SUBSIM: Silent Hunter 5 review (17/03/10)

[Letum]

A well written review.
Generous, perhaps, but that is to be expected and it wasn't unfair.

Than manual was news to me.

ed: I am very surprised it got a better rating than AOTD!

[Safe-Keeper]

I have a feeling it got a rating for potential as much as actual gameplay. There's a lot of realism in SH5 if you just look beyond the arcade/RPG features, and silliness like manning the deck gun during a hurricane can be patched/modded out. He did balance his high score by pretty much saying you shouldn't buy the game until it's modded/patched.

[gmccabe01]

A nice accurate review and told it like it is.
Well done

[jimimadrid]

Well writen review Neal.

I noticed also that the actually weather is not saved. If you load at the same point you get every time different weather.
Strange.

Or with the words of the tecnical support, this is not a failure - this is a feature.

I have not bought the game, but I know that I will do one day.

That is the best 15 minutes reading I have had in weeks. It told me everything I wanted to know about the game. I consider this review to have real value as the author gains no advantage from it either way.

Well written..thanks Neal.

Maverick

[CybrSlydr]

That was a great review, Neal.

I kept waiting for Subsim to do the review because I knew it would more reflect the things I want to know than the typical sites like IGN or Gamespot - or even the aggregate Metacritic.

However...

I don't know if it was a case of "not biting the hand that feeds you" or something... But I was surprised and a little disappointed you didn't come off more strongly against their absurd DRM.

And that's all I'll say about that.

Again, great review - thanks for the read.

[Onkel Neal]

Thanks all for reading and commenting.

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

The review states several times that the game doesn't come with a printed manual. Now, I don't know anything about the US version, but the copy I bought from a Norwegian store features both the manual and a four-page Quick Start (you know, "put DVD in drive and do this and that if autorun is off", etc.) leaflet in Scandinavian and Finnish.

My US version did not have a printed manual, only a slip of paper with the product code and a note saying the manual was on the disk. BTW, I removed one of your images, it shows your product code, which you probably do not want the world to see.

Originally Posted by ReFaN

exelent review, liked the picture with the different campaigns the most, ahem.

Thanks for the campaign image, I did post your credit at the end of the review.

Originally Posted by Faamecanic

Good review Neil.... but you left a few things out (that Im sure others have already pointed out)

1. Morale system is broke. My crew's morale was at 1 dot the minute I left Keil Harbor on my first patrol.
2. TDC is broke. If you use any ability that increases your torp speed or warhead effectivness, the TDC does not take this into account and your torps MISS their targets.
3. Rudder control is 1 deg at a time or 35 deg with automtic Amazing/ludicrous/Insane/Holy S*&t speed (what ever ubi named it) ahead.
4. Rediculous mission requirements (sink 150,000 tons by June 1940...really? in 8 months?)
5. Germany had Sonar in 1939?
6. Germnay had Radar in 1939?
7. American Liberty Cargo ships in 1939?
8. Only half the war is available to play.

Dont get me wrong... I think the review is spot on. There is so much promise with this SH release. But at the same time this is the most incomplete release to date. As if Ubi fully expects modders to finish the sim for them. to Ubi and to the review.

Yes, I left out a lot of things. My first draft was almost twice as long, but like I said, it's a review, not a buglist But I did mention #1, 3, 4, and 8 in my review, check again.

Originally Posted by Letum

A well written review.
Generous, perhaps, but that is to be expected and it wasn't unfair.

Than manual was news to me.

ed: I am very surprised it got a better rating than AOTD!

Eh? Aces received a 90 from me on the original review. Check the curve, it takes 7 points away for age. I probably should restate that, I no longer think it's practical to curve old scores.

Originally Posted by CybrSlydr

That was a great review, Neal.

I kept waiting for Subsim to do the review because I knew it would more reflect the things I want to know than the typical sites like IGN or Gamespot - or even the aggregate Metacritic.

However...

I don't know if it was a case of "not biting the hand that feeds you" or something... But I was surprised and a little disappointed you didn't come off more strongly against their absurd DRM.

And that's all I'll say about that.

Again, great review - thanks for the read.

Thanks, appreciate your thoughts. I had more material about the DRM in my notes, but I decided that it did not add anything to the review of the game. And that's what this is, a review of the game. In my playing experience with SH5, there was only one instance where the Ubi servers were not responding. Other than that, the DRM did not make the sub dive deeper, make the crew smarter, did not affect the AI, etc. If you think I should write an editorial about the DRM, that's another thing. Thanks

PS: thanks for spotting that typo, flakmonkey