Let me begin this review of one of this past week’s new Xbox Live Arcade releases with a quick disclaimer. Sea Life Safari, developed by WildTangent Game Studios, is less of a game and more of an experience. The game pits you as an underseas photographer bent on shooting animals with film instead of bullets to provide research material for a crotchety old professor, who then rates your photographs based on different criteria. These three major criteria are as follows: whether or not the animal is in the middle of the picture, the relative size of the animal in the picture (I guess he doesn’t like negative space) and whether or not the animal is doing its special movement, which can be elicited by heaving a glowstick or flare at the animal by hitting the B button. The professor then ranks these pictures on a basis of zero to three stars (three being the best) which are then needed to move on to the next level. This type of system seems natural for the type of game that it is, and the professor’s continual dissidence with you will have you hunting for three star photos for quite a while.

While the visuals may be short of what I expect out of the upcoming Playstation 3 title, Afrika, the graphics are not much of an issue in the game. The environments are not as detailed as I would have liked, and many of the animals appear to be animated with the Pixar film, Finding Nemo, in mind. This is a good thing for a game of this nature, as more silly, unrealistic graphics make the game much more appealing to children and more casual gamers, as you will see later.

The game is on rails throughout most of the levels (sometimes you can get to choose which path to take by pointing the camera in the appropriate direction) and the controls are intuitive and easy to use. Obviously, some may not see the value that there is in this type of game. Swimming around the ocean and taking pictures of sea life is not for everyone, as the ESRB sticker suggests, and some may not have the patience or desire to play this Pokemon Snap-esque game. Additionally, the game is not very long (an entire playthrough took me only an hour), but there is a good amount of replay value, as different creatures come out at different times of the day.

However, as I said before, the game is one that is very appealing to children and casual gamers alike. Upon seeing the game for the first time, my mother, who has shunned videogames as an annoyance that keeps her up into the wee hours of the night (mostly because of my screaming at Halo), instantly picked the controller right out of my hand and said, “How do I play?” After a mere 10 minutes of game time, she announced, “This is my favorite game of all time.” “Better than Mario Kart?” I asked. “Even better.”

Is Sea Life Safari right for you? I honestly believe that I’m not the one to judge. The game is fun if you take it as a softcore more casual experience, and as you progress through the levels you frequently find relief and satisfaction in taking what the professor calls “perfect pictures” of each of the animals. I would recommend this game to parents who want to bond with their children through gaming, or a player who wants a more relaxed, toned-down casual experience.