''SSN-21 Seawolf'' is a

submarine simulator A submarine simulator is usually a computer game in which the player commands a submarine. The usual form of the game is to go on a series of missions, each of which features a number of encounters where the goal is to sink surface ships and to ...

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

systems by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

on April 3, 1994. A

3DO Interactive Multiplayer The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, also referred to as simply 3DO, is a home video game console developed by The 3DO Company. Conceived by entrepreneur and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the 3DO was not a console manufactured by the company ...

version was planned but never released. The player takes command of a US and fights in 33 missions with targets under and above water including Russian attack submarines,

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

s, guided missile cruisers,

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

s and

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s. The game is a sequel to Electronic Arts' ''

688 Attack Sub ''688 Attack Sub'' is a submarine simulator video game designed by John W. Ratcliff and Paul Grace and published in 1989 for MS-DOS and in 1990 for Amiga by Electronic Arts. A Sega Genesis version developed by MicroProse was released in 1991 by Se ...

'', and has a similar mission structure and variety. Missions might require the player to defend friendly surface ships from attack, or sink those of the enemy. Other missions have their focus entirely underwater, with the player similarly either defending friendly submarines or hunting enemy missile and attack boats. While missions in ''Seawolf'' are pre-scripted, there are a number of initial setups which provides some variation in a mission's precise starting conditions. The game's opponents include the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, and nuclear-powered

attack submarine An attack submarine or hunter-killer submarine is a submarine specifically designed for the purpose of attacking and sinking other submarines, surface combatants and merchant vessels. In the Soviet and Russian navies they were and are called "mul ...

s, which often guard or

ballistic missile submarines A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN – t ...

. Some missions may pit the player against the very quiet

diesel-electric submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

. ''Seawolf'' models the ocean environment, including thermal layers which can be used to deflect enemy sonar and hide the player's submarine. Sonar plays a central role in the game, and the player has access to the submarine's spectrographic 'waterfall' display which is used to detect and classify contacts. Additionally, the game includes marine life, such as whales and schools of fish, that could generate noise or reflect active sonar and create additional contacts. Like its predecessor, ''Seawolf'' allows two players, on different PCs, to play each other via a

modem A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...

, or

null-modem Null modem is a communication method to directly connect two DTEs ( computer, terminal, printer, etc.) using an RS-232 serial cable. The name stems from the historical use of RS-232 cables to connect two teleprinter devices or two modems in ord ...

cable, and adds the option of using an

IPX Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) is the network layer protocol in the IPX/SPX protocol suite. IPX is derived from Xerox Network Systems' IDP. It also has the ability to act as a transport layer protocol. The IPX/SPX protocol suite was very po ...

local network which can provide a more reliable connection.

Reception

''Computer Gaming World'' in May 1994 said that "Certain hard-core simulation features have been left out to enhance overall playability, but the state-of-the-art graphics, tremendous music by the

Fat Man "Fat Man" (also known as Mark III) is the codename for the type of nuclear bomb the United States detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. It was the second of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in warfare, the fir ...

, and mind blowing sound effects all combine to lock this product dead-on-target". In June 1994 it criticized the game's unrealistic weapons load, "deficient" manual, "poor" AI, and lack of game balance, but said that "the game is still a whole heck of a lot of fun. This is definitely a game for someone who wants to enjoy a few hours of blowing up Russian ships, and not for the next Admiral Nimitz". The magazine concluded that "As a simulation, ''Seawolf'' is a dud; as a game, it's a solid effort and a worthwhile addition to any naval gamer's shelf".

References

External links

*http://www.ibiblio.org/GameBytes/issue18/greviews/seawolf/seawolf2.html *
SSN-21 Seawolf multiplayer manual
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ssn-12 Seawolf 1994 video games Cancelled 3DO Interactive Multiplayer games DOS games DOS-only games Electronic Arts games Submarine simulation video games Video games scored by George Sanger Video games developed in the United States