Destroyer Command

Destroyer command puts you in charge of small groups of World War II destroyers, the cannon fodder of any 1940s navy. You play single missions or a campaign, or even play online against owners of Silent Hunter 2 in an intriguing submarine versus surface ship match-up. Units can be given orders on the map screen or you jump into the hot seat on the bridge.

We don’t doubt that Destroyer Command is unflinchingly realistic. But could it be the life of a destroyer captain doesn’t lend itself to enjoyable simulation? Missions that involve spending weeks combing thousands of square miles of mid-Atlantic Ocean for a lone U-boat don’t quite set the imagination racing. And only engaging in combat at night to avoid air attacks doesn’t make for much of a spectacle.

Directing your flotillas on the map screen feels too abstract as the interface is clumsy, and watching a few square counters drift through an expanse of blue doesn’t instinctively send your mind rushing with tactical options. You decide your fleets’ speed and formation and then set the time compression to maximum until you make visual contact with the enemy.

Then you switch to simulator mode and are transported to the various stations on your ships such as the bridge, the gunnery command and damage control. There’s little to look at apart from dials and buttons as the sea is a bit short of landmarks.

Even when battle erupts it’s a case of watching shells sail over to explode on tiny silhouettes on the horizon. You’d have to be a serious sea warfare fanatic to even consider trying to decipher this one.