Adv: Deep Sea Adventures [by Zaphire]

Game Review: Deep Sea Adventures
Release: August 8, 2004
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Zaphire Soft
System Requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, DirectX 7+, 233Mhz computer, 16 MB RAM
Players: 1
Price: $16.95
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Despite the fact that there are underwater levels on nearly every platform adventure other than Ecco the Dolphin there have been very few platform games devoted to playing underwater.  In my mind that is really a shame in many ways as the underwater world provides so many possible backdrops for beauty, intrigue and a taste of the bizarre.  Deep Sea Adventures attempts to capitalize on this fact with their entry into the group and it does a fairly good job at providing a taste of what the underwater world provides.

In Deep Sea Adventures you control a daring fish who is going after a shark to retrieve the stolen family treasure.  Now just to get this out of the way at the beginning your character is called 'Fishy' and if you think that lacks a little originality and flair then you will also be disappointed by the appearance of our hero.  Being a fish you might expect the main character to have some beautiful colors and to swim through the water with the greatest of ease.  On both of those points you would be right on here, the only issue is that for whatever reason the fish is clearly the least attractive of all the characters in the game.  I don't think I ran into a single enemy that I didn't think looked cooler.  Honestly I think we should have been the crab because the crab kicks butt!

So having that gotten out of the way lets get into the game.  Deep Sea Adventures offers up 50 levels of game play broken into 5 sections of 10.  Each of the sections is themed after a specific theme, from ruins to coral reefs to a shipwreck.  The backgrounds are well-done and show off some of the great artistry behind the graphics.

Within each of the sections there are actually 5 types of levels that you will play through.  The most common are more typical boards where you must move about trying to find a specified number of treasure chests in order to be able to move onto the next level.  In order to maximize your points on the level you should attempt to collect all the rubies, emeralds and diamonds that are to be found scattered about.

Of course gathering things isn't quite as easy as you might think it would be.  There are enemies all about, some who simply move in patterns and others who immediately become attuned to your presence and rush in for a fishy dinner.  The other four types of levels that you play include coin collection boards where you try to get the coins that drop from a dolphin while moving up, speed levels where you ride a Manta Ray and try to get everything you can while speeding along to the right, Shark chase boards where you go every just about every direction as quickly as possible to avoid becoming shark bait and then the classic end boss levels.

As you progress through the levels you also unlock mini-games that are available through the main start menu.  For the most part they are just simple games that don't offer much, but at least a couple, including the somewhat humorous Dance Dance Fishy are fun for a play or two.

While collecting treasure items through the levels you earn coins which can be used at a shop to buy things such as slow down and unlimited bubbles.  Now ordinarily bubbles might not be such a great thing, but in the game, you blow bubbles towards your enemies to catch them.  You don't at any time kill any of your enemies, its more of a catch and release program...well except for the end bosses, you do take them out in a variety of interesting ways.

Overall Deep Sea Adventures offers a lot of different game play opportunities and a couple of great moments that you won't even realize you are missing unless you move beyond the demo and get the full version.  It's not the most amazing platform game of the year, but it does offer some fun.

Graphics: 8/10
The graphics are such a mixed bag it is hard to say how good they are.  At times they are absolutely splendid with colors and detail that will make you quite pleased with the pre-rendered models and the effects on things like the jellyfish and the electric eels are pretty cool.  Then there are those few other times like the aforementioned issue with the main character of the game that really make you scratch you head.  Overall I think things came together quite nicely, creating an attractive game and a bit more polish would have made it a brilliantly good-looking game.

Sound: 8/10
The sound tracks to some degree sound like something you'd expect to find in a kid's game but they fit the overall mood of the game quite nicely.  I was playing through them all again while writing this review and felt a certain bit of nostalgia listening to them while flipping through the screenshots that I made, which is a good thing!

Game Play: 7/10
Deep Sea Adventures is really easy to pick up and play.  In fact you would likely say it is too easy.  As far as the game play goes I felt right at home the moment I started playing, but lets back up just a little.  To start playing I first began with my mouse and realized that there was no mouse support, which was disappointing, but really had low impact on the game.  The second issue I ran into was a lack of joystick support.  For a platform adventure game I really think that joystick support is a must hence the knock here.  On the positive side you can change the configuration of the buttons which was another nice piece since the space bar was the fire button and the arrows were the move buttons, which can be a difficult configuration for us right-handers.

Concept 7/10
The game plays a lot like other platform games only mostly underwater.  Since the days of Super Mario Bros. most have come to expect side-scrolling adventure games to offer lots of hidden levels and items.  Instead Deep Sea Adventures offers a variety of different types of levels.  It is an interesting trade-off that provides some fun level types but in the end I think will leave most gamers wanting for more.

Value 6/10
When I first downloaded Deep Sea Adventures I immediately began playing the game, and since I didn't have anything going on I kept playing.  There are a total of 50 levels in the game, most of them quite well thought out with the occasional puzzle, but for the most part I rarely died or felt overly challenged and after about an hour and a half I was done.  The game does save your progress throughout and you are able to see which levels you didn't complete 100% of the way (meaning that you didn't get all of the precious stones available) so that you can go back and play them, but due to how easy I felt most of the levels where I didn't feel the desire to go back.  A nice secondary addition to the game is the 4 mini-games that do provide a couple of interesting things to play beyond the normal game.  On the other side of the coin this is DEFINITELY a game you'll want to have your kids play.  For the 6-15 bracket I think the game will provide many enjoyable hours.  Now saying that don't think that there is no enjoyment for adults, again I had a lot of fun, my only complain was that it might have been a little too easy for me.

Fun 8/10
There is a lot of variety here and some classic moments, the greatest of which has to be going plunger to sword in a fencing duel with a swordfish.  Honestly that one was worth the price of admission all by itself and there are plenty of other places where the game really shines providing a fun romp through the ocean.

Overall 7/10
With the fun graphics and entertaining music tracks Deep Sea Adventures offers many great sites and sounds as you work your way through the ocean.  There are many different game types to keep things interesting and some mini-games that provide a bit more bang for your buck.  Deep Sea Adventures is a solid adventure game with a different setting that will provide some adventure fans their fix for the month.Added: August 28th 2004
Reviewer: Russell Carroll
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