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Silent Hunter III (DVD-ROM) Review (continued)
More User Submitted Silent Hunter III (DVD-ROM) Reviews
Date: 2006-02-14
best sub simulation ever...
it gets a little boring every now and then, when even 1024x compression seems not enough as you are sent halfway across the world to patrol a grid. but that is the only black mark, as this is an excellent simulation.
Date: 2006-02-09
Will they ever release a Starforce free version?
I would love to buy this game but I do not want to risk harm to my computer from the hidden Starforce copy protection. Google it...
I'm sure all the people that wanted it already have it legal or not. I would like to buy a copy without the damaging Starforce.
I've heard there are illegal versions available but I want to buy it Ubi Soft! There are many games I've bought and played that don't use this draconian method of copy protection.
Date: 2006-02-08
WASTE OF $$$
Don't waste your money on this product.
1) Most of the boxes do not come with the 25 digit code number you need to play.
2) Will be a fustrating headache if you want to play online (will not work for me over internet , lan is fine though)
3) You set all the skill options to the easiest setting or the hardest settings makes no difference, AI kills you the same.
4) Graphics look good. yah!
Date: 2006-01-21
IF YOU WANT TO EXPERIENCE DAS BOOT . . .
this is the way to go! Silent Hunter 3 (SH3) has just about everything a sub-sim fan could ask for: detailed graphics, astounding sound, realistic submarines with various levels of realism to choose from, dozens of ships to sink, an excellent tutorial, and good single mission and career modes!
My very first sub-sim was "Silent Service" for the NES. Surprisingly, it was one of the very best games I played on that system because it had so much depth and replay value. I remember at that time fantasizing though how much better that game would have been if they remade it years later. Although SH3 is not the same as "Silent Service" there are lots of similarities except that SH3 perfects . . . everything!
In regards to the installation of the game, I had no problem whatsoever. You do NOT have to connect to the internet to install SH3, but you do have to install some other program. Not sure what it does, but it hasn't caused any problems on my computer.
As for the game itself, even if you played an ancient game like "Silent Service", it'll take about half a day to get the hang of things. Probably a whole day if you've never played a sub-sim in your life.
Sims have a reputation of utilizing every single bloody key on the keyboard (sometimes twice over) because there are so many widgets and gadgets to tinker around with. But believe me when I tell you that you can control your whole submarine FROM YOUR MOUSE! How did they pull that off? Easy, they have a semi-hidden menu on the left-side of the screen that warps you to the different parts of the submarine. Very intuitive with the exception of the crew management section, which doesn't make very much sense at all.
Silent Hunter 3 is not a perfect game. I bought a more recent release copy and it had it's fair share of bugs. Most notable is this big white sun that takes up about 30 degrees of my horizon and the rest of the sky is black and the sun doesn't rise/set. This happened on my computer with an Nvidia Geforce 4 64MB video card. But you'll be glad to know that there is a patch you can download that will fix all of that perfectly! An outstanding patch! Now I have my sunrise/sunset and you can even see all the constellations in the night sky!
There are other mods that change how the crew management works and keel depth on certain ships, etc. This game apparently has quite a following.
If you've ever seen the movie "Das Boot", this game is as close as you'll get to the real thing--apart from going to Bavarian Film Studios in Munich where they have the real "Das Boot" submarine models, including one you can walk into.
Date: 2006-01-16
Silent Hunter 3 Review
I personally found Silent Hunter 3 to be a lot of fun. However, casual gamers (those who play less than four hours a week) should note that there is about a small learning curve for the game. Fortunately, the manual is fairly informative, though you will need to keep it around while you are still learning the basics.
All of the modeling in the game is done quite well, with historical models and patterns being used for such things as ships and convoy routes. The violence is done quite tastefully, with ships giving satisfactory explosions and sinking impressively, but without bodies or other gory animations. This is a safe game for younger gamers, albeit somewhat complicated for a beginner.
The sound and graphics quality is excellent, with sound in particular being splendid. You can hear everything from seagulls near land to the sound of depth charges splashing into the water (watch out!) to the grinding noises of an enemy ship breaking up.
Overall, this game is entertaining, historically informative, and engaging, even for non-submarine fans - although sub simulations lovers will find it to be possibly the best sim currently on the market. Exetremely flexible difficulty settings provide forgiving standards of play for beginners, while experts can attempt more challenging levels. All in all, I highly recommend this game.
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