Silent Hunter IV: Wolves of the Pacific Windows game

The fourth installment of the Silent Hunter series takes the player back to were it all began in 1996 with the original Silent Hunter: the Pacific theatre. After the attack on Pearl Harbor the player takes control over one of the US submarines and engages the enemy at its own shores around Japan.

Based on an improved Silent Hunter III engine, the game features a dynamic campaign and ten historical missions like an ambush at the Palawan Passage in 1944. To follow a storyline but still experience the freedom of the dynamic campaign, there are five separate missions such as the attack on the Philippines where a Japanese fleet is surrounding the island and the player patrols along several way-points, going up against everything that comes near.

SH4 uses realistic mechanics, but there are several options to make the game easier with unlimited air or ammunition. Supporting that theme is the new damage model which not only shows nice effects and the exact point of entry of your torpedo, but also calculates more realistically if and how the enemy ship sinks. The AI was also improved - the weather, the time of day, and the noise produced are now more important. This can also be used to the player's advantage to approach undetected.

The whole management of the boat was improved. When crew members are assigned to the stations, they automatically change shifts but when the alarm signal is given, they stay there until the situation returns to normal. If they stay too long at their stations, they get tired and their efficiency drops (which will also take place if the mission takes too long). Crew members gain experience in the use of their station over time and get more efficient. They can be promoted or awarded medals to speed up the process.

Next to the singleplayer missions, there is online multiplayer where players either form a pack with up to 7 other players and attack an AI-controlled convoy together, or let one player take the control of the convoy and add an additional layer of tension to the already creepy experience.