During a huge party on the Queen of the World -- a luxury liner filled with the world's rich and privileged -- terrorists attack. And not just any terrorists, but terrorists with a little too much respect for economist Thomas Malthus. Hydrophobia would be impossible to discuss without bringing up Malthus, whose seminal work "An Essay on the Principle of Population" posits that population growth will eventually outstrip human resources, whether they be food or energy or jobs or some combination of those. In Hydrophobia, this future has come to pass.

The "Neo-Malthusians" are hell bent on murdering as many of the ship's denizens as possible to do their part in controlling overpopulation. Protaganist Kate Wilson is the only one in a position to stop them but ... wait for it ... she's just an engineer. (Yes, it's all very "Seagal in Under Siege.") Room after room is filled with at least some amount of water, which is a real issue for the game's unwitting hero who is, as the game's name hints, afraid of water.

Sure, it's unconventional, but I actually really like the premise for Hydrophobia. The game? Not as much.