Endless Ocean (WII)
Endless Ocean (WII)
Endless Ocean is a unique game that will strike a chord with some and fall flat with others.
The Good
An experience like no other At times it’s absolutely gorgeous and mesmerizing Lets you play at your own pace.
The Bad
You’ll see most of what the game has to offer in just a few hours Slow pace might turn off a lot of people The game’s ocean isn’t quite as endless as its title suggests.
Considering the seemingly endless yearly parade of sports games and licensed game sequels being released, you’d be forgiven for thinking that there’s not much room left for originality in today’s video game market. There may not be much room, but games such as Endless Ocean–in which your goal is little more than to scuba dive at your leisure–prove that there are still some truly unique games being produced. Endless Ocean is also a difficult game to review because its slow pace and subject matter are just as likely to appeal to people as it is to turn them off. One thing everyone can agree on is that it is different.
Endless Ocean takes place off the coast of the fictitious island of Manoa Lai. You’re a no-name scuba diver for whom gameplay begins on a sailboat with a young woman named Kat. She gives you all the details on what you’ll be doing in your time at sea. You’ll start off by exploring a few shallow reef areas where you learn the game’s simple controls. All you have to do is point the Wii Remote at part of the screen, press a button to swim, and off you go in that direction. When you see a fish or other sea creature, you can focus your attention on it and then learn about it by tapping, petting, or feeding it. Once you see the creature sparkle, you’ll instantly know what type of animal it is, as well as a few basic facts. By interacting with the same creature over the course of several days, you’ll learn all there is to know about it, and that information automatically goes into an encyclopedia that Kat’s working on. There are several hundred types of fish and sea animals in the game, so this task alone will keep you plenty busy.
