Active Reviews

Written by Edward Hankins

Being the grandson of a Lieutenant in the Great War (WW2), I was brought up listening to stories of life sea, and how it took a special man to be a sailor. He would say a pilot could always bail out, and an infantry man surrender, but if a seaman lost a battle all the solace he had was the vast salty sea and the hope of rescue. Unfortunately with all of the World War 2 games on software stores shelves, there is still a dire lack of naval war sims. Silent Hunter is about the only submarine series that has any name recognition, but all this may soon change. After years of development, the fine folks at Sonalysts have created one of the finest naval simulations to date in “S.C.S Dangerous Waters.”

“Dangerous Waters” is the latest installment from the development company Sonalysts. You may remember their previous games: “Jane’s Fleet Command,” “Jane’s 688/I Hunter Killer,” and “Sub Command.” Each of these games has been critically acclaimed by the military community and each has won several awards. Besides the development of games, Sonalysts is a military consultant to the government advising them on technology issues, the training of naval tactics and strategies, and their deployment in a combat situation. This type of a relationship with the military is sure to guarantee a game where the utmost accuracy is ensured.

“Dangerous Waters” is perhaps the most technologically advanced military game available on the market; the manual itself is almost as thick as a bible. While “Dangerous Waters” can prove a daunting task to master, with a little time and patience, gamers of all skill levels will find it enjoyable. The manual is crucial to have on hands at all times, as no one can possibly memorize all of the various commands. There are also a video tutorials for those who learn better by visual aids. The video will help explain some of the basic concepts of the game and take you through a mock battle simulation.

The installation of “Dangerous Waters” is a cinch. It is comprised of two compact discs so expect installation to take awhile, especially if you opt for the full install which is close to one gigabyte. Here you will be able to set your gaming options and test your graphic settings in preview windows. I found that even slower systems can run the game in higher detail settings with little to no lag time.

Once you have started the game you are presented with a menu screen allowing you to choose the type of mission you wish to undertake. You can choose from single mission mode, campaign mode, multiplayer, quick mission, mission editor, or options. One of the premier features of the game is the ability to choose from and control variety of military platforms: guided-missile frigates, nuclear and diesel submarines, destroyers, an attack helicopters, and a fixed wing aircraft, are all available for command. Each country’s platforms come with a different arsenal of weapons, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

The “Dangerous Waters” navigation map station is divided into two different combat screens; the 2D map area and the 3D area. At the bottom of the various stations is the Task Bar, which is essential in “Dangerous Waters.” The task bar gives you access to your damage report, current orders, and information about your course and heading. Controlling is different for each platform as flying a helicopter is significantly different than commanding a submarine. Controlling where your ship goes is accomplished through the use of waypoints on the map or by clicking on the compass, and from the navigation screen you can issue your orders pertaining to distance, speed, maneuvering, and most importantly attacking.

Controlling and managing your various platforms is the main challenge of the game. With such a variety of military hardware under your control managing everything simultaneously can be a daunting task, especially when each platform has a subsystem of stations that must be manned as well. Thankfully the game comes with an auto-crew system that automates several of your crew’s actions. This will allow you to concentrate your efforts on general strategy rather than trivial matters. Once you have become a grizzled veteran you can turn this option off. One of the most important aspects of the game and war in general is obtaining the location of your enemy without him finding you. Once a target has been spotted it must be classified as friendly or hostile and be given a unit designation. If the contact is hostile you must move to your firing position and prepare to fire upon the target solution (enemy ship). All of this can become overwhelming at first, but nothing is quite as satisfying as seeing that first successful torpedo cracking the hull of your adversary and hearing the hull crack as it sinks to the bottom.

The most innovative feature of the game is the voice activated commands. It allows you to control every aspect of the game and is a true time saver in the heat of battle. “Dangerous Waters” has the capability of using the Microsoft Speech Engine to interpret your commands into game control commands, and it has several commands pre-programmed already. The voice commands can be true life savers and the game will react to them in real-time. The system is also fully programmable for those users who have interesting accents or just enjoy screaming into the microphone. I am very glad Sonalysts included this option in the game as it makes it much more fun and quite a bit easier in some situations.

The graphics in military simulations are not always the greatest quality, but FPS engines with massive frame rates are not necessary for military simulations. The most amount of time seems to have been spent ensuring the accuracy of each military unit available. The ships are especially well rendered with the minutest details visible. One issue though is the battle damage on ships which is rather lacking, in particular when hit by an enemy shell or torpedo. The environment graphics are also impressive; wave action looks very realistic, even showing accurate wakes from your ship. There are also other environmental effects such as clouds, storms, and fog which you can interact with. For example you can move your ships into rain squalls to avoid detection or to make a quick exit.

The audio of “Dangerous Waters” is average but again it is not necessary. The background music never becomes boring or irritating and can occasionally set the mode for an upcoming battle. What is more impressive are the vocal effects; crewmen will bark out orders in dialects of their official country. Also remarkable are the sounds associated with being on a sub, from torpedo tubes flooding to the pinging of sonar, all give the impression of being in that submarine attacking a merchant fleet or engaging foreign navies.

“Dangerous Waters” is a refreshing naval simulation in a genre that is definitely lacking any recent shining examples. I have never seen a game with such immaculate attention paid to detail and proper physics. The ability to control a variety of machines makes this a true multi-genre simulator. “Dangerous Waters” is difficult enough for a gaming veteran, yet playable enough for a young gamer relatively new to the genre. While it may not be the game for every player, it surely will find a dedicated fan base.

Go back to the SCS Dangerous Waters page.

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