Silent Service

Silent Service is one of the first truly credible submarine simulators on PC, and together with other MicroProse titles from the mid-1980s it laid the foundations of the entire war simulation genre for home computers. The player commands an American submarine in the Pacific during World War II and must handle planning a voyage on the strategic map, searching for Japanese convoys, closing in on the target, and finally the torpedo attack itself using the periscope or sonar. The commander's career progresses from simpler patrols to more demanding missions, where both the number of enemy vessels and their ability to detect the player increase.

At the core of the game is careful work with angle on the bow, speed and distance to the target - a successful torpedo hit requires a genuine understanding of attack geometry, not just pulling the trigger. This is followed by the risk of a counterattack from escort vessels, when the submarine must dive to a safe depth, cut engine power, and wait out a wave of depth charges. The graphics are austere by today's standards but readable for their time, and the sonar and explosion sounds build tension typical of underwater combat well, even though DOS hardware at the time offered only limited sound and graphics capabilities. The game also rewards patience and planning more than quick reflexes, which set it apart from the more action-oriented titles of its era.

In the mid-1980s the game was praised precisely for a depth and authenticity that could not be found in any other home title at the time, and it became a model for later submarine simulators, including its own sequel. It also influenced how other developers approached modeling torpedo attacks and convoy behavior. Today, Silent Service is interesting mainly as a historical milestone of the genre - the pace is slow and the controls archaic, but the principle of tactically hunting convoys still works, and for players willing to accept the pace of the era it offers an authentic taste of underwater warfare that few other games of the time could match.

Why play it: For players willing to accept a slow pace and archaic controls in exchange for an authentic taste of tactical convoy hunting that no other home title offered in the mid-1980s.