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Review: Sea Life Safari

Jun. 22 4:47 PM by Terry Terrones

In a break from the traditional shoot'em up fare on Xbox Live Arcade comes the recently released Sea Life Safari. No laser blasts and explosions here, the only thing you'll be shooting are the more than 60 different types of sea creatures you'll see while floating around with your underwater camera. This is too bad, because a rocket launcher or some hand grenades sure would be a nice way to shake up this boring title.

  • The gameplay in Sea Life Safari is simple. Gamers float along on a pre-determined path and take pictures Jacque Cousteau-style. Pics are graded on how well your subject is centered, making sure your target is facing the camera, and getting a nice close up. Your grade goes up if you have an action shot. How do you get one? By throwing random objects at the sea creatures to tick them off, a technique Annie Leibovitz has been using for years.

    While floating around the five different environments is relaxing it quickly turns dull because there's nothing else to do besides snap photos. You never actually learn anything about your subjects and the grades earned on pics is completely subjective. The pre-set path prevents any exploring and since you won't catch everything you need on your first run through, gamers are forced to play through the same five levels ad nauseum with no way to speed up or slow down the pace. The subpar graphics and occasionally laggy play add insult to injury.

    Sea Life Safari might appeal to young kids who love Finding Nemo and adults who like to torture fish by hitting them with flares but for everyone else this game will be a snoozefest.

    Pros: Nice change of pace from normal XBLA offerings

    Cons: Only 5 levels, forced repetition gets old quick

    Fun Factor: 2.0 Graphics: 3.0 Sound: 2.25 Controls: 2.0

    The Info: Platform: XBLA, Publisher: Sierra Online, Developer: Wild Tangent, ESRB: E, Players: One, Price: 800 MS Points ($10)

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