SSN-21 Seawolf

SSN-21 Seawolf is a video game in the strategy genre developed by Electronic Arts, Inc. and published by Electronic Arts, Inc. originally released in 1994. It is currently playable on DOS.

In general, naval battles proceed at a slower pace than other land or air battles. Two fleets may be looking for (or looking at) each other for days before a final, fiery confrontation occurs. This is even more correct for submarine warfare. From the days of ancient submarines to the era of nuclear fast attack boats, the art is more or less the same. Go unnoticed while trying to detect the enemy, track them (sometimes for hours or even days) and then quickly attack and leave the area. If the enemy fleet still has some ships, repeat the procedure as necessary.

This carries over directly to computer-based submarine simulators. While flight simulators may lean a bit toward quick reaction action (yes, even for the F-19, the 'thinking man's simulator'), submarine simulators are more like a game of chess or turn-based strategy/warfare. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why, in general, submarine simulators are not very popular among gamers. Only submarine lovers play them. Others consider this genre a bit boring. This does not mean that ALL sub sims have to be boring. With careful design, some sub sims are actually interesting.

For example, Dynamix's Aces of The Deep. Or the original 688i Attack Sub from EA. Or its second sequel, Jane's 688i. Second sequel, did you say? And the first sequel? Unfortunately, the first sequel, SSN-21 Seawolf, is not that interesting. Its use of multimedia (oral acknowledgements of its crew) is quite interesting. Graphically, it is a good step up from the original.

The problem is in the gameplay. Lacking an introductory mission and the option of quick engagements, this simulator has a fairly steep learning curve. If you're familiar with submarine simulators, it may be fine. But beginners will be especially scared off when they have to dive right into the missions, although the missions are fairly well designed.

That said, it's not a bad game. It does require some dedication to master and enjoy, but if you're willing to put in a little effort, you can have a good time. However, there's another problem rearing its ugly head. If you're seriously interested in the Fast Attack Sub sim, why not go out and buy Jane's 688i? It has much better graphics, much better system simulation, and much better gameplay. Plus, it is now available at very low prices.

It is possible that we have multiple downloads available when different versions exist.