Customer Reviews

Tom Clancy's SSN (Win95 CD-ROM)

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3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
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In "SSN", you are the commander of the USS Cheyenne, one of the latest ships of US Navy's vaunted Los Angeles Class submarines, fighting your sub against the might of the Chinese navy in a war in the South China Sea. A coup by Chinese Generals, detailed by extensive FMV scenes, puts the PRC on a warpath with the West.

The missions however are a major botch, which is sad becauise of the work that went into them and the potential for something better. Instead of controlling your sub from the inside - plotting your course over a mving map, searching for targets on the sonar screen or periscope, giving orders to various crewmembers - you now drive your sub from the outside, with the main view being that of the Cheyenne coasting along the undersea mountains and running across the occasional whale and (the not-so-occassional) Chinese sub. (Visually spotting the subs isn't a cheat - they don't become visible until Sonar detects them). Handling of the sub seems pretty realistic - you now control the ballast controls, and the sub sinks during prolonged turns. The undersea setting is also pretty abosorbing, full of ambient sound from enemy ships and marine biology - including whales and seagulls. Isothermals - invisible lines created by rapid changes in water temperature - appear as thin layers of dust. Changes in distance from an object cause doppler shifts in the sound that object emits - most radically for torpedoes which are about the fastest objects you'll encounter (underwater, anyway).

What kills the realism is the game's biggest novelty - the "spot" view for the Cheyenne is of limited use. Unfortunately, it's always on, and can't be cycled with something more useful, like a threat indicator, or atleast snipped so that it allows more room for a target computer that tracks more than one target. The sonar screen remains as a small circle lacking even a map overlay so you can at least mentally mark off where sonar targets were when they dissappear (as they will). It's as if the game's writers hit off on this great idea and then realizing how unimportant it was, decided they couldn't get rid of it. With the sub always on screen, it's hard to past the idea that we're outside of a six-inch model of a sub, rather than directing a major undersea battle inside of it.

Considering that this is Tom Clancy, there are also some realism issues - the South China sea scenario isn't unrealistic, but playing the game against Chinese in mostly Russian hardware, the question arises - why not just set the game in the Barent's sea and rename the game "Red Storm Rising for Win95"? The answer is that the game was needed to hype a book which - to remain as cutting edge as everything Clancy does - had to include a speculative conflict against China. The newer scenario never gels, though, without icepacks. More problematic are the Chinese subs - a mix of Russian imports and Chinese "Han" nuclear subs. The Russian subs break down into diesel boats like the Kilo, but also nuclear subs like the Alfa and the Akula, niether of which exist in the numbers represented here. (Only six Alfas ever entered service, most if not all sunk between the various Clancy novels). A more realistic story would have had the fighting covered by Victor II and Victor III subs, with the others in smaller numbers. Also, there aren't any rocket-torpedoes like the Sea Lance, or medium range cruise missiles like Sub-Harpoon. The Clancy's Chinese seems utterly bereft of any cruise-missile subs, and never form any cohesive teamwork. Also, the most important subs in the game are also the easiest to detect - in latter missions, the Typhoon class and Severodvinsk Class subs just suddenly appear in front of you when they should be the hardest to detect.

Overlooking these flaws, "SSN" has limited playability - the missions are pre-scripted, and are played in clusters which must be completed before proceeding to the next cluster. This is annoying when you've got a four-mission cluster consisting of two uneventful missions followed by a murderously impossible third mission that endlessly sends you back to square-1. Nearing the end of the game, assuming you've got the patience, you're probably asking yourself how much hard-drive you'll be reclaiming.

SSN fills a niche between arcade games and hardcore sub sims like Janes 688i. I ran the game on a P166 (then) lacking an accelerator card, and the graphics and sound were flawless.

I felt that SSN was a bit dry, but technically a marvel, and very good in that Captain Bart was a perfect tactichian(sic). VERY GOOD

The most realistic submarine warfare game available. Captain your own 688 class Nuclear Submarine in an epic sea battle in which you will emerge victorius or sink to the bottom of the ocean. A must for strategy gamers

This is a great game for anyone who like submarines or naval warfare. It's well done and very accurate!

This book is a very worthwhile introduction to the U.S. submarine force. The insights offered were highly informative as I was writing my own scenes for "Stealing Thunder". The chapters were well laid out and specific. I would have liked to have seen more photographs but understand that you can't just pop aboard a U.S. nuclear submarine with your Nikon. Still, all and all, it's a ready and useful reference for writers and military aficionados.

I felt this game was better than Jane's688i beacause there was a higher goal, and better graphics than any other sub game i have played. Also it is by Tom Clancy, and i find that all of his work that i have read/played is almost alway extremly good.

It is a very realistic book but one thing i felt less. Each chapter can be read apart because it is based on the computergame. I do not like this.

The graphics seem to be the only upside of this game. The plot is unrealistic, the submarine model absolutely horrible, and the fact that it is completely unrealistic because you can see your own submarine from the main screen!! Jane's 688i is a better deal. Pass on this unless you enjoy burning cash.