My Sim Aquarium

The Good
The description of this game got me going and enticed me. I'm an avid scuba diver but have never had the talent or time to set up and maintain a saltwater aquarium. I was looking forward to making my own screensaver so I could "visit" my favorite tropical fish all the time on my desktop. But, alas, I was ultimately disappointed.

The overall appearance of the game is cheerful with colorful graphics and pretty music. Inside the editor, the game provides you with a good group of backgrounds, plants and structures with which to outfit your tank. I was, however, a bit irked that enlargements of those items and placements within the environment were very limited. A decent number of pre-assembled, pre-designed "themes" are provided and you can change their backgrounds if you prefer. It's kinda cool being able to move the screen around to see different angles.

The "store" is more of a selection screen than a purchasing avenue. Little is provided there to help you with your decisions. The reference material (in-game encyclopedia) was laid out well and very colorful. It doesn't quite give you as much as I had hoped though - just enough to make a decision on which fish to buy.

The music and water background sounds are the best things going for this little game.

The Bad
In addition to the small things I mentioned above, the graphics weren't just up to my expectations. The fish are -way- too small to see (unless you feed them "large" food, which only lasts a few minutes). The tank, too, was a bit darker than I had imagined it would be on-screen. The backgrounds aren't really very lifelike either.

I didn't like this "sim" very much at all. In fact, I kept it on my machine only long enough to grab some screenshots, the credits and set up my first aquarium. That took all of 2 hours and then .. off it came.

The Bottom Line
Overall, I can't recommend this game to anyone who really wants an aquarium simulation - whether they want a screensaver or not. The fish themselves (when you can get close enough to see them) are rendered lifelike enough, but the rest isn't up to par, in my opinion. I was bored and yawning after the first hour.