688 Attack Sub

688 Attack Sub is a submarine simulator video game designed by John W. Ratcliff and Paul Grace, developed and published in 1989 for MS-DOS and in 1990 for Amiga by Electronic Arts. A Sega Genesis version was also released in 1991 by Sega and was developed by MicroProse.

688 Attack Sub, Sega Genesis version
688 Attack Sub
Box art for the Sega Mega Drive version
Developer(s)Electronic Arts (MS-DOS)
MicroProse (Genesis)
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts (MS-DOS)
Sega (Genesis)
Designer(s)John W. Ratcliff
Paul Grace
Composer(s)Rob Hubbard
Platform(s)MS-DOS (original)
Amiga, NEC PC-9801, Sega Genesis
ReleaseMS-DOS
Amiga
Sega Genesis
  • NA: July 1991
  • EU: September 1991
Genre(s)Submarine simulator
Mode(s)Single-player, Multiplayer

The player takes command of a US Los Angeles-class or Soviet Alfa-class nuclear-powered attack submarine and plays ten missions ranging from into either Cold War scenarios or combat missions in a hypothetical global conflict.

As modeled in the game, the American submarine has more sophisticated electronics and more weapons. The Soviet boat has fewer weapons but higher sustained speeds.

This was one of the earliest games that allowed two players to play against each other over a modem (or null modem cable), and one of the first to use more than 32 colors in MCGA mode.

Ratcliff and Grace later developed SSN-21 Seawolf, published in 1994.

Reception

Computer Gaming World in 1989 gave the DOS version a positive review, noting the game was designed to be a fun game, as opposed to a realistic simulator, and concluding that it was "this reviewer's personal candidate for 'Game of the Year'".[1] 1992 and 1994 surveys in the magazine of wargames with modern settings gave the game two stars out of five, stating that the game was closer to World War II than modern submarine operations, and criticizing the "unrealistic" emphasis on periscope target acquisition.[2][3] Compute! named the game to its list of "nine great games for 1989", describing it as "swift and exciting as any Mach 2 flight simulator".[4] The magazine praised the game's graphics and two-player modem option, but criticized the lack of more than ten missions.[5]

References
  1. Lt. H. E. Dille (May 1989). "Silent Running". Computer Gaming World. pp. 32–33.
  2. Brooks, M. Evan (June 1992). "The Modern Games: 1950 - 2000". Computer Gaming World. p. 120. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
  3. Brooks, M. Evan (January 1994). "War In Our Time / A Survey Of Wargames From 1950-2000". Computer Gaming World. pp. 194–212.
  4. Gutman, Dan (July 1989). "Nine for '89". Compute!. p. 19. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  5. Sheffield, Richard (August 1989). "688 Attack Sub". Compute!. p. 64. Retrieved 11 November 2013.

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