May Sound Fishy, but ‘Aquanaut’ a Must-Have

I started my vacation a few days early this year with a nifty new PlayStation title that simulates an undersea expedition--complete with colorful schools of fish, sunken shipwrecks and what seems like miles and miles of ocean floor.

Aquanaut’s Holiday provides a rare and beautiful experience in a game totally unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Generally, a game that includes no punching or kicking or shooting or jumping ranks pretty low on my list.

But my affection for Aquanaut’s Holiday betrays my usually philistine tastes. It is, quite frankly, a must-have title for anyone who appreciates the breadth and depth of gaming PlayStation provides.

The game has no goal other than the simple joy of discovery as players explore an underwater world full of whales and mantas and all manner of marine life. All that surrounds players is an endless expanse of deep blue water, navigated by a state-of-the-art submarine.

The ostensible point of Aquanaut’s Holiday is to build a reef that attracts a range of fish. But that’s almost beside the point. Building the reef is so easy that the task is more diversionary than anything else. I was perfectly content to just let the ocean currents carry me away as I watched a host of beautifully rendered aquatic critters dance by on-screen.

For instance, I chased a whale for several minutes, watching him climb gracefully to the surface for air and then descend in a long, slow arc. Because the sub is equipped with special speakers that broadcast sound in the silent depths, I was able to attract the whale’s attention from time to time, distracting him from his routine just long enough to get a good look at how carefully he was drawn.

The details make Aquanaut’s Holiday such a relaxing blast. For players hung over from the testosterone highs of most other games, Aquanaut’s Holiday offers a unique and breathtaking break.

Dive in.

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Bogey Dead 6: Being in a bogey’s six means having him right where you want him: dead ahead in front of you with your missiles locked on. Playing Bogey Dead 6 for PlayStation, I never got to actually experience the raw power of the position. I did, however, discover what it’s like to have plenty of bogeys bearing down on my six.

It’s not a very nice feeling.

But everything else about this lightning-fast combat flight sim is very, very nice. Packed with a dozen fairly conventional missions--Shoot Down the F-16, Shoot Down the Terrorist Aircraft, Defend the Weapons Factory--Bogey Dead 6 packages them in a most unconventional way.

I’d like to meet the folks who packed this kind of speed and stability into a home game. It demonstrates the leaps 32-bit gaming is making with each new generation. The landscapes of Dead Bogey 6 practically scream by and enemy fighters zip and dart on and off the screen without stalling or losing texture.

It gets a little too real.

Maybe the folks at Sony are right: I’m not ready.

Staff writer Aaron Curtiss reviews video games every Thursday. To comment on a column or to suggest games for review, send letters to The Times, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth, CA 91311. Or send e-mail to Aaron.Curtiss@latimes.com.