"In the struggle against the enemy sea communications, i.e., in the destruction of the enemy's overseas trade, the submarine is a particularly suitable weapon with which to challenge the enemy's naval superiority. The continuous successful use of the submarine in the war on merchant shipping is, therefore, in the long run, of decisive strategic importance for the total course of the war, since the enemy, who is dependent on his overseas trade, is in the position that, for him, the loss of his sea communications means the loss of the war."  From "The U-boat Commander's Handbook" 1943 Edition

Silent Hunter II is the latest sub sim to dress the shelves, hoping to lure you into becoming a Commander of one of the greatest military legacies in history, The Wolf Pack.

On the outside the concept of the sim is undeniably attractive. You will get to command a vintage WWII German U-boat, patrolling the seas in search of targets to sink, bringing yourself and the homeland much glory, while strengthening the stranglehold Germany holds around the throats of the Allies. But this is as far as the "Glory" goes, for on the inside, Silent Hunter II is not so much a game or even a simulation, as it is a historical reenactment. While you do have control of the sub, you do not have control of the outcome of the battle. If the battle (which is modeled after actual events) outcome does not match the historical events then you get to replay that mission again and again until the outcome matches the actual events. The gameplay is very linear, you must complete each mission according to history to progress to the next.  On that note, this sim is full of historical facts and events. You get a Video museum of craft to scroll through giving you a view of the craft as well as a short description and history. In addition you will also be able to view some video interviews with an WWII German U-boat Commander, Erich Topp. The game User Manual is also quite impressive as it not only gives you the game overview, but also a history lesson as well. At 195 pages and 49 sections, it one of the most involved Manuals I have ever seen included with a game.

Now on to the gameplay. Silent Hunter II will immerse you into the world of a Wolf Pack commander and crew, I say that because you will man all the stations on the sub, from navigator, to radioman, torpedoman, helmsman, and of course, Commander. This is all done through a series of consoles that simulate each station on the boat. These consoles (which are faithfully reproduced) can be accessed quickly giving you the ability to control every function on your sub (Accessing these consoles can get a little tricky in a combat situation as there are many consoles and getting to the right one can cost you valuable time, some of them should have been combined to give you better accessibility). Using these consoles to control the boat, you will patrol your given area and engage the enemy.  This may include merchant ships, military ships, and / or aircraft.

Gameplay is not terribly exciting, playing this sim in real time can be extremely tedious, the pace is slow, deliberate, and tense. Submarine warfare is more about stealth than combat. You spend most of your time stalking your prey and waiting for the perfect chance to launch your torpedo. You get one chance to strike, and from then on, you're on the run. From hunter to hunted with the launch of a single torpedo. However they do give you the option of time compression so that you can whiz through the boring patrols and get to the juicy parts. Still, Gameplay is more tense than exciting, although you do get a certain thrill from seeing your torpedo hit home and then being able to avoid the depth charges and live to tell about it!

Video for this sim is pretty good, I like the rolling waves over the periscope view, and all the models are rendered very well. You do get some options to set, and overall the game "look" is very realistic.

This game will appeal to those who are into Naval or Military Sims, but will have little to offer gamers from other genres. You are going to have to have a lot of patience to get through this sim.

Installation: Medium
NOTE: This game requires about 780 Megs of HD space for a complete load and has a 195 page Users Manual, divided into 149 sections, which should be read before playing the game. Also, a top end system is required to achieve decent gameplay, see system requirements.

Gameplay: 6
While the gameplay is faithful to real life, most will find it extremely slow and tedious. Submarine warfare is more about stealth than combat and it shows in this game. Accessing the controls is easy until you get into the fight, then you may find them a little tricky to toggle between control consoles trying to find the right one. A real sub has a crew of many, this sim has a crew of one, you, and you must function as every member of your crew.
Linear missions are a drawback in my eyes, it would have been very nice to have been able to change the course of history. There are 8 quick play missions, but again they are very limited as to what you can set.
The time compression is a nice feature and probably the only redeeming factor to the tedious missions. It takes a lot of time to sneak to striking range of a convoy.
There are several options such as unlimited ammo, unlimited fuel, etc. These will make the game a little easier, but only a little. The replay value is very limited.

Graphics: 8
The graphics provided do a very nice job of portraying the control consoles from the interior of the sub as well as the exterior views. Nice effects are seen in the smoke trails from the convoy ships, the periscope views, and the rolling waves of a stormy sea, but there is still room for improvement, how about some whitecaps on those waves for example? Graphics settings are a bit limited.

Sound: 7.5
The sounds of the hull creaking under pressure are pretty eerie. The other sounds in the game are all realistic and well placed into the gameplay, including the sounds of screws churning the seas as they pass overhead, the firing of torpedoes, the launching and exploding of depth charges, and the ocean sounds when surfaced. While the sounds are good and well matched to the gameplay, remember the tedious nature of the game, it all gets old after while.

Difficulty: 6
This game shouldn't be rated in turns of difficulty, but in terms of tedium. The Hard-core gamer will find it long winded and boring. You are really going to have to WANT to play this game to get through it. As fas as the gameplay goes, the real difficulty will be in learning the proper tactics to sneak up, take a shot, and fade away unscathed. Escaping the barrage of depth charges that the escort ships launch is not an easy task.

Concept: 8
I really was excited about the concept of this sub sim, to be able to take control of a German Wolf Pack sub and wreak havoc on allied shipping. The concept was very appealing, I only wish we had not been stapled so strictly to the pages of history. It would have been nice to have had a little freedom to set the course of history within the game. The one man crew aspect of the game also gets a little difficult to deal with under combat situations.

Overall: 6
A wonderful concept and some good graphics alone do not make a great game. With the historical limitations and long winded realtime gameplay, this game winds up being a puppy in the pound. Don't get me wrong, I do believe the game has some merit, and could have been a great game, had it not been so realistic. It will not appeal to a wide cross section of the gaming community, but rather to a very small cross section who are into the Military or Naval sims. And even then, you are really going to have to want to play it to get through it.