Hands-onAquaNox 2: Revelation

Developed by Germany-based Massive Development, last year's AquaNox was a technically impressive shooter that wasn't received as well in the US as it was in Europe. The game put you in the shoes of an underwater mercenary by the name of Emerald "Deadeye" Flint who was forced to do battle with a horde of aquatic machinery using a number of nimble submersibles and a large arsenal of devastating weapons. The end result was a game that, more or less, played like an underwater version of Quake. According to Massive's managing director, Alexander Jorias, this was the first issue that his design team addressed while creating that game's sequel, AquaNox: Revelation (which, as of today, is being officially called AquaNox 2: Revelation). We had a chance to take a look at the latest build of AquaNox 2, and the changes between this game and its predecessor were immediately evident.

The most obvious change is the restyled cockpit. In the first game, your ship was denoted solely by a 3D holographic HUD. This effect has now been replaced with a depiction of an actual, physical cockpit. You'll now be able to see your ship's chassis, canopy, and crossbeams while sitting in the pilot seat. Jorias says that this simple addition alone adds a sense of immersion not found in the original AquaNox. The controls have also been revamped to mimic those of a highly maneuverable submarine. Whereas AquaNox limited your movement by having angular locks on your Y axis, the control scheme in AquaNox 2 will let you rotate 360 degrees across all three axes, which means that you'll be able to pull off barrel rolls and loop-de-loops. What's more, AquaNox 2's control setup is completely customizable, so more timid players will be able to self-impose limitations to their control inputs, while more experienced pilots will undoubtedly enjoy the full freedom afforded by the new Descent-style gameplay.

You will assume the role of a new character, William Drake, though the gameplay mechanics themselves remain largely unchanged from AquaNox, meaning that you will be tasked with solving any differences you might have with your enemies with the business end of a Gatling gun, homing torpedo, or one of many other weapons. You'll still have access to a number of different underwater ships, and you'll still maneuver them using the standard first-person shooter control combination of mouse and keyboard, but the manner in which you progress from one mission to the next has changed dramatically in AquaNox 2. First of all, the game is now nonlinear, so you'll be able to choose which missions you wish to attempt from a stylized briefing menu beforehand. In fact, you can have up to three missions pending at once, and they're all denoted through a handy overhead map that shows your base's current location, as well as the location of your current quests. What's more, the total number of nonplayable characters in AquaNox has been reduced to 12 from the original's 83. Jorias says that this reduction allows the game's designers to strengthen the social interaction and dialogue that the characters have in the game.

Adding to the somewhat open-ended nature of AquaNox 2 is a booty and bonus system. Upon successful completion of any given mission, you'll be rewarded with a specific prize, like an upgraded blaster or a single-use weapon. The reward that you're given is random, so finishing the same level two different times might yield two different rewards. Additionally, some of the levels will have hidden bonus areas that, if discovered, will increase the value of the booty that you'll receive after finishing that mission. There will be 30 missions in all, but Jorias is confident that players will want to go back and replay the game in order to unlock all the bonus areas and rewards.

Of course, AquaNox 2: Revelation looks as impressive today as its predecessor did one year ago. Massive has created a setting for the sequel that's noticeably grittier, opting to use earthy colors like brown and rusty red instead of the azure blues and bright greens of the original AquaNox. Still, flashy environmental effects like reflections, lighting, and shadows are quite prevalent in the game, and you will even be able to make out and appreciate a rendering system that draws realistic aquatic vegetation, like kelp and seaweed that sway with the ocean currents. The build we saw was running on a 1.5GHz machine equipped with a GeForce 4, though the game should run just fine on a GeForce 2, albeit without all the visual effects.

AquaNox 2: Revelation is scheduled for release this November. We'll have more on the game as its release date approaches. In the meantime, be sure to take a look at the latest batch of screenshots.