Endless Doesn't Mean Mindless
While I enjoy a good gamer's game, I am a working adult. Sometimes I need a come down from the shooting and mauling games, because I have enough frustration at work. Endless Ocean: Blue World meets those needs. The game is fairly free flowing. There are missions and timed goals, but you can simply choose to go float in the ocean and look around. Like I said, I enjoy a break from the destruction and such that most games offer. This is a completely relaxing game... for the most part. The "otherwise" is that there is a sense of urgency in certain spots. If you head too far into the abyss on one stage, you get annoying warning signal. If a shark sees you, dude, you better swim for your life. Of course the shark only hits you with his tail. Nothing, other than you staying down too long seems drastic enough to make you feel exhausted after this game. That is why I like it.
The scenery is decent, exceptionally so for the Wii. I scuba dive in the real world and this is about as close as I have ever seen a game reach the visual aspect. There are plenty of extras and collectables to keep you playing. As well, there are secret animals to discover. You can also take people on guided tours, take photos for magazines, and build a reef. There's plenty of nonpressure, totally realxing, entertaining things to do.
There are only a few complaints about this game. The controls can sometimes become wanky. If you move the cursor just too much, you may go deeper than you wanted. But It's not major. The collection and picture missions are not always clear. This can be a pain when you turn in a picture of a spotted seal and get a letter back saying, "Eh, it wasn't what we wanted." You said you wanted a picture of a spotted seal and I sent it. What's wrong? Also, the guided tours can be trouble because the idiot tourists have to stay near by or they get lost... but that's okay beacause they hardly stray. The only other thing is Blue World sometimes preaches too much on environmentalism. I understand the importance, but when I'm looking at a shark bearing down on me, I don't want to hear about how its species has almost been wiped out. I want keep it from wiping me out. (*Note: You do have a pulsar gun for most of the game that both heals fish and drives away sharks. A fairly fun and interesting concept.)
Over all, I say this game is an excellent one. Maybe it's not up the alley of GB's target audience, but it's fun. The story is well developed. The scenery is excelent. The characters are good. The expansiveness and ability to explore is great. The enticement for completionists is good. There are even moments I have been on edge, not sure what was around a rock or not wanting to go into the depths. The only real wish I have for this game is a spear gun. What can I say? Sometimes you just want to kill sharks.
