When it comes to gameplay, on the other hand, there seems to be something lacking. Or, perhaps, it’s simply too much. I never could decide as I played the game, but I came to the sad realization that
Ecco is a much finer experience than it is a game.
As may be expected, you are Ecco, wunderkind of the dolphin world, set in a quest to right the wrongs of the future that will be, and futures never meant to happen. The plot is actually rather interesting, and although I found The Foe a rather trite name at first, it’s just the sort of name that works for a game like Ecco. It’s all about atmosphere, and this game has it in spades.
But the actual gameplay tends to be a bit... unnerving. The game oscillates between straightforward levels and devilishly confusing ones, between ones where you know exactly what to do and ones that you have no clue after spending two hours roaming aimlessly around in the waters. There are puzzles that make no sense at all, and ones that are so obvious you wonder why they bother to give you a hint. And all the time, the Guardian crystal speaks in rhyme that also ranges from the trite to the beautiful. It’s so all over the map that you wonder if the developers were too much into their roles as artists, forgetting to make a title that the everyman can play.
That’s not to say that the game isn’t fulfilling. Pretty much every level has some amazing things to see and do, and getting past an obscure puzzle gives you a sense of satisfaction that is hard to get any other way. But must the whole game be like this?
As you pilot Ecco throughout the worlds, you gain numerous abilities and Songs. The abilities let you swim faster, do more damage, stay underwater longer, give you more health, and let you cause damage with mere sonar, among others. The songs allow you to call on fish for help, confuse the sharks that are so bent on your destruction, and even order a manta ray or two around. It all makes sense for the game, and all works surprisingly well. The sense of progression is palpable. But there are a few oddities -- Stealth gets shown to you relatively early on in the game, then disappears for a long segment -- and the various songs often feel a little gimmicky. When you enter a dark cavern with lightfish and see the strange green glow of the walls, though, you’ll stop caring about gimmicks.
It’s hard not to like Ecco. His aerial antics are cool, tailwalking has just got to be seen to be believed, and there are portions of the game that you’re genuinely excited about what’s going on as opposed to just wanting to see more scenery. But then you come across something like the Traffic Jam-style puzzle, or the gorgeous-yet-impossible Hanging Waters level, and you want to throw your controller in frustration.
Arg.
