Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future (Dreamcast, 2000)

First off, the graphics in this game, especially considering the hardware that it's being run off of, are quite nice. Advanced lighting effects, realistic sea-life animations, and decent draw-distance will immediately suprise any gamer who knows how old this game is.
The game itself plays well, and being able to manuever Ecco through the ocean with tight controls is suprisingly fun. Jumping out of water to get air while flipping all over the place never seems to get old.
The gameplay, and the progression of the game however, especially in this day, tend to hold the game back. It's fun exploring and collecting new powers, but the structure of the game is still level-based, meaning the player is forced to complete levels in a linear fashion. This combined with the extreme difficulty make a game that can be frustrating and time-consuming to play, and oftentimes not worth the while. A good walkthrough can remedy the situation however.
The music is top-notch, as are all the audio/visual elements. If the game allowed more true freedom in player decision making and direction, it would be a milestone. As is, it's a hint at the possibilities soon to be provided by open-ended games such as GTA III.

Hi,
I would like to share with You the nice experience with Ecco (Defender of the Future) for Sega Dreamcast, its an old game, on a old console, but the result its smooth, relaxing, sometimes impressive a masterpiece beautifully elaborated for all ages, the colors and submarine action rivals todays ps3 and xboxes 360, without saturating your eyesight, its cute by same way its a japanese garden maybe, it has just the enough and lacks of nothing.
Enjoy!

ps. the music its also great!