Enigma: Rising Tide

Published by GMX Media
Developed by Tesseraction Games
Platform: PC CD-ROM
Released - Out Now
Price : £29.99

It's not often we get to review a single player game that's destined to be a big hit as a massively multiplayer online game. Later this year Tesseraction Games will release Enigma: Rising Tide as an online only game. This release though is a single player only game which serves as an excellent appetizer for the online only action that will take place later on this year. It's an unusual title by all accounts so without further ado let's get on with the review.

Enigma: Rising Tide is a naval vehicular war combat game where you control either surface fleet or submarines. Instead of sticking to the tried and tested World War II format though Tesseraction have decided to mix history up a little and give us a 'what if' scenario. In the world of Rising Tide, America stays out of the war, Britain allies with Japan and Germany conquers Europe. It may seem a little crazy but I find it refreshing that it's all a bit different as it's meant to be a game after all and it can get a bit stuffy when history is always strictly adhered to in games.

Quality naval games are extremely rare. In fact, this is the first one we've seen here at deaf gamers and after seeing how good and enjoyable they can be, you have to wonder why there are not more titles of this nature out there. If you're the kind of gamer that runs a mile at in-depth simulations you'll be pleased to note that Enigma: Rising Tide isn't one of those. Don't get me wrong this isn't a shallow as a paddling pool arcade romp either but the game allows everything to be controlled comfortably via the keyboard and mouse in a manner that isn't off-putting. You can use your binoculars, as well as your radar, to locate your enemies. You can even man the guns if you wish, and have a go at the incoming aircraft, which also adds to the fun. The enemy AI is aggressive and challenging so you're not going to sail (bad pun) through the game, and missions you complete will feel satisfying.

The game features 6 campaigns with there being a surface fleet and a submarine fleet campaign for each faction. In addition to the campaigns there are also almost 40 Patrol missions. Included in the Patrol missions are 14 tutorials, which will allow you to become accustomed to the controls and how the game is played. Whilst I haven't played all the missions I can say that most are very challenging and enjoyable but some might find the lack of a mid-mission save feature disappointing. Still most missions don't take up silly amounts of time so it's not as big a problem as it could have been.

Graphically Enigma: Rising Tide looks good and captures the mood of the game very well indeed. The look and movement of the waves is very impressive indeed and it captures the motion of a ship very well indeed. You'll actually feel yourself swaying from time to time. The textures of the ships can look a little bland but it's one of those details you really aren't going to notice that much because the action is just so intense. It's get really hairy when you see bits of your ship fly into the air and smoke begins to bellow from behind you or underneath your feet.

One area of concern for deaf gamers might be the fact that the game can use voice recognition to control the ship (or submarine). When you install the game you are given the option to install the voice recognition components of the game. There is no need to worry though. All the voice recognition software does is to enable another method of control. It doesn't add any extra features and all actions can be carried out by the keyboard and mouse, so you're not missing anything at all.

Enigma: Rising Tide is actually great for deaf gamers. All the tutorials are delivered exclusively in text and all instructions, briefings etc, are also text only. You can pause the game at any time and scroll the messages you've received from your First Officer and give additional orders. The game manual is also excellent and the 30+ pages it contains are actually very useful in helping you find your feet with the game.

We have to say that Enigma: Rising Tide has been very enjoyable to play and it's great to see an original title. The online game should be ready to go by the end of the year and as a bonus if you own this offline variation you'll be entitled to a 30-day subscription for free. It will be interesting to see how it plays online but if it's anywhere near the fun you can have with this single-player variation, it should be very popular indeed.

Overall Game Rating: 8.5/10
Intense and enjoyable. Enigma: Rising Tide is a very enjoyable (and very accessible) naval warfare game that most gamers will appreciate.

Deaf Gamers comment:
No problems at all for deaf gamers.