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[Spaulding]

Outcast was a great game. Can't remember the swimming part, though. Whatever happened to the sequel anyway?

I like the swimming in Gaiden Sigma 2 or at least the running across the water

 

[Footos22]

That is really something I didn't ever want to remember. Took me a week to get through it.

I've never really gotten why people found this dam section so hard. My mum even managed it!

I mean i finished the whole game when i was 5/6 years old. multiple times as did my uncle. Even my sister. she actually finished it before me for shame!

In fact its the only game she ever finished before kingdom hearts came out.

The only part i found annoying was jumping over those stupid gaps in one of the sewers near the end of the game. miss and you drown in shit multiplpe times

 

[Jamesearlcash]

Outcast was a great game. Can't remember the swimming part, though. Whatever happened to the sequel anyway?

I like the swimming in Gaiden Sigma 2 or at least the running across the water

I had outcast when i was quite young, never had the foggiest clue what to do just mooched around pissing people off.

 

[the thoroughbred]

The correct answer is Twilight Princess. That game did everything very well. Especially swimming. The the physics were and still probably are the most advance. The momentum, the resistance, the feel of deeper waters were all spot on.

 

[Midas]

No love for the bomb defusing level in Ninja Turtles NES?

=P

Spoiler

Who didn't want to rip their hair out trying to beat this?

Worst level, EVER.

 

[Darkpen]

Ingnoring fun factor, and strictly speaking in semi-realism, I'd have to say the closest to swimming I think there's ever been in a game is MGS2, purely because of the fact that you can push off of walls.

 

[BobsRevenge]

Crysis.

Any game where you can swim so fast you can jump out of the fucking water, into the air, and take down to assholes on a boat after landing on it is awesome in my book.

Swimming made speed mode awesome in Crysis. I loved it. The surprise on their faces too. :lol

 

[Kid Marin]

Mega Man 2.

 

[madara]

Everquest did it first I believe and is still the best at it for mmorpgs. Some of those under water dungeons, so badass. Its why FF14 will be a complete embaressment to me if they won't do a believable world with z-axis.

 

[webrunner]

One issue is that water done "right" and water done "fun" are pretty much at odds with each other: either it's slow, murky, and unwieldy, or it's basically underwater flying.

 

[Hawkian]

Crysis wins this thread, complete with deadly shark and assault-rifle-holding-dolphin-impression capabilities.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

Water is a Ninja's worst enemy apparently. Even if they can survive contact with the stuff they control so shittily that it's little wonder they'd run across it given half a chance.

Honestly though I can't think of a single game that I thought was improved by the addition of swimming or other water-related activities.

 

[DieH@rd]

Turok on N64. I remember that sound design underwater was pretty epic.

 

[Solsc]

I like the underwater levels in the Sonics on Genisus, but hes not really swimming, just walking underwater.

 

[beelzebozo]

ZELDA is the answer

to everything

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

ZELDA is the answer

to everything

Majora's Mask maybe but the Water Temple blew and swimming in LTTP was just a crappier version of walking.

 

[fabprems]

No love for the bomb defusing level in Ninja Turtles NES?

=P

Spoiler

Who didn't want to rip their hair out trying to beat this?

Damn you !! My nightmare is back... I can't close my eyes....

Take that !

Sonic water levels were just horrible... 5......4...3..2.1 DIE SONIC !!

A fine article about water levels in videogames :
http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/5812/
It reminds me how I loved the swimming pool in Tomb Raider2 (house exploration ftw)

 

[Gilby]

swimming in Mario Galaxy: meh
swimming with a shell in Mario Galaxy: Awesome Possum.

 

[eXistor]

I was bored so I decided to bust out the SNES and play through some older games...namely SMB1, SMB3 and DKC. The one thing I couldn't help but notice about all three was that the swimming levels were ridiculously annoying, particularly in SMB1...

I always thought SMB1 was one of the few games that got it right. Not realistically of course, but it felt right.

 

[Bit-Bit]

One of my most favorite things to do in Majora's Mask is to put on the Zora mask and skim through the water while leaping into the air.

Seriously, best swimming ever. If humans ever invent a swimming suit that can do that, I'll be there day one!

 

[Tailzo]

Ecco the Dolphin

That is the best answer I know of. It just felt so right. Swimming was great with Tails in Sonic 3, but Sonic couldn't swim, sadly.

 

[Narpas Sword0]

majora's mask with zora mask

ratchet games that have the little propeller pack for getting around underwater

 

[VerTiGo]

More love for Majora's Mask... the Zora mask is one of the many reasons as to why it's still the greatest Zelda games. The level designs in the 3D Mario and DKC games make underwater stages some of the most memorable as well.

 

[Yoboman]

Let's be honest, humans suck ass at swimming so it should be awkward anyway

 

[Jasper]

Alex Kidd? : D

 

[Dynamic3]

It was pretty good in Infamous.

 

[Caesar III]

<3<3
Look at this image and think about it! This game is from 1999!! Look at the water!

It's a shame there is no Outcast 2

 

[BobsRevenge]

<3<3
Look at this image and think about it! This game is from 1999!! Look at the water!

It's a shame there is no Outcast 2

It wasn't going to use voxels anyways. Meh.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

It was pretty good in Infamous.

:lol

 

[Jokeropia]

Zora Suit in Majora's Mask is the one that comes to mind for me as well.

 

[Jon]

Maybe I am remembering wrong, but I though Mario Sunshine had amazing swimming/water graphics/water physics overall.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Maybe I am remembering wrong, but I though Mario Sunshine had amazing swimming/water graphics/water physics overall.

I'd actually agree with this a bit, the game focused on water a lot after all.

 

[zigg]

swimming in Mario Galaxy: meh
swimming with a shell in Mario Galaxy: Awesome Possum.

Came here to post this, except without using the words "awesome possum". *shudder*

 

[silverbullet1080]

Majora's Mask with the Zora mask and Twilight Princess did swimming pretty well from what I remember.

 

[KittyKittyBangBang]

I thought Tomb Raider had decent swimming, the swan dive was pretty sweet

 

[Wrekt]

 

[dragonfart28]

Shadow Complex

Banjo-Kazooie

 

[LiK]

swimming in all games suck.

 

[BattleMonkey]

There's a reason man uses boats to fight on water.

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I thought the underwater controls and animation in Shadow Complex were pretty good.

 

[Vorador]

The sunken pirate ship level was awesome.

 

[Swifty]

I'm not too keen on first person shooter attempts at portraying swimming where it basically turns into Descent with oxygen bar. It doesn't feel believable but at least Crysis wrote it off by including some type of thruster capability in the nano suit. I also like Halo's impression of swimming; Master Chief just sinks since he wears all that heavy armor but at least he doesn't drown since he has a controlled environment in it. :lol

The 3D Zeldas so far had the best swimming. If you don't have a variation of a Zora powerup, you're limited to just swimming along the surface without penalty and, in the N64 Zeldas, you can dive briefly underwater whereupon the game will force you back to the surface to represent your need of oxygen. When you get a Zora powerup, you then have full 3D control of Link underwater, using your analog stick to steer him, without needing to worry about oxygen supply.

Twilight Princess has this great diving animation whenever Link jumps into water. I think in Wind Waker, they didn't even bother to include an underwater swimming mechanic since they had that whole humongous ocean thing going on.

 

[SnakeSlashRO]

Sonic cant swim lol. I think mario 64 did a great job. And Half Life too.... I don't even know what I'm talking about :lol

 

[ShadyMilkman]

woooow, this takes me back

 

[Bizzyb]

Twilight Princess (in the Zora Suit) did it well imo

 

[jangotangos]

 

[Fewr]

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for Wii

 

[Cafeman]

Originally Posted by Danthrax:
Let's not forget the unbeatable bathysphere level in Earthworm Jim

you just brought back some horrible memories

Oh come on now, that level wasn't that hard now was it?

Anyway ... Ecco was pretty good for a 2D example. I always thought the Tomb Raider games had nice swimming levels that seemed to get refined as the series progressed. TR1's swimming levels seemed just as revolutionary to me as most of the rest of the game, back in its time.

I didn't see anybody mention my pick for worst swimming levels: those in Burning Rangers, Sega Saturn. Horrible!

 

[user_nat]

I remember Just Cause having fairly annoying swimming. I think it inverted your controls or something like that.