As you sit with your mouth open, watching the graphically stunning introduction sequence in amazement, the beginning of an epic science-fiction story unfolds.

Hundreds of years into our future, dolphins have revealed their intelligence to mankind and the two races have united, traveling together throughout the galaxy, bringing peace and harmony wherever they go (something I don't think mankind could ever manage on its own!) But in doing so, they thwarted the goals of a mysterious alien race known only as the Foe, a race whose only desire is the conquest and enslavement of all races unlike its own. In an attempt to destroy dolphin and mankind forever, they send an invasion fleet to Earth, planning to travel back in time and change history so that men and dolphin are never united. Only a few dolphins remained on Earth to look after the giant crystal Guardian that was left to ensure Earth's protection. However, the Foe finds a weakness in the force shield and the Guardian is shattered, its parts being scattered. At this time lived a young dolphin whose destiny it was to restore the Guardian and bring peace to Earth again. And his name, was Ecco.

There are fantastic movie sequences like this all throughout the game that are narrated by the very charismatic Tom Baker. When the real game begins you can hardly believe it, you think you're still watching the movie. The graphics are absolutely astonishing, they are so realistic - the movement of the waves and water, the way the schools of fish flick and flash around, the floating sea-turtles and the sharks circling and when Ecco dives high into the air, somersaulting against the gorgeous, colourful sky, you could swear that he was a real dolphin. The scenery as well is beautifully created; the rocks and pools, the sea bed, the aquatic plants and creatures all look totally realistic. The sounds are fantastic too, the dolphin and whale song must be samples of the real thing and the swoosh, trickle and rush of the water, the growl of a shark and the sound of Ecco's sonar all create a complete experience.

Ecco himself is very versatile and has a range of moves including high speed swimming, barrel rolls, flips and turns, jumping and somersaults. The controls are excellent, they are so responsive and intuitive that you almost begin to think you're a dolphin! At the start Ecco's only abilities are to use his sonar to speak to the other dolphins or display a map of the nearby area and to attack by charging into things with his nose. But as the game progresses he learns a number of talents including how to control various sea creatures and a number of special powers. These include a super-sonar that can shatter cracked rocks and super-strength, amongst others, but these are granted by collecting glyphs and are available temporarily and only in certain places. There are also vitalits to collect, mini crystals that increase Ecco's total energy bar and his capacity to hold his breath underwater. His energy is replenished by eating fish (but watch out for the poisonous ones!) and underwater sources of air can often be found when the surface is far away.

After you've spent some time getting used the controls, performing stunts and chatting to the nearby dolphins, you meet a mother and baby great blue whale. Your first mission is to find the baby whale when it goes missing, but after this you head into less friendly waters. One of the things about Ecco is that the enemies are quite stealthy and vicious, they will make you jump throughout the game. There you are, minding your own business, swimming happily along, then all of a sudden a shark hits you without warning! It's worse than Jaws for jumps! As you get further into the game you come across an enormous range of aquatic foes, some of which are of mythic proportions, including hammerhead sharks, a great white, an octopus, stingrays, giant eels and that's just for starters.

The gameplay is thoroughly enjoyable and very challenging, each level is pretty large and you are presented with a number of puzzles to solve and tasks to complete, such as rescuing someone or finding an artifact that will give you access to another area. The variety and difficulty of the puzzles is pitched just right, so it takes you a little while to figure them out, but you rarely find yourself totally stuck with no hope of figuring out what to do next. As you get further into the game, the levels require more and more skill and cunning to get to the end. Do not be fooled by Ecco's friendly exterior, this is one of the toughest and largest games I have ever played. There are far more levels than you might think and it never gets repetitive because the story is so strong and the scenery and locations constantly change. You will be taken to faraway places that you can't even begin to imagine - strange, exotic, wonderful and terrible places! All of this is accompanied by an evocative and brilliant musical score, the style changing to suit the levels - relaxing at first, then eerie, then exciting and tense.

Ecco the Dolphin is without doubt the best looking game available on the PS2 and probably anywhere else, with realistic sound and delightful music to match. It is also one of the biggest, most challenging, cleverly designed, intelligently written and lovingly crafted games you will ever play and every PS2 owner should have this game as the pearl of their collection.

Reviewed by Geoff Holland for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).