Hell yeah I wanna level up my dolphin!

While I've been suffering from the cold that is doing the rounds in these parts I've also been playing on the second incarnation of Endless Ocean from Arika. The first game had a very low key release two years ago but quickly gained a positive reputation among fans of swim 'em ups. The simple yet effective control system returns for this second outing but instead of another almost plot-free environment this time there is a much greater sense of involvement and theatre as you chase around the globe trying to solve the mystery behind the Song of Dragons.

The improvements over the original release are many. The graphics are slightly more polished, the variety of diving locations has increased, the partners you find along the way to dive with are greater in number (and you no longer have to decide which animal partner to keep if you befriend another), the underwater communication when diving with a friend is vastly superior, the list is a long one.

Unlike the first instalment of the series, which was much more free roaming, the single player game has many different tasks for you to complete to unlock new features, more tasks, and rewards. One of them is to meet, befriend, and then train nearly a dozen dolphins.



There are a wide range of animals for you to see on your journey. As well as the dolphins there are sharks, whales, rays, sea cucumbers, starfish, seals, penguins, crabs, and unsurprisingly a wide variety of fish. The marine encyclopaedia which stores all of the information on the species you see runs to 81 pages. I'm off to find the last few elusive coral reef dwellers so that I can complete that task and gain a new title.

A new title? Oh yes. There are 155 titles by which you can choose to be known in the game. Each one is awarded for completing an achievement. Some achievements like, for example, diving at night are easier to complete than others such as swim 1000km. When you reach 60,90,120 and 150 titles you unlock a special gift. So far I've received the first three of them and they are quite nice additions to my underwater attire .. .. ..