I think that in general, war games satisfy an innate desire to experience conflict in a safe setting. Beyond that, modern war has a certain intellectual component that is separate from the primitive emotional side. This is a creative component that allows one to think of different methods, technologies and tactics to accomplish the established goals.

As this specifically relates to SHIII, perhaps more so than to SHIV, a certain mythos has arisen over the years related to the U-bootwaffe. Perhaps it has to do with both Allied and Axis propaganda, but there is a certain air of the elite surrounding the crew of the u-boats.

Certainly, I've been interested in WWII submarines, and u-boats in particular, since before the advent of the personal computer. I started out playing a game called 'Sub Battle Simulator' back in the late 1980's. It allowed you to play either the German side in the Atlantic or the American side in the Pacific. I usually played played as a German.

This has carried all the way through games such as 'Das Boot', 'Wolfpack', and now SHIII. GWX has just solidified the what was already there.

:)

Your translation of ichso is fine. But eingeröstet means more something like roasted, what you mean is eingerostet ;)

Let's put it another way. If you were given the choice of playing a game like SHIII with actual corresponding real world consequences; i.e. ships sinking taking real people and cargoes with them, would you still play it?

One of the reasons people have no problem with games like SHIII or any other game is that they have no real world consequnces in and of themseleves and therefore offer an opportunity to do things one normally would not do whilst suffering no ill effect.

One of my reasons for playing is a fascination with technology and history and one of the main things that has driven technology thoughout history is war. Advances in technology come fastest in times of dire need. There is indeed something exciting about working out how to get into a position to fire a weapon at a target and to see that target ddestroyed. Now would I be able to do that in real life? Possibly, but to be honest I wouldn't want to.

Another aspect of this, at least for me, is that when I'm interested in a war game I also get interested in the history of the conflict in question. This usually leads to me reading every book about it that I can get hold of. It has been like that with just about every game I play, the Red Baron series, the Aces series, IL2, SH3, the Total War series, I'm currently waiting for SH4 to be patched up so I can (hopefully) get interested in the sub war in the pacific.