Monday 4 May 2015

RETRO REVIEW

By Jacob Lewis-Fell

Ecco The Dolphin

Before PlayStation was a thing and Microsoft stuck to making computer software there was two game console companies to pledge your loyalty to. Nintendo and Sega. Picking which side you were on was a big deal and kids used to argue relentlessly in the playground as to which companies’ consoles were better. Nowadays Nintendo’s classic library of games are well known whilst Sega is less so (with the obvious exception of sonic the hedgehog). As someone who was a Sega fan boy back in the day this is upsetting. So seeing as though I’ve been asked to write a short review I’ve decided to pick one of my favourite games on the Mega Drive, Ecco The Dolphin.

Ecco The Dolphin was a 2D game where you played as a dolphin. Who doesn’t want to play as a dolphin? You could swim around, eat fish, do back flips out of the water and battle sharks. The plot was pure insanity. Basically dolphins have to protect the world from alien invaders. So next time you see a dolphin be sure to thank it for protecting the galactic peace.

It was one of those games that was not only fun to play but also puzzling, sometimes frustrating so. In order to progress the game you had to talk to other dolphins and whales who would give you clues as to what it was you were actually supposed to be doing, usually in the form of some obscure riddle. Trying to work out these riddles sometimes sees you just swimming around hoping to find something to interact with which can soon become tedious.

The game also had you perform some interesting acrobatic stunts in order to gain access to certain areas. This was always one of my favourite parts. The control is so fluid and I like being a dolphin. Again who doesn’t like being a dolphin? So if you fancy some 2D dolphin action then I recommend this game. Personally I’d say buy a mega drive if you haven’t got one already, or you can get the game on Nintendos Virtual console, XBLA and even there’s even a 3DS version out now.



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