MaximumPC 2005 06

Reviews

Silent Hunter III

UbiSoft rules the deep with one of the best

simulations of 2005

I

mmersive, atmospheric, enthralling—pick an affirmative adjective and it’ll

likely stick to UbiSoft’s Silent Hunter III like a magnet to steel. In fact, this

WWII U-boat simulation is so good it could single-handedly rescue the

long-floundering simulation genre.

Delayed for six months so the UbiSoft Romania development team could

add a full dynamic campaign, the refit was well worth the wait. SH3 maps

the entire Atlantic theater, and this massive oceanic environment teems with

hundreds of independently generated merchant and naval vessels. As the war

progresses, North American supply convoys will entice you into opportunistic

torpedo attacks while their shepherding destroyers employ intelligent and

cunning tactics to locate and destroy you. Individual career patrols can last

weeks—time acceleration eliminates the boring bits—and nothing drives

home the tension of U-boat command like the rapid-fire sonar pings from a

hovering Flower-class Corvette (who’s still pissed about the two tankers you

torpedoed) as you nervously flee to hull-popping depths.

The gameplay in SH3 is full-to-overflowing with Das Boot -esque moments.

The sim’s eight distinct U-boat hulls (43 counting variants) boast down-to-the-

rivet authenticity. Each features fully animated 3D crews, working deck/flak

guns, and an historically accurate torpedo targeting system. The game is

scalable for any skill level, so novices can let the Weapons Officer resolve tar-

get solutions automatically while hardcore submariners can enter their own

range, speed, bearing, and distance calculations at SH3’s challenging TDC

(torpedo data “computer”) station. Sadly, cooperative Wolfpack engagements

are only available in the eight-person multiplayer game, but that’s a forgivable

omission considering the depth and quality of the single-player campaign.

The cinematic visuals—curiously locked at 1024x768—are another

huge selling point. Destroyed ships blow apart with Spielberg-ian aplomb

and the lush water effects—from moonlit Mediterranean swells to full-on

North Atlantic gales—are the best we’ve seen in any PC game. (There

are graphic anomalies with

certain videocards, but a

recent patch addressed

many issues).

You don’t have to be a sim-

ulation fan to appreciate this

remarkable new “Game of the

Year” contender. One dive , and

Silent Hunter III will pull you in

hook, line, and sinker.

—ANDY MAHOOD

Silent Hunter III’s lush water effects caught our eye, but the

incredible sim gameplay is what held our attention.

80 MA XIMUMPC JUNE 2005

Exquisite graphics and pyrotechnics; immersive

dynamic campaign; savvy AI.

DIRECT HIT

HULL BREACH

$40, http://www.ubi.com, ESRB rating: T

MA XIMUMPCVERDICT 9

Graphics glitches; fixed 1024x768 resolution; no

Wolfpacks in single-player game.

Empire Earth II

Finally, a game that lets you skip your

history classes

H

istory is a hot subject these days. Historical TV shows about wars are

more popular than ever before. But really, where’s the fun in watching

file footage when you could be reenacting key milestones in the rise of

some of the world’s most interesting empires? Empire Earth II let’s you do that,

and the action is accompanied by a wealth of background info to establish the

context of your missions.

This time around, your conquest for global supremacy is split into three dis-

tinct single-player campaigns. You’ll wage war or make nice with 15 real-world

civilizations—while representing the Korean, German, and American empires.

The campaigns are divided among three time periods, so you won’t play the

same epochs with each civilization. Each level of the history-driven campaigns

plays out key moments in a nation’s complex development.

Three key improvements to the first game help you micromanage econom-

ics and battle strategies. First is the citizen-manager feature, which lets you

easily distribute your peons to resource locations and keep a close eye on

the slackers. The picture-in-picture feature is useful for observing battles and

choke points while you build up your nation’s infrastructure. It gives you con-

trol over two different regions of the map at once. But our favorite new tool is

the War Planner. It let’s you and your multiplayer teammates sketch complex

battle tactics directly on the map. This works much better for strategic plan-

ning than the typical “attack now!” chat command you’d otherwise send.

Combat follows the staple rock-paper-scissors formula, with certain

special leader units that enhance the overall abilities of your troops.

Nothing about the actual combat stands out. Most of the time, strength in

numbers and adequately upgraded technologies compensate for a lack

of mid-battle micromanagement. The newly added territory feature makes

capturing map regions and reinforcing borders a key strategic element, but

we’d be more impressed with dynamically shifting nation boundaries (a la

Rise of Nations ).

The single-player cam-

paigns are easily completed,

but you’ll spend most of you

time in online skirmishes any-

way. With up to 10 players per

game and a great diplomacy

scheme, there’s plenty here

for you to create some very

memorable RTS battles.

—NORMAN CHAN

Liberating France is a test of tactical efficiency as you race

against the clock.

War-planning feature and intense historical detail

are a winning combination for strategy.

HISTORY CHANNEL

HISTORY TEXTBOOK

$50, http://www.empireearth.com, ESRB rating: T

MA XIMUMPCVERDICT 8

Cut-and-dry unit balancing; still plenty of economic

micromanagement.