Silent Hunter – Wolves of the Pacific is a simulator game, and as most of us know simulators are not exactly the easiest games to master. Customization is the key to victory, and Wolves of the Pacific has so many different settings and options, that finding your level of comfort and fun should not be hard to do.

Because of its complexity, the game designers offered a most welcomed tutorial that once completed, not only gives us a basic idea of how to play the game, but it also helps your career out (should you chose to play one) by giving you 100 renown to start with.

Look at renown as a points system. The more renown you have the better of you are. Renown can be used to purchase better improvements for your sub, and even as much as letting you recruit new and better trained crew members. Renown is earned according to the level of difficulty as well as your performance in the game.

Career mode starts out on an early model sub with a not so well trained crew; well not really. Actually you get to chose when you join the action because the game offers different campaigns from which you launch your adventures.

The four campaigns you can embark on start in 1941, 42, 43, and 1944, with each passing year bringing new technology and subs in the game. From there everything is in your hands. Unlike so many other games, Silent Hunter goes on even if you fail a mission, although for your own benefit…I’d restart it. Renown gets you upgrades, respect and new technology, and successfully completing missions gets you this much needed renown.

The Gar, Gato and Porpoise Class subs are just a few of the subs at your disposal from which you can bring chaos to the enemy. Career mode is not the only option when it comes to single player action. The game offers several play style modes. The other single player modes are: Submarine School (aka tutorial), War Patrol, Quick Mission and Museum.

The Museum, just like the name hints, is a naval virtual museum of what seems to be many of the countries involved in WWII. I haven’t had time to check the historical accuracy of the items displayed in the museum, but unless Ubisoft decided to play a cruel trick on us, I assume that the information there is fairly accurate. Honestly, I hate to admit this, but I actually spaced out for a couple of hours browsing the museum.

Another really cool feature of Silent Hunter is the mission editor (aka War Patrol). I haven’t had much time and desire to mess with it too much, but for the people who love playing their own creations, Silent Hunter’s mission editor lets players crate their own naval chaos. Me personally, I prefer the career mode where I actually have something to show for at the end of a mission.