Busy Gamer Review - Hydrophobia

By Gamewatcher on October 13, 2010 3:40 PM | No Comments

Busy Gamer Review

 

Too busy to devote 12+ hours a day to your gaming habit? Here's a review that's sensitive to your needs: Short and focused on just the things that a busy gamer like you really needs to know.

 

 

Reviewed On: Xbox 360.

Hydrophobia In a Nutshell: You're Bruce Willis in Die Hard, only you're on a giant sea vessel - a floating city of sorts - and it's the future. Except, you're both smarter and cuter than Bruce: a perky female engineer named Kate on her day off who doesn't know how to take a vacation. You break from the festivities to start investigating a small glitch in the system only to be trapped below decks when all hell breaks loose. Your boss, Scoot, whispers in your ear from his command post elsewhere on the vessel as he tries to guide you to safety.

Safety is hard to find in this game, which feels like a hybrid between Uncharted and Shadow Complex - only less polished than either of these titles, and with so-so story and voice acting. But no matter, the gameplay - for the most part - makes up for it.

Learning Curve: The game offers brief tutorials to teach you the basic moves, but it never adequately explains everything you need to be successful at surviving, solving puzzles and figuring out where to go next. We recommend our tips and tricks to ensure you don't toss aside your controller prematurely (you'll do that in Act 3!).

The Save Game: The game does not let you save anywhere, but it's reasonably generous with the mid-level checkpoints. As soon as you see the save icon appear and then disappear, you're clear to quit without penalty. If only more games offered at least this minimal level of mid-level save (we're looking at you Comic Jumper!).

Family Factor: At first glance, the game seems pretty tame - but looks can be deceiving. The game eventually introduces violent gunplay, electrocutions and fiery explosions. It's also peppered with coarse language. It may not quite live up to its Mature rating - older teens probably see worse violence on TV and hear saltier language on the playground - but we kept our 7-year-old out of the room when we played.

Buy or Skip? Since there's a trial, you might as well give it a whirl. Unfortunately, it cuts you off before you get a chance to pick up a gun, so you won't get to try the combat unless you shell out $15 for it. If you enjoy a good third-person shooter with exploration, puzzles and dynamic enemy AI and environmental effects from the frequent flooded areas (which randomizes things a bit, making repeating the same encounter less predictable), you probably will get your money's worth. Otherwise, pass.

On a Personal Note: I tried and liked this game at PAX Prime enough to want to buy it - and I was not disappointed. Once I mastered the map, learned to solve the puzzles, dug into the combat and figured out how to use the MAVI device to unlock new areas and remotely control cameras, I had a blast. The first two sections of the game were a ton of fun.

It fell apart for me on Act 3, when I finally reached the vast, water-free plaza area I had previously glimpsed from above near the beginning of the game (the first time you jump onto a girder, you're right over it!). The first 30 attempts were fun and I appreciated that variations in enemy behavior made each attempt different. But eventually it wore thin as I had a nearly impossible time finding the next checkpoint due to what I can only assume are endlessly respawning Malthusians (your terrorist foes named after 19th century economist Thomas Robert Malthus whose views on population fuel their agenda - although Malthusian always sounded like some alien race to my ear).

I finally gave up trying to clear the plaza and just ran for it - after half a dozen attempts, I found the checkpoint which restarted me closer to this maddening level's conclusion. I then figured out the kludgy exit, which requires you to awkwardly jump up a beam rather than making use of the balancing technique introduced early in the game that's never, as far as I can recall, repeated. I was pretty exhausted by this point, so the finale left me cold.

Really?! That's the end of the game?! What had been mostly fun and fulfilling suddenly, in the end, seemed empty and a little too calculated. Let's hope Hydrophobia 2 learns from its predecessor's mistakes. The game has real promise and is very fun, at least to gamers with my tastes in third-person shooters. But it easily could have been a whole lot better with some additional polish and balance.

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