Navigation is handled by using the on-screen map, which displays your location and the last known location of the enemy. It took about five minutes to find the enemy ship, it would have taken longer but the game gives you the option to speed up time. We were told repeatedly that the enemy “probably won’t fight back”, so off I went, hell bent on killing a boat of unknown origin, one that turned out to be a trade ship. In our preview we were allowed to choose a mission from a map of Europe, given that we were just starting out, we were limited to the smallest of the 10 different playable German U-boat types, so the missions we could choose from wouldn’t be too challenging. This isn’t a game for the more gung-ho amongst you, folks, that sort of behaviour will get you killed, Captain!

The format hasn’t changed all that much since the series conception back in the mid-nineties, with its click and wait gameplay being a key selling point to those that love to strategise and bask in the glory of a well planned victory. In Silent Hunter you are the captain of a German Submarine during World War II, and it is your mission to aid the fatherland in their efforts to conquer the seas of Europe. Oh, some of you may still be wondering what “Triple-S” means, ‘Submarine Simulation Strategy’, which refers to the core functions of the Silent Hunter franchise. A simple press of the F11 key on the keyboard and things go full screen, all distractions are banished as you get on with the serious business of conquering Europe. Silent Hunter Online, the developers tell us, is a “ Triple-A Triple-S title, fully playable from within your browser“, a fact that they are very excited to repeat over and over, and for good reason, the fact that a game as complex as Silent Hunter Online is playable from any computer with an internet connection is mightily impressive, and something that Blue Byte seems to be perfecting.

The first game since the meekly received Silent Hunter 5, Silent Hunter Online has got fans of the series hoping for a return to form, a series that started in 1996 and has spawned a total of six sequels. This week we preview Silent Hunter Online.įollowing on from our preview of the delightful looking Anno Online last week, this week we are looking at another of Ubisoft Blue Bytes upcoming Free-To-Play titles, which comes to us in the form of Silent Hunter Online. This February we are taking a look at three titles from Ubisoft Blue Byte, the studio tasked with bringing big name game franchises to the Free-To-Play market.

Silent hunter 5 keyboard map