Great Naval Battles 3 continues SSI's popular series in very good form. The designers have taken what they've learned from their previous two editions, both good and bad, and developed GNB3 which will surely become a classic in the World War II genre. Take note, however, that this is part of the Advanced Simulator Series and not for the casual war sim player.
GNB3 is an historical recreation of the war in the Pacific and SSI has it's history down pat. All of the ships and weapons used in the war are found in this game along with all sorts of statistical information for everything. If you or anyone you know has an interest in World War II naval battles, this is definitely a game to get. All of the scenarios are historically accurate, if you want to see how you would fare in that certain situation, and there are lots of modifiers that you can adjust such as weather and weapon accuracy. Also included with GNB3 is their full scenario editor that should go over big with all of the "what if" fans.
After you choose what level of difficulty and which scenario you wish to play, you pick whether you are controlling the USN or the Japanese forces. The main screen that you play from includes the map of the area you are in, an information area on the ship or ships that you are making decisions for and a small screen handling information such as the cargo of the ship, how much fuel is left, and it also gives a view from that particular ship. Movement within the interface is handled through various menu options. The menu that you'll mostly be using is the "stations" option which allows you to make decisions for the various functions of the ship or task force including navigational and weapon control. But to make it easier on you all of the choices on the "stations" menu can be accessed with a single keystroke.
GNB3 comes with numerous options for every feature of the game so you can customize the information that you receive. For example, the map screen features "filters" which allow you to specify exactly what the map does and does not reveal. So, you can find the range of the airplane that you're about to launch, the range of the guns on your ship, the name of the task force or the individual ships in the task force, etc. Also, there is a complete database of all of the planes, ships, guns and torpedoes that you can access so you can make more informed decisions. SSI has designed this simulation with all the options and information you could want.
Game play is difficult to learn. The downside to all of these options and details is that there is a lot to learn. The learning curve on this simulation is the longest I've had to deal with in a while. It will be easier, of course, for those gamers who already have a lot of combat sim experience and even more so with those acquainted with the previous two games. But for a casual player or a beginner, this game could easily be overwhelming. It is so deep that it is possible it might lose some players. ("Uh-oh! GNB3 just ate Bob! Call 911.")
The game is handled in real time with play stopping and starting all the time, either when you stop to issue orders or the computer halts the game to give you information or let you make decisions. This can be a bit disorienting at times but the more you get into the game the more you'll appreciate the way things are handled.
The one strange thing about GNB3 is the lack of attention given to the submarines. You don't control them first hand like you do with your other ships, but you can assign them patrols. Past that, your involvement is finished. The planes you control you have to ready for flight, assign missions and targets and such but with the subs the interaction is almost non-existent.
All in all GNB3 is a great combat sim. There is a knock out theme at the beginning even if the sound effects get a little boring and redundant. The structure of the game has been thought out very well but, as mentioned before, GNB3 as a whole can be a bit much for some folks. But it's that same attention to detail, that same indulgence in the minutiae of battle, that wargame enthusiasts are going to love. If you've been looking for that "mother of all World War II combat sims" look no further.
