My first was Command: Aces of the Deep. I loved that game. Having a dynamic campaign was simply amazing. It's funny, when I first started I had no idea about subs. Being there was no wake modeled in the game it took me quite a while to figure out which way was forward.
Still have the game with box and all the books and maps in excellent condition. I'd love to get it going again, but I doubt it would work on WinXP with SP2. I remember back in the day thinking 21MB for a full install was alot. :rotfl: My biggest gripe with the game, though, probably would be the bugs. That thing was like crash city. I never knew when I would get the old "This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down." Man, those were the days. :rotfl: Another prominent bug was when I would try and use FAT and LUT torpedoes. If I tried to set them, I would get the blue screen of death. Never failed.
Shortly after, I picked up Silent Service for the NES at a clearance type of sale at a rental shop. Still have that as well with box and book. I loved sinking Jap tonnage. I still can't get that title music out of my head.
I actually don't remember when I started playing this one, but it was 688 Attack Sub for Sega Genesis. I never did actually figure out how to attack under water. I always did it the "old fashioned" way and used the periscope. Sometimes I didn't live, sometimes I did. I was always greatful for the times I did.
Commanding the Russian sub was quite interesting.
One thing that always kind of bugged me with the console sub games were their inaccurate artwork. 688 Attack Sub had a destroyer sinking by the bow with the stern way up in the air. In the actualy game, however, the ships always sank while level. Same for Silent Service. That was one reason I liked Command: Aces of the Deep better at the time. I liked watching the ships sink.
After those sims I came across 688(i) Hunter/Killer at Wal*Mart in the bargain bin. It was a CD-Rom Classics. I picked it up. Fell in love with it. I never thought I would be able to get the game because of how technical it was. I guess it was because of the ships that I stuck with it. I don't like complex flight sims, but I do like complex subsims.
After 688(i) Hunter/Killer, I got Sub Command. Today it is Dangerous Waters and Silent Hunter III that take up my time. Both are just amazing. The thing that I like about Silent Hunter III the best, is that it is a lot like Command: Aces of the Deep. It is like a blast to the past. With the addition of surface vessels to Dangerous Waters and the wide array of sub-surface vessels, it is always a different experience.
But looking back to the subsims of old, it just seems like there is an aura about them that modern subsims lack. The experience of Command: Aces of the Deep was top notch. Going on patrol in Silent Service and coming across the enemy was something. I always liked the sound of torpedoes launching.
688 Attack Sub just had a different atmosphere to it. I got to know the death scenes quite well with both the American and Russian sub.
688(i) Hunter/Killer had good music, and it set the stage while hunting down the enemy. I loved how the ships broke in two. Which they would on Sub Command and Dangerous Waters.
I was very mad, when the computer at the time had the CD-Rom drive go out. The tech that came out installed a trayless CD-Rom drive. After that, 688(i) was never recognised again.
I was so mad, because it would work on other computers. It wasn't until that computer was replaced about 2 years later that I could get it running again. By that time, Sub Command had arrived on the shelves and I started playing that. Haven't touched 688(i) H/K in ages.
Phew! That's a lot of rambling. Sorry about that. Hope you could stay awake.