Microprose quietly made a return to form recently, announcing that that they were getting back into the publishing game and working on the sort of PC titles that don’t exist in proper form on the market at the moment. They have three upcoming games set to release on Steam for PC, one of which is Triassic Games’ strategy war-sim, Sea Power: Naval Combat In The Missile Age.
The military simulator sees players engaged in a number of campaign missions spread throughout the Atlantic Ocean, the Persian Gulf, and the Mediterranean Sea between the 1960s and the 1980s.
What makes Sea Power: Naval Combat distinctly different from Microprose’s other World War II sim, Task Force Admiral, is that you’ll have to respect the rules of aerial and sea engagement established for modern times using long-range missiles, sonar, and both aerial and naval vessels to get the job done. The game also includes taking control of U.S. Navy battleships and weeding out Soviet submersibles in a Persian Gulf conflict, or aiding NATO during a breakdown in Europe against Communists.
So first off, I really love that Triassic added the six degrees of motion to the boats, especially with the very visible roll line as the ships bank turns at high speeds on the ocean’s surface. That’s real attention to detail right there, and we certainly don’t see it often enough in some war-sims.
I also like that the visuals are clearly a step above what you might have been expecting from an AA title. There are some awesome photogenic sequences involving the naval vessels moving along the ocean line with very realistic mannerisms. I imagine plenty of fans will have a field day snapping screenshots of Sea Power when it does release.
It’s also interesting to me that Microprose is the only major publisher right now willing to back games from developers that have Communists as the clear enemies, while every other publisher out there is trying to whitewash Soviets or prop them up.
The campaign still allows you to play as either NATO or Warsaw Pact forces, so you have the choice, but the good guys and bad guys are clearly laid out in Sea Power: Naval Combat In The Missile Age.
The hook for the game is in the strategic elements of knowing when to use long range missiles, knowing how to weed out submersibles, and knowing when to engage in combat with your ships.
The game will feature over 50 original ships and 30 aircraft to man, along with real-time combat, time compression, and a strategic pause function. There will be both historical and fictional scenarios, along with scalable realism including weapon malfunctions, repairs and sensory modeling.
You can wishlist Sea Power: Naval Combat In The Missile Age right now by visiting the Steam store page, or you can learn more about the game leading up to its release by checking out the official website.
(Thanks for the news tip itsshoahtime)
