Endless Ocean really is that simple in premise. Hell, the box art only has four sentences' worth of description, three of which are "Dive. Discover. Dream." And good gravy, the devil's in the details! After submitting to the game's bewitching tranquility, you can experience the elation of finding an unidentified fish in an area oft explored or a walrus on the deck of your ship. You'll photograph dolphins and revisit their locations in hopes of persuading them to join you as a dive partner. You'll eagerly dive at key locations at both day and night to see a wider variety of underwater denizens. You'll chuckle when "sloppy blond hair" is unlocked as an avatar option from an e-mail about the latest edition of Mullet Aficionado. You will sit in dumbstruck awe as the largest and most majestic wildlife known to man fills your field of vision, teasing you to give chase and hitch a ride. And though multiplatinum vocalist Hayley Westenra's soundtrack may suit your diving tastes perfectly, anyone who doesn't experience this game with their own MP3 files from an SD card is doing himself an unspeakable disservice.

The experience is not without its hiccups. The camera is onerous when autotracking faster creatures and downright cantankerous in tight spaces. Out-of-water human character models are comically stiff, and avatar customization is laughably limited. You can also promptly lose sight of a gigantic life form when the introductory cut-scene ends and control is returned to you (yes, you can lose sight of a whale). And if ever there was a Wii game that screamed out for higher quality textures, this is certainly it. Luckily, most of these issues hover in the periphery and rarely detract from the overall experience; it's still an absolute bargain at $30.