From: Don Mikulec Subject: Re: COMP:Great Naval Battles 1 Reply Dean, I own GNB1 and GNB2. I like them both very much The series goes up to GNB4. Game Topic GNB1 North Atlantic 39 - 43 (No US stuff) * Scenario disks for GNB1 include hypothetical "superships", a German CV, and US ships. GNB2 Solomons Campaign GNB3 Redo of Solomons, Phillippines '44 and hypothetical pre WWII scenario. GNB4 Redo of GNB1 using GNB3 graphics and air ops. Includes the Med and Black Seas with Italian, Russian and other minor powers added I like the series. GNB1 was designed for surface action purists. All of the sub and air action is abstract; you just receive status reports of UBoat and air actions. Later GNBs have a MUCH more detailed air ops. features. GNB1 deals with the North Atlantic 39 to 43. There are scenarioes covering virtually all major gunnery battles (Graf Spee, Bismark) as well as mini-campaigns lasting a week to a month (Hunt down the Bismark) and full the campaign from 9/39 to 1/43. The full campaign is a little boring. If you are the RN, you end up being a bureaucrat shuffling ships on and off of convoy duty and various patrols until you get a vague report of a sighting somewhere around Iceland or from a convoy being blasted into next week in the middle of the Atlantic(How did the Bismark get there?). If you are the Germans, you send your ships out, hide from the RN and pick your battles carefully. If you lose you one or two BB/BC/PBs, you have to sit and wait until your shipyards turnout another. Later in the war you dont want to leave ships in port because the RAF will bomb the port and you will be out of action for six months. Both sides have rosters of all ships involved. The rosters list where the ship is (port, drydock, building), its current efficiency, and current fuel status. I wish they kept the "efficiency" in the later GNB series. It is a guide for determining how long ships have been out and if they need a refit. If this number goes below 70%, your ship will be of little use in combat. The tactical aspect of the game concentrates more on maneuvering and damage control skills. It isn't as "hands on" as Microprose's TF1942. In this game you tell the gunners what to shoot at and tell helm where to go; then you watch and pray. The only thing you can do as far as "hands on" gunnery is to change the pattern of the shells and watch your ammo to make sure you have enough to fight your way home. The game is more managing of ships than how good you are as a player at gunnery. Damage control can either be handled by the computer or you can manage the PC parties yourself. DC parties can fix things, counter-flood to level the ship, and fight fires. Sights and Sounds ----------------- The audio is very good; realisitc explosions and gunfire. The graphics were stunning state-of-the-art when the game came out, but now look a little "blocky". Citicisms --------- Hit results are unrealistic. A hit from a pair of 15" shells should blow a destroyer in half, instead it just takes out two areas on the DC chart. These "destroyers from hell" will charge you and fire torps just as you sink them. The AI is a little predictable. The enemy will concentrate fire on the closest target. As the Germans, I usually take some destroyers along on a sortie. In battle I have one destroyer head for the RN. While the RN pastes my destroyer, I paste the RN with Bismark. My Suggestion ------------- My suggestion is to put your money into GNB2 or if you want Atlantic GNB4. Much better graphics and better air operations utilities. These games allow you to zoom all the way out or zoom in all the way to see torpedo bombers perform an "anvil" torpedo attack. You then see the torps in the water and either hit or mis their targets. If you do want to pickup the whole series, find a computer show in your area. I have seen GNB1, GNB2, and GNB3 on CD for a total of $50. GNB4 has just been released and won't be discounted at the shows for another month or two. Any more questions, you can send me email, Don dfm@bosx.com PS. One thing that is cool about the games is the Time On Target timer. It counts down the seconds of shell flight until impact. With some BB's you can have three salvoes in the air simultaneously!