Introduction
Waterworld was released in December of 1995. It was only released in the US and is the only video game made based on the movie.
Gameplay – 1/10
This game is essentially a bad remake of Defender. The object of the game is to fend off groups of attackers on jetskis who are trying to abduct the atollers stranded in the water. The controls are responsive and easy to learn. The playing area is way to small. The enemies ride around trying to either abduct a swimmer or crash into. It only takes one hit to kill you even though you are several times there size. Invincible sharks also show up to eat swimmers. It would have been neat to see the sharks jump out of the water like in the movie, but you only see their fins. There is no variety at all. You just go around shooting wave after wave of enemies.
This game does have mulitplayer capabilities, up to nine players can alternate turns. This is really awkward because everytime it’s a new players turn, he or she has to readjust the Virtual Boy. The game was originally intended to use the link cable that was never released, but it wouldn’t have saved this game.
Story – 3/10
The story is the same as the movie. In the future the entire world is flooded and is just one vast ocean. You are trying to protect a little girl named Enola from the evil Deacon. The Deacon is after Enola because she has a tattoe of a map to the last bit of dry land on the planet on her back.
The background story itself is actually innovative and interesting. The problem is that the game doesn’t do anything with it. You just stay in the same place fending off enemies. If Enola is captured, she is automatically returned in the next round, you don’t need to rescue her or anything. It would have been better if there was more to do like attack the Deacon’s ship or try to find dry land.
Graphics – 2/10
The graphics are terrible. The only 3D occurs at the end of each round when either a portrait of Enola or the Deacon is shown, or when the camera zooms in and out. The ocean is just a big black nothing with a setting sun in the far distance. There could have at least been waves in the water. The game suffers from slowdown whenever there is a lot going on. Like I mentioned before, it would have been cool if you could see more of the sharks than just their fins. The only reason that I gave the graphics a 2 instead of a 1 is that when the camera zooms in and out it moves very smoothly and looks kind of cool.
Sound – 2/10
The sound effects are horrible, we’re talking Atari 2600 quality here. The music is pretty good, the problem is there are only two songs, the one for the title screen and the one during gameplay.
Playing Time/Replay Value – 1/10
You will get tired of this game in less than five minutes. You just do the same thing over and over again. The game has no ending, so the only reason to play again is to try to beat your high score, which by the way, the game doesn’t save.
Buy, Borrow, or Avoid? – Avoid
This is a horrible game. Copies of this game are hard to find and often go for over $50. Leave this one to diehard collectors.
Overall Score – 1/10
This has to be the worst video game I have ever played. It has no redeeming qualities and should be avoided like the plague.