Hydrophobia

It was an odd decision to spend so much time fixing an already released game, but for those who saw a good game just below the surface of the water, you will be happy to know that this is the game Hydrophobia should have been from day one.

The game is an excellent third-person action adventure.

And when a downloadable game makes you keep thinking its a full retail release, it's definitely doing something right.

It's definitely worth playing, though, and using the environment to creatively put down your enemies is quite satisfying. The supernatural water powers hinted at in the Challenge Room also get me excited for Hydrophobia's next installment.

Incredi-potential half realised and half squandered. The makings of a future Must Have are there.

For a price that is a fraction of boxed, retail games RRP, it's a surprisingly lengthy and substantial experience. [Nov 2010, p.102]

Hydrophobia features a compelling world and premise that's reminiscent of the creepy, built-up universes of BioShock and Half-Life. But, unlike those masterpieces, this seemingly unfinished XBLA game features too many narrative holes and missing gameplay elements, making it seem like there was more work to be done.

Hydrophobia shows what true water physics can bring to a game. It showcases the water well, but that isn't enough to carry the game completely.

This first helping of Game Feast is probably worth a sampling, just as long as you know that there are a lot of empty calories on the plate before you decide to drop your 1200 MP on it.

Quotation forthcoming.

Although it can't be defined as an absolute masterpiece, this new version of Hydrophobia surely deserves a look. Many of the original version's faults have been solved and the overall quality of the experience has definitely gone up a notch.

It has to be said that Dark Energy Digital deserve a lot of praise for making the changes they did from the original release. Hydrophobia is still an entertaining but flawed title. If you can see beyond the flaws you will have a fun time with a game that doesn't excel but also shouldn't be ignored.

A decent first episode but one that'll need improvements to reel us in for the next act. [Issue#232, p.85]

A unique experience that manages to offset its problems with great ideas and a superbly implemented core mechanic. [Issue#65, p.102]

Hydrophobia is a good title that doesn't last for too long. The controls may not suit everyone's tastes but it excels graphically and audibly and raises the bar on the technical proficiency of downloadable games.

Don't be expecting anything groundbreaking with Hydrophobia. Although, I mildly enjoyed myself while playing through this game, the annoying control scheme and rather standard gameplay leaves me feeling like the game has a little more potential than what was tapped into.

Overall Hydrophobia is one of the best looking XBLA games that has been released on the system. That said it does have its share of issues that are hopefully ironed out if the game ever sees a sequel.

Just a good game, and an incredibly impressive XBLA effort - one that, unlike many triple-A, big budget titles, introduces something wholly new and ambitious to gaming. [Issue#101, p.109]

The water physics are the star of the show and really help you forget about a lot of the problems the game runs in to.

Hydrophobia's strongest point is the realistically designed water. This is the first game in a franchise that has a lot of potential. However, 1200 Microsoft Points really is to expensive if you are not into adventure games.

Hydrophobia shows a lot of promise, but doesn't quite get every aspect of it's gameplay down. Combat proves to be frustrating and the campaign is relatively short, but the Hydro Kinetic powers in the Challenge Room save it from becoming a real mess of mediocrity.

Hydrophobia Pure is a decent enough game for a downloadable title, but as mentioned feels more like a tech demo for water physics than a fully thought out game. You can see what the developers were aiming for, but it misses the mark in many places.

Water is hydrophobia's main attraction. The problem is that there isn't much else to entertain yourself with. Still worth a try if you don't fear water.

In all, it's a complex recipe that just isn't prepared in the most appetizing way.

Considering the cost of the game on XBLA, you can certainly do worse when choosing a title to tide you over for a good survival-action game.

Hydrophobia offers some remarkable technology for its water behavior, but as a gameplay experience isn't nearly as enjoyable.

With so much riding on the line it's hard to understand why Dark Energy released a game that could have been amazing! The water dynamics were the best part of the game, but were essentially diminished because of the inept camera angles, monotonous missions, and last-gen graphics.

An unusual take on survival horror with incredible water effects, Hydrophobia is ultimately let down by frustrating gameplay issues.

The package might be a bit overpriced, not giving nearly enough content for what you pay, but this game holds a lot of promise. As a first entry in a series of titles there is a lot to build on, setting a solid framework for the future games to expand on but there's just not enough here to easily recommend.

After publishing the Pure patch, Dark Energy Digital finally got it right. It still has some things that should be improved, but Hydrophobia Pure is as technologically advanced as an interesting survival experience.

The water isn't even as impressive as you might expect.

Hydrophobia's proposal has everything to offer a different experience, although it falls midway.

Hydrophobia could have been much better if it only included horror elements and a more involving story. What we've got instead is an uninspired game, even uncapable of making us feel what its title suggests: the main character's fear of water.

If you're still interested in seeing what Hydrophobia has to offer, the Challenge Room and unique story definitely stand out as bright spots amid the otherwise murky gameplay. Otherwise, you're probably better off saving your Microsoft Points for something with a little more polish and replay value.

Impressive tech, uninspired game.

So, here's the thing: without the dynamic water effects, Hydrophobia is just a passable Live Arcade title. The game ends abruptly (an out-of-nowhere "To Be Continued" flashes on screen), it leaves something to be desired visually, and in some ways feels rushed; the only element raising Hydrophobia from pure mediocrity is its interesting use of water.

Hydrophobia is a pretty good technical demo wrapped in an incomplete and unpolished game.

So many good ideas, wasted. Even the title itself sounds preposterous, as the main character doesn't seem to fear water at all. Hydroengine will maybe become a standard one day, but surely not this time, as this action/stealth/platform formula doesn't deliver at all.

Dark Energy has undoubtedly created some impressive technology and fiction, but neither are expressly enjoyable in what's playable.

I think the game does offer some unique things to whole 3rd person action cover system, but at the same time I have a hard time thinking of it as something really fun to play.

Hydrophobia isn't a great game, but it certainly has its moments, not to mention an entertaining storyline. It's also extremely short, with roughly five hours of gameplay before a sudden "To Be Continued" message flashes across the screen. That's not a lot of payoff for 1200 MS Points ($15).

It's a wasted concept and it's let down by lazy execution.

Hydrophobia's waifish, glossed-over narrative is overshadowed by its shoddy combat and irritatingly obtuse navigation. At least the water is nice.

It's exciting to see a downloadable game with this much ambition, but if the kitchen sink approach can't do justice to the faucet and the bowl simultaneously, then omit both.

Hydrophobia is meant to be a trilogy, meaning we can expect another two parts to flow down the line, but unless some changes to the saving, puzzles, combat and controls are forth coming in the sequels, they're likely to be equally as washed out. Now, where's my towel at.

Tragic in unused potential and perplexing in design, Hydrophobia never becomes more than the sum of its parts.

From the game-stretching fetch quests to the clanking camera to the clumsy cliffhanger ending, Hydrophobia just doesn't feel like a finished game. The water is truly unique and special, but everything else feels too much like a soggy, overblown tech demo.

With poor combat and clumsy controls, repetitive gameplay, and many frustrating design issues, Hyrophobia is not the wet dream we all wanted, just a conceptual one.

So, while Hydrophobia breaks new water, it treads old ground. The systems beneath the ebb and flow of its technical accomplishment are archaic and, without exception, lack finesse.

Flawed and forgettable. Let this one drown slowly in the deepest pit of Xbox Live.

Hydrophobia isn't straight-up, unforgivably dreadful. It's mostly just boring, uninspired, and vapid. Were it not for the combat, one could get away with calling it an almost decent waste of time and money. The whole package, however, amounts to a tedious and frustrating exercise in futility.

There is so very much wrong with Hydrophiobia that no one should download it. It's not so bad that it's completely broken, but it's bad enough that even players who get the game for free shouldn't bother with it.

A wholly loathsome experience drowns out the potentially impressive water physics; Dark Energy Digital should focus on turning their water into a piece of middleware. Maybe then we could finally see something good come out of this mess.

An experience lacking flavour, with a transparent design, the game shares many qualities with its elemental subject matter. It is entering a super-competitive environment, and its premium DLC will need to be something special to turn things around.

There are some interesting ideas and visual effects at play here, but they're not nearly strong enough to support such a monotonous adventure.

Hydrophobia is just a Titanic of a shipwreck.