Submarine Games

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DocHix
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Submarine Games

Postby DocHix » August 4th, 2022, 4:40 pm

For some reason, I have really been into submarine games recently. There really aren't as many for classic consoles as you might imagine. I have been playing a lot of the Sears exclusive 2600 "Submarine Commander", "In the Hunt" for the Saturn and "Sub Rebellion" for the PS2 (a real gem in my opinion). I was wondering if anyone else enjoys this genre and/or has an all-time favorite submarine game?

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Matchstick
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Re: Submarine Games

Postby Matchstick » August 4th, 2022, 5:27 pm

You pretty much nailed it already with In The Hunt. That game is superb.

Growing up, we had a submarine simulation for the NES called Silent Service. Despite its more complicated nature (I believe it may have been a port of a PC title?) I really liked it. But it was quite difficult.

One of my go-to rental games back in the day (that is, a game I would go-to when the game I really wanted was already rented) was The Hunt for Red October for the SNES. I haven't played it in decades, but I remember it being a fun arcade-style game with great music. I'd imagine it would be pretty easy to track down.

I also rented the SNES game based on SeaQuest, but didn't think much of it.

Later, I played a Dreamcast game called Deep Fighter. It was pretty much Wing Commander underwater.

A better game in that same style was Treasures of the Deep for the original PlayStation. It had great atmosphere despite being on weaker hardware, though its biggest drawback was the size of the levels. For a game with "Deep" in the title, it never felt like you were more than a few feet underwater. Despite that drawback, I played it at a friend's house a few times and had a really good time with it.
Last edited by Matchstick on August 4th, 2022, 5:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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VideoGameCritic
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Re: Submarine Games

Postby VideoGameCritic » August 4th, 2022, 5:44 pm

Squoon (NES) comes to mind.

If you're looking for something a little more realistic, there's Silent Service. I've been meaning to review that one for some time.

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Matchstick
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Re: Submarine Games

Postby Matchstick » August 4th, 2022, 5:48 pm

VideoGameCritic wrote:Silent Service

I was just editing my first post to add that one in! You beat me to it by a matter of seconds :P

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Stalvern
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Re: Submarine Games

Postby Stalvern » August 4th, 2022, 10:38 pm

My dad played Silent Service all the time on his ST in the '80s. He was a submariner himself in the '70s, so it's a pretty substantial endorsement. I have yet to play it myself, though.

Very surprised that nobody's mentioned Subnautica yet. That's been a popular one lately.

lynchie137
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Re: Submarine Games

Postby lynchie137 » August 5th, 2022, 3:17 am

Hey guys. Gotta give a shout out to Seaquest for the 2600. I dorked out to that game bigtime when I was a kid. Blowing up sharks, rescuing divers and resurfacing before an enemy sub comes crashing into you. Could get pretty hectic. Especially in the later levels...

JohanOberg
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Re: Submarine Games

Postby JohanOberg » August 5th, 2022, 7:02 am

Stalvern wrote:My dad played Silent Service all the time on his ST in the '80s. He was a submariner himself in the '70s, so it's a pretty substantial endorsement. I have yet to play it myself, though.


You do of course realize that this makes you... a son of a submariner?

(Final Fantasy III/VI reference, in case anyone wondered)

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ActRaiser
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Re: Submarine Games

Postby ActRaiser » August 5th, 2022, 9:57 am

It's been a while since I've played Air Sea Battle for the Atari 2600. I remember fondly playing against my dad. We had a lot of fun with it. I can't remember if you're controlling boats or subs in it but the gist is two players trying to kill one another. One is above and the other is below. There were a ton of variations on it to mix things up.

DocHix
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Re: Submarine Games

Postby DocHix » August 5th, 2022, 3:40 pm

ActRaiser wrote:It's been a while since I've played Air Sea Battle for the Atari 2600. I remember fondly playing against my dad. We had a lot of fun with it. I can't remember if you're controlling boats or subs in it but the gist is two players trying to kill one another. One is above and the other is below. There were a ton of variations on it to mix things up.



Very cool memory of playing with your Dad. I used to play Air Sea Battle a lot with my little brother back in the late 70s. I think you are thinking of variations 22-27..."Polaris versus Bomber"...great two-player mayhem!

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Retro STrife
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Re: Submarine Games

Postby Retro STrife » August 6th, 2022, 9:03 pm

Steel Diver on the 3DS looks good, based on VGC’s review.

Probably not easy to find, but Seawolf is a solid old arcade game. Funspot in NH has one, along with Seawolf II.

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