Bringing the most advanced Naval machines to your computer?

Not a day goes by without some product or other dropping into my lap claiming that “This is the best!” of what ever field it happens to specialise in. So I met Dangerous Waters with wary eyes. Gazing at the product in my hands, a weighty box and a huge printed manual… something that has been totally lacking in the videogames market of recent years. Good start I thought.

The first thing that becomes abundantly clear after installing this beast of a simulation is the sheer wealth of options open to you. I took one last look at the size of the manual and knocked the realism settings right down for my first foray into the water. Yes, this simulation lets you decide how deep you wish to go. From overseeing a battle scenario, captains eye view right down to manning each and every station within your chosen vessel. The incredible AI can be utilised to control any stations you wish. Of course this saw me controlling the weapon systems and the navigation of my Akula class submarine.

The single player missions are huge and with the addition of real world coast lines to fight around the game gives off a rather unsettling pseudo reality slant. These missions string together to form a dynamic campaign where missions and actions flow into one another. This was hugely evident after being slightly reckless and then reduced to using a submarine that was ready for decommissioning for the subsequent missions. Dangerous Waters makes you think hard about your actions and provides massive replay value too! If you do manage to complete the single player campaigns there is even an extremely detailed mission creator thrown in for good measure allowing you to create your own missions and campaigns.

So, it is clear Dangerous Waters is at home offline but the option to take your fleet online opens the flood gates to a world of naval conflict! You are able to jump into a game in your chosen vessel and wage war against anyone you can find. High tension is a certainty as there are always players using the anti-submarine aircraft to watch for tell tale shadows. The most interesting feature of online play is something called “Multi Station Mode” this is simply where players team up to control one vessel which brings a whole new dynamic to the game. I was a gunner while there was another guy manning sonar, another controlling navigation and so on! This is nothing short of amazing.

Dangerous Waters really is a huge product and well worth a look if you are a Naval fan. Its learning curve is steep probably on a par with the various Flight Simulation games out there but with the manual as reference you will be using submarines, boats, helos and fixed wing aircraft in no time at all.

Ben Harman