Water, water everywhere. Terrorists have taken over an ocean vessel and are starting to execute civilians. You, a systems engineer, must try and stop the terrorists and prevent the entire ship from flooding. 1. Gameplay
The premise of the game was weak at best. The player lives in some sort of city when terrorists attack and start killing civilians left and right. The player has to survive the terrorist attack and somehow figure out a way to save everyone. But what the player is specifically doing and why the terrorists attacked isn’t really featured prominently. It’s definitely there, the terrorists are trying to steal nanobots, but the gravity of the situation isn’t really pressed. So while I had no problem treating this game like a “get from point A to point B alive” situation, I never felt compelled. But like I mentioned before, the new technologies were the highlight anyway. More specifically, the game had some absolutely amazing water effects. For those of you who have never worked in game development before, usually water is created with two simple steps. Developers first add the water’s surface onto a level (which is what you see when you’re looking down from the air at the water). Then the developers add an invisible box filled with “water” so that when the player touches the surface, the game simulates water. More recent games have made it so that a player wading through a water surface will cause things like ripples or splashes, but the water level never changes. Ever wondered why games don’t have large waves like real beaches do? It’d be absurdly difficult to code. But evidently not for the developers of Hydrophobia. The water in this game actually flows and creates waves in a somewhat realistic manner. I say somewhat because sometimes the visuals can look a bit odd (waves with jagged edges), but overall it’s pretty awesome. For example, let’s say you’re standing in a room that has an ankle-deep level of water. The next room from you has chest-deep water that is held behind a closed door. When the door opens, the water flows freely from the other room into your room, evening out so that the water level in both rooms is about waist high. This is actually a pretty impressive feat. The water is constantly present in levels and can be used for everything from putting out fires to knocking enemies off their feet. Walking in water slows down the player, while swimming in it can make things faster. Overall it was a pretty awesome mechanic and a great demonstration of something other games will hopefully include in the near future. From a story and game perspective Hydrophobia: Prophecy falls a bit short. But from a technological aspect, especially for those who are familiar with game development, it offers an interesting insight into new elements that are being included in modern video games. For those looking to understand where games will be going in the future, this game is tough to pass up.
Fortunately, this game is inexpensive (and even cheaper when it’s on sale), so I didn’t feel ripped off.
There was one exception that left me aggravated. In one section the player must climb an empty elevator shaft. At the top of the shaft is a broken elevator that will fall and crush the player if she doesn’t get to and somehow open a set of doors on a higher level. It took me far too long to pass this simple section. 2. Parental Notices
This changes if the target is underwater. Enemies that are shot underwater will bleed somewhat realistically. Puffs will form in a trail as the victim swims (or floats if dead) around the water. There are some slightly more violent deaths that enemies can suffer. If an enemy is standing next to some sort of source of electricity, such as a fuse box, the player can shoot the source and electrocute the enemy. There are also explosive barrels that can either throw an enemy a good distance (killing him in the process) or catch an enemy on fire. If the enemy on fire runs into water, the fire will go out and the enemy will survive. There is no gore in this game.
There is one distinct exception. When the player becomes infected by nanobots, she will have to find a temporary antidote. The antidote comes in the form of pills in a weird metallic case. The player is never actually seen taking the pills, she just picks them up and instantly absorbs them. The nanobots themselves seem like a sort of substance. They are transported in huge containers by people in hazmat protective gear. When the containers are broken, the people who are near the containers are are instantly infected and soon die. The only person who doesn’t die from the infection is the player. The antidote to the nanorobot infection is in a metal syringe. The player obtains it at the end of the game and injects it into herself. Strangely, the antidote looks similar (but a lighter blue) as the nanorobots.
3. Other Factors
The terrorists work to remove the security force first. This includes killing the Chief of Police on live television. The player gets to watch the event unfold on a screen.
The player will also be required to swim long distances. This may not seem like much of a sport, but try holding your breath and swimming across an Olympic-sized pool without coming up for air. The player’s character is able to swim an absurdly long time without needing to come up for air.
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