Ship Simulator 2008

I have to start by saying that Ship Simulator 2008 is a game that is not for everyone. However, if you like “sim” style games I do suggest you take a closer look at this one. Before I tried this, I had less than zero interest in ships and as a matter of fact, I have never actually been on one in my life! Yet, as I played the game it really did manage to grab hold of me and demand my attention for way longer than I thought it would have.

A Pirates Life For Me

As the title suggests, Ship Simulator 2008 is not exactly a “new” game. With that being said the visuals are certainly showing their age. I am not saying that the game is ugly or anything like that. There is a large selection of sea craft in this game ranging from a water taxi to the freaking Titanic and each one looks great. It is more the water effects that show their age than anything else and a game that is 99 percent on the water really needs to have more realistic looking water.

The sound in the game is actually pretty great. I liked the different engine sounds, but it was the sounds of the sea and the more ambient aspects of the sound design that I liked best.

Missions For All

The main thing you will be doing in the single-player mode is completing various missions. I was surprised not just by how many missions there were in the game, but also by how varied they were. This is what really kept me interested in this aspect of the game. You have missions like you would expect where you need to ferry people and stuff from point a to b. You also have other missions where you need to tow things or even perform a rescue, it is pretty cool stuff. One really neat thing was in some of the cargo missions, you get to take control of the crane as you put the cargo on the ship. Little things like this along with the variety in the missions made the game way more addictive.

Long Lonely Nights At Sea

In addition to the missions, Ship Simulator 2008 also has a sandbox mode that you can play. This mode is what you would expect, you can pick a destination, the kind of ship, what you are delivering or doing, and so on. I just wish that you could have more severe weather to deal with as even the harshest weather in this game feels pretty tame in all honesty.

Some of the “ports” or areas you will be sailing between are really far apart and it can feel like you are on the open sea forever! I get this is the “simulation” part of it, but I wish they went more out there to make this a bit more interesting for us.

Pros:

• Lots of different ships to take control of
• The UI is very clean and easy to get around
• I found controlling the ships nice and easy
• There is a lot of variety to the different missions
• Sandbox mode can be a relaxing experience

Cons:

• Sometimes it feels like you are on the open sea forever!
• I think a few more exciting hazards and dangerous weather would have been great

Wow, Though Our boredom thresholds are not those of mere mortals, Ship Simulator's torturously slow journey across the Atlantic has us chewing at our limbs in frustration. The Titanic can only manage a mere 25 knots in good weather (that's 28mph), it takes 25 minutes just to get out of New York. Once we're out in the open seas however, the vessel doesn't need much attention paying to it.

We minimise the window and totter off while the mammoth boat crawls across the ocean. After all, what ill could come of leaving the Titanic unattended? None. Especially as Ship Simulator 2008 simulates neither icebergs nor kraken.

Thankfully, although the voyage should take five and a half days, the game drastically reduces the size of the ocean to the point where it took mere hours.