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368 of 372 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mellow, interesting, pretty., January 23, 2008
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Endless Ocean: Dive, Discover, Dream (Video Game)
I bought this game for my 7-year-old since he loves learning about fish, but my action-game-addicted 12-year-old also loves it. The games has defined goals, but it is essentially an exploration game. You can't lose or die as far as I can tell. You spend most of your time swimmming around, looking at and interacting with various marine life while a soothing New Age score plays in the background. My younger one hates the music, but he can listen to his MP3s on an SD card while playing. There was a lot of reading for him at the beginning, so 7 is about the lower age limit on this game unless your younger child is precocious and reads very well or you want to help them with it.
This is not an action game, but you "collect" information and specimens, photograph them and make friends with dolphins. You occasionally lead tourists on dives and interact with the cute marine biologist who can't swim. Missions, which usually arrive by e-mail accessed on board your dive boat, give some structure to the game, but they are laid-back and not time-limited so you can explore at a leisurely pace.
The controls are simple, requiring only the Wii-mote and the graphics are good, though not jaw-dropping. The sea floor environments and lighting/water effects are well-rendered and the marine life is quite detailed.The whales and rays do present a certain "Wow!" factor and the ocean world seems vast.
All-in-all, I would recommend this game as an experience. It is relaxing and will be intriguing to anyone who is interested in aquatic life. It's a welcome change of pace from violence and frenetic cartoon action and it is educational. I like that my kids spend time immersed in a virtual world that celebrates the wonders of our planet and focuses them on co-operation and co-existence instead of always conflict and violence. It may be a bit slow for those who like constant challenges or non-stop action.
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151 of 152 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dive, Discover, Dream - Exactly!, January 25, 2008
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Endless Ocean: Dive, Discover, Dream (Video Game)
Absolutely beautiful game. The underwater visuals are incredible from the sea floor, hidden treasure, coral, caves, sunken ships, schools of fish, dolphins, manta rays, whales, and much more. Sunlight from above will also filter down below the surface. Day also turns to night and you can go night diving where you may find different types of sea life.
Now, when you are on the boat, it's a different story. The visuals look incomplete. The boat, character, water and skyline all have a "unpolished" look to them. Also, your character apparently has something shoved up his or her rear as you walk around the boat "stiffly". But, this is all minor stuff as you will be underwater most of the time so, it's not a big deal. Again, the underwater world is absolutely a joy to the eyes.
The music is nicely done and very relaxing, but you can load up your SD Card with .MP3 files and listen to your own music while on the ship or diving below. That is a very nice feature and I believe only the second developer to implement this feature on the Wii so far.
You will also be able to customize your character by changing your diving wear and equipment.
The game is totally laid back and you can pretty much do whatever you want, when you want. But you aren't completely on your own. There are definitely specific things to accomplish if you want to. You will receive emails from people wanting you to investigate a specific underwater location, find a special fish or hidden treasure, take photos or even to go along with you as a diving guide. Many of these result in rewards such as new equipment and gear. You actually should accept the first few email requests as it's the only way to get the underwater pen and camera and to unlock the Wi-Fi Connection gateway.
You will help a dolphin early on in the game and he will then become your partner and you can go on dives together. The dolphin will actually help you find hidden items on the sea floor. You can also have the dolphin do tricks up above while you are on the boat. It looks like you can have up to 3 partners to play with. I've only found the dolphin so I don't know what the others will be.
I haven't tested the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection feature, but you can have a Wii friend come over to your boat (or you can go to their boat) and you can go on dives together. Looks like that can be fun. You can communicate with various pre-set greetings and commands or use an underwater pen to draw or communicate (like a whiteboard). It would of been nice to have built-in voice chat capability.
This is a refreshing addition to your Wii library and I think everyone should own this game. It's a very unique and refreshing experience.
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78 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Endless Possibilities, March 1, 2008
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This review is from: Endless Ocean: Dive, Discover, Dream (Video Game)
Throughout gaming history most every game has focused on some form of the following, getting the high score, collecting the most items or finishing the story of the game. ENDLESS OCEAN is a game that bucks that trend and instead asks you to play for no other reason than to have fun. That alone will cause many gamers to run for the hills screaming that the game is boring, but it isn't as long as you accept the game for what it is and not wish it to be like everything else.
At the beginning of the game you can choose to be a male or female diver and you play the game diving into the ocean looking for new and exotic life as well as exploring caves and such. There are no time limits or goals, though you can choose to do the menial tasks your ships owner asks of you there is no reward or penalty for doing so. You are also encouraged to gather information on the different forms of life you encounter and take pictures of them. But the main point is to explore just for the fun of it and that's what I see as the genius of this game.
With such an esoteric reason for playing there's got to be something to keep the more traditional gamer entertained and that's where the graphics come into play. Playing this game it's very easy to get lost in the world created because everything is so life-like and beautiful. From enormous whales and tiny schools of fish to seaweed swaying in the water, the graphics really impress. This is a game to show off how cool games can look on Wii. That is as long as you stay in the water. Things get more blocky and movements are noticeably jerky whenever you board your ship to save your game, receive instruction and talk to your ship mate.
As is typical for Wii, controls are easy to learn and intuitive. Want to swim left? Simply point the controller to the left hand side of the screen. What could be easier than that? The simple controls and laid back game play make this a game that is perfect for every member of the family.
Though it won't appeal to every gamer, this is a game that anyone with a sense of adventure and love of discovery will be completely enthralled by. Those looking for new kinds of games to play need look no further than ENDLESS OCEAN. Despite being slow by traditional standards and its uneven graphics, it's a game that's truly fun and unique.
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