Hydrophobia: Prophecy released in November 2011 as a downloadable title available on PS3 and for PC through the Steam service. See how this one ranks according to our new Game Rating Stickers in Anotherdae's first review for 2old2play.
Fans of the 70’s movie The Poseidon Adventure (or its not-so-great remake) will find this action-adventure game water-tight. This take on the submerged vessel story takes a Tomb Raider style heroine, Kate Wilson, on a water-soaked survival lesson. Luckily, Kate is one hell of a swimmer.
In a non-specific future, a cataclysmic disaster left the world covered mostly in water. The leaders of the new world, the Five Fathers, have banded humanity together on mammoth-sized, luxury ocean vessels. The story begins during the “party of the century” aboard one such ship, the Queen of the World. The party is looking good, too good. From Kate’s point of view we witness a dramatic terrorist attack on the ship. During which she is tossed into the bowels of the ship. This is where the game begins. Kate must use her wits if she is going to survive with the ship flooding and falling apart. During the attack, Kate happened to be on the phone with her friend Scoot. Scoot is in constant contact with Kate via her ear piece. He narrates areas of interest, items to check out and potential dangers ahead. The voice of Scoot certainly adds a level urgency of the game. It almost seems like Kate might survive this horror, then she starts finding bodies.
Let’s get wet
The gameplay is familiar. Third person shooter mechanics 101. Focus on climbing, running and balancing offset with shooting and swimming sections. There are some clumsy moments trying find cover or grab certain objects but overall it has working game mechanics. Kate is armed with a found LP4 pistol. Firing off a assortment of chargeable Sonic Rounds (default/unlimited), ballistic rounds (shotgun), gel rounds (remote mines) and more. Switch different rounds using weapon-wheel navigation. Underwater sections are particularly well done, controlling Kate while swimming is natural and holding your own in an submerged firefight is fun. Throughout the game you will have challenges to overcome, be it saving fellow passengers or clearing blocked passages. Holding your breath while finding unlocked doors makes for some exciting moments.
The terrorists, Neo Malthusians, are killing off the citizens of the ship. Lead by Mila Krass “Save the World. Kill Yourself” is their motto. Their belief is the human race is a disease and therefor the biggest threat to the planet. The Malthusians leave their saying on the walls of the ship in addition to the spilt blood in their wake. Between the markings and the miscellaneous documents you will find there is more to the story that becomes revealed as you progress. in fact, the majority of the plot is gained through examining found documents.
The in-game hub is referred to as your Mavi. The Mavi is multifunctional. It can help you find your way to the next checkpoint, unlock doors, even take over computers and security cameras. Thank god, for the “wayward finder” feature helping you from checkpoint to checkpoint as there is plenty of backtracking. The real key the Mavi unlocks is the hidden cyphers. The Malthusians have been planning this attack for some time, it seems they have been leaving hidden “cyphers” on the walls that will unlock the doors; a convenient, way to make you collect things. The hacking abilities of the Mavi are enjoyable. Line up matching amplitude waves to the matching frequency using the analog sticks.
The Hydrophobia legacy
Hydrophobia: Prophecy is quite polished looking for a downloadable title. The title screen for instance will get your attention right away with its unique camera angles and interaction. As will the eerie sounds of the ship buckling and muted lighting of the dark, lower levels of the ship. Hydrophobia is a re-release of an original Xbox Live title that had some initial release jitters. The original title being Hydrophobia (with an update called Hydrophobia Pure). Game play has been worked and reworked but it still has some issues. There are areas of the game where it seems like you should be able to climb or pass through and you won’t be able to and some issues with climbing such as jumping backwards are pretty awkward.
The water is the true beauty of Hydrophobia: Prophecy. Never have I seen it used in games so well. We all have our favorite “water worlds” from other games but Hydrophobia: Prophecy blows them all away, breaks down the doors then floods the deck. Realistic wave effects (powered by the developer’s own HydroEngine) give off the true feeling of free-flowing water. Navigating through the water as it is sloshing from side to side is an added challenge. Some puzzles are completed while holding your breath under water and lets not leave out under water combat. I want to play another game that uses the HydroEngine.
The bitter end
Story is a little convoluted, more so than it needs to be. You can enjoy Hydrophobia: Prophecy just fine without paying much attention to the details of the story. The whole game is played in three acts. Three not-very-long acts. This may seem like a negative but any longer and this would feel redundant. A ship can only have so many levels, I guess. With so many game releases it’s nice to be able to finish a game in a couple of nights, and have that sense of completion, without the dedication of 100 hours. I do like the twist to gameplay in the third act, but I’m not sure what they were going for with the ending. In fact, to warn you without spoiling it too much it is a bit of a “non-ending”.
Despite its flaws in storytelling and its episodic length, I enjoyed playing Hydrophobia: Prophecy and feel good recommending it to you. I’m hoping for a sequel (or act 4-6) but I’m not holding my breath. Hydrophobia: Prophecy is a downloadable title but I would recommend getting it on sale or with a discount. It’s on sale in the PS Store for $2.99 for a limited time (down from $9.99). One of the better $2.99 games you will find.
About the Author
Jay “Anotherdae” Bowen lives in New York City and is a full time Art Director. Gaming is a passion mostly enjoyed at night for hours on end after spending time with his new wife, Megan, and three-year-old chocolate brown cocker spaniel, Sylar. He started writing game reviews in 2010 to keep a record his gaming experience. Jay’s preferred console is the PS3 but his love for gaming started with his first Atari. He’s looking forward to the company of fellow adult gamers and bringing reviews to a like-minded community. Check out more from Jay at Gamedae.blogspot.com.
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