Very few games have polarised players quite as much as third-person action/adventure Hydrophobia. Upon its original release in September 2010, Hydrophobia received an exceptionally mixed reception from both critics and gamers alike, with some players praising the title’s huge ambition, and others slating the mediocre voice-acting and clunky controls.

However, rather than move onto something new, Dark Energy Digital did something not many other developers do, and listened to the feedback, whether good or bad. Last week’s PlayStation Store update saw the release of Hydrophobia: Prophecy, a heavily reworked version of the original game, with new sections, numerous changes to the story, and PlayStation Move support.

So, was Dark Energy correct to not give up on Hydrophobia, or was all their effort in vain?

Story

The premise behind Hydrophobia is surprisingly interesting, and very relevant to today’s world. In the mid-21st century, the issues of global warming and overpopulation mean the human race have had to adapt to their changing environment in order to survive. The game is set on a gigantic ship called the Queen of the World, the world’s first floating city.

As the game begins, the ship is attacked by a group of Malthusians; a terrorist organisation that follows the teachings of real-life scholar Thomas Malthus. Malthus predicted that one day the world’s population would expand to a point that the earth’s resources could no longer sustain it, and the Malthusians believe the only answer is the euthanisation of most of the world’s population.

The only person who can stop the Malthusians is Kate Wilson, who, apart from being the most attractive systems engineer ever, also suffers from hydrophobia; the fear of water (it also means rabies, but that’s not really relevant to the game). Unfortunately for Kate, there is a lot of water in this game, so she’ll have to face her fear if she wants to make it through alive.

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW AT PS3 ATTITUDE