Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific
Preview
A historically accurate depiction of WWII as seen beneath the waves of the Pacific
by CrazyCanuck
previewed on PC
Water, water, everywhere...
The editors here at Hooked Gamers always have an interesting sense of humour when selecting games for writers to preview. Currently they seem to have a water theme in mind for me ? my last preview was for Battlestations: Midway and this preview of Silent Hunter 4 takes me beneath the waves to the depths of the Pacific ocean. I?m guessing that my next article will preview some water polo simulation or the like. The irony in all of this is that I?m not particularly good in water at all (unless it?s frozen - my nationality helps with that). At any rate, let me grab a drink here (water of course) and let?s discuss what Silent Hunter 4 has in store for us this spring.
Developed by Ubisoft Romania and published by Ubisoft, Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific puts you behind the periscope of an American submarine while managing the crew and the developing situation around you. Where Silent Hunter III was set in the Atlantic theatre of World War II, this title is staged in the Pacific theatre of that same war, where you will command your vessel through a wide variety of single player missions and multiplayer action.
One ping and one ping only
Ubisoft is claiming that Silent Hunter 4 will offer what they are calling a "Hollywood Blockbuster experience". Combining vivid visuals, equally impressive sound and historically accurate vehicles and situations, they hope to immerse the player in the experience in a way that has never been done before. The game offers more than 75 authentic-looking war machines including the most representative of the U.S. and Japanese fleet boat classes. You?ll see American P-class, Tambor, Salmon and Gato vessels as well as Japanese Yamato and Kawanishi craft.
The single-player experience involves a diverse set of missions and events spanning more than fifteen maps, each of which offer their own unique rewards. You will commandeer various submarines and progress your career or dive into instant patrol action for some quick play. Throughout the adventure you will manage your crew - experience will provide upgrades that you can apply to their skill set to develop them into the most effective crew in the fleet. The realism in the game is palpable ? from the modeling of the ships, to the historical missions and the variable weather effects, you can see that Silent Hunter 4 continues the tradition of offering the most realistic submarine simulation available. You do have control of the realism factor however and you can dial it up if you prefer an ultra-realistic game (where, for example, torpedoes may fail to perform - similar to problems with American detonators early in World War II) or you can dial it down for a more "arcade" feel. The choice is up to you and you can scale the experience however you choose.
In the multiplayer arena, Silent Hunter 4 offers an adversarial mode where you and up to 8 friends via LAN or internet can play in co-operative or adversarial modes. In this latter mode, one of the players can even take control of the enemy escorts and other surface forces. The available missions allow for endless re-playability with both scripted and generated scenarios.
So what?s new?
Gamers who are familiar with the Silent Hunter series will be most interested in what Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific has to offer over previous games in the series. Other than the unique campaign and missions set in the Pacific theatre, Ubisoft is introducing changes in crew management as one of the biggest improvements this time around. Crew management is simplified and requires less babysitting of individual characters while the new crew evolution feature deepens the development of the crew members. Other changes involve better mechanisms to help players navigate the world ? the controls have been upgraded and the interface streamlined to provide for a more intuitive experience through more diverse mission objectives.
Silent Hunter 4 uses an improved version of the GDS engine which was used in Silent Hunter III. This allows for higher graphical detail and effects (including variable weather and water motion). As well, the mechanics of the game have been augmented resulting in shorter load times and all-around superior performance.
Final Thoughts
There really isn?t a whole lot of information available regarding Silent Hunter 4 which is unfortunate given its up-coming spring release. Submarine simulators are definitely a niche market, but the Silent Hunter series has always had a loyal following and the previous game in the series is generally regarded as the best of the franchise. With some tweaking to the engine, content and game scenarios, Ubisoft may soon have a new king of the waves in a genre that is often overlooked.
