Pacific War, by SSI. This is a BIG game, covering every aspect of the entire Pacific war, and containing every ship, aircraft squadron, and brigade-size or better land unit that fought in the war. In other words, this game is just stupefyingly large. I like it. The graphics (particularly the map) are just godawful, but as a strategic exercise it's very interesting. Some of the more important aspects of the war really get hammered home as you slog through the campaign week by week, such as 'Jeez, American fighers were really bad at the beginning, and you have to wait forever for the Hellcat.' (After playing through a couple of these campaigns, I've decided that I'd rather lose Tulagi than lose an Atlanta-class AA cruiser: American flak is just so righteous.) Be prepared for 100-200 hours of game play to get through an entire campaign from Pearl Harbor to Japan's surrender (and a fast computer doesn't hurt, either).
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Task Force, 1942, by Microprose. A ship-to-ship tactical simulation of the fighting around Guadalcanal, with a strategic engine slapped on top of it. Entertaining in the tactical mode, but the strategic mode is kind of hokey, because it really doesn't encompass enough of the elements of the actual Guadalcanal campaign (plus, it's ludicrously easy to win on either side of the ball). Pet Peeve about this game: ships sustaining any sort of moderate damage in the tactical module are recalled home for repairs and never, ever return. What's the good of a repair yard if you can't get the ships back into the fight sometime? Contains a scenario editor for creating encounters between squadrons of your choosing, which is a good thing (I'm particularly fond of the Yamato vs. a single U.S.Fletcher-class. Short, but exciting.)
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Silent Service II, by Microprose. The granddaddy of WWII sub simulators, and still a hoot. Nothing quite like the visceral thrill of blowing up a Japanese patrol boat with your deck gun.
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Great Naval Battles III, Fury in the Pacific, 1941-44, by SSI. Finaly played it -- very fun! And quite detailed.
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Here's a more detailed review by William Miller:
Both of these games are quite fun to play, being similar to Task Force 1942 by Microprose but with MUCH better graphics(SVGA) and computer AI. You can manage a battle at any one of many levels, and switch freely between them:
A. Task force commander.
B. Individual ship commander.
C. Main gunnery fire control officer.
D. Secondary gunnery fire control officer. E. Torpedo fire control.
F. Individual turret commander.
F. Damage control officer.
G. Air operations commander.
Almost all of these "positions" allow for a direct view of the battle. You can actually watch the main guns turn and fire on targets, watch the torpedoes being launched and running to the targets, view internal compartmental damage & flooding, and best of all view thesplashes of misses on targets and the explosions of hits on them!
As far I can tell, the game engine is fairly accurate as far as damage and it's results go, but it could use a little fine-tuning. It has a very detailed scenario editor, with the ability to adjust torpedo malfunction rates, crew reload rates, gun accuracy and damage, damage control quality, etc. You should save often while building a scenario, however, as it has an occasional bug which will lock it up from time to time.
Both of these games need 8 MB RAM to run (GNBIII says 4 MB, but it runs VERY POORLY on 4MB RAM). I would highly recommend either of these games, for the great visual effects if nothing else.
Carriers at War, by SSG. One of my readers says, "It is inconceivable that a homepage dedicated to the IJN makes no mention in its computer games section of SSG's Carriers at War. This is possibly the most realistic computer naval wargame you will ever come across and the realism is all transparent. The game INTERFACE is extremely simple. You can find out a bit more about it at:
http://www.ssg.com.au/index_files/carriers_home.html
Many people dislike this system, claiming that the game tends to run itself with minimal opportunity for player input. Additionally, the system is concerned solely with naval operations. There is no ground combat. Nevertheless, the realism built into the model is unsurpassed and an excellent editor exists to change anything you don't like. It should also be mentioned that SSG's work in artificial intelligence for computer wargames is probably the most advanced in the entertainment software industry."
Silent Hunter, by SSI. One of my readers says, "Submarines during World War 2 became an important weapon of the combatants. Silent Hunter by SSI is perhaps the best made simulation to date of sub warfare. The game provides single or historical scenarios, along with a campaign game covering the entire Pacific War. All realism settings can be changed by the player to suit his or her own playing style. Also, a sub tour and interviews with William "Bud" Gruner, commander of the U.S.S. Skate during World War II are provided.
Patrol zones range across the whole area of the theater of operations. Nine sub types are yours to command, along with direct or auto control of the deck gun and computer controlled AA guns. Four torpedo types and new technology appear at the appropriate times in the campaign game. In additon to the hunting of enemy ships, photo recon and lifeguard duty are also part of the experience. As of this writing, I have been through several campaigns and have so far counted 47 seperate ship types. Of that 47, there were 9 carrier types, 5 battleship types, 5 cruiser types, 5 light cruiser types, 10 destroyer types, 2 patrol craft types, 1 sub type, 9 freighter types (cargo to troops) and 1 sampan type. One patrol disk has been released, adding new patrol zones. Another is promised in the near future.
From my perspective as a gamer, the graphics are excellent, the ship types various enough so as not to get boring and the AI smart enough to take appropriate action. The control of the realism settings is a big plus. The patrol disk concept is a good way to add to an already great game. There has been a patch or two released that have made the game one of the most stable I've ever seen. I've played all the others and this game is the only one which has kept my interest. Give it a try, you won't be sorry.
The game requires at least a 486DX/66 or better; with 8 megs ram, a 1 Mb SVGA graphics card, a double speed cd-rom drive and a mouse. On a P90 with 16 megs ram, it runs like a dream.
Hey, I've been awarded their honorary HotSpot, so I'd better have a link to Gamespot, a forum for computer games of all kinds!
Shipbase III, by Armoursoft. A set of computer-assisted naval miniatures rules, Shipbase's prime virtue is its playability. Every effort has gone into making the game system slick and efficient. Admittedly, detail has been sacrificed along the way, but the result is a game system which can set up and play a scenario very quickly. Ideal for those quick afternoon nap-time games. You can find more information about Shipbase III on the ArmourSoft Homepage
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Command At Sea -- The Rising Sun, by Clash of Arms Games. Designed by Larry Bond, Chris Carlson, and Ed Kettler, Command At Sea is an extremely comprehensive set of WWII naval miniatures rules. If you're a detail freak, then this is the rules set for you. Beautiful counters, too, if you can't afford to sink the bucks into a set of miniatures. More information can be found on the Command At Sea Homepage.
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