Published: Wednesday, 5th November, 2008 09:30
Ship Simulator 2008
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When I think about big ships I'm thinking cruises. I'm thinking yachts. I'm thinking lounging about in a swimming costume reading a book. Suffice to say I don't think I'm the target market for Ship Simulator. However, on a wander round the office I couldn't find anyone else who was either.
It's a shame really. If you have a hankering to take to the high seas then as an armchair captain there's loads of things you can do. There's a choice of 16 ships across five different classes ranging from tiny speedboats to the Titanic, all of which have different strengths and weaknesses (you can guess what the Titanic's problem is), 30 different missions and online multiplayer (up to 25 people) as a possibility. Missions involve everything from rescuing people, transporting cargo, racing, towing other vessels and even - if the new James Bond has whet your appetite - jumping ramps at high speed.
There's also the opportunity to play free roaming style (think of it as Grand Theft Auto but with less violence) and you can test your mettle and that of your boat against a particular location or conditions. The design of the game is beautiful if you're into boats - with multiple camera angles meaning you get a 360-degree look at your surroundings and vessel. The sea also, for the most part, looks great too - which is just as well since it's where you spend your time. Beware though, even with a decent graphics card I was still the victim of a couple of crashes.
Ultimately this release will sink or swim on the amount of interest the player has in shipping. But as a simulation title it's good fun (in all seriousness I had a good few hours play even with a minimal interest in boats), and great value and the online element provides a whole new - and changing dimension - which means it'll keep gamers who enjoy this kind of title happy for a long time, perfect now we're getting into the point in the year trying to find Christmas presents for difficult to buy for dads and granddads.
Four stars.
* Ship Simulator for the PC is out now.
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