Das Boot: German U-Boat Simulation

The most favourable compliment you can pay Das Boot is to say that it's got all the involvement of a submarine simulator combined with the playability of an arcade-style game, such as Carrier Command - it certainly conveys the same feeling of overall control and involvement as the ageing Realtime 3D extravaganza.

The game is absorbing and the action sequences are good, but while Das Boot strives to achieve the kind of quality found in the class of class flight simulations, it does fall short. The graphics, while far from disappointing, lack the polish to make you sit there and flip through the external views and gasp. on top of that the scrolling is jerky in places. There is sound, and whilst you don't expect to hear much underwater, far more could have been done to supply atmosphere - at no time playing Das Boot did I really lose myself in the game, surely the acid test for a top drawer sim.

This faithful recreation of the classic World War II U-Boat confrontations will be quite a find for sim fans. The game is very deep (sorry!), quite an effort to get into and features so-so solid 3D graphics. What Das Boot does capture is the tense, claustrophic atmosphere of submarine warfare. You can almost smell the fear. Worth a look, but only if you've the time to get the most out.

Das Boot nie jest grą mającą aspiracje do stania się najwierniejszym obrazem wojny morskiej. W zamian za to oferuje nam wiele dopracowanych sekwencji zręcznościowych. Grafika wektorowa nie jest może aż tak ekscytująca jak "rastrówka" 688, ale również może sprawić wiele radości. Sterowanie łodzią nie jest zbyt skomplikowane, co stanowi w tym wypadku zaletę. Dźwięk warto na początku wyłączyć, albowiem nic specjalnego on sobą nie reprezentuje, choć nie można mu odmówić pewnej klasy. Das Boofa możemy z czystym sumieniem polecić wszystkim spragnionym godziwej i niewyczerpującej intelektualnie rozrywki.

Das Boot has both realism and fast fighting. The control screens are well drawn and animated. The vector 3D battles, while far from stunning add realism to the battles. There is an annoying lag between screens - times is frozen so it's no disadvantage - that breaks the atmosphere that the rest of the game works so hard to establish. Das Boot's cat-and-mouse style will drag for those who seek instant thrills. Here you have to track down trouble, then attack before it gets out of hand. The hunt essentially focuses on navigation, whilst scanning the radio waves and the skyline.

Das Boot's presentation is competent but lacks gloss - the appearance of the standard Workbench disc requestor when the second disc needs inserting is symptomatic of this. The ability to practice eight of the more exciting submarine activities makes the game instantly accessible, but the limited number of missions (some of which can be completed quite easily) casts doubt on the game's lifespan.

Being as objective as I can be, this is actually rather good. The best compromise between simulation and gameplay yet seen in its field.

There are some very good submarine games around but Das Boot seems to have got left behind. Not the standard we associate with Mindscape.

Leise piept einem beim Start die Adaption der Filmmusik entgegen. Erinnerungen an den packenden U-Bootstreifen werden wach und lassen die Vorfreude auf ein tolles Simulationsvergnügen steigen. Die anfänglich hohe Erwartung scheint durch die Vielzahl der angebotenen Spieloptionen durchaus erfüllt zu werden. Wenn man sich aber erstmal auf hoher See befindet, macht sich schnell Ernüchterung breit. Lieblose und detailarme 3-D-Grafik sowie umständliche Bedienung sorgen nicht gerade für optimales Unterwasser-Feeling. Das Boot bietet auf Dauer nicht mehr als mittelprächtige Unterhaltung.

A World War ll submarine "simulation," it is not as sophisticated as Silent Service ll, but it does allow one to play the German side.