(andPOP) - In a world filled with fast-paced action, shooter, and puzzle games, the average player might feel like the selection of games to play is limited to these three genres. Arika Studios is here to tell you otherwise. Introducing Endless Ocean for the Nintendo Wii. In this title you take the role of a diver and explore – you guessed it – an endless ocean! This game is unlike anything you've ever played before as there are no time limits, no goals and no overall objective. If you feel like doing a task, go ahead and do it at your own pace, if not, go relax on a beach chair and gaze out into the surrounding sea or go for a little dip and explore.
Endless Ocean doesn’t have an end, you dive in, swim around and explore the depths and interact with the sea animals. Begin by poorly customizing your character with gender, age, tan and hairstyle. You've done pretty much all you're required to do in this game. Perfect for the gamer to relax with after a long day of work, or the aspiring marine biologist in your family, Endless is more of a deep interactive screensaver than a game.
The graphics are divided into two sections of the game, first there are the graphics when you're above water, in your boat. This looks and feels more like a game made 10 years ago, with blocky graphics, robot-like animation and no voice acting. Basically, you have the models of the characters, a few friendly animals such as penguins, a few items on the deck and the cabin. Inside the cabin, you can choose to answer emails, steer the boat, save and such, you're presented with just an image with items to click on. Under the sea is a different story all together. With fluid motion, crisp detail and hundreds of sea animals all around, it feels as though Arika put all their efforts into the underwater world and slapped together the boat area in a matter of days. Aside from the motion of your diver and the animals all around, the locale is what makes this game breathtaking. From coral lagoons to buried ruins, each area seems realistic in every sense. They are nothing short of beautiful. Light sources peering out of rock formations and the ocean flow interacting with the underwater plants leaves you relaxed and calm while you enjoy the scenery at your leisure. The audio is also quite spectacular, at times when the calming background music isn't playing and all you can hear is the sound of your scuba gear, you feel almost one with the ocean. Along with little chirps and sea calls, players also have the option of putting MP3's on an SD card and listening to their favourite tunes while exploring the depths of the Manoa Lai coast.
The controls are simple, giving you the freedom to explore the ocean without confusing you with robust options. You point where you want to swim, and swim there. As well, you can interact with the wildlife you find by touching, petting, feeding and taking pictures of them to gain real-world information about each animal type you mingle with. The more you interact, the more you learn about them and help your partner fill out her encyclopedia. For longer journeys, you can enhance your laziness factor by enabling the auto swim feature and just enjoy the view without even touching a controller.
The more you play the game, the more items and options you unlock. There is no real story to this, no objectives you must complete. If you want to do anything at all in this game other than swim and enjoy, you can do it at your own pace. Go into the cabin, check your emails and snap a shot of a fish or explore the terrain of an area for your financial supporters. Or don’t, it's your choice. Go lie in the beach chair and wait for nightfall to do some lunar diving and find sea life that only comes out in the dark. Or don’t, again it's all up to you.
The ocean is vast, and since this game doesn’t really have an end, even after you catalogue all the ocean critters, explore the entire ocean, train all your sea friends, and answer all your emails – you can still go on and on exploring and relaxing in this beautiful underwater world. As well, there is an online co-op mode in which you can dive with a friend and explore together with directional-pad commands. It's as close to real diving as you can get for under $30.
As a game that breaks the trend of repeating genres, Endless Ocean is a breath of fresh air. Games such as these rarely hit commercial retail and when they do they are usually met with mixed feelings. For the gamer looking to unwind, the ocean enthusiast, or someone that wants a long lasting budget title, this one's a sure thing. Otherwise, if you're looking for an action / RPG / shooter / puzzle game, you best steer clear of this title.
Graphics: 4.0 / 5.0
Gameplay 3.0 / 5.0
Sound 3.5 / 5.0
Replay value 5.0 / 5.0
