I have to say, I was looking forward to this game, but it got no coverage
in magazines, so I wasn't sure about the graphics, which of course, could
make or break it.  I love the new smaller packaging (more room on my
shelf) but it means that the screenshots on the back are TINY!  But from
the other reviews I saw on this newsgroup, I decided to go for it.

I LOVE IT!

I couldn't play it until real late, and it's probably a good thing,
because suddenly it was almost 1:30, and I forced myself to turn it off. 
I only found the face, three rocks in a triangle, and an old acqueduct
(sp?).  That acqueduct was fun because I could practice maneuvering in
between the columns and weave through it.  The control did take a lot of
getting used to.  I also had a tendency to move too fast which is bad
because the fish just sail by and then you miss them.

My favorite thing to do is bounce sonar off of fishes and plants and see
what they do.  I made the purple fish with the yellow fins play dead,
which worried me for a minute until it came back to life.  There was this
light green stubby half-fish that spun around wildly, and some shells that
did the same thing.  There were some weird brown fish that had weird
things that hung off their faces that I could get to swim around in front
of me.

My best moment came when I found a manta ray and got it to spin around in
front of me and show off.  Then it didn't swim away, it kind of sat there,
looking at me.  I didn't know what to do with it, so I just swam away.  I
couldn't get any of the whales to talk to me, though.

The graphics are terrific, and even when the fish get right up close to
you, they look very detailed (I need a book from the library to tell what
they are), and they make a horrible screeching sound when you bump into
them.  I felt really bad when it happened.  There is a lot of pop-up,
which is really weird, because since it's underwater, a fog effect to blur
the background into view would have made a lot of sense.  Oh well, maybe
for the sequel.

I love making the starfish sail to the surface, and the little lobster who
wiggles his tail, and the little crab in the shell (don't know what it is-
giant hermit crab?) who pops in and out when you bounce sonar off it.

My friend saw me playing it and asked if you can shoot things.  I said no.
 He said can you catch the fish?  Do you have hands?  I said no.  He said
then what's the point.  I said - exactly.  If you think you'd like this
kind of open ended game where all you do is spend hours of your life
swimming in the ocean and playing with fish and discovering underwater
treasures, then by all means go out and buy it and tell Sony that we like
things like this.  I'm awful sick of fighting games (no matter how much I
like Tekken.)

PS - try swimming along with a school of fish - it's a blast!

- Chris