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  | 360-Hq.Com Review |  |
| | Difficulty: 5 | | Learning Curve: 5 | Published by:  forahobby | | Date: 2007-10-29 |
| | Gameplay |    | 5
| | Graphics | | 6
| | Sound | | 5
| | Value | | 4
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| Ecco The Dolphin Splashes onto Xbox Live | |
The original side-scrolling ocean explorer is back on Xbox Live Arcade.
"Ecco The Dolphin" was originally released back in 1992 for the Megadrive/Genesis console and has now come to the Xbox Live Arcade for all Xbox 360 Live Arcade gamers.
In "Ecco The Dolphin" it is your mission to tackle the many obstacles which you will find within the depths of the ocean. Take control of Ecco the bottlenose dolphin through a range of levels and attack enemies by ramming them at high speeds. Find enormous crystals called "Key-Glyphs" and "Glyphs" which react in many different ways when Ecco sings or touches them. Swim your way through many deadly situation's and unlock tough puzzles as you control Ecco on his adventures on xbox 360.
 Overview
The story of "Ecco the Dolphin" starts when he and his fellow pod are playing around in the home bay. An in-game message challenging "Ecco" to see how high he can jump is what starts the adventure. As soon as the player jumps up in the air (out of the water) everything in the water is mysteriously sucked up by a enourmous waterspout. "Ecco" is now stuck in the air until the chaos is over. After the storm has passed "Ecco" finds other dolphins from many other pods who inform him of the undersea chaos and request his help. The Adventure begins!
Gameplay - 5/10
The controls for "Ecco The Dolphin" are very straight forward. The player controls "Ecco" the bottlenosed dolphin by using the D Pad to make Ecco swin in any direction. The 'A' Button will accelerate ecco through the water, 'X' Button is used to Dash and the 'B' Button is your sonar. The player uses the controls to navigate "Ecco" through a maze of underwater tunnels and caverns. Many tunnels are blocked by "Key-Glyphs" which must be unlocked before the player can proceed.Normally ecco must use his Sonar (B Button) to unlock a "Key-Glyph" before being able to pass through.
In the game Ecco you also have air guage and health guage. You must keep an eye on both of these guages while you search through the numerous underwater caverns to solve puzzles and rescue the different inhabitants. To replenish your health you will find yourself hunting down fish and when your air is low you will be searching for air pockets or the way back to the surface. Just remember that you only have 1 life.. If Ecco's health drops to zero you will need to restart the level.
One thing I must mention is that "Ecco The Dolphin" can be very frustrating as even I found it hard to get used to and I've played it before. It's very simple gameplay can still sometimes get on your nerves as you will find yourself getting stuck trying to jump over rocks into other pools and getting lost over and over again. Most tunnels look-a-like and the clues provided during the game so you can solve the puzzles are normally useless.
Graphics - 6/10
The graphics in Ecco The Dolphin are an exact replica of the original SEGA Megadrive/Genesis cartridge. The Xbox 360 version includes a Enhanced HD option which can be turned on or off at anytime by selecting the help & options menu.
Sound - 5/10
The Xbox Live Arcade version of Ecco brings back the original Ecco The Dolpin samples.
The sound effects for Ecco have been enhanced for the Xbox Live Arcade version but its not like you would really notice. The sound effects are mostly just whale cries and your sonar. This port is obviously based on the Megadrive/Genesis version since it doesn't feature the elaborate sountrack that Spencer Nilson had written for the Sega CD release.
Overall - 5/10
This game is extremely difficult and like many platform games, you will often find yourself stuck, wandering the ocean. If your looking for help on the game there isnt exactly alot to find apart from a few maps and this could be another reason many give this title a miss.
I feel the game would still be great for kids but I wouldn't recommend it for those who are hardcore gamers. Did i mention frustrating?!? lol Achievement hunters please note that it wont be an easy 200/200pts but it is certainly possible.
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| Ecco the Dolphin Achievements (12) | |
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