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Sea Life Safari
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We take a trip under the sea to find out just how fun photographing sea life can be.

Earlier this month, it was reported that certain Xbox Live Arcade titles would become delisted from the service if they didn’t meet certain expectations. Sadly, I can confidently say that Sea Life Safari will most likely become one of those delisted titles.

The basic idea of Sea Life Safari is that you are an aspiring photographer hired by a marine biologist to take photos of the creatures dwelling under the sea. You are awarded points based on the quality of your photos; the more detail you get of a creature the better your score will be and of course the better chance you have at obtaining the coveted achievements. Bettering the quality of your photos requires you to throw objects at the sea life, something I’m sure is frowned upon in real life, once you have their attention they will pose in Disney fashion for you.

Cleary this fish had no idea starring in Little Nemo would lead to this kind of paparazzi.

The thing to remember about this game is that it is indeed a game for the little ones. There are no realistic properties nor the sense of danger that would usually accompany a dive into shark infested territories. The aquatic inhabitants are rendered in that Little Nemo manner that will definitely appeal to the children, but the habitats themselves (five in total) feel cheaply done with the visual emphasis clearly being placed on the creatures.

What really brings this game down is the lack of anything to do other than take photos. Progression through the deep is all on rails making the only movement in the player’s control being their camera. There is no multiplayer aspect, not even photo sharing or a friendly photo competition. In fact the only competition comes in the form of leaderboards, which is sadly not enough especially when the gameplay is as broken as it is. There are times when certain animals won’t appear due to the time of day, but there is no real way to determine what “time of day” the animal will appear since the game apparently doesn’t use your system clock. Taking pictures is also sometimes inaccurate with the image you thought you snapped not being what you get.

Highs
Creatures are nicely rendered; Enough of a game to just gather the family and play.

Lows
Broken gameplay; Worlds poorly rendered; No multiplayer aspects; Not worth the price.

Final Verdict
Paying 800 points for this game nets you a pretty dry experience. However, as a game geared toward the Little Nemo fan crowds, I’m sure this will be a perfectly acceptable family gaming experience. But wait for a price cut at least.

55%

Jun 25, 2008

Review by Kris Rosado.