One of the best games of 2001 (Hostile Waters PC (PC))

Member Name: chrishill105

Product:	Hostile Waters PC (PC)
Date:	14/01/02 (96 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Exciting, Great graphics, Deep gameplay

Disadvantages: Lack of online multiplayer options

[REWRITTEN] Released in March 2001 Hostile Waters immediately won many fans. Unlike alot of recont new games Hostile Waters really feels like the finshed product and not some rushed release to get the makers some money.

Where to start is the question.

One of the games strongest points is its depth of gameplay, its not only one of the most entertaining and adrenalin pumping games of last year, but it is also a game that is challenging mentally too. Yes you have to use that thing in your head, your brain.

An example of this leads me into the next point. The vehicles. You have to build and 'control' every vehicle in the game. First you have to build them. Your first choicwe is what chassis to choose, whether you need a fast light chopper to go scout around or a big ass tank to defend your base, you've got to deside what to spend your money on. Then you must choose the weapon - max firepower, max accuracy, or just the cheapest available, its your choice for the situation your in. Finally you've got to deside who's going to pilot your new vehicle. You have a limited range of 'Soulcatcher Chips' each with a set personality. More about those later.

The whole game is set in the not-to-distant future, where by some miracle they managed to make the whole world peaceful and there haven't been any conflicts anywhere for ages. THEN some nasty rebels deside they want a bit of excitement and start up new mini conflicts all over the place. This catches the world, which is completely free of all types of military equipment by surprise. To save the world old military wrecks are raised from the deep and information gained from blueprints to re-create all sorts of weaponry to crush the rebels before the world erupts into a huge conflict.

Following the last war the 'personalities' of all the best soldiers were placed onto silicon chips and stored away. These are the 'soulcatcher chips'. They r
ange from the quite passive to the full on aggressive like the foulmouthed Yank, Ransom.

All of the 20 missions are based on you carrier. This has all sorts of special feature, but the game is well designed to help prevent confusion. To begin with most of the carrier's options are disabled, but slowly these are opened up as you progress. Also, of course, the levels get longer and more challenging, but always enjoyable.

The vehicles you create with AI (artificial intelligience) are not just left to their own devices, you are responsible for controlling their actions. This is both not to complicated but still not simple. You can select the cariuous vehicles through key presses and then click through the mouse or other possible buttons a command. Either move, attack, or whatever you want. This can be quite challenging at first but it doesn't take long before you can master it. AI units also verbally send in reports which greatly help add to the atmosphere and also ease of getting a picture of whats going on around you.

Also orders can be sent from the heated battlefield level in beautiful 3D, or from a zoomed out 3D map type interface which allows you to view a whole island in one picture. This is very helpful when things get a bit to hectic or when the s**t hits the an and you need to make hasty retreat orders for all you unit as far away as possible.

On top of having semi-independant units under your control you can also take control direct primary control of any vehicle you want. So this means flying around in choppers banking around through hills and getting into engrossing dog-fights, or speeding over land on a little offroad buggy.

Control of these units is always from the 'third-person' view, this means behind looking at the whole vehicle. Moving about is done with keys and the mouse and although complex enough to get things done efficiently it is simple enough so as not to overwhelm you.

To b
uy things its not so much money but scrap metal that must be collected from old wrecks and military installations that you find all over the place in dis-repair. There is also alimited supply of this and also of soulcatcher chips which means more thought must go into what vehicles you use them on.

The general 'intelligience' of the enemy your faced with in the game in stunning, and is always catching you of guard. Sitting all smug firing rockets into the enemies base from out of range of their turrets and a fleet of choppers will be dispatched to take done the threat.

The graphics are stunning (though requirements computer wise are quite high, see below). There's randon weather and even day to night cycles. Though I have had some problems not being able to see as a result of this especially with heavy rain in the early moring. You are given light intensification as an option for the dark, which helps immensely. The sound too is unbelievable and those with a good sound card will enjoy it even more for this.

For multiplayer fans there is not multiplayer direct from the box for this game, although the single player is more the engrossing enough.

Navigation both in the game (as I've said), and in the external menus is simple and clear. There are tutorials to get you familiar with the game when you first buy it.

REQUIREMENTS

Min:

Pentium II 266, 64MB RAM, 8MB 3D Card.

Recommended:

PIII 350, 16MB AGP 3D Card.

Graphics accerator = Direct3D.

PRICE:

Around £29.99, though there are always special offers for PC games.

WHERE 2 BUY:

Stocked just about everywhere with games try PcWorld or amazon.co.uk.

SUMMARY:

One of best games of lastr year with deep gameplay that is both a joy to play, but keeps you brain tickin' over too. There's something for everyone. However those with extreme tastes for gun ho shooter or pl
accid stradegy might want to look elsewhere. A great game BUY IT!

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