Woohoo!

[MinskMariner]

I just ordered Silent Hunter 4 Gold Edition from Amazon! I know, I know, I'm way behind the times of this online community (I had SHIII back in the day) but I'm genuinely excited to start playing subsims again.

Also, does anyone know the reason for the glaringly horrible review of Silent Hunter 5 on Amazon? Before I saw those, I had the impression that it was a well-respected and innovative game.

[Dignan]

I can't say for sure as I do not have SH5 but I think people were dissapointed that it had moved closer to the "arcade game" end of the spectrum. Most importantly, and the reason I haven't purchased it, is the DRM setup requiring you to always be online when playing.

[Sailor Steve]

The addition of a complete walkthrough of the boat meant they only had time to complete one type (the VII). On the other hand it gives you a VIIA, B, C, and C/41. You can't play beyond 1943. You talk directly to your senior officers, but the conversation is limited and you get the same things over and over. There are only a tiny handful of merchant types to sink, and unlike SH3 and SH4 importing new ships into SH5 is proving to be incredibly difficult. A lot of the problems from SH3 that should have been fixed in SH4 are still there in SH5.

Out of the box the game is a nightmare, hence the awful reviews. On the other hand modders are managing to make a number of improvements, and it is beautiful to look at, and it's still early in the game. There is still hope that the problems will be fixed, but for now SH3 has been modded to be the best experience, and SH4 is the best compromise between what was and what will be.

[tomoose]

Welcome Minskmariner;
You'll find other less than stellar reviews at other sites.
There was a lot of disappointed people based on expectations. Given how far SH3 and SH4 had come (with mods) it was expected that SH5 would be a vastly improved version of those games. Apparently (and I freely admit I'm going on hearsay not having played the game myself) the designers went back to the drawing board with their intent of a truly first-person type of experience. Unfortunately the end product was released with many bugs/omissions and an arcade aspect etc which put a lot of people off. Add to that the DRM controversy (i.e. you can only play with a permanent online connection) and it was an explosive mix for the hardcore simmers which resulted in many acrimonious debates at this site and others. Have a look at the SH5 forum, there might still be some of the old threads showing you just how emotional this subject got, LOL.

Even though I have a permanent online connection I refuse to purchase the game at this stage based on my own principles against what I see as an over-the-top protection protocol.

The game itself however has apparently been drastically improved thanks once again to a dedicated mod community but for me I see nothing "new" on the table and I'm quite happy with SH3(+GWX) for my Atlantic fix and SH4 (with mods) for my Pacific fix.

My two cents.:salute:

[edjcox]

Still don't own it and won't as it requires constant internet which I dont have and cant afford...:yawn:

[TheBrauerHour]

In my humble opinion, SH4 was a great way to go for your purchase. I own Silent Hunter V. I played it a few times, and then have since never played it again. The game was not what I expected, but has potential. I will give it another go later on once the great modding community here at Subsim has had more time.

Silent Hunter 4 is a great game, with some absolutely stellar mods. If you tire of the Fleet Boats, then you can load up a German career. Myself, I have never even played as the Germans in SH4 because I am having so much fun with The awesome "mega-mods" that have been released for the Fleet Boat careers.

The graphics in SH4 are very good, and to be honest, (just as in SH3 with GWX) the game is so immersive that the graphics would not matter as much so it is a moot point.