Submarine games have been few and far between, and to make matters worse the GOOD submarine games are a very rare find. The reason for this is that when creating a submarine game it takes a lot of work, because there are so many different things to account for. Silent Hunter has been a good submarine game in the past, so it was inevitable that the developers would create another sequel for it. This time they hold nothing back when they created this latest game in the series, and players will be able to tell this from the minute they load the game. Read on to find out more.

The story for this game is taken right out of the history books and it starts right as World War II begins. Many German U-boats (submarines) have been launched into the world’s oceans, and they caused general havoc in the sea. After the war ends, since there was a huge causality rate among the sailors who manned them, only several U-boats remained. Even though this was the case, the advancements with the U-boat had been extraordinary during this short time frame. Silent Hunter III will allow gamers to play as either Axis or Allied submarines and see how life and fighting was like for these brave sailors.

If you ever wanted to know what life was like for the brave submarine individuals, then this is the game for you. Silent Hunter III simulates everything about commanding a submarine. Unlike many other war videogames, in order to be successful in any given mission you will have to hunt your enemies in silence, and then wait for the perfect opportunity to strike, and then run away before the any other ships can find you. If you go in guns blazing you will be scrap metal sinking to the bottom of the ocean in a matter of moments.

As the commander of a submarine you will be in charge of various tasks during the course of the game. First thing is the ship control and movement, you will always have to be aware of how deep the place you are in is, because if it gets shallow you can seriously damage your boat. Not only that but you will be in charge of the firing of the torpedoes, which can be a lot harder than it sounds as if your pitch is off slightly you can completely miss your target. The enemy AI is really clever and will do many things to try and sink you, including launching myriads of the dreaded depth charges. Everything in this game is so realistic, that it makes the game fun to play, and give the purists out there a real treat.

The graphics for Silent Hunter III are really great. Everything in this game is modeled to be historically accurate, so players will be in for a real treat once they boot up the game for the first time. Everything about this game has been redone with a new 3D game engine and players will be able to tell this immediately. The game offers highly detailed views of inside the submarine so they will get a better understanding of the conditions that the sailors had to live with back then.

The graphic engine really shines during the course of a battle. If you start getting hit, you will see pipes start busting open with water pouring in your submarine. If depth charges get fired near you when they explode the lights will flicker on and off which makes the game even more realistic. The best part is when you sink an enemy ship, because depending on how and where you fired at them, will show a unique way of sinking, just like in real life.

The water modeling and animation for this game is extremely lifelike. When you are crossing the ocean and see the water in front of you, you will be amazed at how the water moves around as the ship cuts though the water like a hot knife cutting though a tub of butter. Not only is your submarine highly detailed, but all of the enemy ships are brimming with details. When you get close to a ship you will be able to see rust stains and even cargo on the ship. It is little things like this that make the game more realist and fun to play, because you will want to do everything in your power to keep from getting hit and accomplishing your missions without being detected.

The sounds for this game are really good as well. The music truly fits the entire game’s atmosphere and gives players the sense of really being in that time period fighting a war. The sound effects that the developers used are great. From the splashing of the water as the ship moves forward to the explosions, everything sounds extremely lifelike. One of the neatest things is doing a dive and hearing the water pressure against the hull of the ship, it sounds just like what you hear at the movies.

Not only do players get to experience several missions alone, this game supports up to eight players over your LAN or four over the Internet. They can play scripted missions, which are taken from the game, or generated missions, which are taken from the campaign data. This really helps expand the game’s longevity, and as always it is more fun to play with friends than with just the game’s AI.

Silent Hunter III is rated T for Teen for mild violence.

The system requirements for this game are:
Pentium III 1.4 GHz or better Processor
512 MB of RAM
Windows 2000/XP
4X DVD-ROM
Direct X 9
Direct X compliant video card with 64 MB of VRAM
Direct X compatible soundcard
2 GB of Hard Drive Space
Keyboard and Mouse.

Gameplay: 8.6
The game is really fun, once you learn how to play it. If you do not run though the tutorials you will be a sitting duck and dead quickly. Even after completing all of the exams it will take a while for you to be proficient at being a submarine commander.

Graphics: 8.8
The graphics for Silent Hunter III are some of the best I have ever seen for a submarine simulation game. The water looks really realistic, and the interior of each submarine is highly detailed as well.

Sound: 8.5
The music for this game fits the entire environment perfectly. The sound effects are also well done, from the sound of the machinegun fire to when you dive under the ocean.

Difficulty: Medium
The AI in Silent Hunter III can provide quite a challenge to you. The biggest challenge will be understanding and overcoming the controls that it takes to play the game. Once you get that down you will be in for some smooth sailing.

Concept: 8.2
You have to love the submarine game because it is so few and far between that you will see one on the shelves. Plus this game is as close to realism that you can find on the market at this time. That makes it a really good game.

Multiplayer: 8.5
Silent Hunter III offers a nice multiplayer mode. It is always better playing with humans than the game's AI.

Overall 8.6
If you are a submarine fanatic then Silent Hunter III is a game that you will want to own. You will be able to control almost every single aspect of what went on during World War II campaigns to see if you have what it takes to be a good commander and stay alive. You will regret it if you don’t purchase it now.