You know, it's that game that EGM made fun of in their inaugural issue of "Electronic Non-Gaming Monthly". Which only proves that mainstream videogame journalists are idiots who wouldn't know a truly great game from blood-filled orgy of glossy graphics and porous gameplay.
Why should you get Endless Ocean? Because Endless Ocean is an experience, one that very few videogames out there have ever been able to provide. Yes, you go around poking and petting fish, but that's really just the tip. Endless Ocean invokes a sense of wonder and awe for the sea and provides some truly breathtaking scenes of underwater exploration. I won't spoil anything here, but you will probably say "Wow!" at least once or twice while playing this game. And the music compliments all of this very well.
Endless Ocean...yeah, it's worth it.
"Non-game" is a stupid term, really... it means nothing...
Well, it describes a movie, or a bag of chips I suppose.
$30 you say?
GR: I didn't-
DJ: I'll take it! I'll take 12!
Quote:Well, it describes a movie, or a bag of chips I suppose.
Sure, it would describe those. :)
But it's like... "If it's not for the hardcore it's not a game"? That just doesn't make sense. Maybe it's a casual game, or a non-traditional game, or something like that, but it's still a game...
Maybe the idea is it has to have some sort of objective to complete. I can see that, but then again I'm not much of a stickler for those sorts of definitions. The line's getting pretty fuzzy as it is, and I'm fine with that.
Quote:Maybe the idea is it has to have some sort of objective to complete.
Then what does that make Simcity? Or The Sims? Those games are all about creating your own objectives, using some imagination.
Endless Ocean isn't quite like that, but there are things for you to do like finding all of the different fish, exploring every square of the bay, or you can just relax and take in the beautiful scenery.
Here's my suggestion for getting the most out of Endless Ocean: Play it at night with all of the lights turned off.
I love ocean environments (hell, for a brief time, I wanted to be a marine biologist) and would love to rent this. For me, half the fun of Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future was all the eye candy and attention paid to detail. I heard that the creators of it teamed up with National Geographic to ensure the accuracy of the environment and the animals' behavior (this is Ecco, not Endless Ocean, though I'd be impressed if Endless Ocean was also the result of exhaustive research)
I don't see any long-term replay value, though, so I couldn't see myself spending $30 or $50 or whatever on it.
On the debate: I guess this is more of a simulation than a game, but simulations aren't really new in the world of consoles, so I don't see the big deal.
They added scores to the game, right? Remember, it's not fun unless your progress is noted by numbers!
Quote:I don't see any long-term replay value, though, so I couldn't see myself spending $30 or $50 or whatever on it.
It's only $30 and I've already spent 5 hours playing Endless Ocean, but I'm still a long way from getting everything out of this game.
Quote:(this is Ecco, not Endless Ocean, though I'd be impressed if Endless Ocean was also the result of exhaustive research)
From what I've seen of the game, Arika probably did a ton of research. There are hundreds of different fish, marine mammals, and birds for you to find and all of them have three pages of information each. You get more information about an animal each time you find it. All the animals move very realistically and all the enviroments, especially the areas where it lets you zoom in on something, are very detailed.
Quote:They added scores to the game, right? Remember, it's not fun unless your progress is noted by numbers!
There are scores for the diving tours you give, but I don't remember anything beyond that. You can keep track of your progress by the map, which shows all the places you've been, and your encyclopedia which tracks all the fish you've found.
Quote:On the debate: I guess this is more of a simulation than a game, but simulations aren't really new in the world of consoles, so I don't see the big deal.
EGM didn't like it because you can't die.
Quote:EGM didn't like it because you can't die.
You can't die or lose in Lucasarts adventure games, and there is no score or point system either, and they're some of the best games ever made...
Quote:Then what does that make Simcity? Or The Sims? Those games are all about creating your own objectives, using some imagination.
Going by current terms, Simcity would probably have to be called "nongame", yes... and that just reinforces how stupid the term is.
Quote:There are scores for the diving tours you give, but I don't remember anything beyond that. You can keep track of your progress by the map, which shows all the places you've been, and your encyclopedia which tracks all the fish you've found.
I was kidding about the score thing, but good to know anyway. Sounds pretty fun.