Water, Water Everywhere
Game Feast kicks off the month of October with Hydrophobia , a sophisticated full-feature shooter on Xbox LIVE Arcade. With a revolutionary new water-simulation element dubbed HydroEngine, this unique third-person adventure ups the ante for action on Arcade titles.
As Kate Wilson, an engineer on the futuristic floating city Queen of the World, an anniversary party turns into a fight for survival when terrorists attack to protest the overpopulation of the planet. After being stranded in the bowels of the ship in the engineering section (I hate it when that happens), Kate must battle her way back to the surface through a variety of obstacles. Between desperate fights for survival, you can survey the results of this Malthusian dystopia with relics obtained during your quest. There are dozens of collectibles to grab along the way (or on repeated playthroughs), from documents that give further depth to the story to a miniature replica of Queen of the World.
Your constant companion via audio and cutscenes is Scoot, a computer engineer with a ridiculously cheesy Scottish accent, who opens various doors and generally tries to guide Kate back to safety. The first chapter introduces basic skills, such jumping between pipes to stay above the rising water and progress to the next goal. The in-game map, even presented in cool 3-D, is frustratingly slow and pretty unnecessary, as it's fairly easy to discern where to go next.
As you hack into various systems along the way, opening new areas and giving access to new items, you'll get to the second chapter. The shock wave gun lets you battle the terrorists directly, with concussive blasts that detonate gas leaks and blast water back at your attackers. Different ammo pickups give you more options, and by the time you get to the third chapter you'll be stringing combos together, blasting an electrical wire to detonate an explosive canister that shatters a huge glass barrier, drowning the terrorists in a massive rush of water.
The plot may sound a little corny (and it is), but the claustrophobic level design and the frantic pacing makes for a thoroughly entertaining edge-of-your-seat experience throughout. From hacking into a defense system to unleashing a devastating wall of water, you never have a moment's rest.
After completing the story mode, the Challenge Rooms offer opportunities for high scores and previews of upcoming episodes in the series. As the first episode of a rumored trilogy, Hydrophobia delivers a blockbuster thrill ride to kick off Game Feast on Xbox LIVE Arcade in October.