SILENT HUNTER 4: WOLVES OF THE PACIFIC (PC)
This continuation is a great simulator capable of covering the most superficial aspects of the control and combat of a submarine, in a way accessible to the most neophytes, empowering them with the most realistic and demanding demanded by more experienced players.
1945, a large Japanese convoy carrying troops from the 43rd Japanese Division, part of the Tokyo Bay in the direction of Saipan. Shortly after he left the harbor, a powerful escort group with an unmarked light cruiser as a flagship joins the convoy. Covered by the mantle of the Pacific Ocean, at the western end of Aoga Island, the commander of an American submarine receives contact information on the position of the Japanese convoy ??
From the position of transmission of delay of the target, the Northwest displacement of the set of ships is detected, as if it were a herd of immense metal giants with thousands of tons behind them. The attack situation of the submarine is good, to the Southeast of the position of the convoy. 'The wolf stalks its prey' thought the commander while he decides to give the order to the crew to go to their combat posts.
Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific (PC)
The words of the commander of the US submarine fleet of the Pacific still resound in his head: "The main objectives of submarines are enemy ships. The main weapon of the submarine is the torpedo; its secondary weapons are the mines and the artillery. ' Without further delay, occupies all the seats of the frontal torpedo compartment with experienced crewmembers. It empties the rear compartment of torpedoes, its attack is clear, 'the prize is the flagship'.
Approaches the target slowly, to prevent the escorts can detect. Take advantage of its weak point, the back of the escorts with their huge propellers making noise when turning to boost the ship, makes their hydrophones unusable for the detection of submarines. After observing the situation for a few minutes and contrasting the experience of the years in combat, he said to himself, 'Now I know that you do not hear me and what is better, you do not see me'.
You could cut the tension inside the submarine, each crewman remains attentive and silent about his combat post. They approach the flank of the flagship, 900 meters away at an angle of 45º with either side of the delay (direction the vessel will take) of the ship. He is planning to 'crush' his bow or his side.
Although he knows that after launching the torpedo, almost certainly will be detected, reaffirms that it will be too late for the enemy. The impacts will destroy its hull and cause so much damage that in the confusion, submerging 50 meters deep, 'safe' from the depth charges, you can flee by performing an evasive maneuver in 'zigzag' at full speed, having left its dam sunken .
ake a breath before beginning the attack, know that every decision you make once the 'firestorm' has been unleashed, can mean the difference between life and death. He clings tightly to the controls of the attack periscope and after swallowing, is ready to give the order to launch the first torpedo?
This is Silent Hunter 4, would you have made the attack like this? Will you withstand the pressure and keep the necessary temper to face the battle? Check it, 'dive' into the most realistic underwater simulation of the moment?
It was about 2 years ago that Ubisoft, from its acclaimed Silent Hunter III, did not return to delight us with a delivery of its successful saga of simulation of combat submarines. Like its previous title, this continuation is a great simulator capable of covering the most superficial aspects of the control and combat of a submarine, in a way accessible to the most neophytes, empowering them with the most realistic and demanding demanded by more experienced players.
Silent Hunter 4 will put us at the controls of American submarines, much more modern and advanced than the German U-BOATS that we drove in its third part. Likewise, we will have the immensity of the Pacific Ocean, some notable audio-visual improvements, an optimization of the management section of the crew with an RPG-like evolution, a more friendly control interface and a new multiplayer mode that opens up new tactical opportunities .
As has been happening in the series, they have gone, and will be polishing, the errors and problems detected in the initial version with patches and modifications. 'Bugs' as the 'hang' that occurs when you press the shortcut key to the 'auto-leveling' feature, the lack of details in the explanations about the radar or the sonar ?? issues that affect the final result but in no way tarnish the enormous work done by its developers.
Neither stands out for being especially innovative, offers little news in front of its predecessor, but we must admit that its virtues far outweigh their shortcomings. The formula that started this saga since its inception can be improved but difficult to overcome without assuming certain risks that 'cost very expensive' in an industry such as PC games and especially in the sector dedicated to simulation.
Contrary to what has happened with many military simulation sagas, whose beginnings started from their creation for compatible and finally ended up becoming titles for console that are 'ported' without optimizing personal computers, the fourth installment of this series of Submarine simulators, keeps intact the complexity and depth of its original formula.
We will go in detail to this 'Wolves of the Pacific' to see if it is up to its predecessors.
That does not give place to deceptions, Silent Hunter IV does not put his foundations in the graphic section, this is only a dressing 'necessary' to represent the crudity and tension of the submarine battles, simply a means to reach a much more complete end .
In the current version, it does not have 'Anti-Aliasing' to beautify the detailed models of its ships and planes. Its native resolution seems to have been set at 1024x768 pixels, because from this, the other resolutions (it supports both 4: 3 and 16: 9 or 16:10 formats) seem 're-scaled' which does not particularly improve the results.
Still, in full 'effervescence' of the 'new generation' of consoles, and says it in a personal capacity that subscribes to this analysis: humble owner of two of the highest representatives of this new 'surge in high definition', that the fact that the last scream does not explode in graphic acceleration, does not prevent the player from enjoying an immersive, realistic and, first of all, fun game experience.
Without getting to dazzle in some aspect of its graphic section, it does achieve, by means of small details, to constitute the image that we form of reality: to transmit the sensations of being sailing together with other ships in a world "plausibly real". A good simulation, which fulfills its role at an audio visual level.
It will not disappoint the lovers of the models, of the rigorous models historically. They will enjoy the great work done in the design of the ships and even in the airplanes, both allies and enemies, that participate in the contest. It highlights the presence of characters modeled in 3D, in the different positions of the ships, in parachutes when an airplane has been shot down and later floating in the water with the lifeguard. Elements of environment that 'give life' to the world that is represented before our eyes, both at the surface level and at the underwater level.
Over the sea, you can see the presence of birds flying over the landscape, hovering around the merchants, perhaps in search of food. This one exhibits an extremely realistic behavior: its waves move the boats on the surface, form currents and interact with the floating objects proportionally to their volume and density, making that no 'animation' or movement seems 'out of place'. The clouds move in the sky and are reflected 'frosted' on the waves. Under water, the abyss seems to extend, when sailing through the high seas, the light filters through the salt and as the depth increases, its intensity drops until it becomes the most complete darkness. But the lighting is not only underwater protagonist, above it,
The 'pyrotechnic spectacle' of the explosions of ships and planes does deserve the qualification of 'grandiose'. Volumetric smoke and fire, seize the scene as each part of the damaged ship jumps to pieces, while those same pieces fall on the sea with the speed and force corresponding to their size and weight, producing waves around them and converting the subsidence of any boat in a luxury for the senses.
All this visual environment is accompanied by a sound section that complements it, sometimes even surprising us the precision of its multichannel sound. Listen to the squawking of the birds while the sea whispers with our waves to our ears, until there comes a time when you get used to it completely and the salvos of the destroyers, the engines of the aircraft carriers, the planes approaching or the thunderous effect of the explosions of the depth charges, where the sound propagates at different speeds under the surface of the water than in the air.
The soundtrack, halfway between epic military melodies and accompaniment soundtrack, is not particularly remarkable either. It helps to impulse the moments of suspense and to remind us that we are in a combat situation, because if only the sounds of the environment were present, we would be gawking as we sailed towards our objective.
In addition, to delight us with every detail of the audio-visual environment previously explained, the title allows the use of the free camera, allowing to observe and hear, from any point of view, the action that surrounds us (aspect that of course may be blocked for those who want the most realistic simulation, without external cameras of any kind).
Gameplay
Talking about gameplay in a simulator is not an easy task, since what the expert player supposes to be playable, the inexperienced player can be unplayable. It is precisely at this point that this simulator stands out from the rest 'of its kind', in its marvelous adaptation to the user's abilities. This adaptation becomes chameleon-like, producing a learning curve fostered by the 'worm' that the user is gradually feeling, as he discovers the various tools and configuration possibilities that the simulation puts at his service.
Realism is measurable by percentages, that is, as we activate or deactivate, increase or decrease certain parameters of the same, we will be approaching more 100% or 0% of its limit of possibilities. It will be possible to adjust parameters as varied as the limitation of the batteries, the use of compressed air to allow the submarine to rise to the surface, limit the O2 and the excess of CO2, limit the fuel, the armament, the vulnerability, the repair times of breakdowns and damages ?? aspects that although they seem minimal, they greatly differentiate the degrees of difficulty.
There is another set of parameters that enhance the experience of the die-hard to the pure simulation: the possibility of deactivating the external view, the obligation to perform the calculations prior to the launch of the torpedo, the deactivation of the 'noise indicator' that lets us know how detectable by sound we are or the absence of view stabilizers that makes the optical pointing devices are affected realistically because of the waves.
In its multiplayer aspect allows to participate in cooperative mode to form 'wolf packs' ready for attack, with friends or to compete through LAN with a maximum of 8 players and 4 if it is through the Internet. In the 'competitive' mode, the player who acts as a server will control the escort ships present on the stage and will have to prevent the other players from reaching their objectives. The player who controls the escorts will be equipped with sensors and weapons on board to locate, attack, reject, and hopefully sink the enemy submarines.
Strategy and tricks
Such is the variety of combinations to adjust the realism and the difficulty that none of this would make sense without being able to put it into practice with a 'learning model'. The game has a 'school of submarines', essential to get used to all the sections of the game that covers all the necessary subjects to get to control the ship: navigation instruction, attack to aerial objectives, attack to targets on surface, instruction of torpedoes , instruction on sonar and radar, and the most complete and important of all, since if we finish this, we will be fully prepared for combat: the instruction to attack convoys.
Once passed the submarine school and without this aspect being a mandatory requirement (although it is recommended for inexperienced players), we can participate in different game modes. We highlight the 'race', also known as 'dynamic campaign', modality where the player can choose name, the start date of the campaign, the unit of which will be part, the type of submarine, the difficulty and the 'renown' initial.
Renown that is obtained facing the fleet commanders and especially towards your crew. This reputation can be increased or even decreased: sinking an enemy ship increases it but can be seriously affected by factors such as your men being injured or killed or even attacking an allied ship. Through this feature, you can access certain improvements for your submarine, before the rest of the fleet has them. Following the same pattern, we can make 'Ascents' with the members of our crew or even with ourselves, reaching a certain level of popularity.
You can award medals or promote a crewmember to the category of non-commissioned officer assigning him a qualification, among all those available on board the submarine. As in any dynamic campaign, when the objectives are generated dynamically, there will be no way of knowing what a certain patrol will bring. You will be given orders of various kinds: monitor areas and sink ships that penetrate certain perimeters, perform photographic reconnaissance, rescue work, supply, transport and infiltration of allied agents or stops in allied bases. As it happens in reality, it is not obligatory to fulfill all the objectives that are proposed to you, since you do not have to overcome them to advance in the game. Of course, proactivity against unproductiveness will always be rewarded.
Apart from the 'dynamic campaign', without doubt, the most complete and indicated of the game, there will be a set of 'quick missions'. These, based on real historical situations, will allow us to choose submarines different from those used in the real feat, creating a kind of 'alternative reality'. There will also be the so-called 'individual patrols' between fast missions and the dynamic campaign, with situations expressly designed, full of interesting events and 'encounters'.
As in other deliveries, we will have the option of the museum, where you can visualize with total freedom of camera movements and every luxury of details, each unit that participates in the game, whether it is allied, neutral or enemy, with full access to your manual of recognition and defining technical characteristics.
The game interface will allow you to literally move to any part of the submarine using our mouse, through icons or interactive zones in the compartments of the same where we are. The control room, the measurement room for the launch of torpedoes, the observation posts, the control panel for personnel management ?? with a single click we will be 'transported' to the place we want.
Given the enormous distances to travel, there is the possibility of 'accelerating' the time from two times above normal to 256 times or even stopping it altogether, if it requires time to meditate on some tactical option. In addition, in case of accelerating it, there is no danger of losing the action of what happens around us, because such acceleration is sensitive to events, that is, in case of any 'encounter', time will immediately return in its normal course so that we can act accordingly to the circumstances of that moment.
Based on the tactics documented in the 'brief' instruction manual, ways of acting in situations of diverse nature can be provided. Its reading is recommended although not mandatory because the 'submarine school' will summarize and detail the fundamental sections of the game. It is therefore necessary to devote time to this point and not fall into discouragement or failure, we can always try again that instruction that 'stuck' and make it better.
Broadly speaking, the tips to follow in the attack of a submarine using this simulator, are based on several factors, all very questionable, but always marked by the element of surprise, infiltration and stealth to avoid being seen or heard. Always have an escape option envisaged, whether the objectives have been successfully fulfilled or if there has been a failure.
The surface attack should only be carried out under circumstances of maximum security, with little possibility of receiving fire, at least of destroyers or armed ships and under climatological conditions that allow a perfect visualization of the combat zone. The Emersions that are made to produce anti-aircraft attacks against reconnaissance aircraft or those used to attack unarmed merchants by surprise, must have a duration adjusted according to the degree of threat of the combat scenario in which we find ourselves.
It is always better to 'avoid' the escorts and go directly to the escorted targets than to carry out an attack at will and without control, against any ship that is in the place. First of all because the numerical superiority is more than likely and secondly, because if we do not even 'hurt' our 'prey', it can probably flee at great speed leaving the escorts behind to keep us 'at bay'. In addition, the scarce ammunition that is available under the surface (the torpedoes), requires time to plan the attack, calculate the shot and be as accurate as possible. Even if the thrown torpedo does not directly hit the target's helmet, using the detonation methods by magnetic field sensor, can help to produce damage to the structure of the torpedo.
Surface attacks must be carried out exclusively in circumstances of relative 'security', that is, to carry out anti-aircraft attacks against reconnaissance aircraft, carry out rescue operations or carry out artillery attacks against unarmed merchants. The submarine, once exposed, becomes a normal ship that loses all the properties that can give it some advantage in a mission over its adversaries, we must try as far as possible to stay at a reasonable depth without being seen.
SIMULATION in capital letters, with one of the best learning curves available in the current market.
It transmits perfectly the sensations of commanding a submarine.
Without getting to dazzle technically, manages to recreate perfectly the historical situation and the environment that constitutes it.
Get your goals with ease, it's fun and realistic.It is always better to 'avoid' the escorts and go directly to the escorted targets than to carry out an attack at will and without control, against any ship that is in the place. First of all because the numerical superiority is more than likely and secondly, because if we do not even 'hurt' our 'prey', it can probably flee at great speed leaving the escorts behind to keep us 'at bay'. In addition, the scarce ammunition that is available under the surface (the torpedoes), requires time to plan the attack, calculate the shot and be as accurate as possible. Even if the thrown torpedo does not directly hit the target's helmet, using the detonation methods by magnetic field sensor, can help to produce damage to the structure of the torpedo.
Surface attacks must be carried out exclusively in circumstances of relative 'security', that is, to carry out anti-aircraft attacks against reconnaissance aircraft, carry out rescue operations or carry out artillery attacks against unarmed merchants. The submarine, once exposed, becomes a normal ship that loses all the properties that can give it some advantage in a mission over its adversaries, we must try as far as possible to stay at a reasonable depth without being seen.
- SIMULATION in capital letters, with one of the best learning curves available in the current market.
- It transmits perfectly the sensations of commanding a submarine.
- Without getting to dazzle technically, manages to recreate perfectly the historical situation and the environment that constitutes it.
- Get your goals with ease, it's fun and realistic.
The bad
- It does not innovate with respect to its predecessor, the novelties are scarce.
- The 'blissful' own of a launch, will undoubtedly be solved with time.
- Brief instruction manual.
- Lack of voice dubbing into Spanish.
- Enjoying it thoroughly requires a lot of time, which does not 'worry' the 'lovers' of the simulation.
- It would have been great if I had counted on the budget of the great releases that Ubisoft makes with some of its sagas.
Worst
Game of remarkable finish that we will enjoy and remember. A good purchase, highly recommended for lovers of the genre. It is well cared for at all levels.