W W II sims: Lots of reading, little action

WW II sims: Lots of reading, little action

By CHRIS TALBOT

Developed by SSI and released to the world by Ubisoft, two new naval simulation games can link up via the Internet or through an intranet and let players go head to head.

Sold separately, Silent Hunter II and Destroyer Command simulate naval warfare during World War II. In Destroyer Command, players take on the role of a captain of a United States Navy destroyer on the open seas against German, Italian and Japanese forces. Silent Hunter II puts players in command of a German U-boat that goes up against U.S. and British ships.

In single player modes, players can run through missions or launch into a campaign, but the two games can be used in conjunction with one another in online naval battles.

Silent Hunter II

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to command a submarine? Silent Hunter II will give you that chance. Unfortunately, piloting a German U-boat in a simulation isn't quite the same as what is seen in the movies. As the pilot, players will find they will be fighting boredom a lot more than they will fight other ships.

Imagine being cooped up in a sardine tin for months on end and being completely blind every time your ship submerges under the water. Welcome to Silent Hunter II. While the game is easy to install, the gameplay is complicated. The 195-page manual is a necessity. Players are advised tb read the book from cover to cover and to keep it beside their keyboards in case of emergencies.

To SSI's credit, the game developers obviously spent significant amounts of time researching naval warfare, German U-boats and American and British ships. The game is visually beautiful when you're staring at something more than kilometres of ocean, but simulation games try to re-create something — and the truth is, commanding a submarine is nothing short of dullness occasionally interrupted by combat.

When I first sat down with the game, I was happy to find some training missions listed. Unfortunately, all of the instructions for the training missions are in the manual. The training missions themselves are completely useless when it comes to helping players learn to command the U-boat. I slowly discovered how to set a course, adjust the speed of the engine and dive below the waves. Unfortunately, the periscope still confused me after I finally gave up on the training mission.

For players with a lot of patience and a lot of time on their hands, this game might hold some enjoyment.

Destroyer Command

Compared to Silent Hunter II on a fun level, Destroyer Command has something that Silent Hunter II doesn't have — suspense. Somewhere out below the waves, there is most likely a U-boat loading a torpedo with your name on it. effort and patience to master. Unfortunately, I lacked both time and patience.

On the plus side, the manual that comes with the game is much smaller than the one for Silent Hunter II, weighing in at only 72 pages. Again the instructions for the training missions are in the manual. I'd hate to be the player who loses the manual. "Less reading, more playing" should be the motto of every game producer out there.

Because of a destroyer's inability to dive, players have portholes and windows in most rooms, so they don't have to drive blind. This makes it much easier to change direction, see the water splash past and notice Uboats sneaking up on you. However, the boredom I found playing Silent Hunter II is in Destroyer Command, as well. Most of the time, you're just piloting the boat, which isn't a very exciting thing to do.

The final word

Maybe I'm not enough of a fan of simulation games to appreciate Silent Hunter II and Destroyer Command. Despite the complexity and difficulty of the games, the gameplay itself seems sound. Persistence and patience are assets, for sure.

Some players might be attracted to the games by the multiplayer functions. After all, human opponents are always more fun to play against than computer ones. ♦

more I N F O

Destroyer Command $59.99 SSI/Ubisoft wwwdestroyercommand.com

EVE®RYO E

s4v,

Requirements: Pentium II 266 MHz processor 64 MB of RAM 700 MB of hard disk space 8x CD-ROM drive Direct 3D-compliant 3D-accelerated video card with 16 MB of VRAM DirectSound-compliant soundcard

Silent Hunter II 559.99 SSI/Ubisoft www.silenthunterii.com

Requirements: Pentium II 266 MHz processor 64 MB of RAM 650 MB of hard disk space 8x CD-ROM drive

DirectX 8-compliant 3D-accelerated video card with 16 MB of VRAM

DirectSound-compliant soundcard