The Dreamcast's power is exploited to beautiful new extremes in this game. The underwater environments are filled with shimmering rocks, colorful plants, and outcroppings of coral. Families of turtles slip through the water in a stately line, while schools of fish dance in circles and translucent jellyfish sit suspended in the depths. The most amazing creatures by far are the dolphins--including Ecco--as they are rendered in perfect detail and benefit from incredibly fluid animation. This is one beautiful game, and the serene soundtrack adds to the overall atmosphere.

Unfortunately, the gameplay is about as shallow as the ocean is deep. There are many missions to complete, from dolphin races to killing teams of sharks, but there are so few controls that nearly all assignments are completed in the same way. Tasks become much harder as the game progresses, and the lack of direction given to players players needlessly adds to the difficulty. We wasted countless hours of trial and error trying to figure out what we were supposed to do--time that would have been saved had the mission objectives been clearer. Still, Ecco the Dolphin is an engaging way to waste time, thanks to its open environments and hypnotic beauty. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Absolutely beautiful environments
• Fluid animation

Cons:

• No way to save games in the middle of a level
• Repetitive gameplay
• The game slows when there are many objects onscreen at once