Dangerous Waters (PC CD)

 

 

Create your own review

I've been waiting for this game since 1998 when the first sub sim (688i hk) was released by sonalysts! The wait was worth the result we see in "Dangerous Waters". The first challenge is mastering the 7 different platforms (air, surface and sub surface) this sim provides you with. Once familiar with the intricacies of each platform you can then turn your attention to tactics strategies and team play. An average "dive" (as a game session is called) can take anywhere between 1-5 hours, patience is a virtue as time is spent listening to sonar and zigzagging your sub searching for hostile contacts and hearing whales and shrimp instead! Once you get a trace of a "hostile" or hear "torpedo in the water" the pace picks up, adrenaline starts flowing and the action begins! Am I the target? Should I run? Should I fire back? Each of these questions has a different answer each time you head below the waves; no dive is ever the same.

The aircraft on this sim (MH-60R and the Orion P-3C) are far from being modeled according to even basic flight simulators. You "fly" for the most part by adding waypoints or typing in the altitude, direction and speed. Time spent is looking at your sonar buoys and various other sensors searching for hostiles.

There are a number of online fleets who actually have "dive schools" that show new divers the A's through Z's of basic platform handling. This is a great way to find sparring partners and to learn more advanced platform handling and tactics - This is where the most rewarding dive occur.

I wouldn't recommend this game for those of you who are into the quick point and shoot action games; it just doesn't work that way. It is however extremely rewarding for those of who can implement tactics and execute strategy. In short Naval Chess!

The latest submarine/naval simulation from Sonalysts, Dangerous Waters will be familiar in appearance, performance and overall feel to those with experience of Sub Command and its predecessors. In fact, that's actually the biggest problem I have with this game.

Certainly it's added a few good features to Sub Command's format. The new angle taken here is that the player can choose from a wider range of naval platforms than in previous 'pure-sub' games. Los Angeles, Seawolf, Akula and Kilo attack boats are available for you, along with the Oliver Hazard Perry frigate, the P3 Orion and an ASW helicopter. So plenty to get your teeth into, as they say. It's worth pointing out for those attracted to the idea of the aircraft that this isn't a flight simulation. Your control of the aircraft isn't direct - you're not the pilot. Instead, you're the operations commander who gives the pilot orders and directs the rest of the crew to prosecute contacts using such tools as sonobuoys, radar, and magnetic anomaly detection.

One addition that's certainly worth mentioning - and gains the game a star in itself - is the random mission generator. Previously, in Sub Command, play was limited to the pre-written campaign or to single missions, either prepackaged or created by the player in the Mission Editor. Although the Mission Editor (which is still present) allows for 'random start boxes' and the ability to assign a random probability that a given unit will be included, it's still not ideal for the solo player who wants to run a mission without necessarily knowing what's coming. The random generator works from a numerical seed value to create a different mission configuration each time - and, more importantly, it does it very very quickly, so there's no need to sit down and spend an hour designing the mission you want to spend half an hour playing.

Although that said, this isn't a quick game. Submarine simulations can't be. There is a time acceleration command which cuts down the overall mission time significantly, but even so, you'll want to allow enough time for an unhurried game even for a basic mission.

It's not all good news, though. As I said above, the biggest problem is that this is familiar to Sub Command players. Really, really familiar. It looks the same; it sounds the same (although there's now a dodgy Chinese voice accent to go with the dodgy Russian one). It's great in the sense that you can just dive in and play - but although the ocean surface has been given a new set of ripples, this still looks dated. The sea is essentially a flat surface, like a sheet of blue cardboard, and the whole game feels not so much like a simulation as a game of slightly prettier Harpoon - naval chess. Underwater, you can see for miles - it should be a muffled, shadowy world, all shapes and ripples, but nothing here gives the impression of actually being underwater, except that the flat sheet of cardboard is above you instead of below.

It's a shame that Sonalysts - while certainly expert in the tactical side of simulation, and obviously having big visions - haven't placed more emphasis on the appearance of the game. The models are good, but the developers could have learned some important lessons from the makers of Silent Hunter III, which almost manages to make you feel as though you really are at sea. The lighting, the water physics, the splash and explosion graphics - all are vastly superior in SH3 and a marriage between the graphics and physics of that game and the technical detail, setting and overall format of this one would be worth a whole barrel-ful of stars. As it is, I've rated it lower simply because, despite the addition of more platforms and their attendant gizmos, it is essentially just a re-release of Sub Command and I think the price tag's a little high for a game you may well already own.

Submarines are covert platforms; you can listen passively but risk detection and prosecution if you radiate any noise or use your radar. It's like being in a large room with a number of other people but you are blind and may not speak, you can only find them by listening. Very difficult to accomplish but become proficient in silently tracking and prosecuting surface contacts and you will understand why submarines are feared by all 'skimmers' (aka 'targets').

If you are interested in wargaming - how high intensity naval combat is/will be fought rather than "wow isn't that a pretty fireball" arcade gaming this is a game for you. The graphics are much better than previous versions but incidental to the satisfaction you will feel from commanding several thousand tons of steel into trail a couple of hundred metres behind a missile boat the size of several barns that is otherwise totally invisible.

The addition of the FFG, ASW helo and MPA platforms is a welcome expansion of the experience. The inability to pilot the helo or fixed wing a/c is no problem; your mission is to hunt surface and sub-surface contacts and that is where your focus should lie; the pilot is there to handle getting you to the right point to drop your torpedoes; if you want to sit in his seat buy a bus-driving sim. And the call 'Vampire Inbound' will haunt your nightmares after pitting your little Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate against a Russian SSGN or surface action group.

Where this game loses its fifth star is in the lack of detailed explanation of target motion analysis (TMA), the technique for estimating range to a target for which you only have passive sonar bearing information. You have to be versed in SUB COMMAND or have earned your Dolphins before you can switch Autocrew off on the TMA station and become a sonar specialist. But for those interested in command that is no great show-stopper.

Where it scores is the ability to switch off TRUTH mode. Ship and submarine symbols on the plot are positioned based on your estimates from the sonar signatures you sense. Get it wrong and you can be [nautical] miles off. Fighting phantoms based on where you think the enemy is not where they are can be frustrating but is true Fog Of War stuff and increases your admiration of the skills of those who practice and sometimes have to do this all for real.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 8 customer reviews...

 

2.0 out of 5 stars NO JOY, NO GOOD!
In order to play this game to its full extend you MUST have a joystick. You cannot control aircraft's throttle, pitch, yaw and roll with the keyboard you MUST have a joystick... Read more

Published 9 months ago by P. A. Fyfe

1.0 out of 5 stars not a good sim!
I am a real submariner. This is a poor sim! There is no women on board and does not recreate the 6 months under water that I have to endure. Read more

Published on 10 Jan 2008 by Ben Wilkinson

4.0 out of 5 stars Re Stuart's comments on graphics
Stuart,

I think you have not turned on the best graphics options or your PC is not capable. Read more

Published on 30 Aug 2007 by Tim A

1.0 out of 5 stars Not good for starters
This game is not good, because there isnt a tutorial on there to get you started, by knowing what to do.

Published on 24 Jan 2007 by Lucy A. Hamlin

5.0 out of 5 stars Naval Hide & Seek
This is a intresting sub sim. Your in command of one of the most dangerous subs in the world hunting down other subs and surface ships or just sitting at a habour entrance... Read more

Published on 25 Jun 2006 by Biggles1975

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 8 customer reviews...

Search Listmania!