I apologize for any glaring errors of the grammatical nature throughout this review. I have not slept in 2 days, and have been playing this amazing new creation that came out of Romania for the entire two day period. This phenominon is known as Silent Hunter 3. The developers, for the first time in gaming history, really sat down and listened to the opinions of their community. Silent Hunter 2 was poorly recieved, touting features that never measured up, and the presentation itself was completely mediocre. So this team wasn't going to take that reputation hit sitting down. Initially they were taking the "scripted" campaign route, their promise of a dynamic campaign was floating away faster than you could shout "Alarrm!". But after a near forum revolution by the community, they went back to the drawing board, and you will be beyond thrilled that they did. So lets start with the gameplay: Even fans of the previous installments would be wise to take the Naval Academy course. SH3 goes above and beyond, and gives you almost every aspect of controlling a U-Boat to painstaking detail. Everything from managing the crew and morale, to plotting your course on the map using rulers and protractors, its all here. The best part is, you can make it as 'real' or 'sim' as you like. By flicking a few feature switches, you can give it a more arcade feel, leaving the sim stuff for the real sub nuts, while you go and sink ships to your hearts content. The more sim you go, the more learning you have to do, and it will be very difficult to master, thats for sure. I can't describe the gameplay any better than to say everything you've wanted is all here. A 3D interior that is beautifully rendered, and being a person that has toured the inside of a U-Boat, i was impressed to see how well the development team recreated the environment. Everything factors into your game. I was patrolling the seas around Norway last night, when I got caught in a terrible storm. I ordered my navigator, Pascilli, to surface the boat as CO2 levels were getting high and the oxygen reserves needed to be refilled. Upon reaching the surface, we realized how bad the storm really was, the seas were beyond choppy, lighting was flashing almost nonstop, it appeared we were caught in a monster of a storm to be sure. Once the air levels were at acceptable levels, i ordered Pascilli to dive back down to 60 feet. The best part was, you could still hear the storm raging above the water. On to other factors, as Gameplay gets a clear 10/10. Graphics: Whats not to like here. This is easily the best looking subsim ever created to date. The fully 3D rendered interior, your crew going nuts during a depth charge attack, its so beautifully presented you won't know that you're not there and sitting in front of your screen. Easily a 10 compared to the rest of its competition. Sound: Immersive, excellent music score, and all the effects are authentic to boot. Everything from the sonar and hydrophone, to the creaking of your ship as you start heading to max safe depth. Everything helps to add to your experience, even the crew is all vocalized, and for an extra layer of realism, you can have them speak in German as well. The replay value here is infinte. The developers came through on a truly dynamic campaign, you will never play the same game twice. This game will be a long lasting edition to your collection, and i'm sure you'll be playing it for years to come if you're a real sub nut. Overall, if you even remotely enjoyed a subsim of the past, subsim fans, it does not get any better than this! It has everything you've longed and asked for, and more. You will not be disappointed.
So, I'm sailing through the North Atlantic on a cold, clear evening. It just so happens to be 1941, and I am a fearless and intrepid Nazi U-boat captain, prepared to strike hard at the Allies. My goal: to sink as many en... Read Full Review
I wont describe the game, what it is about and how it is played. But consider this; this is not a chlid's play. It is for real players. As always i will get down to the pros & cons rightaway: Pros: + Increadibly ... Read Full Review
