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Review
Silent Hunter
III
by Teddy
Bär
"The only thing that ever really frightened me during
the war was the U-Boat peril."
-
Winston Churchill
Introduction
As an island nation, Britain was highly
dependent on sea-going trade. Britain required more than a
million tonnes of imported food, material and all important
fuel per week in order to be able to survive and fight on
against Hitler's Germany.
As a U-Boat Commander, you will join
the fight to cut off the shipping that enables Britain to
survive.
As in the First World War, "the
war to end all wars", the men of the Allied merchant
navies faced the daunting task of supplying that sea-borne
lifeline. Against almost overwhelming odds, not only from
U-Boat attacks, but also from the perils of storm, surface
raiders, air attacks and mines, they transported millions
of tonnes of food, munitions, petroleum and troops across
the oceans of the world.
"Their supreme sacrifice in both
wars ensured the lifeline of men and of supplies without which
victory could not have been ours and without which we would
not now enjoy freedom" from the Book of Remembrance -
The Merchant Navy
Silent Hunter III puts you in command
of a U-Boat, the Grey Wolf' of the sea. You will partake in
the longest battle of the war, The Battle of the Atlantic.
Will you be one of the lucky ones?
Or will you join the other 30,000+ who did not survive the
war?
Game Package
Ubisoft offers Silent Hunter III in
a DVD and in an Electronic format downloadable from E-Retailers.
My retail copy of Silent Hunter III
came in a DVD case, which included the single Silent Hunter
III DVD (no CD-ROM version is available), a 60 page Manual,
a Quick Reference card and a Kriegsmarine Grid Map all of
which are on quality paper.
The 60 page manual is well written
and easy to read. The manual does very well to cover all areas
of the game and there is more included than I had expected
for the 60 pages. It covers enough for you to jump right in
and start playing.
However, the Manual could have been
expanded on or explained in greater detail. For example:
" What happens when crewing the
engine room at the different levels of 'minimum', 'normal'
or 'high'? I certainly do not gain any additional speed nor
can I travel further. The crew do not appear to tire any slower.
" When I have max'd out the 'Efficiency
Metre' bar for the lookouts and there is an empty space will
I miss a contact because I left the slot empty? The manual
also does not tell you that if there is no Officer on watch
you will not be notified of ships spotted, a problem made
worse by the incomplete Crew Management.
The manual omits some essential basic
information, such as, the flags for each nation represented
along with the dates in which that nation is either, neutral,
friend or foe.
Price points and percentage margins
are no reason for incomplete manuals that leave the player
having to second-guess the game elements and/or the Dev Teams
intentions. Silent Hunter III is a game begging for a more
comprehensive manual, even if it was in an electronic form
and is a natural for a supplemental paper manual similar to
what Dangerous Waters offers.
The high quality quick reference card
has the keyboard layout on one side. On the other side is
the default key commands and an image of the Command Room,
Attack Periscope & Damage / Crew screen with labels.
The Kriegsmarine Grid Map which measures
39 x 32 centimetres also includes information on convoy and
shipping routes, allied air coverage for each period, allied
convoy periods and Axis naval base's dates. As the quadrants
are not numbered, I did find myself reverting to my old Aces
of the Deep Grid Map.
Unfortunately, I was not able to attain
the Ship Recognition Manual that was offered in very limited
numbers (1000+) to the European community. Why such a great
value-adding product was not included from the start at an
additional cost is a mystery. Perhaps we can look forward
to a "second-printing" in the future.
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