Games section
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Games section
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Better then Myst? Can't get by it, graphic adventures are going to be compared with Myst, the alltime biggest selling computer game in the world and also a big hit (a couple of years later) on Amiga.
At Crystal they're pretty relaxed about big hits - they're nearly ready with "Land of Genesis", a Turrican clone. So don't be surprised if their Myst challenging graphic adventure turns up with Turrican influenced jump'n'run games.....
Download the 2.7MB packed file, and unpack it wherever you can find a spare 3.3MB of HD space. Inside your newly acquired Aqua Demo drawer are a control-program for the screenmode, a launcher for the graphic card and AGA versions, and an English guide. The guide will waft you into the background story, that goes like this:
Chapter 1
Far out in the Atlantic's grey wastes a storm is brewing. The sky is a riot, faster and faster the grey clouds whirl, waves build and break, the cruel sea vents its spleen as it closes on a lonely figure dashed by a hurricane of wind and waves.
An oil platform off the coast bears the brunt of the tempest. Suddenly from nowhere lightning strikes, followed by a crash of thunder so loud that it seems to freeze time. The wind and waves that seemed for a moment stilled continue their frenzied attack: another flash, sound rips the air, and the invisible might of the sea swells to a crescendo...
The wind abates, the sea calms, but the steel platform is no more. The wind sighs. Another day dawns....
You catch the news of the disaster at the platform. Ever optimistic and with an eye to the main chance, you think there might be a few bob in the salvage. Maybe even something really valuable. Then you find out your trusty diving gear is not going to be a lot of use because the wreck is at too great a depth.
Not a problem, you know a researcher who's short of cash for his work who might be persuaded to loan you his mini-submarine for a slice of the action. Always been an optimist. Not many later...
Fast forward to the dock, with your sub ready for the big treasure hunt. Fortunately you don't know what's really going on down under the ocean. You don't know you are in for the trip of your life. (Hint: a trip into an unknown world, full of magic, beauty, wonder, mystery and a destructive force that rules a kingdom. Possibly poverty and misery, or maybe a big payoff for someone tough enough. Maybe you???) You just tug your sailing cap to a rakish angle as you start to fill out the chapters in the brand new log book of your trip.
Let's go! So far so good. The story sounds interesting. Unfortunately it is a demoversion, and only a screenshot-demo, so not a lot to learn about the controls and the gameplay.
And because it is a Myst-clone, you quickly realise you are not going to get a Guy Threepbush to control like you do in point'n'click games like Monkey Island. No bird's-eye view, just slideshow view....
The screenshots quickly establish that this game will not embarrass Myst, but on the other hand it is doesn't look like a Mega-Flop. But I do think there might have to be a German version of this Game to make Aqua a hit in this country.
Only a flatrate punter can afford to DL this big a file if he's going to discover the screenshots are not that evocative and the music does not always fit the mood. A mood aggravated by those little graphic bugs (on my CGX-Version) that accompany the picture changes.
If you loved playing Myst, you will be less than chuffed with this hit-out. We need to see the next version to see if Aqua is going to turn into a classic.
Jürgen Theiner
English Translation by Thomas "Gojira" Nosutta ..........http://acbb.de
