The holiday sales are really good for discovering titles that have gotten pushed down through time from the iTunes App Store best seller list. Aquamarine HD is one of them. Released September of this year, Aquamarine HD was made available for free for a limited time which prompted its rise to the top downloaded game that week.
Aquamarine HD for the iPad is absolutely stunning. The graphics are gorgeous. The animations sparkle amidst the filter of being underwater and provides that exact illusion to the player that he may often get lost to simply admire the underwater flora and fauna. Watch the video.
Sure there may be some uncanny things happening in the game such as our heroine being able to laugh and speak underwater and propel herself several feet into the air like a dolphin but these are easily forgivable for the actual gameplay is rather fun and immersive.
A huge storm sweeps through the coasts and our heroine loses all her friends in the wake of the storm. While on a boat, she decides to snorkel underwater to talk to some of the fish to help her find her friends. Yep, the story seems rather bizarro but trust me on this one, it works out somehow. The gameplay mechanics are rather simple with you pointing and dragging your finger towards the general direction you want her to swim. There’s an oxygen bar on the left side letting you know how much time is left before you run out of air. It’s amazing though how deep she can hold her breath. And talk. Underwater. To fish.
The current game is not without hiccups though — the current release is bugged with BG music not playing which should be fixed in a later version that was also just announced.
Pros
- excellent graphics; one of the best on the iPad
- relatively fun to play
Cons
- current version has an audio bug
- only available on the iPad
Bottomline
Aquamarine HD now only costs USD $0.99 and it’s well work the price. Great graphics, good gameplay and an overall charmer that you would want to show off to your friends.