Back in the early days of DOS gamming anything you can get your hands on was a good thing. My father actually got games for him to play but always seemed to have problems with the most simple of functions. He got Sub Battle Simulator for himself, something about filling a fix, only problem it was a used copy and had some issues, like loading. So as he cursed at the screen and belly ached over trying to get it to work, I went to a friend’s house and played his copy.
For a DOS game of its time, it went above and beyond simulation. They did everything they could with the limits they have to make you feel that you were in command of this sub. If they didn't they did a great job convincing you otherwise. Even though it only had four levels, I was so paranoid about messing up I actually took longer to do things and try to memorize the keyboard functions because the last thing you want to do as a commander is mess up doing something simple and having your crew chew you out for it. Mind you that didn't happen in the game; it was usually my friend hanging over my shoulder trying to be
a back seat commander as I played along. Looking back I don't know why I was so nervous because, just like the military, it gives out your orders as if you were simple minded and run off to where you belong. Mind you looking back I did find even the lowest level of difficulty to be something of a challenge. Then when you got more into the game and started looking into periscope and trying to mark torpedo range it did something most simulators to this day rarely do and that is to take your mind out of the simulation to make it feel more common for you. For months after playing this game I personally felt I could be a sub commander. Which is something most children love, being part of something big, or wanting to be part of something big.
This went on for a few months before my friend and I started to look into other things to play on the computer and like other games it just faded away from memory. My father on the other hand just finished how to load it on our computer when I was more interested in other things. Then I got to listen to him curse at the computer because he couldn't get the controls of the game at all. I would soon find myself a back seat sub commander until he just gave up on it completely. I guess some games are not for everyone, but this might be for you. The open seas are waiting.
