In certain respects the new interiors are actually inferior to their SH3 equivalents. While (almost) everything is peachy outside, inside progress is less obvious. Anyone that ticks the super-hardcore 'no exterior views' box in the option menu is really missing out. Sea-beds now come with a sprinkling of weed and rocks (sadly, neither appear to detect collisions or harbour shoals of fish), the brine itself is thick with drifting shreds of algae. Minor irritations at worst.ĭangle the camera over the side and there's evidence of headway there too. My biggest visual complaints would be the harshness of the daytime lighting (shadows can be inky black) and the speed with which some of the new clouds move and morph (think Koyaanisqatsi). Much higher poly counts on vessels, gaping holes in hulls, animated crews, lifeboats and bobbing wreckage. Stood on the bridge under a big harvest moon watching a smouldering freighter slip beneath the waves, you'd have to be a real curmudgeon not to admire what Ubisoft's artists have achieved. Even with the limitations, this has to be the best-looking naval game ever. Personally I never noticed the res issue until I read about it and haven't found the lack of FSAA all that distracting. Salty tears War comes to Bikini Bottom.Īs I write this, numerous passionate fans on official and unofficial forums are bewailing an apparent resolution swindle (The game appears to be 'faking' high resolutions by rescaling 1024x768) and a missing anti-aliasing option. Despite graphics improvements, new mission types, and all the vessels and geography that come with the change of setting, there really isn't a lot of distance between the two sims. Whether you'd enjoy it more than you'd enjoy its cheaper, more polished predecessor, is another question. If you like the sound of the above account then you're probably going to enjoy SH4. Worst case scenario, the trail of bubbles from the aquatic missile will have been spotted, the freighter will have begun zigzagging, and the convoy shepherds - depth-charge laden corvettes - will be darting in your direction. Mess-up and there'll be nothing except silence and a niggling sense of failure and waste (torps are very precious on long patrols). If you've done your calculations correctly, positioned your craft well, and not dispensed a dud, then the rusty toiler in the periscope lens will eventually sprout a gratifying fountain of spray or flame. with the tin fish away there's little to do but wait, hope, rub the sweat from your eyes and watch the pin-thin hand of the stopwatch sweep towards the magic red line. Run out of torpedoes? Hurl hand grenades at them from the conning tower. With less-demanding settings, fire preparation can be as simple as locking the unwitting victim in the crosshairs and waiting for the target icon to turn seaweed-green. Once in position - if you're playing with high realism settings - it's all hands/eyes to the periscope information about target type, speed, and bearing must all be fed into the TDC (Torpedo Data Computer) before the torps can be unleashed. You plunge to periscope depth, and plot an intercept course that puts you just ahead of the prey and abeam of it. When that something - a lone merchant, convoy or taskforce - presents itself, the ambush excitement begins. Most of the time you're cruising around 'topside' looking for something to kill. Hitman on the high seasįor those who've never tried a sub game before, they're like stealthy FPSes with limited weapon choice, minimal scenery, huge levels and super-slow bullet-time. This time you're cooped-up in a sweaty US sub and your targets are those Pearl Harbour kidney-punchers, the Japanese. Where SH2 and SH3 required you to chloroform your conscience, sinking British and American merchant shipping as a dastardly Kriegsmarine U-boat captain, this episode lets you feel good about drowning the defenceless. SH4 is gaming's most enduring WW2 sub sim franchise returned to its old spawning grounds, the Pacific Ocean. Right now it looks like the new Oleg Maddox WW2 flight sim will leave the hangar as Battle of Britain: Sky Voles versus Air Rhinos thanks to me.īut enough bragging. IL-2: Crocodiles of the Clouds, that was another. Silent Hunter 2: Mongooses of the Atlantic was one of mine.
Since 2000 I've been helping Ubisoft name all of their simulations. For the record, I was the one that came-up with the 'Wolves of the Pacific' part of the title. Before we start, it's only right I declare a small vested interest in this submarine game.