Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic

Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic

Developer(s) Ubisoft Romania
Publisher(s) Ubisoft
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)
  • NA March 2, 2010
  • AUS March 4, 2010
  • EU March 5, 2010
  • JP April 30, 2010
Genre(s) Submarine simulator
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer

Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic is a submarine simulator for Microsoft Windows developed by Ubisoft Romania and published by Ubisoft. It is the fifth and latest installment of the Silent Hunter franchise and the successor of Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific. Like Silent Hunter II and Silent Hunter III, it places the player in command of a German U-Boat during World War II – hence the Battle of the Atlantic.

Overview

Screenshot of a U-boat in Silent Hunter 5.

Silent Hunter 5 takes players behind the periscope of a German Type VII U-boat to take on the Allied Forces in battles across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Players command the U-boat after the first captain, Rahn, departs for another submarine. They assume the role of the next submarine captain from a first-person view in a campaign that spans 1939-1943..

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings61.85%[1]
Metacritic62/100[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Eurogamer5/10[3]
GameSpot5/10[4]
GameZone5/10[5]
IGN5.7/10[6]
PC Format81%[7]
PC Gamer (UK)77%[8]
PC Gamer (US)55%[9]
PC Zone49%[10]

The game was met with mixed reception upon release; GameRankings gave it 61.85%,[1] while Metacritic gave it 62 out of 100.[2]

GameZone's Steven Hopper gave it 5 out of 10, saying, "The game offers some deep elements, but the overwhelming interface and steep learning curve make it very difficult to get into. The campaign missions are fairly low-key, with quick missions not really matching the depth of the gameplay. Many bugs and performance issues will also bog down your ability to enjoy the game."[5] GameSpot's Brett Todd also gave it 5 out of 10, commenting, "Silent Hunter 5 has promise, but this buggy and unstable game needs to be sent back to the drydock for some serious refitting."[4] 3DJuegos' Álvaro Castellano Córdova gave the game an 85 out of 100, saying that "Silent Hunter 5 is the most accurate simulation of World War II submarine conflicts in the Atlantic. With more testing and less bugs this game could have been the best in the series",[11] while PC Gamer UK awarded it a score of 77%, criticizing the bugs and DRM but saying that without them, "it would be the best Silent Hunter yet."[8]

DRM

See also: Uplay

Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic uses Ubisoft's Uplay for digital rights management. Initially Uplay required a constant connection to the internet for Silent Hunter 5 to run, halting the game if the connection was lost during gameplay.[12] The scheme quickly came under fire after a denial-of-service attack on Ubisoft's DRM servers in early March, 2010, rendered Silent Hunter 5 and Assassin's Creed II unplayable for several days.[13] The always-on requirement was quietly lifted towards the end of 2010, being changed to a single validation on game launch.[14] Silent Hunter 5 was later made playable in Uplay's "offline mode" the following year, effectively eliminating the online requirement entirely.[15]

Germany recall

The Collectors Edition of the game has been recalled in Germany, after it was discovered that the publisher failed to remove a portion of Silent Hunter 5's World War II symbols, such as swastika flags which was not in accordance with German law. German law prohibits the distribution of video games with certain Nazi symbols such as swastikas and SS runes.[16]

Modifications

As a result of the general disappointment with Silent Hunter 5 among long term fans of the series, user created mods have been seen as necessary. The three most highly regarded mods are: MightyFine crew mod - this mod gives the watch crew and engine room crew new animations and, in some versions, changes how the entire crew looks by altering beards and different faces etc. IRAI - this mod improves the AI of all units and makes wolfpack attacks possible. Open Horizons II - this rewrites all campaign objectives and extends the war from May 1943 to May 1945. It also extends the Black May campaign and adds two new campaigns, one for July 1944-May 1945 and another based around the Monsun Gruppe. It also adds many new ships and nations into the game.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic for PC". GameRankings. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  3. ↑ Smith, Quintin (March 10, 2010). "Silent Hunter 5 [Battle of the Atlantic]". Eurogamer. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Todd, Brett (March 24, 2010). "Siltne Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic Review". GameSpot. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hopper, Steven (March 30, 2010). "Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic Review - PC". GameZone. Archived from the original on April 2, 2010. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  6. ↑ Butts, Steve (March 29, 2010). "Silent Hunter 5 Review". IGN. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Altantic". PC Format (239): 99. May 2010.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic". PC Gamer UK: 102. May 2010.
  9. ↑ "Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic". PC Gamer: 68. June 2010.
  10. ↑ "PC Review: Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic". PC Zone: 80. June 2010.
  11. ↑ http://www.3djuegos.com/juegos/analisis/4555/0/silent-hunter-5
  12. ↑ "Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic". Giant Bomb. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Ubisoft's New DRM System Falls Down, Locks Out Paying Customers". Kotaku. March 8, 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Constant net connection no longer required for Ubisoft games". PC Gamer. December 31, 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Ubisoft Relaxes Silent Hunter 5 DRM". All About the Games. February 11, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  16. ↑

External links