Review: ‘Endless Ocean’ Eases Wii Newcomers into Casual Gaming

Ever see those screensavers with the tropical fish slowly bubbling back and forth in a bright blue ocean? Wish you could just dive right in that virtual aquatic world?

Your days of wistfully staring at your monitor while making blub- blub sounds are over — "Endless Ocean" satiates your desire, letting you live out those lolling, drifting daydreams, not with scuba gear but with a Wiimote.

Nintendo meant it when it said it was going after the untapped "casual gamer" market. But this game isn’t just casual; it’s downright laid-back.

The premise: You’re a scuba diver in a fictional tropical paradise. Do as you please.

Seriously, that’s it. No man-eating sharks, no underwater dystopian mutants, no Mario-world Bloopers doggedly trailing you.

And the missions? As your nerdy-but-cute marine biologist boatmate explains, you can fill requests if you like, but you don’t have to.

These requests typically come from the Marianas Foundation, the sponsor of this charmed "research" job of yours, and they’re usually along the lines of "visit this place" or "give this V.I.P. a tour." And you don’t really have to try hard for everything to go swimmingly.

The soothing and serene underwater world bedazzled with stunning light effects teems with marine life, from whales to seahorses, and provides not only coral forests and stunning caverns to explore, but the wreckage of World War II planes and pirate ships, too.

The graphics above sea level leave a little to be desired, especially the animatronic-looking people. It’s actually kind of humorous, though. And with the option to lounge on the boat deck and gaze at the view — I told you this was a laid-back game — you’d think the ocean’s waves wouldn’t look so … tweaky.

But never mind that; you’re supposed to be frolicking under the sea, "Little Mermaid" style, petting and feeding the fishes, finding treasure, taking photos, learning about the life aquatic. You can even train a dolphin to do tricks and be your diving partner.

The idea of petting fish might seem a little strange at first, but they really seem to like it. Plus, that’s how you learn about their species.

The controls are so very, very simple, obviously designed for the new-to-gaming crowd by utilizing only the Wiimote. Point in the direction you want to turn, press the B trigger to swim and the A to interact. The point-and-swim method, though, gets a little clumsy. As soon as your pointer leaves the screen, your diver seems to get confused. The nunchuk’s analog stick would have been a good fix, but I can understand forgoing the extra controller so as to not overwhelm the casual crowd.

And to ease noobs into the world of Wi-Fi, "Endless Ocean" offers two-player online play that lets you and a friend explore together. Even the chat function is simple, with preset phrases like "Follow me" or "Look at that."

There are just a few disappointments. The character customization comes up woefully short, with the only options being two hairstyles, three skin tones and gender. Fortunately, you can pick up more customization options during gameplay.

Another letdown is the lack of flow from one area of the map to another. If you happen to be following a dolphin and you enter another section of the ocean, the game cuts to an intro screen. Poof! No more dolphin.

And I don’t appreciate when boatmate Kate says, "I could never hold down an office job" as she relaxes stress-free amid a tropical paradise. Just mock my fluorescent-lit lifestyle, why don’t you? Sigh.

"Endless Ocean" is pure sim, as slow-paced as the senior center rec room. No pulse-racing action here — it’s sort of like wearing floaties in the gamer pool.

Those who prefer getting more action than just a petting session with penguins should keep to more turbulent waters, like "BioShock." But "Endless Ocean" does deliver what it promises: Dive, discover, dream.