Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future
For: Dreamcast
Genre: adventure
Reviewed by: Escee (Brandon)
Developer: Appaloosa
Publisher: Sega
Released:8.15.00
 
Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future is the third game in the Ecco series. The first two games (Ecco the Dolphin and Ecco: The Tides of Time) were both Genesis games, so the series had to make the jump from 16-bit to 128-bit. The original Ecco games were very challenging, and Defender of the Future keeps that tradition. Ecco ranks up there with MDK2 as one of the more challenging Dreamcast games. It sports possibly the best graphics out there (next to Shenmue). This game may not seem like it is aimed at mature gamers, but it is. It is extremely challenging, and, at times, frustrating. If you can tolerate the frustration, then this game is excellent. Ecco is all about amazing visuals, surreal sound, smooth control, and lots of frustration.

Ecco: Defender of the Future takes place in a world where dolphins and humans have united, and together they control the land and sea, bring peace to all the creatures, and advance technology. But, an alien race known only as "The Foe" wants revenge upon the dolphins, after their defeat to the dolphins (in the old Ecco games). Dolphins and humans are protected by their greatest creation, The Guardian. But when The Guardian is shattered, the Foe make their move and close in on Earth. Ecco is the last hope for humans and dolphins, defender of Earth's future. You will have to salvage The Guardian, and then when The Foe open a vortex through time and change history, you will have to fix history, and then destroy the Foe. Ecco is an adventure game. You have to think your way through puzzles, and then use your action skills to defeat enemies with your attacks. Be prepared for a great challenge.
 
Graphics
The visuals in Ecco: DOTF are possibly the best yet to grace a console. Ecco is one of the best looking games out there. The detail is amazing on everything. The textures are awesome. You can go right up to most things and most of them still retain their detail close up. The colors are vibrant, and pretty, in lots of levels, but Ecco also does a good job at setting the mood. In more dreary levels, you won't see these vibrant colors. In the "Man's Nightmare" section of the game, everything is dark and drab. This is a great job at setting the mood. Overall, awesome visuals. But the main problem with Ecco's graphics is the framerate. For most of the time, the framerate is fine, but, all too often, the framerate will drop _drastically_ and won't come back up. This is the only problem with Ecco's graphics.
 
Sound
The sound in Ecco is surreal. Everything sounds just as it is supposed to. The ocean sounds perfectly true to reality. To accompany the awesome sound effects is a wonderful soundtrack. Very strong.
 
Gameplay
The story flows very smoothly in Ecco. The next course of action can sometimes be hard to grasp, and the game will leave you clueless quite often. The clues are cryptic, and the game is challenging. But this is all in the tradition of the old Ecco games. If you liked the Genesis Ecco games, you will like Ecco: DOTF. However, Sometimes it is nearly impossible to figure out what to do next, and sometimes the clues are wrong and you are led nowhere. The game would have been better if it was just a little clearer and easier to get from objective to objective.

Control
The controls are wonderful. Ecco is very easy to control. It takes a short amount of time to get used to "aiming" Ecco for attacks and such, but once you get the hang of it, you will appreciate the great controls. The camera is also very well done, and it never gets stuck.
 
Lastability
This is one place where Ecco falls. There is no reason to play the game again afetr you have beaten it. The game will take you a very long time to beat, if you call that lastability, but once you've beaten it you probably won't play it again. I suppose you could go back and colelct the Vitalits, but I don't think there is any real benefit to that after you've beaten the game.
 
Ratings