Developed by Dark Energy Digital
Published by Microsoft Game Studios
Released for Xbox Live Arcade (9/2010)
Also on PC/PS3
Hydrophobia is a survival/action title released on XBLA back in September 2010. The graphics will definitely make an impression right off the bat as you can tell a considerable amount of effort went into them. It definitely feels more like something you'd get on a disc initially, but the overall length of the game will reassure you it is indeed a downloadable title. When you start off everything is calm, but terror strikes rather quickly as the building you're in begins to flood. This game has some pretty convincing water effects for sure and you'll see a lot of rooms fill up with water right before your eyes. I know it's all likely some type of scripted event, but it is still a very impressive effect indeed.
Unfortunately they didn't really do much to make the character model look as wet as she should considering she spends at least half the game fully submerged. Speaking of the character, I have some issues with her. First, she has a very generic Lara Croft look to her and her hair looks very strange for a Caucasian woman to say the least. Second, her voice actor constantly sounds like she's on the verge of whining pretty much the whole game. Doesn't exactly match the actions of this heroic chick pulling off all sorts of Tomb Raider-esque feats.
The game-play in Hydrophobia mostly revolves around navigating the environment as the destruction changes it around you. There is also some sort of terrorist group involved to fill in the action parts of the game. The environments are detailed, but aside from the couple parts in the city areas are largely forgettable. It is pretty cool to see most of them end up flooded out by the time you're done though. The controls are, for the most part, pretty responsive and the gun-play is serviceable. The game has quite a few collectibles to seek out and many of those lie off the beaten path. In addition to your standard Xbox Live Arcade title achievements the game has a bunch of "medals" you can earn for completing certain tasks. The biggest problem with Hydrophobia is that it's an incredibly short game, even by XBLA standards. I will say if you're going after the achievements it will extend the life of the game a tad, but you'll likely finish it within a few gaming sessions. I definitely wouldn't say it's a bad game, but it's likely one I'll completely forget about within a few months.
Hydrophobia was originally released as an Xbox 360 exclusive, but in 2011 it was ported to PlayStation 3 and PC as Hydrophobia Prophecy. This version features upgraded graphics, new levels, a reworked back-story and a new ending among other new features. From what I've read, this version has been heavily re-worked and improved from the original release. The developer, Dark Energy Digital, closed it doors in March 2012 due to underwhelming sales of the various Hydrophobia releases.
Final Verdict: If you like survival-action style games and don't mind a short game-length, give Hydrophobia a shot. Also check it out if you just want to see some cool water effects.
Related Links:
Buy Hydrophobia - Microsoft Store
Hydrophobia - Metacritic
Hydrophobia - GameFAQs
>Hydrophobia Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Hydrophobia - True Achievements
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