Sea Wolf

The Good
The periscope controls makes the player feels like he's really in command of a submarine. It’s a unique feature, offering a new way to interact with the game world. The sonar pings and booming torpedoes hitting ships add to the thrill, making the action feel more lifelike. The moving ships create a sense of unpredictability, keeping the gameplay exciting. The first video game to include a high score feature.

The Bad
While the periscope mechanic is fun, the gameplay doesn’t evolve much. After a few rounds, it starts to feel repetitive. And the time limit and pressure to score points make the game feel too short.

The Bottom Line
Sea Wolf offers a refreshing change of pace. The periscope-based controls bring an immersive touch that other games don’t offer, and the thrill of sinking ships with perfectly timed torpedoes adds excitement. While it shares some of the repetitive nature of its contemporaries like Gun Fight, the dynamic targets and immersive sound effects give it a unique edge.

The Good
Sea Wolf was released in the arcades in 1976 complete with an attractive cabinet. The game is reminiscent to Depthcharge, in that you have to blow up ships within a certain time limit. Here, you have to deal with three types of ships rather than one, which appear on the upper-half of the screen, and the game can be played by two players simultaneously. In the early ‘80s, Commodore released some amazing ports for its two popular computers, the Commodore 64 and the VIC-20, and Sea Wolf is no exception.

One thing that stands out is the use of color and the fact that you can change the time limit rather than the default, increasing your chances at beating your previous scores. There are instructions on what you need to do, written out in a large enough font that is easy to read. During the game, the screen is laid out nicely. The scores are located at the top of the screen, while the number of torpedoes for both players are at the bottom. The ships and torpedoes for both players are different colors so that you can tell them apart. I like how the torpedoes are replaced with the word LOAD in fancy lettering.

The sound effects are standard VIC sounds. You always know when a P.T. Boat comes across the screen, when the game is beeping at you, then you can shoot it down and be awarded more points than you do if you shoot the ordinary ships. Like a lot of games of its time, Sea Wolf is ideal for a quick blast. After you get home from work or somewhere, you can fire this up and see how many ships you can destroy.

The Bad
There isn’t anything bad about this game.

The Bottom Line
As a port, Sea Wolf is much better than its arcade parent. The game is in color and you can adjust the time limit accordingly. The stats are beautifully presented, and the sound effects are very good. Sea Wolf is another example where the simplest games are always the best.