Ship Simulator 2008

Gameplay (Benelux) (81 out of 100) (81%)

Er is niet bepaald veel concurrentie voor Ship Sim 2008, maar het is niettemin een prima game voor elke zeebonk in spe!

PCM: Personal Computer Magazine ( ) (80%)

Hoewel SS2008 grafisch niet heel sterk is en de omgevingen en boten wel wat aan de kale kant zijn, hebt u toch een flinke computer nodig. Door de vele realistische mogelijkheden is er flink wat rekencapaciteit nodig om SS2008 goed te laten varen. Vooral de processor en het interne geheugen zijn belangrijk. Voor Vista, waar SS2008 ook onder werkt, hebt u zelfs 2 GB intern geheugen nodig. Ook een echte videokaart is geen overbodige luxe.

Worth Playing (7.8 out of 10) (78%)

Without a doubt, the improvements that have been made to Ship Simulator 2008 are a giant leap forward for the franchise. There are still a few wrinkles to be ironed out, namely an awkward information display panel, some less-than-realistic physics, and some random game crashes. The new multiplayer system has a lot of potential, although it is in desperate need of some activities or multiplayer challenges to pick up the pace a bit. Some welcome improvements have been made to the AI with this release, and the ability to regularly download new user-designed missions offers the potential of unlimited replay value. If you enjoy simulations and have the patience, you'll find Ship Simulator 2008 to be an entertaining and relaxing armchair adventure.

Out Of Eight (6 out of 8) (75%)

Ship Simulator 2008 is a couple of features away from rivaling the Flight Simulator series: it brings almost the same level of quality to maritime operations as that particular franchise does to air travel. The graphics of the game are absolutely spectacular and each of the game’s environments is replicated in high detail, presenting realistic locales in which to do your boating fun. There are thirty missions that offer a range of different activities, although most of them just involve moving to a set of waypoints so none of the missions are challenging and some are actually tedious instead of enjoyable. Like Bus Driver, Ship Simulator 2008 is a faithful recreation that some will find extremely boring and some will find extremely realistic and engaging: it depends on whether you like driving boats. And if you do like driving boats, then Ship Simulator 2008 is a very enjoyable game.

Play.tm (68 out of 100) (68%)

Obviously I'm not in the key demographic that the developers are aiming to sell this game to, more the older gentleman with a love of the sea I'd presume fits the category. In doing so I thought I'd try and find out what the people that buy the game actually think of it, although this comes from the dubious source of sale site reviews I've never seen so many high scores with most giving it top marks and loving the improvements made since its last outing. If you're getting to that age where FPS' are losing their interest and you truly are looking for something different in gaming experience this might tick the appropriate boxes.

FOK!games (67 out of 100) (67%)

Ship Simulator 2008 is als simulatie geslaagd, als game helaas faalt het behoorlijk. Hoewel alles goed reageert en het met de physics van de game wel goed zit, ontbreekt het aan uitdagingen, iets van grafische pracht en geluid. Daar komt bij dat de game gewoon erg langzaam is en je geen savefunctie hebt, strontvervelend in missies die dik een uur duren. Een definitief cijfer geven aan deze game is dan ook erg lastig. Aan de ene kant heeft de simulatiefreak in mij zich best vermaakt met deze game, aan de andere kant zit de Burnout-gamer in mij en die trekt dit gebeuren totaal niet. Je zult dan ook bij jezelf te raden moeten gaan, houd je van varen en van simulaties, download de demo eens en kijk of het wat voor je is. Je zou nog wel eens positief verrast kunnen worden, ik was het in ieder geval.

GameWatcher / Strategy Informer (6.5 out of 10) (65%)

Ultimately, Ship Simulator 2008 boils down to time spent admiring the impressive (very impressive) scenery, and while it does provide more dynamism than its boring-ass title suggests, the extent of this kind of simulation was apparently exhausted about half way through development, and hopes that the excellent eye-candy will distract gamers and sim fanatics are sadly optimistic.

Eurogamer.net (UK) (6 out of 10) (60%)

If I find myself sat here next year reviewing Ship Simulator 2009, it's going to have to offer some pretty substantial new content (Sailboats? Super-real ships? Real-time Whaling?) to avoid condemnation as a cash-in. SS2008 is a pleasant place to spend an occasional evening, but ultimately there's not enough challenge and realism here to distract a seasoned simmer for long.

YouGamers (55 out of 100) (55%)

It's no-win for Ship Simulator 2008: if you're a boating enthusiast, you'll loathe the inaccurate physics model and lack of depth to the simulation; if you're not into boating, the game isn't going to turn you into maritime junkie. Unfinished and released with obvious bugs, Ship Simulator 2008 is more Captain Joe Hazlewood than Captain James Cook.

GameStar (Germany) (51 out of 100) (51%)

Im Vergleich zum zwei Jahre alten Vorgänger bietet der Schiff-Simulator 2008 neben Wellen und Rundgängen auf fast allen Kähnen kaum Neuerungen. An den Schwachpunkten wie der simplen Steuerung und den langweiligen Missionen hat sich nichts getan. Auch die Hafentexturen sehen so verwaschen aus, als habe Salzwasser an ihnen geknabbert. Trotz kaum vorhandener Alternativen sollten sich selbst Hobbykapitäne einen Kauf gründlich überlegen.