Explore, Discover and Enjoy
The gameplay consists of playing the role of a diver and completing leisurely tasks that involve diving and exploring. The Wii controls are very intuitive and work very well for this game. So, does the gameplay seem lacking in some way? No, not really for me because I am the type of gamer that derives pleasure from ambient worlds when they are created well, artistically, in a game, and as well I am a fan of exploring the depths of the ocean through SCUBA diving and learning true facts about many real species of animal life that reside in the ocean. As for those gamers looking to play and conquer for the purpose of progressing through action packed levels, this is not that type of a game and will probably disappoint on that level. However, if you are blessed with the ability to enjoy the zen of embracing ocean life through the use of a decent video game simulation then you have a good chance of actually enjoying this title quite a bit. One thing I will say about this game, to it's credit, is that it wholly promotes a respect for animal life and provides a great deal of real world information on what you'll find in the ocean. So it is an educational game for those interested in this type of information.
The graphics in Endless Ocean vary from being simplistic and jaggy, to being very beautiful and realistic. For the most part the underwater realms of the ocean are very pleasing to the eye and full of aquatic life that is satisfying to look at and interact with. Dolphins, sea lions, penguins, all kinds of fish, lobsters, whales and much more, are all displayed and animated very convincingly and lend to a satisfying sense of exploring a realistic and living ocean environment.
The game does indeed have a story along with many consecutive requests from various people, ranging from Katheryn (your partner on the boat), to various others requesting your services for photography, underwater tour guiding, artifact recovery and more. You can choose to be either male or female and customize your charactor to a small degree. You have the ability to navigate your boat to different locales on the map, check your email for requests and updates, wander the deck to check out various animals camping out on the boat, talk with Katheryn, sit back in a chair on deck and watch the sunset, train your dolphin partners (partners you can decide to take on as you progress through the game) to do tricks and more. Most importantly, you can dive.
If you are the type of gamer that likes to embrace the world around you and revel in it's ambience, then this should be a hit with you.
If you are more inclined to feel you need constant progress by using skills to win your way through a game, then you probably will get bored with this game very quickly.
In opposition to what has been stated in some reviews, it takes much longer than a few hours to see most of what Endless Ocean has to offer. I completed the main story in about 20 hours and still have quite a few areas that have not been explored. You can probably play 30 hours or more without feeling that you are redoing things or that you have seen everything. You could spend over 100 hours and still not have all of the animal life filled in within your encyclopedia.
All in all, this is an above average SCUBA experience that wanders away from traditional gameplay in favor of promoting the exploring aspects of the real life experience and emphasizing the rewarding parts into an easygoing RPG structure.