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.