Nintendo envisioned this wonderful thing they would later call WiiWare. As we all know, WiiWare has proven its self to be somewhat of a flop. WiiWare contains what most of us would call gems, as in everything sucks except these [very] few games. My Aquarium would most likely be described as a gem. First off, it’s a virtual aquarium, I hope you aren’t expecting much from the name to begin with. Perhaps you already have a virtual aquarium, most likely as a screen-saver or background. I’ll guarantee you one thing, though. It is nowhere NEAR as customisable.

Published by Hudson, this little game will give you those dirty smelly fish your parents won’t let you get because they feel you aren’t responsible enough. WELL I AM, MOM! I’VE HAD FISH BEFORE! … there’s also no deaths, but occasionally a fish will get eaten by another. When that happens you can just add it back in, but it makes you somewhat sad, I suppose. My Aquarium costs the small amount of 500 Wii Points. It also takes up a very large chunk of space (230 blocks, about). Of course you can compare the rest of it to a NES game, and it would do nicely.

Graphics


The graphics are surprisingly decent. Many people say they are amazing, but I can never tell the difference between 8-bit and super awesome cool blood violence splatter guts graphics. If you’ve read my previous reviews, you’d know I’m a sucker for water graphics. Seeing as it’s an aquarium, there ought to be water. Must I say again it’s 500 points?

Sound (or music, rather.)

While watching your colourful fish swim about, you listen to a smorgasbord of Beethoven and Bach. I certainly enjoyed it, but it might make your ears bleed if you don’t. I noticed none (or very little) other noises in the game. You can add a bubble ‘jet’ that makes the traditional aquarium sound, but that’s pretty much it.

Controls

I never expected an aquarium to be very innovative. Use the remote to select everything, etcetera. Flicking the remote as if you’re knocking, will as you imagine, make a knocking sound on the glass. Actually that’s pretty much it here, yeah.

Game play

You customise your box of water with various plants, throw in some fish, feed them, and you’re basically done. Of course there are unlockables! You start out with 14 fish, over days and weeks and months of feeding your fish… every day… you unlock more—44 in all. Hudson obviously didn’t see me coming, so I just changed the systems clock and got most of the fish, but it’s a twist nonetheless for you innocent players. In total, you can have six tanks filled with whatever fish you want. But what’s the catch? (Forgive the pun, I beg you.) My Aquarium uses that ever-so-hated space limit where certain fish and objects take up variant amounts of said space. If you space out your objects right, you will be satisfied, as with the fish.

Customisation

This is where the game shines, and is obviously what most of those 230 blocks are made of. With plenty of plant life, several backgrounds and sands, and over forty fish to choose from, the pairing is virtually endless. Maybe you want a tank full of jellyfish, so be it! Maybe a tank with a single giant arowana, so be it! The objects consist of: plants, rocks, driftwood, mushrooms (more like bushes), and other things you might expect in an aquarium. Oodles of your favourite fish are just waiting to swim in the wide open/box of magical glass trappery!

Pros:
-Customisable beyond belief
-Great price
-Graphics
-Music (in my opinion, at least)
-The channel on the Wii Menu, I must say, looks awesome
-I CAN HAS A NEMO =DDDDDDDDDD

Cons:
-Game play isn’t exactly game play
-Gets quickly old
-Unlocking takes extraordinarily long
-Space it takes up [230 blocks]

Closing

If you are looking for an easygoing game, why not? I couldn’t help but relate this game to Nintendogs, many see it pointless while others are endlessly entertained. Just to be clear, it is in fact an aquarium, not much to do but watch. Given the price, it’s worth a look.