Sea Power: Naval Combat in the Missile Age by developer Triassic Games and publisher Microprose Games—PC (Steam) preview written by Robert with a copy provided by the publisher.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Sea Power: Naval Combat in the Missile Age is developed by
Triassic Games and published by MicroProse Software; we would like to thank
them both for providing a free Steam key for the purpose of this preview.
Placing you in command of either NATO or Warsaw Pact nations, Sea Power is an
incredibly detailed simulation of modern naval combat and will test you every
step of the way. In my ten plus years of covering games, few have broken me the
way that Sea Power has; exceptionally detailed both in presentation and in
gameplay mechanics. Sea Power is less video game and more a test of your naval
warfare knowledge.
From antisubmarine warfare to duking it out with broadsides
from a destroyer to air-based combat patrols, Sea Power has it all ... and
that's what broke me. Currently in its Early Access stage, Sea Power: Naval
Combat in the Missile Age will force you to go back to school to learn the ins
and outs of modern combat; prepare yourself, as Sea Power is the most
unforgiving strategy game that I've played in years, if ever.
And it's currently not worth the time investment necessary to learn the ins/outs of the game. I say this not because it's a bad game, to the contrary in fact. Sea Power is excellently detailed with robust mechanics and a push / pull to engagements that can be incredibly tense. Where it fails to capture an audience is in the lack of presentation or tutorials. Simply put, it's a mess to have to learn without a guiding hand and unfortunately as of the authoring of this article, there is no onboarding whatsoever.
That lack of tutorials / guides in such a detailed game
absolutely knocked the wind out of my sails, especially because you need to
have intimate knowledge of your warships, rotary craft, and aircraft. It
doesn't stop there, though. In addition to the various craft that you need to
be intimately aware of, you need to detailed information know about their
armaments. Without any sort of guide or informative screens, Sea Power is a slog.
Outside of the vertical cliff that one might call a learning curve, Sea Power
is an absolute dream for the more strategically minded among you.
So, what does Sea Power do right? Well, everything except
for onboarding and a suite of tutorials, two things that I'm hoping will come
in the future as its Early Access stage continues. Individual units, from the
venerable Grumman F-14 Tomcat to the rotary powerhouse, Bell's AH-1 Cobra
attack helicopter, to the entire swathe of United States Naval warships and
submarines ... the sheer number of units that you'll need to have detailed
knowledge of. For the hardcore strategy wargamer that has the patience to learn
the nitty-gritty details of each and every weapon system, support system, or
unit's capabilities, Sea Power is nearly perfect.
Often compared to the current king-of-the-hill in Combined Arms simulation, Command: Modern Operations, Sea Power is just as detailed, just as intricate, and just as daunting to learn. That's why the lack of onboarding is so detrimental to Sea Power's initial presentation. Once you're able to muddle your way through the game's systems, assuming you're able to keep the various submenus (which is really what the game is) in mind, you'll be rewarded with some spectacular fights.
Where Sea Power really outdoes its Command: Modern
Operations contemporary is in the graphics area; veterans of the deeply
strategic wargaming genre will be delighted to know that the level of
individual unit detail is absolutely astounding in the best of ways. Models are
extremely faithful to their real-world counterparts, down to the types of
aircraft that can be carried in helicopter hangars to the individual CWIS and
torpedo launchers ... everything is animated to an extreme degree that gives me
the warm-and-fuzzies every time I see a missile launch. It's truly amazing; for
example, each ship has radar dishes on them and depending on the type of radar
being used, or if any are at all, the individual radars on each ship will be
animated. Triassic Games has truly outdone themselves with regard to the level
of detail. Once proper tutorials / in-game onboarding has become a thing, Sea
Power will be the reigning naval wargame.
Pairing well with the level of graphical detail is the soundscape that Triassic has implemented—while I think that some sounds (like the 5" guns found on many destroyers) are a bit weak and not quite punchy enough, the overwhelming majority of sounds are simply wonderful. The professional sailor soundscape that's used for radio transmissions is incredibly immersive and one of my favorite bits in Sea Power. While not quite as good as the professional-under-stress soundscape found in the original Homeworld games, Sea Power's attention to aural detail is laudable. Some sounds, like the whir of a rotary craft's blades are mixed a little loud, to the point of distraction at times.
If you have the time and wherewithal to learn Sea Power: Naval Combat in the Missile Age is setting itself up to be the perfect foil for the current military sim king, Command: Modern Operations. The addition of highly detailed unit models and sound effects brings the combined arms strategic gameplay found in spreadsheet simulators like C:MO and Rule the Waves 3 into the 21st century. Though an absolute bear to learn if you're new to the genre, experienced wargamers will have a blast in Sea Power, as long as they enjoy technical reference sheets and a lot of submenus. While it's still early in its development, what is here is incredibly detailed, incredibly difficult, incredibly rewarding, and perhaps most of all, incredibly immersive. Time will tell if Sea Power maintains its upward trajectory of excellence, but if what's here is any indication, we'll be talking about Sea Power in awed tones for years to come.
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