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Ship Simulator 2008

You've got all the seas in the world to play in... well, note quite

Missions vary in length and scope. There are a number of rescue missions, which involve plucking people out of the water and towing ships to shore. More advanced missions include operating multiple tugboats and maneuvering large vessels from their berths in tight quarters. None of the missions are particularly difficult. In fact, after getting up to speed with the basic controls, all of the stock missions can be completed in just a few short hours. The lack of skill required and the omission of rewards – new ships and new locations, for instance – upon successful completion make progressing through missions seem like work (especially the utterly standalone ship-loading mission).

Free-roaming allows you to explore environments at will, without objectives. There are 15 environments to choose from, but not all are unique. For instance, "San Fransisco" - in the bay proper - and "San Fransisco Pacific Ocean" (a bit farther out in the bay) are distinct locations. The environments do a decent job of representing their real-world counterparts, with mostly accurate water depths and hazard placement. However, the shoreline is rarely believable (though major landmarks, such as the Statue of Liberty, are present), and the simulation world seems unnecessarily constrained. For instance, a voyage from the docks at Marseilles into the open Mediterranean isn't possible.

At least the interactive electronic chart is helpful (if poorly designed)

Starting off at the dock with the detailed view. Pay no attention to the GPS coordinates, which are rarely correct

It's Sailing... Sort of

Ship controls are simple and intuitive, and can be operated from an overlay or from a first-person view at the helm (a walkabout mode is also present, which allows limited movement on the bridge and deck, depending on the vessel). Basic forward movement is controlled via the throttle (or throttles, depending on the ship), and steering in done via a wheel (larger vessels, such as container ships, have bow and stern thrusters for manoeuvring in port). When using the keyboard, the controls felt lifeless; the throttle, for instance, is an on/off action with the keyboard. More accurate is the mouse control, which has you slide individual throttles and turn the wheel with mouse movements.

The bridge of a tanker offers quite a vista

Helms may have interactive components, but still suffer from a lack of detail

The default view is a poorly-implemented chase-cam which almost never follows the ship properly (and is useless in tight quarters). Besides – this is a simulation, so a first-person view at the helm is more appropriate. Being fixed in the captain's chair is fine for smaller boats, but for the large ships, only the walkabout view will do. Here, you can move from place to place, checking the working MFDs, adjusting the engine speed or applying some lateral movement with thrusters. It's also possible to move to around the deck, though this movement is limited (and the sights aren't worth seeing, anyway).

Unmooring two tugs for some heavy towing action

Sitting at the helm gives you the opportunity to look around. I'm having nightmares about this creepy passenger

The experience lacks authenticity, though – there are no crewmates or subordinates to order about, and ships' bridges and helms offer only the basic controls. The only visual aid is the electronic chart, dismissing the bevy of monitors that usually grace a large vessel. If you've ever seen the bridge of a modern tanker, you know there's more to operating one of these ships than a wheel and throttle control. And when it comes time to moor and drop anchor, the simulation comes to an abrupt end. Here, simple clicks in the third-person view are all it takes to tie a ship up and drop anchor.

Page 1: IntroductionPage 2: Missons and ControlsPage 3: Technical IssuesPage 4: Graphics and Hardware RequirementsPage 5: Summaries and Scores

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