Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future

"A decent game, could use a sequel."

This game was okay. I sure did like it much more than the old sega ones. This game was fun though. You go through very cool looking envronments and use pretty cool meneveurs or tricks with ecco.

Graphics: 8
They are not bad. They didn't blow me away except for one thing, the environments. I have to say I loved the way the environments looked. Above and below the water. Below that water, if you are in open water, you can see sharks in the distance, you might see whales come towards you. It just looked great in that area. The lighting below the water actually made you feel like you were underwater. Now that we are done with the environment, to the animals. You will meet little schools of fish along the way, they don't look so good, they just look 2D. The other animals that you encounter, look okay, not fascinating, but okay. Ecco, looks the same way really, just okay. He looks like a dolphin and that is it.

Gameplay: 9
Probably my favorite part of the game, doing tricks. In the first level, you practically have a chance to just go crazy and swim around. You can do flips, stand up sort of above water, high jumps, it is just fun. Personally I had more fun doing the tricks than I had actually doing the missions. Now, in the beginning you learn all your basic moves, then as you progress you can unlock little "dolphin powerups" such as super speed, strength, etc. Some of these required to beating a level. You will also have your occasional boss at the end of almost every level. So really, the gameplay didn't have many flaws, except the fact that it got repetitive.

Storyline: 10
I have to admit, I liked the storyline. It could just be me, but in the sega games, I had no Idea what happened. In this game, I'm not sure if it is the same story but it still sounds interesting to me. First of all, you are supposed to believe that dolphins came before the humans and that the dolphins are the protectors of the universe. You also see in the opening sequence, little dolphins and humans in what I would assume to be eggs, circling around earth in a cyclone shape until it reaches the surface. Anyway, the dolphins have sheilded the earth with these crystals from Atlantis. Well, you have an enemy known as the "foe" who wants to destroy your two races. You think "Oh, we're fine, we got the shield" But you know, where would the point of a game be if you weren't in trouble. Well somehow, one of the "foe" ships flies to the earth and explodes when it hit the shield. Well this happens for about 10 seconds until one of the ships destroys the main crystal in Atlantis and destroys your entrance into Atlantis. So now, you, Ecco, instead of going straight to Atlantis which the entrance was right in front of you, have to go ALL the way around and reach Atlantis to defeat the "foe". It might sound boring in text but if you see the sequence it is actually interesting.

Multiplayer: N/A

So all in all this is a decent game, that is fun at little doses. Luckily it isn't expensive. Anyway, don't worry, you will have fun. For example, don't worry, no spoilers, you get to face a BIG GREAT WHITE SHARK all by yourself in a pretty small area I might add. I have to say, once you know what you are doing, it got pretty fun. Plus that Shark just looked so cool. Anyway, I would suggest renting this first to see of you like it. But you might. It's a good "remake" of the original.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/20/04