Silent Service II
Encyclopedia
Silent Service II is a submarine simulation game
released in 1990 for DOS
and ported in 1991 to Amiga
. It is a World War II
video game sequel
to Silent Service
.
Despite having graphics which are very primitive by today’s standards (the package proudly proclaims it to be the first simulation with 256 color graphics), the actual game play was very realistic and addictive. Players could choose either single scenarios or a war career. The latter was where the best game play occurred, with a typical career taking many hours to complete. A map of the entire Pacific Ocean
showed available home ports, and the friendly status of all major cities. A home port was chosen by the player, then a patrol zone. The boat was then moved at express time through the ocean, until a random encounter was generated. Views of each encounter were available from the submarine's perspective (periscope, deck). The length of each patrol was limited by the boat's available fuel.
Career games would involve multiple patrols. Some encounters would allow the player to shadow convoys, attacking at night, or from a forward position. Other encounters would generate a surprise detection by the enemy, with few options available other than a quick dive and evasion. The prized targets were of course aircraft carriers and battleships (and, in very rare cases, super battleships
), which once alerted would steam at full power, (27+ knots) making interception difficult.
Submarine simulator
A submarine simulator, or subsim for short, is usually a computer game in which the player commands a submarine. The usual form of the game is to go on a series of missions, each of which features a number of encounters where the goal is to sink surface ships and to survive counterattacks by...
released in 1990 for DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
and ported in 1991 to Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
. It is a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
video game sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Silent Service
Silent Service (video game)
Silent Service is a 1985 submarine simulator computer game. It was designed by Sid Meier and published by MicroProse for various 8-bit home computers, and in 1987 for 16-bit systems like the Commodore Amiga...
.
Despite having graphics which are very primitive by today’s standards (the package proudly proclaims it to be the first simulation with 256 color graphics), the actual game play was very realistic and addictive. Players could choose either single scenarios or a war career. The latter was where the best game play occurred, with a typical career taking many hours to complete. A map of the entire Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
showed available home ports, and the friendly status of all major cities. A home port was chosen by the player, then a patrol zone. The boat was then moved at express time through the ocean, until a random encounter was generated. Views of each encounter were available from the submarine's perspective (periscope, deck). The length of each patrol was limited by the boat's available fuel.
Career games would involve multiple patrols. Some encounters would allow the player to shadow convoys, attacking at night, or from a forward position. Other encounters would generate a surprise detection by the enemy, with few options available other than a quick dive and evasion. The prized targets were of course aircraft carriers and battleships (and, in very rare cases, super battleships
Yamato class battleship
The were battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy constructed and operated during World War II. Displacing at full load, the vessels were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. The class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine naval...
), which once alerted would steam at full power, (27+ knots) making interception difficult.