Review - Endless Ocean
posted 26 January 2008, Saturday
Endless Ocean
$30
1-2 Players Online
20+ Hours
Easy Difficulty
$30
1-2 Players Online
20+ Hours
Easy Difficulty
Announced without any fanfare, Endless Ocean literally came out of nowhere and has quietly made its way onto store shelves. However, this game shouldn't be confused with the horde of other worthless budget games companies seem all to willing to release for the Wii. Endless Ocean is good. It's damn good, and if nature, exploration and the sea are you thing then this game is for you.
Endless Ocean is an open-ended sea exploration game, and when I say open-ended I mean it. There is progression and you do have to obtain items and gear that open up new areas, but almost from the beginning you can explore most of the sea. You primary mission is to find, interact and gather information on all the sea life you can. This happens via story segments that direct you to different locations or your own curiosity that leads you to explore the unknown. You also receive optional jobs that ask you to guide tourists to see a particular creature or to take pictures that meet certain criteria.
Obviously the focus of the game is the sea life, and there are hundreds of different animals to see and document. From baby fish to huge whales there's plenty to see, and they look and act realistically though they will never attack you or other animals. You can ride some of them and even befriend them enough to have them as pets that you can teach tricks to or dive with. Finding them requires some searching as they appear at different times of the day or even different seasons. There are three levels on information on each animal that you gather by touching or feeding them. This makes them friendlier to you and can even result in them following you throughout your dive. There is also an aquarium that you can place a limited number of animals in to enjoy without having to search for them.
Some other things include taking and storing pictures in a journal. It's a nice addition, but unfortunately you can't share them with anyone outside the game. The game's music track is amazing, and you can also play your own off an SD card. I was also pleasantly surprised to find the game's dialog was humorous and entertaining, and when combined with the game's laid back style it really brings the whole experience together.
The game only uses the Wiimote and it controls very simply. The (B) button is for movement, the (A) button is for interaction and the D-pad is for your tools and other options. On your ship you hold (B) to walk toward the pointer and underwater you hold it to swim. It would have been better for a point-and-click type of movement on your ship, but it's easily overlooked. When you see a creature you can touch it, pet it or grab it. Touching and grabbing work well but petting is not as easy as it should be, and for some reason the (A) button press only registers on release. So, while not perfect the controls work well.
This is primarily a visuals game so I have to comment on them, and while the game is clearly not taking advantage of the Wii's full power it still looks great. The game looks better underwater and some creatures don't looks so good up close, but if you dwell on these things then you're doing something wrong. I'm surprised the game looks this good considering this is a low budget, out-of-nowhere offering. Maybe if the game gets a sequel the graphics will get a bump and really take advantage of the Wii's power.
The issues with the game are all pretty minor, though I've heard that the game can crash under the right circumstances (hasn't happened to me). The two biggest ones are the collision detection and the camera. Bumping into animals is all over the place - sometimes they go through you, other times they block you out even though they are nowhere near you, yet other times they pass through the walls or ground. It's not a problem most of the time, but it can get wonky. The camera also has some issues when you are locked onto a creature. If the creature is moving fast or goes behind you sometimes the camera will go crazy spinning around. It's also difficult to lock on to some animals because they swim so fast and are always moving.
Some other issues include the really slow zoom function, the inability to easily right yourself if you use expert controls and are upside down or some other weird angle, fish that are so tiny that it's almost impossible to get a close up view and the incredible impatience of the people you can take on tours that completely clashes with the relaxing pace of the game. Again, all the issues are minor and they never took anything away from my experience.
Endless Ocean is a slow paced exploration game and that's why I love it. It offers an experience rarely done before and never pulled off this well. Not every game has to be about conflict or skill mastery, and this game more than proves that point. It's unfortunate that some won't accept this game because you can't die or kill, but I can only hope that we get more exploration-type games like this. At least I hope for a sequel to this game.
I GIVE ENDLESS OCEAN A 9/10 [EXCELLENT]
Exploration bias +
Nature bias +
PROS:
- Hundreds of creatures to experience and document
- Vast ocean environment to explore
- Creatures move and act like the real thing
- Open-ended gameplay
- Dive with a friend online
- Play your own music via SD card
- Beautiful music track
CONS:
- Collision detection is all over the place
- Camera can go crazy sometimes
- Can't share pictures with others
- Custom music implementation should have been better
- Human animations above water are mediocre
- Befriending the sea life is a little too easy
VALUE:
- With the vast amount of animals to find and places to explore this game is a steal at $30
