24 out of 24 people found this review helpful.
Submerge yourself into Ecco's beautiful 3-D rendered world
Date of Review: Sep 29, 2000
Dive into the ocean into the digitally animated World of Ecco the Dolphin. Swim with the dolphins, punish the sharks, prey on the fish, make friends with the whales, and defend the future. . All the normal traits of a normal caretaker dolphin, what was that you said, dolphins can?t defend the future? Well our Swedish pals Appaloosa tend to disagree. For they are aware of the things that the general public is not. That we are really at war 24 hours a day, Being watched by creatures known only as the Foe. And we are especially vulnerable to attack at this time; e for the Foe has shattered the earth?s protective guardian crystal.
So appaloosa took it upon themselves to set on Ecco the burden of earth?s future, and encoded cryptic messages throughout the sea that will aid Ecco on his quest to bring together the Pieces of the crystal. However Ecco cannot do it by himself, so for a fee of 50,m plus tax, dollars, Appaloosa is offering you a chance to enter Ecco's mind and guide him through out the ocean. Are you worthy enough?
Graphics
One of the most lush, beautiful and graphically realistic graphics ever to hit a console! There?s not one flaw in these graphics, its like an underwater soul caliber, that?s how unbelievably realistic these graphics were. Every motion Ecco made, every twist, turn, tail whip, and jump was exactly synchronized to that of a real dolphin. (For those who didn?t know, Sega teamed up with National Geographic, to make sure Ecco resembled an actual dolphin in both appearance and movement) Definitely the best aspect of the game, it just doesn?t get much better than this.
Sound
Peaceful music that really fits the setting. However what really makes this category shine is the sound effects. This game has real dolphin squeals, and chattering, exactly what you would hear from a real dolphin at Sea World. On top of the verbal effects, the whoosh of the water as Ecco moves around, and the clap of his tail on the water are wonderfully detailed, every time he moves you hear it.
Gameplay
This is, by far, the hardest game I have ever played in my life. First off you have to be smart and well alert to understand the cryptic poetic messages that inform Ecco of his objectives. Second of all you must be very quick with your fingers to be able to maneuver your way through certain obstacles, and be able to tackle the sharks. Thirdly you must have a load of patience, for even if you have the IQ of 250, and agility of a mountain lion, this game is still extremely tough, and a big pain in the ass. Now some people find this tedious, and don?t like trying to beat one obstacle several times, however I enjoy the high difficulty because when you eventually do beat the task, the sense of gratitude you get is rather nice and overwhelming at times, it really makes you feel good about yourself.
As for the controls, they are easy to use, but hard to master. They are extremely sensitive and if you press too hard on the controller one way the camera will shift to far to one side, and you will end up being upside down, or lop-sided. So initially the controls are hard and take getting used to, but once you?ve mastered them they are a piece of cake to use.
Overall
Even if you did not like the former Ecco the dolphin games on the genesis, you must plat this game. However if you still have doubts about this game and the authenticity of this review, then I would like you to simply rent this game, and then think of what a fool you were to doubt the all powerful Ecco!!!
