''Silent Steel'' is a 1995 submarine simulator computer game by Tsunami Games. It was created during the influx of interactive movies during the 1990s. The game is composed almost entirely of

live-action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or ...

full motion video Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than Sprite (computer graphics), sprites, vector graphics, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games featur ...

, with sparse computer-generated graphics depicting external shots of the boat during torpedo attacks and atmospheric fly-bys. A version playable on

DVD player A DVD player is a machine that plays DVDs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. Some DVD players will also play audio CDs. DVD players are connected to a television to ...

s was released in 1999, following from a DVD-ROM version in 1997. The DVD-ROM version was the first video game formatted for DVD. A sequel, ''Silent Steel 2'', was announced by Tsunami for release in 1997, but it was cancelled.

Gameplay

The gameplay consists of choosing from three options when the video pauses at certain points. Once the player chooses, the video resumes. This creates several possible plotlines and outcomes. Most of these result in the destruction of the player's submarine; only two distinct threads lead to victory.

Plot

The player commands USS ''Idaho'', a fictional ''Ohio''-class

ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. These submarines became a major weapon system in the Cold War because of their nuclear deterrence capabi ...

. On a routine nuclear deterrence patrol, an encoded message is received from U.S. COMSUBLANT. The message reports that a stolen Libyan diesel sub has exited the Mediterranean Sea, possibly heading into ''Idaho''s area of operations. ''Idaho'' must evade the potentially hostile submarine, a problem that is quickly complicated by the fact that the enemy submarine is equipped with sound-generating equipment that allows her to mimic other classes of submarine, including those of American design. The rogue ''Kilo''-class sub uses this tactic to launch a torpedo attack on the ''Idaho'' by pretending to be an allied ''Los Angeles''-class sub, USS ''Biloxi''. After escaping the initial battle, a radio consultation with an American carrier battle group commander confirms that there are no other allied submarines operating in the area, and that a second hostile sub, a Russian ''Akula''-class attack boat that has also gone rogue, is approaching the area. In addition to this, ''Idahos sonar officer notices that ''Idaho'' seems to be emitting a low-frequency sonar signal that he cannot account for. After a conference with ''Idaho''s executive officer and master chief, further engagements commence, where ''Idaho'' eventually triumphs through subterfuge and risk-taking. Taking advantage of the lull in combat before the ''Akula''-class submarine comes into torpedo range, a search of ''Idaho''s outer hull reveals an act of sabotage instigated by one of the crew working for the enemy. Engaging the ''Akula'' in a torpedo battle, ''Idaho'' gains the upper hand by the timely interference of an American ASW helicopter tracking the battle and manages to win the fight. The game was directed by Tony Marks and the script was written by Chuck Pfarrer.IMDb.com, "Silent Steel", 1995"Silent Steel", Tsunami Media, 2005, Tony Marks, Chuck Pfarrer

Production

Shooting locations

All sound stage studio filming was conducted in a modified warehouse on the former Charleston Naval Shipyard in

North Charleston, South Carolina North Charleston is a city in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. As ...

. All submarine and ship footage was shot aboard USS ''Clamagore'' (SS-343) submarine and USS ''Laffey'' (DD-724) destroyer which are both museum ships at the Patriots Point Naval Museum in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.

Cast

* Brian McNamara as Executive Officer * Jim Metzler as Master Chief * Fred Lehneg as Lt. Wheeler * John Short as Ensign Foster * Charles McLawhorn as Admiral Plaskett * Joy Parry as Deputy Director Matthews * Frank Leslie as Officer of the Deck * James Middleton as Weapons Officer * Keith Woullard as Chief Engineer * Mike Kirton as Bubba Holland * Don Soper as Ice Cream * John Jarrett as Danny * Mark Lattanzio as Ensign Neff * Greg Elliott as Player Voice * Leigh Murray as Newscast Voice

References

External links

* (archived) *{{moby game, id=/silent-steel, name=''Silent Steel''
''Silent Steel'' at SubSim.com
1995 video games Adventure games Cold War video games DVD interactive technology Full motion video based games Interactive movie video games Single-player video games Submarine simulation video games Tsunami Games games Video games developed in the United States Windows games