A classic in the genre. The missions may be canned (that is, have no random variation aside from units reacting to you), but the sim gameplay itself is great - when it came out it pretty much blew the competition out of the water - and the graphics/presentation is still good for a 1997 game. You might say it has a certain charm, even. Just wait until it's on sale so you get actually decent value, and yes, it does go on sale.

Gameplay consists of navigating your vessel - an improved Los-Angeles class submarine - and achieving objectives such as sinking enemy ships and laying mines.

To get an idea of what it's like, this is a boat that mostly sails under the water. Your primary means of figuring out where in God's name you are involves bouncing sound waves off everything - which is called sonar as it sounds cool - because you sure as Hell don't have any windows. Don't think it'll be quite as easy as captaining a regular boat, either, even with your assisting crewmembers.

And that's just basic sailing. When you're facing enemy vessels, it can get pretty tense. Overall, it can make for a decent challenge.

You can also upgrade your sub and your crew between missions with earned points, and change your weapons loadout while in port.

You unfortunately cannot access any proper tutorials in-game. There are tutorial missions, short tutorial videos in the game directory and a comprehensive PDF manual included, but for a submarine simulator it's a rather odd oversight. At least the manual is good and the game is great once you start getting the hang of it. The submarine controls themselves are sensibly laid out and easy to use once you know how - of course, this game made the Guinness book of world records 1999-2000 as 'most intellectually challenging PC game', and it still holds up today as perhaps one of the best in its genre. Having the assistants enabled helps.

That said, it is a 1997 game. It may not run that well on modern systems, even if it runs well on mine. The naval combat packs it comes in are rather pricey, too; you should wait for a sale.

FYI, the Steam version is the latest patched version, 1.08, initially a re-release of the game in 2006. Random fun fact: this game used to be published by EA.

The music is of special mention. It's around 8 or so MIDI tracks, and it's the sort of great suspense stuff you might hear from a more subdued Tom Clancy film. You can download it here and get some of the songs from the game remixes in MP3 format from here. They're very good and very appropriate. Think a Tom Clancy movie, except maybe without as much overt action.

You can also watch the special promo/press kit/B roll video they released for it here. Pretty fascinating glimpse into the development, plus some gameplay on a period computer that's frankly laughably slow compared to the speed anyone buying this game now would get. Kudos to Valve and Sonalysts for having it on Steam.

This is a game that comes from a time when one had to have skill to win. If you like 90s graphics for explosions, a necessity to read online forums to understand the game's mechanics, and an overall love for strategey at sea; this is the game to play. I've been playing it since 1999, and I don't see a reason to stop.

This is one of those classic sim games that you can not go wrong with. If you grew up in the era of Jane's fleet games, and the good Electronic Arts games, this one is for you. This is well worth the price. Get it.

At first I really wasnt sure if this was going to be a big waste of time and money but to my surprise
it can deliver a really entertaining time killer.

THE GOOD

1: very realistic .. well at least to a civilian.
2: complex game mechaincs to those of us who dont like our games dumbed down.
3: strong sense of acomplishment when missions are completed
4: good variety of operations consisting of single missions, campaign and training.
5: A good challenge but far from impossible once youve learned your submarine skills.
6: Lots of replay value.
7: non linear game play do it your own style quiet or loud just be aware of critical objectives you are rewarded or punished based off your operating decisions.

THE BAD

1: No real training or explaining on how to actually operate ANYTHING ON YOUR SUB!
making life very difficult in the beginning. BTW I hope you learned how to use sonar and stealth tactics for a submarine in high school otherwise its very touch and go for the first 5 hours.
2: A hard sell for full price 20 dollars based off its a 1997 game best to find it on sale.
FINAL

I give this game a 7.0

A great simulator , if you can take the time experiment and read all the manuals and figuar out how a nuclear sub actually works you will find this game has a surprisingly high fun factor even for a 1997 game.

If you like submarins, this is a nice game to learn all about them.
The drawback is TIME. Everything goes so slowly and, you are so blind that the game can be really frustrating.
Maybe a good simulation but, a game needs something else to be attractive to the player.
Buy if you like submarins and the price is a bargain

This is a great submarine simulation game. I felt right in the middle of the action, and there are definitely some tense moments, i.e. evading enemy torpedoes and stealthily sneaking up on an enemy submarine. The game has a steep learning curve at first if you've never played anything like it before. I recommend reading the captain's manual if you want some early pointers on how to learn the basics. Some of the missions take multiple hours to complete, and I found it easy to lose myself in the game. It's got simplistic graphics, as it is an older game. On Windows 7 platforms, I've noticed that the game doesn't run as reliably as older versions of Windows, i.e. random crashing in the middle of missions for no reason. That seems to be one of the only downfalls that I have come across. Other than that, definitely a thumbs up.

This is a simulator sub marine game which is kind of outdated in graphic and gameplay. Its hard to just pick up and learn this type of gameplay right away but after time you might get a hang of it. Its a game were you pretty much find the enemy and try to kill them before they kill you. The graphics are old and kind of blocky. The music I had to turn off because it was kind of getting annoying. Its an alright game. If you get it in a pack then that's the best way to obtain a game like this.

An old favorite of mine. Harpoon style gameplay, real time. Great modern sub simulator.

... I think I sunk my battleship.

I have no idea what I'm doing here. I'm sure it's a great retro game for those that want a sub sim. I just have no idea what I'm doing :)

It is fun but do not expect high end graphics, This game does not utilize the high end graphics displays of todays systems. Do no expect full screeen displays or incredible displays.

Honestly, I didn't understand the game mechanics all that much so I dropped it.

Do not buy, doest work in newer systems

I don't know how I got this. I hope I didn't pay for it. I guess if you have nostalgia for it go right ahead but it's as intuitive as a 16 year old game and the graphics are fit for 1997.

Steam overlay doesn't work which means you can't take screenshots or use any community features.

handicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collectionhandicapped cretin
now owns Strategy First Collection