly except someone not enjoying it.
Ecco is a great game at heart, so for those of
you who enjoyed the original, and have been
anticipating this game for a while, this game is
fantastic for you. However, those who have
passive interest in this game should definitely
rent this one first. Why? Read on...
You can expect long
durations of playing time in this one. There's
no way around it. Unless you're a real stud
(like me) you'll find yourself using
walkthroughs and stuff to find out what the hell
you're to do next... many of my friends did. Its
a great edition to the series, and three is the
lucky number.
The bad part for
many of you lamen folk is the sheer difficulty
of this game. It ranges from the fairly obvious
task to the ones that make you get so angry you
push your TV over and then set fire to the
kitchen right before you write "DOLPHINS BAD"
all over the walls in mustard... or is that just
me?

Presentation: ...
9/10
The game is passed off
quite well. Just by looking at it and playing a
level or two you can tell the amount of time and
energy put into everything. Little things might
annoy you, but this is an extremely well put
together game.
Graphics: ...
10/10
Ahhh, the graphics.
The favorite part of the review for many people.
Well rest easy. They are pretty good. Alright,
they are (it seems there's a new one every
month...) the best on the Dreamcast so far. The
detail in every possible aspect of the game is
mind-boggling. The rocks, cliffs, and sand are
just amazing. And talk about animation, you have
to see how fluidly these creatures move. They
are all painstakingly accurate in any imaginable
way. They even act like their real-life
counterpart. The lighting effect are also great,
and have been used most impressively so far. The
water is eerily life-like. Remember how amazed
you were the first time you saw the water
effects when Wave Race came out on N64? Take
your amazement then and multiply it by 2. And
the best part is the game is a non-stop 60 fps.
You'll read a lot of other reviews that say the
framerate constantly drops. I noticed it ONE
time when I was stuck between two rocks on ONE
level. I can't imagine why anyone would say
that. So don't believe anyone but me. I really
hate giving tens in almost any aspect of any
game, but I just saw no way around this one. If
you buy games based purely on the superficial
reason of graphics, go buy this game right now.
Gameplay: ...
8/10
The gameplay is the
most debated issue in the game for many people.
Some hated it, but others found it to be
amazing. I knew what to expect, so I was in no
way disappointed. In fact, I found it to be one
of the deepest games to be made for any system
so far. Appaloosa, the creators of the original
Ecco, developed the game, so that alone will
make most people convinced, but others are not
so easily persuaded. First of all, if you hated
the first, you'll more than likely hate this
one. The thing that makes people hate or love
this game is the level of challenge in it. After
playing through, I would sit and ponder forever
as to what I had to do. It reminded me just how
insanely difficult the first two were. There is
a lot of puzzle solving to be taken care of, and
that could sometimes shut down my brain stem
through rigorous use. There is something to be
said, however, for a difficult game, and you
WILL spend hour upon hour on it. You sometimes
have to go shark fighting, while other times
figuring out how you're going to make it from on
end of the cavern to the other before you run
out of precious Oxygen. Luckily, Ecco is able to
enhance his performance through powers he can
collect. For example, through the power of air,
he may swim farther under water before he needs
to replenish his air supply. Others in include
the power of endurance, and the power of sonar.
These are key tools in beating levels in this
game. The controls are sure genius. Pressing A
repeatedly determines how fast you'll go, while
holding A will sustain that speed for you. B is
Dash, X is sonar (holding X will pull up a map
for you), and Y is used in conjunction with the
analog pad and the triggers to perform spins and
such. So, getting around is a breeze. So, is
this game for you? If you want fast paced
action, with as little thinking as possible,
pass this one. But, if you enjoy long adventures
and a challenge or two, you may want to check it
out. The story is kind of lame, though, but what
would you expect from the writer of The Postman?

Sound: ...
7/10
Sound is always the
most boring part of any review, so I spend as
little time on it as possible. Splashes sound
like splashes, dolphins sound like dolphins, et
cetera. The only real gripe I can think of is
how some of the music in the game seems to run
on a twenty second loop before it starts over.
This can get quite irritating. But hey, who
cares?
Replay Value: ...
5/10
This game was not
really designed to be replayed. Unless you count
the long length of time you'll spend trying to
beat it, this doesn't have a whole lot of replay
value. After you beat it once, you might pull it
out a few times afterwards to impress the
friends, family, and neighbors, but most likely
not to play again. That's not to say, however,
its not good for a first play through.
OVERALL: ...
8/10
<---
Overall, I was pretty impressed by
this game. It was a great transition from a 2D
side-scroller. Sometimes the clues they give you
have no relevance to the game, and the migraines
you might incur from trying to solve the puzzles
are painful, it is definitely worth a look in my
opinion.
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