Developers at Rage Software invite gamers to a near future when nearly all is right in the world. The very notion of warfare is a thing of the past, as cultural and geographical borders have melted away and the whole world joins together as one unified, peaceful nation. Of course, even world peace is a threatening concept to some, namely the despots and dictators of the past for whom war is the only way of life. (Could mere men be so deeply evil as to promote war in the face of this unprecedented peace, or is there something even more sinister driving these dire actions?) Fearing the unknown future of peace, these military leaders of old join together to launch an assault against the whole world, in the hopes of a return to the familiar, tumultuous anarchy of war upon which they thrived in the past.

The peaceful leaders of the new world order are somewhat unprepared for the attack. War was assumed to be a thing of the past and there have been no real preparations made for its instance in the future. Their only hope is to revive the last remaining war machine of the old days -- the Antaeus - a forgotten carrier ship that now lies silent in the murky depths of the ocean floor. World leaders rush to reactivate the enormous carrier, in the desperate hope that its power will be enough to squelch the terrorist uprising and remove the threat of war forever.

The Antaeus serves as the main base in this real-time strategy. A nanofactory on the ship allows for the production of several types of air, sea, and amphibious units. Resources are scarce, gathered primarily by recycling fallen units. A customizable interface allows players the ability to monitor several parts of the 3D map almost instantly. Different missions present players with strategic decisions concerning the most effective form of attack, whether it is more efficient to bomb out a factory, destroy supplies, or simply attack enemy units directly. There is even an option to take control of a single vehicle, placing the player in the line of fire to control the action from an up-close, third-person perspective. Hostile Waters is written on a modified version of Rage's Incoming engine, designed to provide smooth, fluid 3D action and impressive special effects.