Hydrophobia

[ThaGenecyst]

First look at the game that's going against the flow

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According to Blade Interactive’s Pete Jones, “games have got to be done differently, it’s got to change. People are looking at next generation like last generation, but we need a different way of thinking. We’ve got to show gamers something different.” Not the words you’d necessarily expect to come from the head of a studio whose biggest hit has been a Snooker simulator.


But Blade Interactive’s latest project - Hydrophobia - aims high. Recruiting talent who’ve worked on Splinter Cell and Fable 2, a genuine astrophysicist, people from the movie biz and letting loose the imagination of a team limited to making baize look brilliant in high-definition, it’s rare to come across such genuine excitement in a development team.

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And while Hydrophobia is a blend of the old and the new, what’s new is groundbreaking. A thousand page document fleshes out the backstory of a game influenced from every water-based Hollywood movie from The Poseidon Adventure to Titanic. You’re in control of Kate, an engineer on a massive super ship sailing with the understated handle, Queen of the World. Loosely based on an ill-fated real world project called the Freedom Ship, the Queen of the World is a gargantuan floating city, a ten-deck behemoth with Skyscrapers, shops, casinos, restaurants, golf-courses and even beaches, designed as a haven for the super rich. Since she never sails in territorial waters, it’s an attractive place for wealthy individuals to dodge taxes, and companies to dodge laws.

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Unfortunately, the supposed freedom she brings invites her downfall. A research company called Nano Cell that produces nanobots that purify water incites the wrath of fanatics called Neo-Malthusians. A year into its lifespan the ship comes under attack and Kate is thrust into the role of the reluctant heroine. Plunged down to the bottom deck where a hole’s been blown through the hull, Kate has to use her body and her brains to survive the sinking ship, help others and get rid of the terrorists. And she ain’t too handy with guns. Oh, and - here’s the twist - she’s terrified of water.

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But while its unique setting and survival-action-puzzle-fear approach instantly sets it apart from the blockbuster shooters that dominate on 360, it’s the water itself that is truly revolutionary here. Previously water, like fire, has been a cosmetic benchmark, mere eye candy. Titles like Bioshock and Dark Sector are now beginning to apply some real-world properties to their H20, like the ability to conduct electricity, but Hydrophobia makes all that look primitive. Here water works like water. It is water - a truly 3D liquid, which reacts dynamically to its environment. It flows from source, it bubbles, it gets surfaces wet, it has a current and it’s persistent. These properties make the water an intrinsic game mechanic; something we’ve never seen before, and in motion looks stunning.

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At its most basic level, the water chases Kate through the ship. Staying alive will mean keeping Kate’s head above water, searching out air pockets to catch your breath, navigating flooded rooms and corridors to find keys and getting around obstructions. But the water isn’t just an obstacle in itself. Objects will float in it making physical hazards; waves can sweep people away, and underwater currents create mini rivers in the ship. And then there’s the actual visuals - explosions, bubbles, spray, reflections and refractions that make for dazzling effect as the water sweeps through the ship.
Since Kate’s a female engineer with a massive terrorist problem on her hands, you won’t just have to survive the water (a feat in itself) but learn to control it. Got an enemy guarding the way? Why not remotely open a door, unleashing a forceful wave that brushes them away. You could also use the water to disguise a mine. But our favorite, which demonstrates the options for combining objects you’ll come across, is this: stuffing a rubber duck full of plastic explosives, you can place it on the water. Set it in the right place, and it’ll be taken downstream by the current, hopefully towards an enemy. Catch his eye and he’ll approach it. And the rubber duck will blow his face off.

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So the water can be your friend, but it’s also your enemy, or more specifically, Kate’s. Whenever she’s in real danger her phobia kicks in and the screen will start to blur in monochrome, and operating her will become more difficult and it may even move to first-person mode. By making her safe, and by using judgment to intelligently dispose of enemies and solve puzzles, you’ll keep her calm and you in control.
And as if her fear, a sinking ship, water throwing objects violently through the boat and a ton of ideologically-driven, ruthless mercenaries weren’t enough to contend with, something also goes wrong with Nano Cell’s nanobots. Once they’re released into the watery environment, they begin to group together, become sentient, smarter and dangerous.

Want more? Check back here for updates.

http://www.gamesradar.com/gb/xbox360...50311276378051

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[Flawless]

Re: Hydrophobia

Almost 3 years and it has finally resurfaced. Now Microsoft published XBLA title.

Hydrophobia will be a "trilogy"

"The schedule is for three instalments within the first 12 months," revealed Dark Energy Digital senior creative designer Rob Hewson.

"However, we're not really referring to them as episodes; the first instalment is what you would expect from a full retail game, so it's better to think of it as a trilogy."

Dark Energy Digital announced Microsoft as publisher of watery action game Hydrophobia earlier today. The "trilogy" is exclusive to Xbox Live Arcade.

Hewson reckons release date finalisation should "happen shortly". And what about a price? "Again, not finalised," he said, "but I will say that even though Hydrophobia is as big as a retail game, you'll be paying XBLA prices [for it]."

Trailer:

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[Flawless]

Re: Hydrophobia

IGN Hands-on

Hydrophobia was announced way back in May 2007. And then…nothing. So imagine our surprise when we found it playable and awesome here in Microsoft's booth at PAX East. This is a sci-fi action adventure game with elements of both Tomb Raider and BioShock. In the not-too-distant future, an enormous boat the size of a city called The Quen of the World is attacked by terrorists bent on dramatically reducing the Earth's population. Players control Kate Wilson, an engineer on the vessel who survives the attack and must save the day. Because of the damage many areas of the boat are flooding, and poor Kate happens to be hydrophobic.

Over the course of her journey, Kate will face her fear of water, survive it, and eventually learn to control it. She will discover how to use it to put out fires or eliminate enemies. One of the more impressive uses of water in Hydrophobia is that it can be used to carry oil to your enemies and start an oil fire around them.

This is a fully 3D game with lots of Lara Croft-style climbing. One sequence finds Kate scrambling to climb out of an elevator shaft before the flaming elevator falls from above and crushes her. It's pretty obvious what ledges and pipes she can grab hold of, and maneuvering her up a wall is as easy as pointing the left stick towards an object and jumping to it. Jumping is done with the Y button, though, which took some getting used to. The developer tells us it's because later on Kate will develop powers that are mapped to the A button.

The star of the show is the dynamic water system. Exploring a rundown, water-logged facility really gives Hydrophobia a BioShock feel. It's mighty impressive when you're running down a hallway, camera following behind, and the doors in front of you burst open, letting the water come rolling in.

One of Kate's first missions is to rescue a superior officer who is trapped in a room. She must find a fancy gadget called the MAVI that lets her open doors remotely. Once we let him out he was less than grateful, so we kinda wished we had let the jerk die – and we could have! If you don't make it back to the room in time the officer will indeed perish, and this doesn't end your game. It will, however, affect the way the story plays out. Sounds like Hydrophobia will have a lot of replay value, considering the story is only around six hours long and there are branching paths.

A waypoint always appears onscreen that shows the distance to your next destination, so a lot of the game involves figuring out just how to get there. It will rarely be as easy as running in a straight line, as explosions and gas fires tend to pop up right in front of you. Kate will have to assess her surroundings and figure out how she can get around these obstacles. In one instance, when a fire blocked her way to an important item, we had to leap to a pipe that was hanging to the side, shimmy around the flames, and then jump to our goal.

The fun platforming and arresting water system make this one to put on your radar. Look for it later this year.

[Sandman42]

Re: Hydrophobia

The trailer for the game reminded me of Shadow Complex.