New screens of Codemasters' waterlogged RTS Maelstrom

Water, as we all know, is vital for many things such as survival and, of course, swimming. But now Codemasters is attempting to make it indispensable for real-time strategy games with the release of Maelstrom for PC on 30 September.

The action is set in a post-apocalyptic vision of Earth where three factions are struggling for power. Firstly there's the Ascension, a huge corporation that is intent on conquering Earth with its hugely advanced technology.

Struggling against them are the Remnants, a human force made up of the existing world armies who make up for military might with cunning and flexibility. And just to add a bit more confusion to the action, an alien race has invaded Earth in order to make use of the supplies of water.

But water plays a much larger role in Maelstrom than just quenching the aliens' thirst: it can be used strategically. The environments are fully destructible, which means complete landscapes can be altered with enough fire power and, if the area devastated is connected to a stretch of river or lake, it may well fill up with water.

This means bases can be fortified by creating moats and other such obstacles to make it difficult for enemy forces to launch assaults. It can also be used offensively by the Ascension as they can freeze waterways - and any vehicle or troops in there at the time.

Screens Here