

So what does this game have going for it? Well, it delivers the sort of graphics that were top of the line in its day. The AI won’t slow you down either, as enemies never act intelligently and aren’t very good shots. AquaNox’s 30 missions are short and easy: you can just circle-strafe and press madly on the mouse button to destroy most enemies and installations. The default control setup is for the standard mouse/keyboard layout, although there’s also joystick support. The combat is more involving than the story, fortunately. The story is mildly compelling, but the dialogue is delivered via poorly drawn cartoon characters and truly god-awful voice actors.

As a sequel to the 1997 submarine shooter Archimedean Dynasty, AquaNox brings back Emerald “Dead Eye†Flint, a sort of Han Solo of the deep sea, only not as exciting.

Like the great-looking but ultimately lackluster Incoming (1998), AquaNox is ultimately better at showing off the capabilities of your machine’s rendering power than the game design capabilities of its developers.
