BBS 1/BBS#1.iso/document/gb21.arj/GNB2.TXT

Text File | 1994-12-12 | 7.8 KB | 127 lines

GREAT NAVAL BATTLES II by SSI
Reviewed by John Bonnett

                   Computer          Graphics       Memory      Disk Space
Minimum:           386/33 DX         512k SVGA      4mb         14mb
Recommended:       486/33 DX         1mb SVGA

Control:           Keyboard, Mouse (required)
Sound:             Adlib, SoundBlaster, SB Pro, ProAudio Spectrum, Roland
                   general MIDI

Notes:             Requires CDROM drive w/ 150kb data transfer rate

Reviewed version 1.0 on: 486/33 DX, 8mb RAM, ProAudio Spectrum, NEC double
                         speed CDROM

Reviewer recommends: 486/33 or faster, digital sound card capability

I've always been a fan of naval warfare simulations, and used to badger my
friends endlessly to play Avalon Hill's 'JUTLAND' or 'MIDWAY'.  Even after
a quarter of a century of duty with the U.S. Navy gaming naval engagements
is still a thrill.  When GREAT NAVAL BATTLES II (GNB2) came out I was eager
to add it to my collection.  With this release SSI builds on the previous
success of GREAT NAVAL BATTLES I:NORTH ATLANTIC.  Now the focus shifts to
the Pacific Ocean, recreating the conflict associated with the American
campaign to take the island of Guadalcanal in 1942. GNB2 starts with the
initial American landings on 7 August 1942 and runs thru the final
withdrawal of Japanese forces on 31 January 1943.  Also this release
mirrors the era of TASK FORCE 1942 by Microprose, inviting comparisons.
Running GNBII gave me a series of contrasts, both good and bad.

GNBII installed on my machine smoothly, even though I tempt fate by using
both STACKER to add disk space and 386MAX as a memory manager.  The game
requires at least 587k of lower RAM free with an additional 3mb of XMS. The
painless install program I've come to expect from SSI sucessfully detected
my system configuration, and loaded the proper ProAudio Spectrum sound
driver automatically.  By choosing to play sounds from the CDROM I was
treated to two different melodies, one representing the American side and
the other playing when you choose to be the Japanese commander. Other than
these two short pieces there is no music.  The digital sounds are done
nicely, particularly the gunfire and explosions when you are hit.  Sadly,
although it is distributed on CDROM the game installs itself on your hard
drive, and requires 14mb of free space.  For reasons that are beyond me,
SSI used some of the 660mb on the ROM to include demo versions of RAVENLOFT
and DARK LEGIONS.  Even so this total of 19mb leaves the over 70% of the
disk empty.  This is, IMHO, a _Bad Thing_ to do.  On the bright side copy
protection is evidently satisfied by having the CDROM in your drive which
relieves you of the odious task of having to identify an ambigious ship
outline or looking up page X line Y and entering the first word of line N.
This is a _Good Thing_ that goes a long way towards eliminating software
piracy, without being a burden on a legitimate owner.

Once up and running, what do you get?  There are five tutorials, seven
historical engagements and two different campaigns, one running the full
span of 7 August 1942 to 31 January 1943 and the other, truncated to allow
for forces to build up, from 1 October '42 thru 31 January '43.

Suprisingly, there are no provisions to allow you to build scenarios, and
modem play is not supported.  If history repeats itself I expect SSI to
release expansion disks that add other historical WWII Pacific battles like
Midway or the Coral Sea.  The lack of a scenario builder in what is
otherwise an excellent game is a serious omission, considering the norm we
have come to expect from computer games.  After running through the
tutorials I played each of the historical engagements, alternating from the
American to the Japanese side.  The interface runs flawlessly, with the
screen split evenly with a highly scalable map sharing the available space
with information and command menus.  As the commander you are always
provided with both an overview of your forces and the ability to command
their individual actions in _great_ detail. You can let the AI control your
weapons or drop down and aim each gun yourself.

Like any simulation the preference of the designers and playtesters don't
always exactly match mine.  Some of the 'features' caught me by suprise.
For example, if you transfer your dive bombers from a carrier to a shore
base, there is no way to return them later.  In a full campaign game I
wound up with a useless task force because the air wing had been sent to
Guadalcanal for use in air strikes against the Japanese ground forces.
After the enemy was devastated, there was no way to get the aircraft back
to the carriers for further use.  Additionally, something about the
efficiency of the damage control teams on the ships is not quite right. In
one of my fights seven heavy cruisers emptied their magazines on one light
cruiser and it never sank.  It took a repeated series of torpedo attacks
from my destroyer screen to finish her off.  Checking the with the detailed
damage control menu, it became apparent that the repair parties are never
subjected to casualties, remaining at full efficiency as the ship sinks
under them even though by that time they should have been busy abandoning
ship.  Seeing a target ship that had pounded apart, dead in the water and
burning suddenly get underway at 20 knots to avoid a torpedo is hard to
accept.  Also in the 'hard to accept' column is the sudden report that one
of your ships has been torpedoed by a submarine. Apparently introduced in
an effort to balance play I found these attacks extremely frustrating.
Your forces never detect or prosecute them either before or after they
strike. As a result one of your key units may be crippled or sunk and you
are denied the satisfaction of sinking their attacker.  Some of the
features are done quite well.  If you tackle a scenario that has you
playing Admiral Crutchley patrolling the waters of Iron Bottom Sound you
either come to respect the power of the Long Lance torpedos used by the
Japanese or you lose your entire task force.  Playing either side, the
ability of a combined strike by dive bombers and torpedo planes to wreak
havoc will quickly command your full attention.

How does GNB2 stack up against its near clone, TASK FORCE 1942 by
Microprose ?  The two year age difference shows, particularly in the
quality of the display.  GNB2 has SVGA graphics that are used from fixed
control stations like a gun or torpedo director.  The views avaible are
brethtaking as you see salvos straddle the target in your sights.  Both
games revert to VGA resolution if you go to a lookout or bridge position
and watch an engagement in real time.  Although GNB2 includes the ability
to capture 'video' tapes from the lookout or bridge position I've never
made use of that particular utility, preferring to remain in map view to
maintain control of my forces.  All in all, it comes down to a matter of
your personal preferences.  I give TASK FORCE 1942 the edge for ship to
ship slugging matches, while GNB2 makes much better use of aircraft, both
in a search role and for air strikes.  Is it really worth buying ?  Yes,
especially since I am counting on expansion disks to include some other
important campaigns in the Pacific theater of WWII.  I think SSI has the
ability to capture the market for naval simulations with this engine,
particularly if they redo the damage control code and add a few more menu
choices relating to employment of aircraft.  They would do well to spend a
few hours as I did, playing 'MIDWAY' on a table top.  If they can model
that emulation correctly then they will have a benchmark simulation other
software houses will be hard put to equal.

This review is Copyright (C) 1994 by John Bonnett for Game Bytes Magazine.
All rights reserved.