After the positive critical reception for Everblue and Everblue 2 on the PlayStation 2, Arika was signed by Nintendo to develop the idea further, although this time exclusively for Wii. The result was Forever Blue / Endless Ocean, a game that garnered quite a cult following, proving to be a real sleeper hit. Now the development team is back with Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep on Wii, considerably expanded ocean-diving and an in-depth journey of exploration in tow.

At its heart, Endless Ocean: Adventures of the Deep (or Endless Ocean: Blue World as it is known as in the US, ditching the Forever Blue moniker of the first outing) is more of an educational adventure, rather than an out-and-out gaming experience, which is highly refreshing indeed. The videogame side has not been completely removed, however, so there is no fear of alienating the 'core' crowd entirely. Players take control of a rookie diver, eager to learn more about the ocean, with its multitude of hidden treasures and secrets, inclusive of the legend of a mystical melody called the Song of Dragons. Intrigue gets the better of you and university is put on hold as a visit to the Paoul Republic in the South Pacific becomes the order of the day. Finding yourself in the employment of the R&R Diving Service, a small family business, one day there is a strange occurrence as the pendant of the owner's granddaughter, Océane, gives off an odd noise that scares off nearby animals and causes a humpback whale to go crazy...and so the adventure begins.

Océane is a young girl that has become a first-rate diver due to spending the majority of her life at sea with both her father and grandfather. Since her father, Matthieu Rouvier, a French ocean adventurer and Jean-Eric's only child, is no longer around, the renowned former marine adventurer of a grandfather is her sole guardian. Following a particularly bad case of decompression sickness, he set up the R&R Diving Service on Nineball Island and has been relying on Océane to make ends meet. As a result, she has become great at finding small fish and acting as a guide to show people around certain areas of the deep sea, both of which come in very handy as you start to learn the ropes in Adventures of the Deep. Other characters you come across along the way include GG (Gary Gray), an ambitious American salvage diver, and Hayako Sakurai, a brilliant marine biologist from Japan with PhDs in multiple areas such as archaeology and marine veterinary science, despite only being in her early 30s, both of whom lend their talents to your cause during the epic underwater journey.

  

There are six different diving spots to visit around the world. Whilst this may sound limited, each area is brimming with new types of marine life to discover, hidden sections to uncover, plenty of missions that need to be completed, plus a seemingly endless supply of buried items to search for. Developer Arika has really gone to town on packing Adventures of the Deep with as much content as possible to alleviate the concerns gamers had with the first Endless Ocean. Hours can fly by as players gently swim around, identifying new creatures, reading up on the details added to their journals on local areas and species found within, salvaging new treasure that must be evaluated when back on dry land, or even taking the most interesting photos to store on an SD card for sharing with friends later. This is by no means the sort of adventure where its conclusion is reached in one sitting. Instead, it is definitely one where keeping an eye on the clock might be well advised, or else the majority of a day can be lost with ease!

Different areas are unlocked the more you play, with the initial location being Gatama Atoll, a tropical ocean paradise that is wildly adored by divers due to its colourful coral and fish. Soon after you are able to head over to the Ciceros Strait. This is the channel that runs between the outlying islands of the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea where care must be taken to avoid sharks and many sunken wrecks can be found. Other locales around the globe include the North Coast of Canada (in the Arctic Ocean, frozen all year round and home to polar bears and seals), the Weddell Sea (between the Antarctic Peninsula and Coats Land, relatively unknown and a place where new species are still discovered every year), the Cortica River (an Amazon tributary in Brazil, complete with narrow channels and muddy water that reduces visibility), and the Zahhab Region in the Red Sea (off Egypt's east coast, sporting a breathtaking coral reef and lots of whales!).

  

When Endless Ocean 2 was first unveiled, some thought the initial screenshots were up-scaled to look better than they actually were. However, in motion the visuals truly are splendid. The human characters look rather reminiscent of Dreamcast models, but the marine life and underwater surroundings are simply stunning, with a high level of detail throughout. There are plenty of relaxing tunes, augmenting the laid-back atmosphere in general, as well as a few songs, such as The Prayer (which some may recognise from the popular Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli rendition) and Adventures of the Deep's title song, which is an amazingly serene version of an old Irish folk song called Carrickfergus that leaves you with a feeling of floating around in peaceful waters.

Simply reading about what is on offer does not fully convey how immersive the whole experience is. For someone that is not the biggest fan of open-ended games like Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon, falling for Endless Ocean 2 came as a complete shock. Those hoping to zoom around the depths of the sea will be disappointed, as the pace of swimming is extremely laid back, yet the leisurely nature is definitely a huge part of the game's overall charm. As more money is earned, however, new equipment can be purchased, such as new flippers to increase swimming speed slightly, new oxygen tanks to allow for longer periods underwater and special gear to conduct night dives. In order to garner to cash, though, it is necessary to undertake some of the game's extra missions.

Your character is equipped with a Multi-Sensor, which sends out an electro-magnetic wave that detects various material types, helping to source the location of treasures submerged on sea or river beds. Treasures must then go through an appraisal process on shore by an expert and can be sold for profit, be they items ancient treasures or merely peculiar knick-knacks. Looking through your logbook book will also reveal new quests where specific items must be found in certain locations. These quests vary, such as having to deliver a completed map of an area (meaning the whole section needs to be scoured thoroughly), whilst others involve taking photos of certain aquatic creatures, undertaking guided tours for customers intrigued by the watery depths, conducting requested item searches for clients wishing to find lost treasures, or merely providing a recommended diving spot to find certain animals. Money can even be made from healing creatures of the sea...

  

The Pulsar gun that Jean-Eric betroths unto your good self is a special piece of equipment that can not only calm agitated or fierce animals, to avoid unnecessary conflict, but also cure injured or sick creatures. When equipped, you can see different coloured targets over certain species, with the intensity of the colour indicating how sick they are. Simply point at them with the Wii Remote and fire a submarine pulse to cure; the more creatures you aid, the more money in your pocket! On top of this, you can even become an Aquarium Curator, putting your favourite animals on display to attract more and more visitors, which in turn again leads to further 'compensation' heading your way. Any extra money left over from buying new equipment does not go to waste, thankfully, as there is a private reef where new types of coral and underwater plants can be purchased and placed there to create your very own ecosystem, with the your choices having a direct effect on what kinds of fish visit. Your hairstyle and the style/colour of your equipment can also be changed to suit your mood, along with your character's title, several of which you pick up during the adventure. Your chosen status is visible when diving with a friend via Wi-Fi; speaking of which, the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection only allows players to go diving with a friend in Europe, not worldwide, and you can talk to each other using Wii Speak.

Other aspects of the game include dolphin training, where your companion can learn new tricks and sings for treats; feeding and touching creatures of the sea, befriending them to learn more interesting facts; focusing on any of the 300+ species to add entries to your personal journal of information; trying to find all of the species in the first place by diving at different times, seasons and phases of the moon; taking underwater photographs, setting the focus and aperture for impressive results; as well as getting to grips with the numerous tools that facilitate your diving sessions (like an underwater pen that can mark your path, or a sea whistle that lets your call your animal partner, as well as certain other creatures). Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep is a truly moving experience that should be tried by all.

Gameplay

9

Simple and intuitive controls, a wide array of equipment to use and missions to undertake, as well as lots of fun facts to learn along the way.

Graphics

10

Whilst the human characters may look slightly odd, the attention to detail on the marine life and underwater locations is simply superb, making this one of the most attractive Wii games so far.

Sound

9

Beautifully serene instrumental tunes, with the odd relaxing vocal song to add variety, along with a plentiful supply of appropriate sound effects to make it feel like you are indeed submerged in the deep ocean.

Value

9

Obviously there are some restrictions, but Endless Ocean is certainly an apt title for this adventure, and hours can fly by without noticing.

9

/10

C3 Score Arika has taken the core of the first Endless Ocean and developed the idea for Adventures of the Deep so considerably that it has easily become one of the exemplar products on Wii, full stop. Its serene, peaceful nature lulls players into the world, whilst it is the great depth of content within that keeps players gripped for hours at a time. This is certainly an experience that should not be missed out on

More impressions.

I found that at zoom points (previously known as focus mode points) you can not only pan the camera into and out of the screen and left and right, but by using the d-pad left and right you can also zoom in too.

So unlike the first game you aren't in one persistent ocean. So far I've seen two mini-oceans. On the plus side you can explore a larger area without having to stop and rise and then move the boat and dive again.

So far though there has been only one great location, that being Valka castle. I have fond memories of many great locations from the first game, like mermaids cave, marige atoll and more, so it's going to take some doing to beat that.

After playing for several hours last night I can say that there is vastly improved  sealife variation in terms of species. And jeez, the number of fish models they can now display on screen at once has quadrupled which is really a sight to behold.

I have started doing stuff outside the main story, salvaging items, doing guided tours, photo requests. There is tons of stuff here. The log book isn't the easiest thing to use, it's not like the old email system where it tells you if you've read it, tells you if you've done it etc.

So, as for Endless Ocean 1 comparisons, I think I will only be able to appreciate this sequel once I've done the main quest. You see the first game's simplicicty and elegance is what made the artistic, beautiful experience. There were barely any distractions, you had that excellent operatic score.

Here there is just so much to DO. So many tools and items and quests and story and distractions and even Valka castle was designed as a light dungeon, sort of. Also at the start of the game your air tank is very limited until you upgrade so instead of zoning out and exploring, often I've been caught out and run out of air and had to re-surface.

Also unlike the first game you can't just pick your favourite in game track (or SD card track) and have it loop in the background. The game chooses what music it wants to play, when and where. And so it often leaves you in gurgling silence, which is tiresome.

Also, once I was savaged by 5 sharks at once, whoa, you know its a shock since the first game had no danger. I pulsared them one by one and passed them, but then they came back and attacked. Seems the pulsar only has a temporary effect on sharks.

Also I have discovered Deep Hole which seems to be an abyss like area. I have to upgrade my tank before I can check though

A few pics from Hamzik.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=19664445&postcount=318

angrymonkey said:

So I wonder what the co-op missions will be. Take a picture of a diver getting jumped by sharks?

That would be great, action pics.

Oh dolphin super speed swimming is great. In the artic your air supply is sapped very quickly so you have to grab onto your dolphin and swim really fast.

bugsonglass said:

angrymonkey said:

So I wonder what the co-op missions will be. Take a picture of a diver getting jumped by sharks?

are there co-op missions as such?  it may be more fun than the first where you would just dive together, even though that could be funny as well with spraying messages etc

According to the manual you can't do the story missions together and any fishes you find wont be added to your encyclopedia.

bugsonglass said:

gamingeek said:

bugsonglass said:

angrymonkey said:

So I wonder what the co-op missions will be. Take a picture of a diver getting jumped by sharks?

are there co-op missions as such?  it may be more fun than the first where you would just dive together, even though that could be funny as well with spraying messages etc

According to the manual you can't do the story missions together and any fishes you find wont be added to your encyclopedia.

so it's just "aimless" wondering about exactly like the first game?  except with voice chat so we don't lose each other all the time

There's also an on screen indicator to show where your partner is.

I think maybe you can do guide requests and photo missions together.

You like the pics? Moar then!

Hmm, the pics come out more bitty and without some of the lighting effects on screen. If you look at the bottom right of this pic you can see GG in the corner. GET OUT OF MY FACE CRETIN!

The fauna is much improved, outside of zoom/focus mode. Look at these plants

Notice the sponge ones>

Deep hole, otherwise known as Steelattacks ass. GG is looking at a whale.

My dolphin buddy.

Depth of field, or focus in the camera mode is difficult for me to grasp, even with Monkey's advice.

This is GG Real name: Gary Gray.

I would have liked fur shading, Rare were doing it on the gamecube...

I thought this scene was very suggestive. You can go above ground and I found myself in this hidden cove.

At night, Oceane.