For Christmas, I was given a $50 gift card for Gamestop. Thank you very much, Conrad, you know me well.
I've just now gotten around to making use of it. The trouble was that I hadn't been giving my hobby of video gaming much thought. My wife might scoff; perhaps I should clarify. I hadn't been giving NEW video gaming much thought. I'd been playing such games as Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, and Star Wars Galaxies.
(Minor footnote: Yes, I am well aware that both Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed came out very recently and therefore might be considered new gaming. Well, not to me they weren't. Both games have been on my radar for years now. By the time I'd finally played them, I felt as though I'd just been given everything I knew I would receive all along.)
So, giftcard in hand, I decided to take a flying leap away from good sense and purchase a couple of games I knew absolutely *nothing* about. The two games in question ended up being Endless Ocean and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. The former is on the Wii, the latter on the DS.
I have not yet cracked the case on Phantom Hourglass, but let me just say this about Endless Ocean: It is absolutely beautiful in every respect. Easily the best looking game on the Wii to date. To me, it is a scream of truth in the face to anyone who says good graphics on the Wii are an impossibility. Wake up, Wii developers! The system is more powerful than you're letting on. Grow some talent and make some real games!
The above is said in a sort of pseudo-relief, in that Endless Ocean is *not* a game, not as we know it. The objective is to swim. Swim, swim to your heart's content. Become familiar with the sea life. Look down upon glistening coral. Explore shipwrecks. Listen to the breathtaking musical score. It is not a game. It is a work of art in the vague shape of a game. There are objectives to be sure, but none of them are of the "Kill the huge man-eating shark, save the world" variety. It's something of a shock to think that there are all manner of lifeforms swimming around with you as you dive, and *gasp!* nowhere in your objectives does it become necessary to kill any of them!
Anyway, the musical score includes (a somewhat renowned vocalist whose name I cannot remember but will edit in later). Her voice in the score will either make you weep for joy of beauty, or make you want to rip off your ears and eat them, depending on your tastes. If you don't like her, the makers of the game wisely included a function that permits you to listen to your own MP3s off the Wii's SD Card Reader while you play. Very smart technology and I hope more games make use of it.
Overall, I'd recommend picking up Endless Ocean if you're into this sort of thing. Only you can answer that question for yourself.
3 comments:
This game is peculiar. Everything under the waves looks gorgeous and on deck, the penguin is well-rendered and gratifyingly adorable. The boat and people, however, are average at best. Call me insane, but I think Super Mario Galaxy has a finer-tuned engine and smoothness.
The reviews hinted the soundtrack would be a mind-blowing experience, but I find it lacking, especially the lyrical track with exactly one refrain that loops endlessly. The singer is good, but I would have preferred a woman with a rawer, more elemental timbre to match the haunting vastness of the ocean. The use of synth surprised me, especially since the quality of said synth is dated and hokey. I imagine they pared down the sound quality to compensate for the enormous library of sea creatures and flora you encounter. It is sad that any modern gaming system still suffers this problem.
I also don't like how every time you reach a point of significance, the swimmer is jerked into a cut-scene. With so much water, you'd expect fluid gameplay. I think I'd be happier just going out freestyle and exploring on my own.
This is Nintendogs with a diving theme. That is not a bad concept and I think the game has a lot of merit, but it could have been better realized on another system.
How is Phantom Hourglass? Have any thoughts on picking up AC for the DS?
Well, I can't answer for Jason on AC (he didn't seem terribly impressed), but we haven't tried Phantom Hourglass yet. He wants me to play it first and so it's in my work queue. After VP, I'll give it a whirl.
I suppose we'll pick up AC at some point, but I didn't care for the controls.
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