Hydrophobia - Blade Interactive (PS3/X360)

A game influenced from every water-based Hollywood movie from The Poseidon Adventure to Titanic. You’re in control of Kate, an engineer on a massive super ship sailing with the understated handle, Queen of the World. Loosely based on an ill-fated real world project called the Freedom Ship, the Queen of the World is a gargantuan floating city, a ten-deck behemoth with Skyscrapers, shops, casinos, restaurants, golf-courses and even beaches, designed as a haven for the super rich. Since she never sails in territorial waters, it’s an attractive place for wealthy individuals to dodge taxes, and companies to dodge laws.

Unfortunately, the supposed freedom she brings invites her downfall. A research company called Nano Cell that produces nanobots that purify water incites the wrath of fanatics called Neo-Malthusians. A year into its lifespan the ship comes under attack and Kate is thrust into the role of the reluctant heroine. Plunged down to the bottom deck where a hole’s been blown through the hull, Kate has to use her body and her brains to survive the sinking ship, help others and get rid of the terrorists. And she ain’t too handy with guns. Oh, and - here’s the twist - she’s terrified of water.

Officials from UK based technology firm Blade Interactive have announced the creation of HydroEngine, a “physically accurate” real-time fluid dynamics engine for use in video game development.

Promising effects that have “never been seen in videogames before,” the HydroEngine technology will make its debut as part of Blade's upcoming survival adventure game Hydrophobia, currently in development for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Commented Huw Lloyd, R&D director at Blade, on Hydrophobia, “We could have been forgiven if we had merely produced a tech demo...but this new game is a robust next gen game in its own right that pushes the limits of the new consoles.”

He added: “Our HydroEngine is the result of nearly 3 years intensive development work... Water in games has so far been merely a flat plane with ripple effects and other graphical smoke and mirrors applied to it. The HydroEngine is different in one key respect - the water flows. It looks and behaves exactly like real water.”