Twitch:
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved Ecco the Dolphin. I never missed the television
show and the theme song has always stuck in my head:

They
call him Ecco, Ecco, faster than lightning. No one you see, is smarter than he …

Spaz:
That’s Flipper, dude.

Twitch: Hey thanks, you usually make fun
of my singing.

Spaz: No, dude, Flipper the Dolphin was on TV, not
Ecco. Ecco the Dolphin is a Sega Dreamcast game.

Twitch:
Uh, yeah, I knew that.

Spaz: Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of
the Future is a continuation of a series that began on the Sega Genesis. Anyone
looking for a nonviolent game of exploration and puzzle-solving need look no further.
This is easily the most beautiful 3D game I have ever seen and would be a welcome
port to computer.

Twitch: The story is a little lame, but really,
what kind of plot can you have in a game starring a dolphin? Humans and dolphins
had lived in harmony for 500 years when a race known as the Foe decides to attack
Earth. Ecco must now save not only his world, but a nightmare world where man
is in control, another where evil dolphins are in command, and a universe controlled
by the Foe. Streams of time allow Ecco to pursue his time-jumping enemy.

Spaz:
Communication is sonar-based and, likewise, enemies can be attacked by butting
them with your nose. During the course of the game, Ecco must learn skills, collect
life, and fulfill objectives that are provided by diamond-like Information Shards
scattered throughout the various levels. If there is a downside, it is that the
information provided by the Shards is very cryptic and your objectives become
increasingly obscure. This is not a game for players who demand instant gratification
since you can swim for hours without a clear goal. Levels are enormous and it
is easy to get lost and, ultimately, frustrated.

Twitch: Visually,
Ecco is the best-looking game ever to appear on the Dreamcast. If graphics
can be said to be tranquil and serene, then this game is an aquatic Norman Rockwell.
Seaweed bobs lazily in the currents, multi-colored coral reefs sparkle, and sunshine
glitters on the ocean surface. In fact, the graphics are so enchanting that you
often find yourself swimming about lazily, heedless of your mission.

Spaz:
Ecco is a breeze to control, and once you learn to swoop and dive, you will
have him leaping skyward just to watch him execute a flip and splash effortlessly
back into the ocean. Again, though, while this is fun to do, you find yourself
doing it too often as you attempt to alleviate the boredom from being lost.

Twitch:
There’s really not much more that can be said about Ecco. The sounds
of the oceanic creatures are as well-done as the graphics, and the soundtrack
is a light, lilting accompaniment that blends into the background much like elevator
music. Lovely to look at, sometimes tedious to play, Ecco the Dolphin is
truly a game for patient adventurers.

Spaz:
Next on today’s agenda, we’re going to talk about Seaman.

Twitch:
Dude! Where are you going with this? This is a family site!

Spaz:
Whatever are you babbling about?

Twitch: There’s a time and a
place for everything, and I don’t think Randy would appreciate it if we got potty-mouthed
and turned Just Adventure into a porn site!

Spaz: Come again?

Twitch:
Semen, dude! The staff of life.

Spaz: You idiot! I’m talking
about SEA-MAN, the Sega Dreamcast game.

Twitch: Uh, yeah, I knew
that.

Spaz: Seaman is without a doubt the strangest game ever
released in the United States. In fact, it is not so much of a game as it is a
pet sim.

Twitch: Seaman is half man, half fish and is easily the
creepiest-looking character in gaming history. His big, ugly head could cause
younger children to have nightmares. Even more chilling is when this goofy-looking
creature talks to you.

Spaz: That’s right, the Seaman will speak
to you and you can answer back thanks to the wonders of voice-recognition technology.
Seaman comes with a microphone that plugs into your Dreamcast controller.
You can ask it any question you like and while at first most of the answers will
be nonsensical, as the Seaman’s vocabulary and voice recognition increase so does
his understanding.

Twitch: He called me an idiot.

Spaz:
Apparently he got to know you quite well.

Seaman begins in an
empty, murky fish tank. Once you turn on the tank’s light and fill the water with
air, you are able to distinguish the water level, aquarium rocks, and so on. You
even have control of the environment; you can alter the oxygen level, the lighting,
and the water temperature. Once you drop the Seaman egg into the tank, it is just
a matter of waiting for it to hatch. Seaman starts life as a Mushroomer but soon
hatches into a little Gillman. At this point, you can begin to teach your Seaman
rudimentary words and he will often attempt to repeat what you have said, much
like a baby.

Twitch: If you take care of your Seaman by talking to
and feeding him on schedule, then he will usually be good-natured. But if you
forget to feed him or make the water too cold, then he will become rude and condescending.
Plus if you don’t spend at least 10 minutes per day caring for your Seaman, expect
to find him floating belly-up when you return.

Spaz: That was sad
when our Seaman died.

Twitch: Yeah, but I couldn’t hear the eulogy
over the noise from the flushing toilet.

Spaz: Probably the sickest
feature of this game is watching the Seaman mating process. I felt like I had
walked in on my parents. Once a Seaman evolves into a Podfish—a fish with
arms and legs—it will mate and later lay eggs that will spawn a new generation
of Seamen.

The entire process—from birth to death—takes about
45 days. This is not a game so much as it is a science project.

Twitch:
If you can’t get a date on a Saturday night, then Seaman might be the one
for you. He will discuss religion, sex, your horoscope, and a host of other intellectual
subjects.

Spaz: Hey, it could’ve been worse. That could have been
Randy’s face on Seaman.

Twitch and Spaz: Aaargh!

Final Grade—Ecco
the Dolphin: B-
Final Grade—Seaman: C