Game Review (written by Gage1013) Added on: 05/13/2007
SSN- 21 Seawolf was released back when Electronic Arts was still small, and was available for the 486 Platform on the DOS operating system. The game focuses around the player commanding a Seawolf class submarine. You spend the entire game fighting the forces of Soviet Russia. This does age the game quite a bit, but is also nostalgic and provides an ample amount of historically accurate enemy submarine types to hunt.
The game has a relatively deep plot for a submarine simulation and includes video clips prior to each mission. The graphics were fantastic for 1993 and are quite passable now. The gameplay itself is fairly regular submarine sim fare. However one feature that stood out to me was the ability to avoid enemy torpedoes by using speed, instead of relying on your initial volley to eliminate the enemy. The game does have multiplayer included, which comes in the form of direct modem to modem dialup play. Due to most machines of today not including modems the multiplayer is pretty much useless now. On release however the multiplayer was excellent at the time, and it may be possible to rig the game to operate over TCP/IP, if this is possible I would highly recommend it as it is a very tense and fun way to play the game.
In direct modem multiplayer each player selects a submarine and tries to hunt one another using sonar, while trying to keep the sub silent and deep. In single player your sub can sustain 3~4 hits before the crew begins to panic and scream. This adds to the realism. The Compact Disc format the game was released on made for good quality music and numerous videos. The downside of this is a slightly large download, but it is well worth it for the great soundtrack and the pre mission briefings. One of the only true flaws of the program are mostly irrelevant now. One of the bigger problems presented on release was the need for a boot disc to start play. Now with DOS emulation this is no longer the case.
Overall I would say that SSN- 21 Seawolf is a great (if aged) naval submarine Simulation that was great in its time and is still great now. I would highly recommend it if you are a fan of this genre, and it is well worth the download. I give it a 8 out of 10.
| |  | | |
Comments
click here to post a new comment.
N1temare (06/17/2007)
I remember this when it first came out. It was good then and still is now. I will again spend some hours sinking commie shipping.Alan (05/07/2007)
I remember spending hours sitting in front of the Amiga playing this game. It was great at the time!Paulmusselman (05/03/2007)
The graphics aren't bad but could really have been better for that time period. Good UI. Good sound. Multiplayer supported, which is good.Birdnerd008 (04/25/2007)
I found in playing this game it was helpful to spend as little time targeting at periscope depth as possible, then dive and watch as targets disappeared from sonar for confirmation.Eddiemoral (04/16/2007)
The graphics of Seawolf are vintage 1993, but not really bad. The interface is very playable, through a series of mini-menus that serve pretty well. There is a terrific soundtrack to this sim that picks up tempo when the action gets hot. The game supports modem play and that’s a big plus in this reviewer’s book. Playing with a buddy is very three-dimensional. You know he’s out there, and he feels your presence, but detection is difficult. Occasionally the enemy fields a submarine that almost defies detection. After torpedoes assail you seemingly from nowhere you realize you’re not alone and the real hunt begins. This sim has only a few negatives worth mentioning. First is the ever-present overhead map view, that is a little too real-time to accept. Contacts age and disappear from it to some degree, but it can be relied on too much. It is useful, but adjustments could be made to keep it in line with real life. |
