"A Virtual Life Sandbox Game"

-Introduction-
El-Fish is a fish breeding and aquarium-building simulation that was released by the companies Maxis and AnimaTek in 1994. The game was pretty advanced for its time -- the 3-D fish you can create move very realistically, and, through breeding, can be shaped into from 800 possible attributes into infinite numbers of unique fish. A fractal-based generator can create decorative plants for your tank, and a random music generator can put together simple pieces of background MIDIs for your tank-display.

-Gameplay-
Although some folks' seem puzzled by the point of the game (making fishtanks doesn't sound all that exciting) from a genetic point of view, the fish breeding part is the real meat of the game. At the outset, all you get is a few average-looking starter fish, and a 'Pond' where randomly generated 'wild fish' can be caught. Overall, dull colored and unremarkable-looking. However, there are almost literally a thousand varieties of colors, fins, shapes, and pattern combinations locked inside those humble looking beginnings. Through selective breeding and forced evolution, certain traits can be singled out and encouraged, rare colors and fin types can be developed, and you can even try and re-create real life fish breeds through the game.

Once you've bred some fish you like, you can then fully render them in 3D, so that they can be placed into your tanks. When finished, the fish will swim in front of and behind various tank objects, moving around in 3D space and reacting to things such as fish food and certain animated tank decorations.

Another nice touch is the ability to trade your fish and tank designs with other users. Each fish's genes are stored in .roe files, which are compact and easily shared. You can also make tank objects and import them into the game, as well as your own MIDI and image files as tank decorations. The potential for custom user-made and traded content didn't really catch on, nor did the game, which I think was unfortunate. El-Fish may have catered to a niche audience, but it really had some interesting ideas and tried some innovative things with the whole 'life simulation' concept.

-Final Recommendation-
Of course, this game was released in 1994, so the sound and graphics are not on par with 3D games of today. Also, if you only like games that have pre-set goals to 'win', you won't like El-Fish. However, if you like virtual-life niche games, like Gameware's 'Creatures' or Maxis' 'SimLife', El-Fish can be a fun game to try.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/22/06