Set in an illustrated magical book called Aquaticus, Hydroventure combines a true-to-life physics engine that takes on the characteristics of flowing water, with innovative and intriguing gameplay.
Players must navigate their way across multiple chapters to rid Aquaticus of a corruptive goop called the “Influence”, solving puzzles along the way in order to find Rainbow Drops scattered around the world. Using the three forms of water – liquid, ice and cloud – players can transform to continue on their adventure, for instance become a cloud to float to hard to reach areas, then make the cloud rain to return to a liquid state, or turn into ice and stick to surfaces..
Players can “tip” the world left to right to move the water in a realistic motion, depending on which direction players angle their Wii Remote. By balancing the Wii Remote in just the right position, players can move lumps of ice, pools of water or liquid laden clouds through each level. Shaking the Wii Remote will also make the water jump over obstacles and help players to complete tasks and challenges.
Fear not, if all this splashing about sounds like a tidal wave of tricky combinations to learn, the game offers detailed tutorials that introduce basic game controls. Once you have mastered the fundamentals, utilise special powers which can be acquired to take on increasingly difficult enemies.
Beware though, as the finite amount of water acts as it would in real life and can be split, trapped or even evaporate. If the water reserves get low, players can refill their supplies by collecting water found throughout levels. Water however will be lost if it is hit by enemy attacks, and if the water touches arid or hot surfaces, such as sand or lava, things might get steamy and it could be game over.
In order to clear up the goop, players must search each of the four chapters – Countryside, City, Mountain temple and Seaside – for Rainbow Drops. To access later chapters of Aquaticus, players will need to find these Rainbow Drops to progress and restore the book to its former, colourful glory.
There are over 80 Rainbow Drops which can be found by exploring each level and using six different unlockable abilities. For example, in order to increase their speed when in cloud form, players can use a gust of wind to propel them forward or hitch a ride on a passing hot air balloon with the aid of suction power. When under attack, clouds can be charged up to launch a lightning bolt to destroy enemies and interact with electrical equipment in the levels. In liquid form, players can squirt water onto higher platforms or transform into ice form and stick to walls and platforms for a few seconds to reach their goal.
So get your Wii Remote steady as you take on all forms of water in an adventure like never before when Hydroventure & Hydroventure demo launches across Europe on 24 December on WiiWare.
