IndieGamesDig

Here’s a really interesting one developed by Edward Melville for Facebook users. UBoat With Friends is a free RTS submarine-combat-simulation where you and up to 3 other Facebook friends command a submarine in battle against other Facebook users. I’ve never served on a nuclear submarine personally, but due to the game’s intricate mechanics and overall complexity, I get the feeling that its goal is to be a close simulation of actual real-world submarine combat, which adds a sense of gravity to every decision you make in the game.

Players can assume any of 4 separate roles on each submarine–Commander, Pilot, Sonar Officer, or Weapons Officer–the number and type of roles you fill will depend entirely on how many crew-members you have and whether or not a position was already filled before you joined the game. Commanders give orders to other crew-members; Pilots control the sub’s heading and speed; Sonar Officers employ both active and passive sonars to listen for enemy subs; and Weapons Officers ready, launch, and guide torpedoes. There are also special commands and perks that can be earned by playing more battles, but in its current beta stage, and most of them were inactive when I played today.

In a 1-vs1 player match, filling all four roles yourself can be pretty overwhelming, particularly the steering, which is very slow and seems modeled after a real submarine, but you’ll learn to multitask sufficiently given practice. The game really seems to come into its own when you have at least one other crew member. Having your pilot just barely angle you in a direction sufficient to nail a recently identified enemy sub with a torpedo is extremely satisfying. The game’s steep learning curve and unique player collaboration required really made every little success I had feel like a massive victory. I should note that this one’s likely to appeal to more mature audiences, as it requires a degree of patience to master the game’s mechanics and controls, although that’s also the prime reason this game is worth playing. It seems rare to find a game that clearly acknowledges mature adults as its prime demographic (such games have seemed few and far between these past two months).

I’ve only played with random Facebookers at the moment, but I imagine it’d be even more of a blast playing with friends…but only after they actually learn how to play. If you have Facebook, you can play UBoat With Friends here.