Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific Review

Submarine sims have been around for decades now but in the past decade or so you rarely got to hear about them except in very specialized circles. In 2005 Ubisoft released Silent Hunter III and breathed new life into this ailing genre. The game offered a great balance between realism and playability and it did this with stunning graphics and some brilliant mission design. Two years later the developers have gathered all feedback, applied it to their original concept, and created Silent Hunter: Wolves of the Pacific. The game is as good as its predecessor and though there are some problems it is still a gem for fans of submarine simulations.

As the commander of a submarine you will have many tasks to perform. You will need to set the route that the submarine will patrol, how to attack the enemy and where, and how and when to get away from your current position before or after you are discovered. As with warfare you need to maintain the element of surprise for devastating attacks. An unprepared and unaware enemy makes the ideal target in war. Then you need to know what weapons to use under what circumstances for maximum effectiveness in each strike.

Your patrol route will determine whether you will find enemies or not though sometimes you will receive messages on their approximate location and then you can move in for a fight. You will often need to study enemy bases and judge on what routes they must be taking and then plan your own routes accordingly. There is always the chance of running into enemy convoys on routine patrol through radar or visual contact.

The game begins with some tutorials that expert players might wish to skip. The tutorials familiarize the player with the various systems of the submarine so you can run it properly. You will know how to run the submarine before you take part in any campaign or solo mission. The game offers only basic information on how to man the AA guns or how to fire torpedoes and so on. In that sense the simulation falls short of reality because there are no advanced maneuvers or options. You will have to find this out for yourself.

The focus of the game is on the duties of the sub commander rather than the intricacies of plotting things with mathematical tools. You just give the orders and some AI will do the job for you. This means every single sub system of the submarine will not require manual supervision. Of course, if you want to control them manually then go ahead but there are no tutorials on how to do it. This is a neat trick that leaves the simulation accessible to novice and experienced players. If you want to run the submarine as a submarine mechanic then go ahead but the game is actually meant to be played as a sub commander.

Following in the footsteps of Silent Hunter III, Wolves of the Pacific is similarly open ended. The war continues regardless of your personal fiascos and victories and the missions vary from ridiculously easy to frustratingly difficult.

Submarines are underwater bullies because they go after weaker opponents like merchant ships or tankers and quickly run away from cruisers and destroyers. The submarine is patently incapable of taking on any opponent tougher than itself. There are opportunities for the watchful sub commander to sneak a bomb on unwary battleships but the trouble is that they are seldom without backup and it always comes down to hit, run, and hide. The AI in Wolves of the Pacific is every bit as aggressive as in Silent Hunter III so be careful whom you choose to attack or you will be in deep trouble, pun intended.

Proceeding through the game you will earn enough to trade and get upgrades for your submarine’s detection equipment and buy better weapons. What you buy will also determine how the game plays out for you. A stronger weapons means you are going for offense while stronger radar means you are going in for stealth. Newer models of subs will also become available as you make progress. There is a slight hitch here in terms that if you are not familiar with submarines then some valuable experience will be lost. This does not reflect on the game play. Rather it has historic value.

You can adjust the level of realism to suit your taste. There are many options that may be tweaked for this. If you want a more action game feel and less sim then you can turn off fuel, reloading time, and similar restrictions faced in real life. If you are a hardcore submarine sim player then you can turn off external cameras and workout your own firing plans. Every single option may be turned on or off independently so you can get the desired limit of realism.

There are some key changes to the graphics engine and they are all for the better. The game looks as good as Silent Hunter III but the water modeling is much better in Wolves of the Pacific. This is the most believable water ever seen in a computer game and considering that most of the time is spent in the water this is a huge plus for the game. Waves will crash against the bows of ships and the sea surface properly reflects fire and other light sources. Sea water will collect on the inner lip of the periscope and will also smudge your view when you surface. Torpedoes and other explosions will cause the right eruption on the sea surface.

The damage model is also improved with torpedoes now inflicting damage better than they did in Silent Hunter III. Different parts of the ship now suffer differently when hit and you can actually see the damage. Get close enough to enemy ships and you can actually see the holes your torpedoes have made in their hulls. Sometimes you can even see water pouring into those holes. The best part is when you can get an enemy to explode into flames.

Similar to Silent Hunter III, every ship has unique way of breaking apart and sinking. All this is displayed with remarkable accuracy but you do not get to see your own destruction.

The details on the ships are breathtaking. You can see rivets and rust stains and the metallic surface has a good sheen to it. Even inside you will find the same level of detail with your crew members really doing what you tell them to and everything is carefully rendered with accuracy.

The underwater audio is well done and the voice acting is adequate.

Some flaws continue in the form of game crashing bugs. Crew members will become unresponsive. Sometimes your home port will be taken by the enemy even when it is surrounded by friendly ships. Traveling is a pain even at 7000 times regular speed. The game needs a “warp to next encounter” button.

Conclusion

Wolves of the Pacific is an excellent submarine sim that is equally playable for novices and veterans. This is achieved by focusing on the duties of the sub commander rather than placing control of every element on the submarine into the player’s hands. It is a visual stunner and even including the few bugs and glitches it is a must have for simulation fans.