East India Company
Lots of seafaring fun with all of it’s parts. Like a lot of games it can be exasperating at times especially when your maxed out fleet loses to a wimpy faction. Not a whole lot of differences no matter what level you play at except on Easy you don’t have to worry that a port won’t buy your cargo or that your homeport won’t like any of their cargo.
There are 2 methods of combat. You can control all your ships in a high resolution graphic war or use Autoresolve that determines the winner. At first I used the graphic option but found that controling 5 warships was a problem, especially since more often than not your surrounded by islands that will rip ships apart and the ships are not capable of sharp turns. The enemy of course is on the seaward side of the islands. Additionally your ships will not fire near as often as the enemy. If you put all the ships on auto except the flagship they will run right into an island and sink.
– Real player with 64.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Historical Trading Games.
Let me state that I enjoy the game, but find many problems with it.
-For example, I’ve found that war with other companies isn’t worth it because the ships are far too expensive to just pump out a bunch of expendible warships.
-You really don’t buy anything but the big ticket items and sell them at your home port. Less of a commerce simulator, more of an importation simulator.
-The voices are okay, somewhat amusing at times.
-As stated in the first point, combat is rare as pirates don’t actually attack that much. This is a bummer as the naval combat is basically only rivaled by Napoleon: Total War in quality, so it’s a huge waste.
– Real player with 31.4 hrs in game
Holdfast: Nations At War
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– Real player with 809.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Historical Multiplayer Games.
Absolutely fantastic game. Nothing beats the feeling of charging into battle with your brothers in arms while blasting jazz through the mic. 10/10.
– Real player with 117.6 hrs in game
Das Boot: German U-Boat Simulation
Okay so ive been waiting for this game for like a few days right ive always liked sub games/under water games (Subnatica, we need to go deeper, ect ect) The game takes like a few hours to know the controls good enough to actually play it, I under stand this game was made 30 years ago but so is doom so if you want to play a old game i recommenced doom however the fact i played the game for like 20 minutes i recommend it and even though i refunded the game i STILL recommend it its a okay game but i guess im to much of a youngster who dang-nab bit cant understand how to move the boat forward (not a lie i spent like 10 mintes (half my time) trna figure out how to move forward) its a game were it takes a actual Manuel to play it and i dont like reading so i cant rate this game truly because i didnt even play it but ill still rate it 4/10 like i said i dotn even know how to move ima recomend it but you should come to your own conclusion
– Real player with 0.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Historical Action RTS Games.
Port Royale 2
i started the game with high expectation, because many veteran reviewers commented favorlably.
I’m a senior old gamer, so retro graphic is ok, merchant part is repetive? it’s no problem.Rather, it’s fun.
Buy low and sell high and build facilities to produce goods…….all fun.
But one thing i can’t put up with……WHY MUST I FIGHT ENEMY FLEET WITH ONLY ONE SHIP?
i can build a fleet up to ten ships.
But when battle begins, only JUST ONE of my ships fights while enemy fleet attacks with 5 ships.
– Real player with 348.1 hrs in game
There is no better economic simulator that exists that I know of. There are many good City Sims and Tycoon style games that wish they had the economic engine behind this game. Every one of the 65+ cities in this game have unique features and needs based on a complex mix of random events and your ability to supply them. I could go on and on about the complex yet easier to comprehend industry and economic simulation in this game, it is that engrossing and one of a kind. I am actually upset PR3 was so terrible compared to this gem.
– Real player with 110.7 hrs in game
Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail
This review will focus on the management side of the game, rather than the actual combat.
Just be warned this is a management game first, and real time strategy game second.
But,
If you enjoy Empire: Total War’s combat gameplay, you’ll experience a more challenging iteration of that in this game. I have ‘sank’ over 300 hours into this during the closed alpha, and to simply put it, this game takes the officer, equipment, supplies, and manpower management systems of Ultimate General: Civil War and applies it to the combat of Empire: Total War.
– Real player with 114.5 hrs in game
The game has a neat concept. Moving battle ships while considering and accounting for the shifting wind adds a an enjoyable and novel complexity to the typical RTS game. BUT the BUGS are legion and game balance non-existent. For instance, your infantry disembarking for naval assault WILL spontaneously disappear from time to time. Ships in formation WILL get stuck for no apparent reason. Although the game seems to suggest multiple ways of completing missions, in reality, the game will frog march you down one way…and one way only to finish a mission. Any attempt at finishing a mission with anything less then the biggest boat you can buy will always end in failure. Failure to research mortars as early as possible will make all land battles impossible. The Game has no qualms about telling you to take down a 112 gun ship with fire ships, and leave you NO other options for succeeding in the mission. I could stomach the frog marching, but the BUGS…I cannot stand the BUGS…Jesus! This game has so many annoying BUGS.
– Real player with 100.4 hrs in game
World of Warships
Try it, don’t buy.
This is a game that starts simple, with a gentle learning curve and protected matchmaking for new players. It’ll be fun. You’ll research new ships, unlock missions, join a clan…and then you’ll inevitably hit a fun wall. Try being in a match against enemy Aircraft Carriers and having virtually no counter. Try being in a match with a Tier 5 glass cannon Cruiser against veterans in Tier 7 ships that sink you with one salvo. The power difference between tiers is slight to start with, and very wide at the top tiers. And this is a game that wants you to be at the bottom of the food chain, so you’ll pay to get to the top faster, or pay for a Premium ship because you think it will help you. It won’t.
– Real player with 6133.4 hrs in game
after playing 1200+ hours..I think I’m qualified to give this review (you may disagree)
At the current state of this game I can’t recommend this game to everyone……
If you like games to be balanced,competitive,historically accurate…..then this game isn’t for you
If you like to spend money just bc you can then yes this game is for you….
Now if you wanna continue to read you are more than welcome :
first let’s touch the good things about the game:
1. The models for the Ships are truly beautiful
– Real player with 2411.2 hrs in game
Sea Dogs
Yes it’s old, but it places its emphasis in sea battles on sailing and strategy. You can’t just load guns in 3 seconds and then switch from solid balls to grapeshot without going through another reload. Turn rate and speed are crucial to monitor. And the story line is fun, too.
– Real player with 94.4 hrs in game
Fascinating game. It was great years ago, and I finished it again with great pleasure nowadays. And that’s not a call of nostalgia. There are many old games which didn’t age well, but I can’t say such a thing about this one. Yes, it’s graphics will not impress you these days and some gameplay mechanics are rather old. But the game brings an enthralling non linear story, great music and atmosphere as well as interesting albeit little clunky gameplay.
The game is 20 years old, but it has unique walkthrough for 4 different nations and unique dialogs for all characters, not just secondary ones, but even unimportant ones. For example, there is no copy-cat tavern keepers or store owners with standard phrases. Each one has his own character, story or even quest. And a word about quests. There is no copy-paste quests as well. Each one is unique and there is a lot of them. Believe or not, but it is the only game where I still remember the names of most of the characters after so many years.
– Real player with 41.5 hrs in game
Silent Hunter 5®: Battle of the Atlantic
So, Just to preface my positive review, you MUST get the Wolves of Steel mega-modset for this game off of the Subsim(dot)com for it to work right. A quick google search will direct you to the forum to find it.
With the modset, the game is amazing. Manually inputting info into the TDC, customizing the game-play to the level of realism you want (within reason), and sinking tonnage. There is nothing more satisfying than sneaking a volley of torpedoes through a destroyer screen to sink a Queen Elizabeth-class Battleship, and get away with it, or hit a 7km torpedo shot because you did the proper calculations and they never even knew you were there. (personal experiences, yours may vary) There are still a few bugs here and there in the modset, but once you recognize them, a quick save and reload will fix them up.
– Real player with 267.6 hrs in game
This game had so much promise. You can get around the hell of Uplay, but the game is really really, really buggy. And the fact that most mods dont work with the steam version, your just sol. The game is visually beautiful, and there is something inertly great about being stealthy in the sea and then evaiding capture, but the bugs will have you ripping your hair out. Radar contacts sometimes dont work, and you’ll be searching for multiple hours real time waiting to run into someone. AA gunners wont attack planes that are VERY relentless, let alone actually kill them. 6/10 times they wont even shoot at the plane when you have the gun armed, manned and ready; and when they do attack, 8/10 times even an experienced gunner wont bring them down.
– Real player with 239.6 hrs in game
Silent Hunter® III
Silent Hunter III …. a 2005 game but….. Remember what i already tell you before…..
Old but gold…
SH III is the best of the series….. !
Why ?? I will tell you why.
Because Silent Hunter III is very close to whats happen in 39 45 under the water…..
Yeah i am a big u-boat fan, i live close to the sea in a place where still WW II Bunker.
88 Canon, S Boot base and more………
I collect WW I and WW II insignia, u-boat insignia, badge, eitterkreuz, bayonet bullet….
This dont make me a nazist x)
– Real player with 238.3 hrs in game
SH3 is one of those games that you need to invest time in. It is a perfect example of a “Dad game,” as Yahtzee Crowshaw once put it. It’s meticulously detailed, and you must learn all of the different eccentricities of the sub to be a great captain.
It uses the real-life technological limitations from WWII to define the gameplay. Want to fire off a torpedo? A standard gas-powered torpedo leaves a trail of bubbles in the water, which ships can detect in advance and will swerve to avoid your torpedo. You can fire an electric torpedo, but you’ll need to be close, or else the battery in the torpedo will die and it won’t reach your target. SH3 is filled with these sorts of tactical nuances that really make it satisfying to play.
– Real player with 201.3 hrs in game
Atlantic Fleet
This is the best WWII naval battle game so far: my path of great naval games has gone Dreadnoughts (on Amiga), Task Force 1942, Fighting Steel, and now Atlantic Fleet. The ship models are realistic, though lacking individual differences between class members and rebuilds, eg all county class cruisers are Berwick style with cut down aft deck and large deck house rear superstructure, London included; all QE class are as QE, Warspite has no faceted bows and Malaya and Barham have been modernised, similarly Repulse looks like Renown, etc. This would be nice to see, like the different placements of mainmast between Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. But that is beside the point - this game is a delight! It plays convincingly and really delivers some of the best battles I’ve played - looks splendid too.
– Real player with 2022.0 hrs in game
I certainly do not regret buying this game (yeah, I know 200 hours, I have lots of spare time)
Atlantic Fleet is a unique time-killing game. It’s a turn-based WWII naval battle sim (sort-of).
There are four gamemodes where you play either as the Royal Navy or the Kriegsmarine: Battle of the Atlantic, Campaign, Historical Missions, and Sandbox
Battle of the Atlantic is the biggest and best part of the game. You control your ships from a tactical map, positioning them where you can either protect your merchant vessels (Royal Navy), or where you can sink them (Kriegsmarine). You sink enemy ships to earn renown, which is used to build up your own fleet. On each turn, your ships may encounter enemies, which then brings you to the combat mode (See further down). Any ships lost, yours or the enemies, are not coming back (unless you change that in the settings, for the enemy, of course), so you have to be careful how you handle your ships.
– Real player with 378.1 hrs in game