I've always been fascinated with the U-boats of WWII. I've read books, seen every film, I own "Das Boot" on DVD and I played just about every U-Boat sim there's ever been. However for some reason there've never been a lot of U-boat sims produced. The last one I play was the old stalwart "Aces of the Deep" by Sierra/Dynamix. I played that baby till it just plain wore out. From time to time I've looked for a sim to scratch my U-Boat itch and thought I'd found it in SSI's Silent Hunter II. Installation: A breeze for this game. No hiccups with XP-Pro and SP.1. Graphics: The graphics on this game were dated when this game was new. You can't even dial up 32 bit screen resolutions with 4 digits in them. My puter doesn't even break into a sweat on this one. Simplistc modeling, no humans, no crews, just ships that tend to all look alike when you're trying to plaster them. Children in grade school now can do better graphics. Gameplay: SP is "alright" but nothing to write home about. You run around a few limited stations and do what U-Boats do, run on the surface, set up your shot, dive, shoot and run for home. Problem is, there's no "daynamic" campaign mode here. You either accomplish your goals or you're right back out there doing the same mission over, and over again. No replay value at all. Controls are fairly stright forward and not too bad a learning curve for noobs. Sound: Sound is the ONE area this game got right. The thrum of the deisels, the whine of the batteries, the groan of the boat as depth increases all these things add up to one immersive game sound wise. The score and sound effects are absolutely the best thing about this game. Conclusion: It's the only game in town for submariners looking for a quick fix. Hopefully the boys at Ubisoft will make good on the promises seen on Silent Hunter III due out in a couple of weeks. If so, then this game has proven it's worth to me as a training tool for a superior game to come. Da Worfster
Submarine sims have been top of my list of games since Silent Service. Drooled over Silent Hunter then played it whenever I could. Sinking more than 3 Yamato class, etc. was a bit strange but otherwise THE best game of... Read Full Review
I've always loved a good U-Boat sim, like the classic Aces of The Deep by Sierra and the original Silent Hunter, so I was waiting for this game with crazy anticipation. After receiving the game I playing it nonstop but l... Read Full Review
