Neat but flawed maritime action
Life on the high seas beckons once more, with another military sim based around ship-to-ship combat and while this is similar to the likes of Jutland, it's not quite as good as that title, even though it does offer some intriguing gameplay options. Players are thrown onto the command bridge of a missile cruiser and are charged with completing a series of missions in three theatres of war, the Persian Gulf, the North Atlantic and the Sea of Japan. As captain, you are responsible for pretty much everything, from setting course to actually unleashing all the mighty military hardware you have at your disposal on your enemies and there is actually quite a lot of detail and realism on display here. The game throws in a few role-playing elements in addition to the strategy while the missions themselves are generally well designed and engaging and should keep even veterans fairly happy. The game certainly creates a strong atmosphere, with some nicely realised and quite detailed visuals that do a lot within the limits of ocean-based warfare. It also benefits from a strong structure from which to hang the main gameplay on but unfortunately a couple of niggles and flaws let things down somewhat and prevent it from quite reaching its potential. There are some issues with the controls and interface which make things a tad frustrating at times and although they aren't enough to make it into a complete disaster, they are noticeable. Beyond this though, this is a generally fine sim which is well worth checking out if you enjoy the likes of Harpoon.
