Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future

"Despite its problems, Ecco: Defender of the Futureis a decent and very beautiful game"

Many may remember Ecco from its 2-D Saturn and Genesis games. A unique game which involved a dolphin named Ecco, who had to fight enemies and solve various puzzles. Now Ecco's back and in 3-D. While Defender of the Future (DotF) is a good addition to your Dreamcast liabrary, its many problems prevent it from being the masterpiece it could of been.





The Good

Graphics: Wow. I can't praise these graphics enough. Ecco looks incrediabal and moves realisitcally. But it's not just Ecco, every animal in DotF shares the same quality. The sharks, fish, mantas, eels, jellyfish, and more, the detail is amazing. Each level is large and beautiful, just wait until the Hanging Garden.

Sound: Soft, serene while exploring each level as it should be. More upbeat while facing many enemies or bosses. The sound effects are great also, the splashing, the various sonar and songs Ecco has. Everything fits perfectly.

More Exploration/Less Action: If you're searching for non-stop action, this game isn't for you. I for one like the exploration, swimming through each level at your own pace, admiring the beauty of it all, and talking to various creatures and learning what to do. While there are certain action parts where you're pitted against several enemies, (In one of the earlier levels Ecco has to face six sharks) it doesn't occur often, and I like it better that way.

Control: Ecco moves just as you want him to (unless the camera screws up..more on that soon), and he has many special abilities. Ecco can use his tail to stand on the water and look around, he can swim backwards, dash forward, quickly turn around and use his sonar. While remembering how to do everything may confuse some, I was fine with it.

Continues: Death seems to occur frequently in DotF so I'm glad that they place you in the last major area, and don't make you start the whole level over again.

Load Times: Just one semi-long load for the level and that's it. If you die it starts right back up.




The Not so Good

Camera Work: The camera is really jumpy in this game, especially in tight spaces. I can remember this the best in level 4 (as I was just watching my sister play it), when she was trying to push a rock down into a hole, the camera moved in quickly then jumped back out. Again in level four, when darting through the tunnels the camera swung around and she bactracked by accident. Luckily the camera isn't so bad in wide open areas.

Fog: There sure is a lot of Fog under this ocean, although I would of liked it better a bit clearer I'm sure there are some good reasons for this, right?

Glitches: Unfourtunately this game has quite a few glitches, while many aren't to serious, some mean death. A few little problems include Ecco's tail and fins going through walls, the framerate never seems to stay constant either. Slowdown in some fights with more than one enemy occur, well, almost every time. My one major gripe is how Ecco can get stuck in walls (most of the time this happens while speeding in tunnels), forcing you to wait until he dies. Or when he gets stuck in between two rocks and you can't dash, or back your way out of it, forcing you to start over. These are the glitches that needed to be fixed.



Fun Factor:

Decent: I enjoyed playing the game, and the only thing that brought the score down was the various problems/glitches. I enjoyed the exploration and beating up sharks and the such was also fun.



Difficulty:

HARD: One of the hardest games I have played. Poor Ecco was eaten alive, killed, or drowned about 40 times, maybe more. While enemies don't provide too much of a challange, much of the difficulty lies in the puzzles. Finding out where to go can be confusing, and those crystals don't help much, some even give you the wrong information. Getting lost is not uncommon.



Lasting Value:

LOW-MED: Once you beat the game there really is no point in playing it again, unless you need to collect every Vitalit. Good luck to you then.



Buy or Rent:

Rent:If you're looking for non-stop underwater action, give it a rent, find out the truth, then decide. Either way I suggest a rent first, this game is not for everyone, and its problems may bug a few.

Buy: If you're a big Ecco fan, and loved the first games. If so then you'd overlook the problems.


My Score: 7/10

If Ecco eats poisonous fish, he gets hurt, yet if he eats poisonous fish while poisoned he's cured of the poison...weird.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/30/00, Updated 09/30/00