Our world is full of amazing life. From the creatures that are on land as well as those who have the ocean as their home. But there is something about man and his desire to advance. And a lot of times greed to gain advancements can cause some to have no respect for the planet they live on, much less for the ocean and what they dump into it. But do developers Tigertron and their development partners of Tantalus and Wicked Witch, along with the partnerships of SeaLegacy and The Ocean Foundation, allow us to see the future of man if we are not careful and also show us what it is like to be a dolphin in the ocean below? Let’s find out with Jupiter & Mars for the PlayStation VR.
Jupiter & Mars is an underwater exploration adventure that holds more of a meaning than you might think. Playing as a dolphin named Jupiter, alongside your partner dolphin named Mars, you will be solving puzzles and shutting down the machines that man has created, all while coming to grasp what our future could hold if we are not careful. But we will get more into this in a minute.
Using the DualShock 4, you will first want to decide on your movement. You can select from snap turning, smooth turning, or head tilt. I tried them all and they all work very well. But I will say that you will be able to turn with both the left and right thumb sticks, which, after a few seconds, really didn’t feel that much different. But now that we have the movement down, there is something that you as Jupiter have and that is the power of echolocation, which works extremely well when you are in the darker parts of the ocean.
Now, I did mention your partner/sidekick Mars, who does play the part of your action that can break down walls, meet sea creatures, hunt for treasure as well as shut down the machines.
But a dolphin’s life is not just simply swimming around and going about your day. The ocean is very much a mysterious and giving place. So as you are moving along, you will come across some creatures that may need your help. This can range from trying to find a mother’s young to maybe rescuing some blowfish to other surprises that I am going to let you discover on your own.
But you might be asking where do you go or know where to go? Well, that is the beauty of Jupiter & Mars as there is no set point from A to B to go. Does this mean you might be trying to find your way around the big ocean? Yes. Does this mean you may be going back the way you came? Yes. In your site, as you are playing Jupiter, you will see a big circle, and around that circle is a white shape that gives you the indication that you need to go in that direction. I mean, this is the ocean and it is big and dark and it is meant to be explored from the creatures to the plant life and when you explore it in Virtual Reality, it does give you the sense of your size compared to the world around you.
There will be times when everything is going as planned only to come to a point where you cannot continue, which could be that you may not be strong enough to go against the current or it could be something like you cannot dive as deep as you thought or needed to. This is just an indication, that you have something that has not been completed, such as completing the objective of the puzzle that is needed.
There will be points where you come across machines that send out their own echolocation defense that simply by touching it, you start over at the starting point. These defenses will need to be timed and this is when your sneaky skills come into play, as you will need to hide behind obstacles and wait for your precise moment to move in order to be able to have Mars shut down the power source, which does a nice element surprise while you are exploring.
I loved hearing the sounds of the ocean as I was swimming. Hearing a whale from a distance to maybe communicate with others or maybe it was to let me know everything would be alright. Hearing the music that not only complimented the scenery but also did not drown out Jupiter & Mars as they were swimming and exploring was pleasant at times, and gave hope that somehow everything would be better now that Man’s machines were no longer trying to take over the world but allowed us to not forget what happened.
Jupiter & Mars can be played in VR as well as non-VR. But there is something beautiful about the view of the ocean from below. Seeing the neon lights of the buildings and sea creatures on the ocean floor that it hides, only to then use your echolocation to reveal objects that should be above water, really has the balance of light and dark that should be explored in Virtual Reality that really shows how magical it is.
But what helps tell the story is the ocean environment. It’s when you start to move around the different areas that you start to realize the situations that could have easily been prevented if only man had listened to the warnings given. Could things have been prevented? Seeing cars flipped upside down to light posts that once lit cities has died. Subway cars to the tunnels that they traveled now resemble the lost hope that humanity once had all gone with just the Earth and the sounds that travel the depths of the ocean in search of other forms of life, just as if a mother was separated from her child in an act of war. It gets you to think that if we are not careful and listen to what we are being told, pay attention to the signs, and learn from our mistakes, we may just soon become what we truly fear.
Jupiter & Mars is out now on PlayStation VR. A review code was provided.
To learn more about Tigertron, please visit their site, follow them on Twitter, follow them on Instagram, and subscribe to their YouTube channel. To learn more about Tantalus, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their YouTube channel. To learn more about Wicked Witch, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
To do your part in protecting the ocean and how you can be #TurningTheTide, take the SeaLegacy pledge by visiting the site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and follow them on Instagram.
To learn about the support, strength, and promotion of the organizations dedicated to reversing the trend of destruction of ocean environments around the world, the Ocean Foundation provides, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
Also, check out the interview with Sam Kennedy and James Mielke of Tigertron.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I am going to see what I can do to help our oceans more.
