I was contacted a bit ago by the developers of an Xbox game titled “Aqua” – a Nautical Steampunk real time combat game for the Xbox. I initially pulled up more information regarding the game, and the first thing that caught my eye was the impressive art work, both in game and beyond it. Now playing an Xbox game simply for the graphics isn’t the most likely reason to do so, but from the stills and screen captures the features of the game evoke an Art Nouveau appearance to it.
A screenshot of one of the cities of AquaThe game play was actually a bit of a challenge, as I don’t really play much along the lines of Xbox games. However, I was able to task some more talented game players (e.g. the neighbor’s teenage boys), and turned them loose on Aqua. After a couple of hours, I checked in and got their “report”. They did tell me that the learning curve was fairly short (a good thing for any game), but at later levels, the difficulty of the “bosses” tends to be pretty tough. Additionally, I was told there were too many “protection” scenarios, as opposed to “just blowing things up” (which is apparently the preferred choice of action for the demographic). The game seemed akin to 90s types of RTS combat games (e.g. Red Alert, Starcraft), but with a smoother engine and well done Steampunk graphics.
A nicely done trailer for AquaAdditionally, there is talk of a story writing contest in conjunction with the Aqua storyline, with the winning story being made into a comic for the game. No solid details on this as of yet, but if you happen to be a Steampunk writer, sharpen up your pencils – I promise to provide more infomation as it becomes available!To learn more about Aqua, please visit their website, at: http://www.aqua-the-game.com/To visit the Xbox market place, please turn here.And a few more reviews by non-Steampunk individuals are located here:CNETGameSpotGo Fanboy
