Battle simulations
are generally few and far, however developers Akella have attempted
to create an accurate World War II naval simulation that works on
certain levels, however fails on other levels. Without being bias
towards one side or another, gamers can choose between the Allied,
German or Russian boats as they attempt to control the ravage seas.
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Features:
-
Never before
seen 3D water quality
-
Historically
accurate WWII war-machines
-
New level of
realism for ship physics
-
Choose single
missions or build a career as an officer in campaigns through
the entire war
-
Control
different crewmen on your boat - from the gunner to the
commander Realistic ship damage
-
Highly detailed
3D landscapes
-
Control Allied,
German or Russian boats - everything can be under you command!
-
Up to 16 players
in multiplayer game
Gameplay wise, PT
Boats: Knights of the Sea attempts to use strategic management,
realistic simulation and even some FPS action to make the game more
exciting than it really is. So what does this mean actually?
Basically, you control one of several boats which is quite strategy
driven and can be a little slow at times. Maybe I'm being biased
from the battles of the movie in Pearl Harbor but when your trying
to attack a small fleet of ships or planes, I wanted full on action.
Accuracy, the title
is rather spot with realistic weapons, planes and boats. There is
even an inbuilt encyclopedia that gives you additional information
that history and purists will enjoy. Needless to say, Akella have
excelled at the accuracy and does lend itself to the gameplay as
well because Hollywood has spoilt us of what is real and what isn't.
Thankfully the game is based on real-world battles and each of the
three forces have their own missions with a plethora of sea vessels
available to the player. Although you can play the game through the
campaign mode as you attempt to rise through the ranks, my favourite
were the single-missions which seemed a little more action
orientated. It's also great to get another side to the story if you
decide to play another one of the three forces available.
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As you travel through the campaigns,
you will be given more vessels at your beckon call and a nifty
feature of the game is the ability to switch between different
crewmen on your vessels from commander to our favourite, the gunner.
The gunner is quite fun as it puts you in a first person perspective
as you blow ships and planes from the sky. With this in mind, it's
still more a strategy game as you control your ships, however the
ability to jump straight into the action is fun but ultimately does
not affect how the scenario will play out too much.
The control system is well mapped out
on the keyboard and mouse, with the learning curve of the game is
around medium. Controlling one ship or a few is easy, however as you
progress, controlling more does become somewhat of a challenge,
albeit a positive one.
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Graphically, the title is a mixed bag
that features some highly detailed ships and aircrafts, however it
is often let down by the unspectacular robot like crew members. The
game uses the Storm 2.5 engine which successfully manages to create
realistic seas and some decent looking explosions. Although the ship
explosions look quite cool, the particular effects of the water are
so-so. Also, if you want to truly experience the graphics, you
will need a high-end PC and graphics card.
In conclusion, PT Boats: Knights of the
Sea feels more like a BETA game due to the inconsistencies of the
ship controls and sometimes lackluster graphics. Some credit should
be given to the developers for attempting to drag this genre out of
sea simulation boredom which at times they did manage, however the
overall gameplay is lacking that magical edge. Although if you love
this genre, there are far worse games out there than this.
