VIDEO GAME: Endless Ocean

By Connect Mason Game Reviewer Daniel Sims

Virtually all videogames are common in that they try to offer players stimulation through challenges, dangers, and obstacles that must be overcome. Most games can be “won” or “lost” in some way which gives playing them a purpose. Endless Ocean does none of these things yet still manages to create a compelling experience.

Arika’s scuba diving simulator for the Wii has garnered some controversy since it was first unveiled. Many have refused to call it a real videogame. The magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) has even refused to review it altogether. Whether or not it actually meets the dictionary definition of a “game,” Endless Ocean still has something to offer as a piece of entertainment software.

Endless Ocean lets players scuba dive in a fictional sea called “Manoa Lai.” There, they simply swim, explore the various environments within it, and observe sea life. There are no enemies, dangers, or obstacles to speak of.

Although it does have objectives and a sort of linear “narrative,” Endless Ocean stresses very early on that you’re not really obligated to do anything in it. In most games when something happens or when a point of interest is found you’re told to advance along the game’s path and “do this,” or “go there.” Endless Ocean simply tells you that you can do so, but always adds “…if you really want to.” This really drives home the fact that Endless Ocean isn’t at all for someone looking for a stimulating game.

You could sort of look at Endless Ocean the same way you’d look at Microsoft Flight Simulator (except not nearly as complex) in that it’s made simply to replicate the feeling of scuba diving in a beautiful marine environment. It is in that replication that Endless Ocean achieves a certain mood and ultimately a driving force.

Manoa Lai is rendered beautifully enough and is varied enough in its environments that you’d want to explore it just for the sake of seeing what’s there. There are some pretty impressive places to be found too, like a giant limestone cave, submerged ruins, a deep trench, and a gigantic drop-off into the Pacific Ocean proper. Its audio presentation skillfully marries the Darth Vader effect of your snorkel with probably the most soothing music this side of Enya (or whatever music you choose to play). The end result is in fact a game that’s meant to be relaxing rather than “fun.”

Endless Ocean is also populated by probably hundreds of different kinds of fish and other sea life that can be petted or photographed in order to gain information about them. Overall, this game seems like something tailor-made for the kind of person who likes to sit down in front of the TV with Blue Planet or Planet Earth on.

Everyone who plays Endless Ocean though will probably find different reasons for playing it. One could simply try to gain the information on every creature in the game, uncover the entire map of Manoa Lai, give diving guides to the game’s characters, or even befriend creatures like dolphins and swim with them.

Bottom Line

Endless Ocean tries to offer perhaps the exact opposite of what the entire rest of the game industry strives to offer – a piece of software that you can simply sit down and relax to while satisfying a certain urge to explore for the sake of exploring. Whether it’s a virtual aquarium or edutainment, Endless Ocean still manages to create a compelling environment that’s worth coming back to.

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