Ecco the Dolphin for the Atari 2600? well not exactly, I just wanted to pull you in with another media hyped article, but its not too far from the truth. Games about Dolphin heros existed long before Ecco the Dolphin.

What makes Fathom so interesting is that you alternate between a Dolphin and a Seagull searching for star fish that will eventualy assemble into Neptunes trident. You then use Neptunes Trident to free his daughter imprisoned in cage deep below the sea.

Controlling the Dolphin involves pointing him in the direction your headed and pressing a buttom to initiate movement. You can jump out of the water and do a flip, jellyfish harm you and sea weed slows you down.

But Fathom was not the only game released for the Atari 2600 featuring a Dolphin hero. Another game coincidently called "Dolphin" involved dodging sea horses and avoiding a chasing octopus.

The only way to defeat the octopus is to capture a seagull who gives you the power needed to kill it. Dodging the maze of sea horses helps you gain points. Following the direction of the waves (signaled through arrows) gives you momentum needed to get farther from the octopus.

Out of the two games for the Atari, Fathom is the most Ecco like since it incorporates playing as a seagull and a Dolphin. Like Ecco the Dolphin seaweed slows you down and jellyfish hurt you. Unlike Ecco neither of the games involved fighting aliens or featured helping cystals.