Hydrophobia Prophecy Hits PSN Tuesday With PlayStation Move Support

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Hydrophobia Prophecy Hits PSN Tuesday With PlayStation Move Support

Launching a game is always a frantic, exciting time, especially when you are a small, close-knit team. The PlayStation Network launch of Hydrophobia Prophecy on November 1st is no exception; in fact we’re even more excited than usual to have it launch as Game of the Month on PlayStation Plus, and we’re really grateful to PlayStation for getting behind the game.

Hydrophobia Prophecy Hits PSN Tuesday With PlayStation Move Support

For those of you unfamiliar with the game, Hydrophobia Prophecy is third-person action adventure with a sci-fi twist and a unique dynamic feature; our custom HydroEngine fluid dynamics technology. It’s a full physics simulation for flowing water – the only one of it’s kind in games, which allows water to wash dynamically around the environments, carrying objects and characters along with it. If you’re a sucker for water or game physics, then it really is a sight to behold – we’re very fortunate here at Dark Energy to have some incredibly talented tech-heads!

HydroEngine allows us to deliver dynamic and unique physics-based gameplay. Shoot out a window or weakened wall and water will crash through, wiping out any enemies that stand in the way. You can also shoot environmental hazards like barrels to unleash floating oil fires (which can become a weapon or a hazard depending on the emergent flow behavior) or fuse boxes and cables to electrocute enemies. Combining these together gives you score multipliers, and you get tons of emergent behavior because the water physics is never the same twice, so chain reaction physics is the order of the day.

Since the lead character, Kate Wilson, is an intelligent systems engineer, you can also utilize her augmented reality MAVI device to hack into systems and CCTV networks so you can scan the area ahead or remotely open doors from afar and unleash more torrents of water into unsuspecting enemies.

Hydrophobia Prophecy for PS3 (PSN)

If you are familiar with the game then you’ll be pleased to learn that Hydrophobia Prophecy on PSN is definitely our best version. The tech guys have done a great job of harnessing the power of PS3 to make some significant enhancements Dark Energy‘s in-house InfiniteWorlds engine, so the game really looks superb. Gameplay wise it’s in a different league compared to the original release; the design team went back to the drawing board reworked really almost everything from the ground up. It’s been a lot of work, but it was worthwhile in the end.

In addition there are literally hundreds of refinements sourced directly from Darknet – our built-in developer feedback system which allows players to drop comment flags at any point in the game. It’s really been fascinating watching the data points from real players build up in our dev builds of the game. It’s particularly delightful to play through the game and come across a concentration of positive feedback flags around a cool event, and better still to watch the evolution of the data as we’ve updated and improved the game. It makes it all the more exciting knowing that PSN players are going to get their hands on the most polished version to date, and it will be interesting to see a whole bunch of new Darknet data emerge from the PlayStation community.

Going back to the game itself, we’re also very keen to see how PlayStation Network players respond to our implementation of PlayStation Move motion control. The precision and enhanced immersion it brings to the table really helps to engross you in the action, and we think it adds a new dimension to the flow-combat gameplay. We spent a great deal of time tuning the PlayStation Move controls, and we’ve made sure there is a full range of customization options available so players can adjust it to their liking. Our goal was to bring a compelling third person action-adventure to PlayStation Network with really great PlayStation Move functionality – and it’s certainly the preferred method of play here at Dark Energy now.

We think you’ll find Hydrophobia Prophecy on PlayStation network to be a really unique experience, with tonnes of dynamic and emergent gameplay. We’re really excited about building a community behind the game too, so we’ve worked hard to ensure it’s great value for money, and we can’t wait to see the Darknet data points flooding into our system and really look forward to sharing the analysis with you.

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  • Does PS+ game of the month = a discount for +? I’ve always been interested by this game…. until the 360 reviews of course. I’ve love to see a comparison in differences though *especially gameplay wise*.

  • the video player does not work

    • Do’h! I’ll speak to someone about getting that fixed, apologies

    • Could you please tell us a) what OS you’re using b) what browser you’re using c) what version of the browser you’re using and d) what you’re seeing exactly where the video should be? Thanks much and apologies for the tech issues!

  • Uh, Link01, PS Plus game of the month means a suuuper discount…..it’s free. Hahah. I am serious, look it up, Europe is getting it free too.

  • @KeefRiffards
    That’s awesome. I’ve never heard that terminology for it before (or maybe I did once). Either way, glad to hear it!

  • Not only we can use Playstation Move Controller, but we CAN USE DUALSHOCK3 Controller as well, right? That IS ANOTHER ALTERNATE CHOICE?

    Oh by the way, speaking of Playstation Move Controller- Is Navigation (?) Controller necessary to use beside Move Controller? Thanx.

    • Yes absolutely, Playstation Move is optional and you can still use you DUALSHOCK3 if you prefer. You do need to use a Navigation Controller (or a DUALSHOCK3 if you don’t have one) along with the Move motion controller. Basically character movement is mapped to the left stick and aiming etc to the Move motion controller.

  • Yeah man, I have had PS+ for two years and I have been digging it more than ever lately. Plus rocks.

    • Agreed! Sony have been absolutely amazing… they looked at the game, loved all the enhancements and the Move control and basically said “we’re getting behind this”. We’re super excited for launch!

  • Not releasing on PS3 as the same time as other platforms makes this a no-buy. That’s my version of the Micro$oft policy.

    • Fair enough. However as I said in the blog the PSN version is far and away the best yet… improved gameplay, improved graphics, Move support and the console debut of Darknet. Hopefully all the enhancements go some way to making up for it coming a little later to PSN… that and the PS+ offer :)

  • Is this THE free PS+ game for November? I kinda hope not, its been on xbox and on steam forever, and on sale several times. Needless to say, I don’t need it on PS3

    • It is indeed. It’s been improved a lot for the PSN release, so might be worth having another look, especially if you can pick it up for free

  • Dumping an old PC/Xbox 360 game on the PS3?

    And you think anyone is going to buy your crappy old game with the massive number of incredible PS3 exclusives?

    • We’ve spent the time between releases well by implementing loads of improvements to the game for PSN, so it’s really a lot, lot better than previous versions. We’ve also tried to offer the best possible value to PSN customers, so hopefully people will find time to fit it in.

      Still, you’re absolutely right about all the incredible games coming out on PS3 right now… it’s going to be getting a lot of use over the winter! I’ve got Uncharted 3 and Ico & Shadow of the Colosus HD at the top of my list… right after I finish Batman!

  • @8: So we got Mass Effect 2 which was also a former 360 exclusive, I don’t see how Hydrophobia, more game on PS3=good thing.

    Anyway I’ve been hearing about Hydrophobia and watch the gameplay video. I’ve been wanting to try this game ever since it’s release on 360.

  • I have this game on Xbox 360 & the graphics were pretty bad – the water looked especially awful. I sure hope that the graphics have been VASTLY IMPROVED over the Xbox 360 version.

    Also, it would be advisable to give Kate either better weapons or upgrades for her weapons early in the game.

    I’m still looking forward to giving this new version of Hydrophobia a fair shake next week – even though I didn’t enjoy the Xbox 360 version.

    • Graphics have been improved a great deal; better lighting, crisper textures (with new detail-mapping tech for PS3), improved models, better particle effects and yes – improved water. The tech guys have done a great job of making it shine on PS3, and have been able to harness the SPUs to make the water simulation more detailed.

      Weapons have been worked on too and yes you get upgrades earlier in the game now. The Sonic Rounds in particular have been rebalanced. We also added more environmental hazards to use in combat.

      Hope you enjoy it, let us know via Darknet!

  • OMG OMG FINALLY FINAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLY this game has a release date i have been waiting forever for this

  • I refuse to buy this game, and you shouldn’t either. Stay with me though, this isn’t one of those blind rage posts.

    First, most reviews were “meh” at best, citing the excellent water physics but little else as a positive.

    Second, and much more importantly, reviewer Jim Sterling of Destructoid was actually stalked and harassed by the developers, who claimed he “played the game wrong”. Here’s his review:

    http://www.destructoid.com/review-hydrophobia-185087.phtml

    And here is his video explaining the post-review debacle I mentioned:

    http://www.destructoid.com/the-jimquisition-you-re-playing-the-game-wrong–185340.phtml

    And here is an article about the incident:

    http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2010/09/hydrophobia-developer-defends-game-attacks-critics.ars

    Fellow Playstation fans, I implore you: please do not give these pathetic people your money.

  • I was really intrigued when I initially saw the title in it’s first incarnation. I’ll defiantly check it out when it releases on PSN. Also by game of the month for Playstation Plus does that mean it will be free or discounted at launch?

  • I seriously hope no one buys this awful game. You would be wasting your time and money.

    • Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It did seem with the original release to be particularly divisive of opinion. Some people didn’t like it at all, and others loved; it for example Official Xbox Magazine awarded it 9/10 and Editors Choice and IGN.com gave it 8/10.

      Even so, we’ve worked really hard to address all the flaws people who didn’t like it flagged up, and all the tens of thousands of player feedback data from the Darknet feedback system so the PSN version is a much better game all round. We’ve also tried to make it great value for money so people can make up there own minds.

  • luiginut , the Destructoid harassment was the first thing to spring to mind upon seeing this entry. For shame, Dark Energy. If your game was designed better, you wouldn’t need specific guidelines on how to play it.

  • Sorry, scratch that- calling this a game would be inaccurate. It’s a glorified tech demo. Those of us who have played it would understand exactly what I’m talking about. (PLEASE DON’T CALL MY HOUSE AND HARASS ME!)

  • yeah the harassment of a reviewer who gave it an honest review is pathetic. Developers / publishers who expect an automatic 8+ out of 10 shouldnt even be in business much less on anything playstation related. And to bring it to PS3 such an absurdly long time after it released everywhere else is inexcusable. Sony should’ve told these clowns to take a hike. I doubt anyone at sony bothers to listen to their customers or even really think. If they did then they they wouldn’t let their own brand slip into obscurity with 3rd rate software like this arriving months late. I’d love to see more first rate games showing up on PS3 and have them show up ON TIME.

  • Please tell me this isnt our only free game of the month :(

  • The first version of this game sucked but they worked on it and it was good after the patch. Also the price on 360 was ridiculous but I bought it anyway. I think I read this is going to be 7.99. People should at least try it out if they want something different. And it’s not just a port like some of you are saying. Do you even bother to read the article? If you knew ANYTHING about the game you’d know that there have been a crapload of tweaks since the original version that got reviewed by all major sites.

  • @ TopRopeLegDrop

    As I indicated in my last comment, I don’t care how much they fixed Hydrophobia. It could be GOTY, I still will not buy it. The review debacle was a bigger atrocity than anything even EA or Activision have been up to lately and these people do not deserve a single cent from me or anyone else.

    Oh, and as a small edit: Jim wasn’t the only harassed reviewer.

  • I see it uses the Move plus a Navigation controller. Does the game use the face buttons? And if so, does it support the Sharp Shooter?

  • 19# Some people never get happy…. Seriously when we get an old get people whine and when we get a new game people whine again!!

  • I just watched the “JIMquistion” stirling video and I can see why the guy dropped the F bomb so many times and he’s absolutely right. He is no doubt the CM Punk of gaming but we need 10 more like him.

  • @ PirateHarlock

    I take it you haven’t seen it before? Gives me a fuzzy feeling inside, lol. I don’t enjoy chastising developers (though it’s very necessary) but I do always enjoy enlightening fellow posters. I figured it would be old news to everyone.

    His old videos around the time of that one are hit-and-miss, sometimes he’s a bit juvenile. Ever since he moved to The Escapist, it’s been really good though. He even cuts down on the swearing (though in the case of Hydrophobia I understand his frustration) so his insightful opinions are more digestible.

    I’m going to have to not start replying a bunch. I almost never post on this blog and when I do I inadvertently treat it like a forum.

  • I was really excited to hear this game was coming to PS3. Finally, a female lead with normal measurements in an interesting story. I liked the concept, but the XBLA version did not look, sound, or play very well. The screenshot above gives me great hope that the PS3 version is leaps and bounds beyond the previous releases. (The flames/particle effects look like they could use a little more work, though.)

    It reminds me a bit of Alone in the Dark: Inferno, in that the developers went back and really tightened things up for the PS3 release. (And it was worth it — I would gladly by AitD Inferno again if it added Move controls.) I personally don’t mind a game coming to PS3 as a “second wave” release, so long as it really takes advantage of PS3’s hardware capabilities. Any reasonable PS3 fan would prefer small developers take their time to squeeze as much out of the PS3 hardware, and release on other (lamer) platforms first to help fund that extra time.

    Hang in there Rob and team, if you’ve really resolved the major issues in previous versions, this is bound to be a decent hit with the non-haters :)

    • Thanks kindly, I know the whole team will be reading this and will really appreciate those comments. Enjoy the game :)

  • oh, I had some questions as well:

    1. how many SPUs are being leveraged? is it just for MLAA, or are you using them to improve the physics and deferred rendering?

    2. what codec/bitrate are you using for the audio assets? there’s some great explosions in the game that would be awesome to hear 24-bit/lossless :)

    3. any plans to release a video showing how the Move controls work? I think that would really help sell people.

    • Wow, some hardcore technical questions there! I’ll have to get back to you on some of the detail on Monday when I’m back in the studio and can speak to the tech guys. I can tell you that the SPUs have been full utilised and we’ve been about to improve the water physics and effects, yes we do deferred rendering and MLAA, and there are other PS3 graphical improvements like detail-mapping on textures.

      We’ve got a new trailer which shows Move being used, does this help?

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-O5gxzWuMw

  • @luiginut, this is the first time I saw jim stirlings take on this. The only previous time I’d heard mention of this game is when it was released I saw a trailer that looked looked like something floating in a toilet in a really seedy bar and never paid anymore attention to it. After seeing further review of it I feel safe continuing to miss this game. I’d rather be playing the newest ace combat or even an older game like the first uncharted. makes me wonder how close we are to another video game crash like the early to mid 80’s.

  • The videos doesnt work for me.

  • Awesome!!! Hey Guys at playstation will you make Road Rash on PSN store that would be great….. great game by the way.

  • I’m looking forward to trying it out for the first time.

  • To Baron_Von_Bonbon (#7): Isn’t it a bit unfair to automatically write off a game just because it was released earlier on other platforms? The developers thought enough about the PlayStation fanbase to consider bringing their game to the PS3, and I’m grateful for that. It’s a shame that we couldn’t originally get the game at the same time they did, but a late port is better than no port at all.

    While we’re on the subject of “late ports”, one possible advantage of a late port is that developers can take into consideration any criticisms leveled at earlier versions of the game, and use that feedback to improve the newer release. Hopefully that has happened with this game.

  • Free for us PS+ folk? Nice, haven’t tried this yet.

  • how about posting a video that actually works?!

  • I’d like to hear more about the improvements, though I already have the game on Steam.

    • It’s been improved further still for PSN. We’ve got new animations, reworked some level design, improved visuals (e.g. detail mapping), a new Stealth Takedown ability, rebalanced ammo, better cameras, Move support etc etc

  • I rather liked what I played from the 360 version and am pumped to hear of such great work put into improving it :) You’ve got a customer in me guys :)

  • I don’t know about anyone else, but the main character totally looks like Hanna from Fear Effect (PSOne), does she not?

  • for those complaining about the video not working, for some reason the video linked on the blog has been removed. Here is another youtube video, which I am guessing is the same I found (since it shows Playstation Move in the trailer). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKPh287RsEw

  • I will play this for free, but please feel free to call me when I am playing it wrong.

  • I hope it’s PS Plus free game for November. I’ve been interested in this game for a long time and I don’t own it on any platform. Getting this one for free on PS3 would be awesome.

  • If by “PS+ Game of the Month” you mean “free”, then I’ll go ahead and download this. As opposed to some here, I’ve never heard of this before, but I’ll take anything that’ll make use of my Move in new and interesting ways. And at free, who can complain?

    Also, the video doesn’t work when it’s embedded. Either re-upload to Youtube or somewhere else that doesn’t fail, or just put a url link.

  • Wow, more than the usual amount of daily drama here. I’ve never touched an X machine & I don’t study gaming sites. Geesh, aren’t we already spending enough hours in actual gaming? Anyway, never heard of this game or any alleged nerd fight. I looked at all the destructiod links above. Yawn.

    I’m siding with the @40 post. A downloadable game, with Move support & free for Plusers? And it’s NOT ANOTHER NUMBINGLY REDUNDANT PLATFORMER? I will try it. I’m hoarding digital games to play whilst on small breaks from the autumn blockbusters without having to get off my a** to swap discs.

    Thanks for duking it out on the blog, Rob Hewson. Most of the guest bloggers, hell many of the Sony staff bloggers, just file their story & run. However, your avatar gives me the willies.

  • Whoa, I can’t believe there are people actually hating on the game because of the dramatic series of complaints that were brought up when the game hit the Xbox Live Arcade platform last year.

    Yes, I do remember being among those who laughed after having read Destructoid’s article. I also thought that Dark Energy Digital were trying too hard to make people like their game.
    But it didn’t mean the Hydrophobia series should disappear. And since I could never get my hands on the game (no Xbox, duh), I have always been unable to judge the quality of the studio’s work.

    I remember being there when the Pure patch was announced almost a year ago, and as you can see, I was surprisingly pleased : http://n4g.com/news/667467/hydrophobia-to-receive-massive-overhaul-rundlc/com#c-4694565

    Now that the game has made its way on a third platform, that PSN Plus offer will certainly get DE Digital more attention. If it gets the success it deserves, it’ll be easier for you guys to bring a sequel.
    I’ll be sure to check the game out next week. You have proved yourselves worthy developers willing to take into account the players’ feedback, so make sure it does not all go to waste!

  • Hey Rob,

    This will be in three pieces.

    First off, I have to say, you handle all of unwarranted hate pretty well. I envy you not your position. I actually have never posted on the blog before (despite having this PSN account before the Blog was created) but, given your obvious enthusiasm (as well as that of others at Dark Energy Digital) and the tremendous effort you guys have put into improving the product, I felt compelled to post in order to accept your olive branch and, at least in some small way, counter balance the disparaging attitude present here.

    I played the demo for this game (pre-patch) on the 360 and was extremely intrigued. The fact that you guys have vastly improved upon the iteration I played as well as added MOVE support (that was a pleasant surprise, to say the least) has me all the more excited. Originally I was going to buy it on my 360 (as I’m always struggling to find exclusives on there that actually interest me and, honestly, I don’t trust it to not die on me) but then it was announced that Hydrophobia would *eventually* make its way to the PSN. As such I’ve been biding my time.

    • Thanks for taking the time to comment, it’s much appreciated and I know it means a lot to the whole team. Hope you enjoy the game, and do let us know what you think via Darknet :)

  • I don’t care what the reviews stated before, I liked what I played. I don’t care what Jim Sterling wrote. Honestly, sometimes I can agree with him (i.e. his pirating rant) but sometimes he comes off as little more than a prat. And he even admitted, via the link you posted, that Dark Energy Digital seemed sincere about addressing concerns about the game. Anyone who ignores that clearly doesn’t believe in any concept of redemption or second chances and they can live their perfect, mistake free lives never having to touch Hydrophobia. For the rest of us, however, thank you, sincerely, not only for addressing the concerns about the game, but also for announcing it on here and being such a good sport at taking abuse.

    Therefore, I wanted to say that not only will I be taking advantage of the PSN+ Game of the Month deal with this game, but I have also talked to my PSN+-less (does that work?) roommate about the game and shown him the demo on the 360. He will absolutely be buying it. So there you go, 1 sale and 1 kickback from SONY (I don’t know how the free games work on your end).

    • Thanks kindly, again it means a lot to the whole team who are all reading this blog too. Enjoy and thanks for recommending to a friend

  • Finally (sorry this was long), I had three questions. I work in retail for video games and will be sharing release information with customers (especially the regulars I had mentioned this game to before). They are as follows:

    1. Will there be a demo? If yes, on release day or eventually?
    2. I didn’t see any mention of price point (I may be blind). I’m sure I’ll find out Tuesday anyway, but foreknowledge doesn’t hurt.
    3. It is my understanding that Hydrophobia on the 360 was part one of an episodic series. Is that still the case, have those plans been scrapped, does the appending of “Prophecy” to the title not only denote the improvements but also the completion of story, or did I just misunderstand altogether?

    Thank you for bearing with me and actually reading through my long post. I hope to hear from you soon.

    • 1. We don’t have a demo lined up as of yet, however we’re more than willing to look at doing one if people want it
      2. We’re still finalising the price point and launch positioning details, so I need to wait for final confirmation from Sony before publishing that, but we are pushing to give the absolute best value we possibly can
      3. We are still working on future instalments, but we decided to rebuild the original for PSN and do it justice first… but yes we have more Hydrophobia in the pipeline

      thanks :)

  • While I envy your enthusiasm behind this release, and I am a Plus subscriber, I can’t even bring myself to attach this game to my account purchases.

    The attitudes of some people within Dark Energy Digital ruined my opinion of the company back when Hydrophobia was released on X360. The game was absolutely terrible, and even featured a game-breaking glitch causing a restart of the whole thing…. and had it actually been fun to play I would have redone everything.

    Reviews are meant to provide constructive criticism but DED didn’t see it that way and they lashed out at various sites, and for that I will always avoid anything related to the company.

  • Glad to hear about the PS+ business.

    I own a copy of it on Steam, but my PC isn’t exactly modern by any means, so I found it hard to enjoy with the performance issues cropping up left and right. This new release on the PS3 gives me a chance to enjoy it as intended, so thanks for bringing it over!

  • This is something I actually wanna BUY rather than receive for free. It’s disappointing that I won’t be playing it right away. Once it gets off the Plus I’ll be purchasing this game for sure.

  • @Rob Hewson

    Hopefully your improvements are up to par with our expectations when you cite “improvements”. I was interested in this game when it was first announced, ultimately let down when no PS3 version came to light on release day. Mind you have I have a PC and an Xbox360, but I felt that the PS3 users were unjustly ignored and decided to turn my nose up at this title as a result. so if the price is right (less than steam) and the move controls give a good reason to play as well as improvements in game play then I’m all in.

    As far as -luiginut- pointing out developer reactions to reviews… it was highly unprofessional. I don’t think Factor 5 spazed out as much when no one could play Lair because they were playing it wrong -Dragon != Fighter Jet- (which was an awesome game). I can understand the frustration of no one playing it right especially after my last rapid prototyping session when we brought in users to test our game. There are better ways to handle bad press. Some include video walk throughs before the game releases to help give players an idea of how they need to play, better in game tutorials, and a variety of other things.

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