I can't get around giving these type of "games" a chance every other month. Dark Souls II SOTFS, Remnant: From The Ashes, The Surge, Lords Of The Fallen, some more, and now Hellpoint - every signle game shows the same mediocre design, lacks decency towards players and in some cases like this one forced multiplayer. Hellpoint in particular suffers additionally from poor controls, which makes basic interaction with it already a chore. This is another reason why I stopped caring about continuing to play earlier than later. Luckily, I got this one in a giveaway, however I still feel robbed of the minutes I gave this game. I sincerely hope this software will be removed soon to make space and be replaced with an actual and enjoyable game.
I got hyped about the game when it was released but was unable to get it back then. Now I joined the party pretty late and I am just disappointed. Mouse lags in menus and in game, changing my mouse's polling rate or modifying some .ini files did not help as well. On top of that, manual saving (a function which I miss in most post 2010 games) is broken. After some time I created a save file and quit the game. When I wanted to continue, I was thrown back to the beginning of the story. Maybe it is due to incompatibility with Windows 10, however this would be the first time this happens with a retro game bought on GOG and seems unlikely since I also have some mid 1990s gems which work perfectly.
One of my first games ever to play. Never went past level 2 because I was not able to find the exit there. Never understood the plot because I did not understand English back then. Had a hard time on Rookie level because I did not care about customized controls. Still, I was fascinated by the concept of flying a space ship and shooting robots. I just stumbled upon this game here on GOG and I must say: This game is even better than I remember! The 6-DOF design, which is a rare thing even today, can easily be accessed with mouse & keyboard to deliver one of the smoothest and most precise to control gameplay experiences I have seen so far. Moving in the 6-DOF levels becomes second nature quickly, although navigation may be challenging for modern gamers, as levels are designed as tubular mazes opposite to open worlds. Graphics and sound surely are not state of the art but the saying "they aged well" pretty much sums it up. For its time, the game's lighting is phenomenal, as flares shot will only lighten the area directly around them. About the GOG release: It comes with a ready-to-use DOS-Box and works flawlessly with Win10. I recommend tweaking the games dosboxDescent.conf to fullresolution=1440x1080, output=overlay, and aspect=true which will produce a 4:3 fullscreen image set off to the left side of the monitor, if the game is started in fullscreen mode. I cannot help but highly recommend this game!
After a ten year break, I picked up Aquanox 2 again and I do not recognize the game anymore. Back then, I played straight through the missions without following bonus missions on easiest difficulty. Nowadays, some thousand hours of first person shooter experience later, I try to accomplish bonus missions and play on hard difficulty. I can see now why many Aqua fans call Aquanox 2 the weakest part of the series. Following missions - even without bonus objectives - is a tedious task which is often interrupted by an overwhelming final wave of enemies at the end. This often results in restarting the mission over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over before lowering the difficulty and trying it over and over and over and ove andr over and over and over and over before lowering the difficulty again and trying it once more before desparately hitting Alt+F4 (which somehow does not work when running the game in Windows 10). Imagine it like Dark Souls but without the rewarding feeling players tell about. The story is not half as shallow as the dephts the game takes place in but it somehow provides a context for the missions. Surprisingly, the German sync of the game is better and more lively than the English one (at least from what I recall from my old CD release). Two positive things about the game are its graphics and the music. Although textures and models are outdated, they are still decent-looking and have aged pretty well. The music fits in the category of late 1990's industrial; a special taste but it fits the game. So, should you buy the game? Honestly, I say you should not. Unless you are on the OCD side of things and want to complete the Aqua series and you are willing to play the game on its lowest difficulty and to skip side quests, this game is not to be recommended.
In late 1990s I was cursing the game because I always got stuck in the second level. Nowadays I can't stop grinning while curing the weirdest hilarious diseases and enjoying a solid management simulation. Graphics and sounds are outdated and did not age well without any question but the music is still enjoyable. The core mechanics of a management simulation are present and appropriate for the time this game was released. Humor is a major feature in this game and now, about 20 years later, I even understand it. The game comes with a pre-configured DOSBox provided by GOG which makes the game work flawlessly in Windows 10. DOSBox itself can be easily tweaked by editing the config files. I highly recommend this game because it provides on-the-spot gameplay, a unique setting and - most important - does not take itself too seriously.
I bought the game after reading many comments praising it as THE part of the Aqua series. While I can see its potential, it is actually a weak game. In its vanilla state, some missions are unbeatable due to hidden timers which run out before you actually reach your destination and unbalanced weapons and hit points. The AD augmented mod by spekkio-kun fixes A LOT of bad mission design, balance issues and bugs and makes the game what it supposedly should have been. But even then it is average at best. While most missions of the first third of the game are a nice mixture of fast-paced shooting, strategic action and even a little bit of management simulation, it instantly becomes tedious after that which is a solid mood killer. About the 6 DOF: You can actually do unterwater loopings and go in all six directions but to make it a true 6 DOF game, I expect strafing and up/down movement to be part of controls instead of being limited to forward and backward movement with pitching and yawing. Sounds and graphics are outdated but still have their charm, no complaint about that. Positive things about the game: Music and especially the narrative. Music hits you with space type 1990's techno during missions, as catchy as it can get. Narrative was always interesting up to the point where I left the game once and for all. Luckily syncing was not a thing 20 years ago so there is no terrible voice acting runining the atmosphere. In contrast to successor games, AD appears to requires you to use all present game mechanics continuously, e.g. switching off your engine or using EMP weapons to fight certain enemies. This is actually satisfying as it improves gameplay. Given it is the oldest game of thee series and laid the foundation, I rate this as the second best in the Aqua series after AquaNox and before AquaNox2. Nevertheless I do not recommend Archimedean Dynasty as it requires heavy modifications to be in a playable state and even then is not very enjoyable.
