Platform: PlayStation 3

Genre: Interactive Art / Simulation

Number of Players: N/A

Support: HD 1080p

Peripherals: PlayStation Eye (required)
Also Known as: Aqua Vita

Maybe you’ve always wanted to own an aquarium but for a few things standing in your way. First would be the price, and if you want a really good, high end aquarium with a lot of great gear, it can be in the hundreds to thousands of dollars, and that’s without the fish. But, you’ve already paid hundreds for your PlayStation 3, and it may not be quite the same, but Aquatopia sort of gives you the opportunity to have your very own aquarium.

For just $2, less than a cup of coffee, you can have an aquarium, at least a virtual one. Aquatopia does require you to have the new PlayStation Eye, and that’s because it’s actually interactive. This isn’t necessarily something that you would consider a game, but instead is more of a piece of interactive artwork. Like many of the screen savers that you’ve probably seen or downloaded for your computer, Aquatopia is an underwater scene filled with a small variety of fish, seven in all. You can select which ones you’d like to be a part of the aquarium or you can simply randomize them, though there is no control to how many of a given type you can have. I spent a lot of time trying to determine if this is supposed to be a freshwater or saltwater aquarium, and there are actually freshwater lionfish, but ultimately I decided this; it really doesn't matter. I'm not going to kill these fish, and I've had more than my fair share of real fish who have gone to that great fishbowl in the sky, my anemone hermit crab being the latest.

With the PlayStation Eye though, there is a little more that you can do than simply watch the fish and have them as a screensaver on your television. If you move your hand to the top of the water, you’ll see if ripple and the fish will notice this as well. Some will swim to the top, hoping I assume that food is on the way. If you move your hand down where it would technically be in front of the glass, some of the fish will follow your movement, much like actual fish would until you pull it away and they will then scatter into the tank.

Really, that’s about all that Aquatopia allows you to do, but it still looks very good, especially at 1080p. The difference of course is there is no maintenance required. You don’t have to worry about feeding them, you don’t have to try and catch them so you can clean the aquarium. There’s no medicine to buy if one of them gets sick, and the list goes on. What I would like to see if there are plans to release other packs is the ability to select how many fish of a given breed are in the tank, maybe change the backgrounds on the aquarium, and aside from freshwater, a salt water set up would be even better.

As an owner of not one but three aquariums (one fresh, one salt water, and one undecided) I can honestly say that while it’s a great hobby, it is one that gets expensive and requires a great deal of care and balance to keep things in harmony, but Aquatopia eliminates all of that. It may not be real, and the cats in the house certainly don’t fall for it like the real thing, but it’s still an interesting a beautiful looking interactive wallpaper that is inexpensive and fun just to watch.

-mike-