Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep (Wii) Review

The first Endless Ocean game was a nice surprise when it was released back in early 2008 (here in Australia). It came from nowhere and was a quaint and relaxing title that anyone could enjoy and play, but it did have a few problems. Now, three years later, Arika and Nintendo have given this new franchise another shot and improved and expanded on the first game in all the right places.

Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep does have a story and it’s one that helps the game be more focused this time around. While you’ll still be able to explore at your own pace and relax, the game’s story does provide a direction to lead you and the game is actually a lot better for it.

The story for Endless Ocean 2 isn’t anything outstanding but it works well in forcing the game forward. You play the role of a rookie scuba diver who has just joined the R&R Diving Service. The company is owned by an old guy who can’t dive any more and his 15-year-old daughter. It doesn’t take long for you to go from a rookie to an awesome scuba expert as you try to uncover the mystery of the Song of the Dragons. This time around, you’ll be diving in a ton of real world locations to solve the mystery. While you start out in an all-too-familiar tropic environment, you’ll soon be jetting to South America (in a river no less), the Arctic and Antarctic. The levels are all varied with landmarks and lots of other sights to explore, including the abundant aquatic flora and fauna. The whole story progresses using on-screen text during in-game cutscenes, without voice acting. Although it would have been great to have some voice acting in the game to give it more life, but it works without it.

Exploring the world under the water is, thankfully, much better this time around thanks to several key additions to the overall gameplay mechanics. Endless Ocean 2, like the first, has a whole ton of water life to meet. Finding out about them in this new outing is a lot easier, as all it requires is you to focus on the animal or fish and all the information is available from the outset. This is so much better than having to pet every damn thing in the ocean. The other additions are the inclusion of two new tools in the game. The first is the passive-aggressive Pulsar gun that allows you to not only heal sick animals (one of the many deviations from the first game), but to also repel mean and nasty animals from attacking. The Pulsar has 5 shots to start with but you can upgrade it later on in the game. Once the five shots have healed or subdued the sea life, the energy for the gun regenerates. Healing an animal is marked by a scaled, coloured marker noting how many shots the animal needs and the screen will also put up a warning. No need to zap those poor fish if they don’t need it. The only issue with the Pulsar gun and the creatures that require subduing is that, since you’re underwater, they can come from any direction and there is no indication as to where they are coming from. The slow turning speed of your diving also doesn’t help; luckily all you will lose is some air from your tanks. No Jaw’s blood in the water here. The other main tool in the game is the Multi Sensor which detects treasure and goodies laying on the bottom of the ocean. The sensor, which sweeps out across the ocean, is also used in a couple of puzzles in the game where you need to differentiate between different materials which the sensor can pick up on. Most of the items you’ll find you won’t be able to pick up on the first play-through, as they won’t fit in your bag. The bag can be upgraded or you can bring along a friend (in-game) that has a bigger one.

This brings us to another cool feature in the game – the ability to choose who is your diving partner. While you’ll start out with just the one, you’ll be able to choose who you take and each partner provides a different type of assistance, such as the larger bag or knowing where certain species of fish are. There are also dolphin partners you can befriend and take along with to swim much faster and get around easier and in tougher conditions. You can also explore above the surface of the water this time which is a great addition. Not only can you just pop your head above the surface to have a peek (instead of just hitting the top like it’s an invisible wall), but in some instances you can leave the water and explore. The best case of this in the Arctic where you must find a hole in the ice to pop out of and go on a trip to observe a polar bear. Unfortunately, the above-ground controls are pretty terrible. Unlike a usual third person game you don’t move your person in the traditional way, instead, you just press the A-button to move them forward and use the Wii Remote pointer to point them in the direction you want to go. If you’re using the Classic Controller, it’s the same deal, but you’re using the Stick to move either left or right while the button simply turns ’forward’ on or off. The animation of the characters and their movement is also a lot stiffer. However, the controls underwater are great, with the Wii Remote controls actually proving to be quite good. The Pointer has a ’delay’ on it, as if it was underwater which slows the turning speed down but has an inertia with it. Moving underwater isn’t quick. Classic Controller support works well underwater too but, as above, it’s basically the Wii Remote controls shoehorned onto the Classic with the Stick replacing the pointer for all but turning.

The hub island is where you will be spending the majority of your time out of the water. Nineball Island acts as your boat did in the first game as the gateway to all the different modes and features of the game. You can depart to wherever you would like with the boat, open the gate and allow a friend to join over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, change gear, and check up on your stats on a table. The table has all the stats you will ever need to have, but it also has a lot more including a log of all the things to collect in the game as well as all the information on the sea life you have seen so far. You can also call Nancy who will appraise (for a fee) all the junk and treasure you dig up on your travels, and she can give your character a pretty mean haircut. Currency in the game is earned by completing side missions involving taking photos of requested animals or taking clients on tours to check out whatever it is that tickles their fancy. The more you explore the world, as well, also nets you more money. As if you needed any thing more to collect and do in the game there is also your own private reef which is unlocked half way through the game. You can dress this reef up however you like by planting trees and plants in it. Itll be empty when you get it buy by purchasing different things to grow and place in there itll attract all different kinds of sea life.

There is also the ability to take photos in the game which you can now export to an SD card – take a look at some of our happy snaps below.

Speaking of SD-card support, the game does not have support for custom soundtracks like the first. “Boo hiss”, we know, but the game’s soundtrack is better this time, with (licensed) music only used where appropriate for climactic moments in the game and for simple and relaxing tunes everywhere else. I wish there were more tracks in the game, however, as by the end of it I had heard everything at least twice.

The game’s story took us about 10 hours to get through, and while that may seem short, the story is basically only half the game (there’s a second goal too once you finish the story). In addition to the game, there are a whole bunch of different things to collect. Things which require salvage, gold coins hidden on every level which need to be found, as well as building up your catalogue of sea life. This catalogue isn’t just stored as a book either – you can place any of the creatures you have met (by focusing on them) into your own virtual aquarium. There’s a huge tank to put whatever you like in it, and also an exhibit for putting polar bears, penguins and other land-faring animals (including birds). The small creatures of the ocean are not forgotten, though, as there is a small exhibit with small tanks also in the aquarium. Apart from the tanks, the aquarium is empty most of the time which is kind of a bummer.

There are heaps of unlockables in the game, including better-looking and better-working equipment, which allow you to stay underwater for longer and dive deeper. Probably the best thing that’ll keep you coming back is a quasi trophy/achievement system which the game dubs ’Titles’. A whole bunch of these Titles will be unlocked as you play through the game, but others will need to be earned by collecting items and doing tasks for people (in certain time limits as well). There are 150 Titles to get, so you’ll be playing for a while if you want to get them all. That being said, all of these are optional tasks and you’re never forced into any of them if you don’t want to be.

The game’s graphics improve on the first’s but not by much. It’s more so the little things, like better-lighted and overall better-looking models for both animals and humans, but it’s also the interface which has been streamlined. The HUD, too, has also been improved. As I mentioned before, the above-ground environment doesn’t look as impressive as below; however, as you’ll be spending most of your time below the water, this is isn’t a big problem. Plus, above ground, there isn’t a whole lot of animal life and whales floating around. Nevertheless, there are definitely a few moments in the game when you will say ’wow’.

The game also has an online mode over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, and it’s compatible with Wii Speak. However, since no one else has the game yet, we haven’t been able to test it.

Graphics 8.5

Improved on the first but only marginally; small details benefit the most. Several moments will leave you in awe, the scale of the game is quite impressive as well. New locations like the Arctic and rivers bring new life to the game.

Gameplay 8.0

Wii Remote controls are surprisingly good; Classic Controller support isnt as good as you would think. Slow turning speed does result in some frustration when attacked underwater. Entire game is more focused and better for it but allows for more exploration if you want it.

Sound 6.5

Soundtrack is short on tracks, but tunes that do play provide atmosphere to the game. No voice acting is a let down and there is no SD-card support.

Tilt 9.5

The story is about 10 hours long but you could easily spend twice that much collecting everything there is in the game. Online multiplayer is also available with Wii Speak.

Value 8.5

Had a lot of fun with this adventure and took a couple of weekends to complete it. As a busy person, the story kept me playing long enough but if you have more time, the game will reward you even more.