The Hunt

As a captain of the submarine you are responsible for both the completion of the objectives but also for sinking the enemy ships. The more tons you sink, the more fame you gain. In the end, your job is to cripple the Japanese forces, by taking on their task forces but also to sink their freighters and tankers. As a predator of the sea, you will engage your targets both at the surface but mostly submerged. Why at the surface when the enemy aircrafts are ready to blast you submarine? Because this way you travel faster. And of course sometimes you will fail to sink a target with just your torpedoes and a good hit with your deck cannon will give it a "coup-de-grace" blow. But most of the times you will attack your targets submerged. You can observe the targets through the periscope and decide what to do next: engage the civil targets or do a sneak attack on the destroyers. Either way, I can tell you that the hunt is thrilling.

If you play without event camera or external view, you will have to rely solely on sonar/radar and periscope. The hard part is when you attack a convoy. Listening of the sonar to see where the targets are because rising the sub to use the periscope can be dangerous considering that the destroyers are there to make sure the cargo gets intact at the destination and will hunt you until you are a wreck. If by any chance they discover your sub, you will have to think fast and take the appropriate measures so the mines won't damage it. Hearing the mines exploding right next to your submarine, the sonar beeping as the destroyers make circles around your sub, listening closely to release another wave of deadly mines is something you won't forget soon.

I remember when I had the chance to encounter a big task force, with destroyers, sub chasers, 2 battleships and 3 cruisers. There was also a tanker but the thrill that I felt when I stumbled upon this convoy was intense. I was making all kinds of plans to sink the battleships and cruisers and in the end one cruiser managed to escape because I had no more torpedoes on the sub. My escape solution was the third cruiser who managed to get out of the formation and I slipped under it and maintained it's course and speed and once I was far away from the destroyers which were still looking for my sub around the place where the mighty ships fell down thanks to my torpedoes, I surfaced my submarine and with the deck gun finished the agonizing cruiser. One officer got hit and was wounded but the medal I received worth the try.

Silent Hunter 4 features a superb graphic. The water is simply breathtaking, with waves hitting the bow of your ship and the surface of the sea reflects moonlight and fire. Sea water pools on the lens of your periscopes and even smears the external camera for a bit as you come up from underneath the ocean. Torpedo hits send huge geysers shooting up into the air when they hit the target. All in all, everything is rendered so wonderfully.

In addition to the geysers that the torpedoes create when they hit the target, they also leave a deformation on the ship, adding to the realism of the game. Water filling the damaged ship, ships torn in two pieces by the explosion or by the force of the torpedo impact is something you don't see every day.