Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future

"She's pretty, but how's her personality??"

Ecco the Dolphin is one of the most unique, fun, beautiful, entertaining games I have ever played...when it came out for the Sega Genesis. The Dreamcast version is a great game, but falls shorts in a few categories. It is one, if not the most graphically intense game for the Dreamcast, and at the time it came out, the most beautiful game on the shelves. But as we all know, it's not graphics, but that thing they call gameplay. So how is the gameplay, well, hold on and I'll tell you.

Graphics
As I was saying, it has beautiful graphics. There are some small pop-ups, but what game doesn't have that. The environments are gorgeous, and life-like. The animation is so good, you will think that you are playing with a real dolphin. If you're are a fan of graphics, you'll love this game.

Sound/Music
Lovely, lovely sound effects and music. Nice background music gives you a tranquil feeling, as you swim by schools of fish, and try and smack around sharks, It all sounds great. From the sound of water splashing, to Ecco's echo, it all comes together great. One of the best sounding game.

Gameplay
Now for that thing I was talking about, gameplay. It has a great base gameplay, as you are Ecco, and are trying to save the world from alien invaders. Sounds kind of odd, but the introduction explains it better than me. The controls for the most part are on, but can become stiff in danger. You might not want to go somewhere, or attack something, and end up doing it if you're not paying attention, it's all how well you can adapt the controls. The bad part of this game is the difficulty. It is a lot harder than you would think, and the gameplay gets very repetitive. One of the cool things is you get to play a few levels with the old 2-D format, which really was fun.

Buy/Rent
Wow, the question of the day. It all depends. If you want a long, challenging game, then by all means buy this game. But if you're just into flashy games, you may just want to rent this one. It's a great adventure game, but isn't for everyone.

This game was one of the reasons why I bought my Dreamcast on the day it came out, and I was so happy when Ecco came out, I bought it that day. When I got a few hours under my belt, I found out something about his game, it's hard. This game is not a kiddy game, and don't let the 'E' rating fool you. This game would frustrate any young gamer because it’s not for everyone.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/25/02, Updated 02/25/02