Fast attack is a simulation of a 688 I nuclear fast attack submarine. Overall you will find much more detail and challenge in this simuatulation than in its competitors to date: SSN and Seawolf.

The fast attack submarine is a successor to the WWII attack submarine i.e. designed to sink enemy ships, both surface and submerged. As a result it carries conventional torpedoes, Harpoon surface to surface missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles with various payloads.

Fast Attack runs in protected DOS mode, tho you can run it within WIN95 if you have enough space for 8 megs of simulation. A 4x CD is desirable, but you won't need any HOTAS setup!

The sim takes place at the various main stations in the submarine:

• Control room - From which you can access all other stations
• Helm - for steering the boat, setting speed etc
• AO - Area of operations (a map)
• Plot Table - to refine firing solutions
• WLR-9 - Evasion system
• Radio - To receive orders and upgrades.
• Periscope - you know it!
• Fire Control - To aim your weapons
• Launch Console - To load and fire torpedoes and Harpoons.
• Vertical Launch - For firing Tomahawk cruise missiles

Don't expect fancy graphics in this game: the periscope view is fine but most of the stations are simply a console with loads of buttons and gauges. Thankfully, Sierra took advantage of Microsofts labelling system (as in Internet Explorer, Word etc.) so that when your mouse cursor passes over active buttons you will see a label telling you what it does.

If you don't know much about operating a modern sub you may feel a bit lost in Fast Attack. Someone has suggested watching Crimson Tide a couple of times, and this isn't a half bad idea! The way the various sub stations communicate within the game is identical to that in the movie, even down to the speech: "conn helm aye." The comms add nicely to the depth and feel, since no one could operate a nuclear sub on their own.

As far as preferences go, you are limited to turning on or off various sounds and animations. There are no detail levels, and they're not needed. Mid-range machines such as 486/100 or Pentium 75 are just fine with Fast Attack. Note however that users with 2xCD-ROM's will experience jumpy animation sequences. No matter: you will probably disable them after you've seen them a few times. Otherwise you will be interrupted every time you fire a weapon or reload a tube and connect with a target.

Difficulty and Missions

As for connectability, sorry. Unlike Seawolf and the coming 688 II, Fast Attack is a single player game, but you may not notice for a time. All commands are repeated smartly back to you, though there can be a substantial delay in carrying them out depending on the difficulty level you have selected. In the easy level most of the systems are automated, there is no reload time, and most of the mundane tasks are done for you. Medium level requires more user commands for some of these tasks. At the hard level its as tough as it gets. Every system must be manually controlled, and weapons accuracy becomes realistic.

The manual gives a brief overview of each system and how to employ them, but the 11 training missions are the only way to go. Once you master the boat, you can go on brief battle sets that start you out in one of the five areas of operations: the Adriatic Sea, the Sea of Japan, the Persian Gulf, the Med, or the GIUK gap. Each of these areas has a dozen or so related missions.

The sim itself consists of inter-linked missions with set primary and secondary objectives, and also a time limit. As a result, you will appreciate the ability to alter the difficulty settings. Using the easier setting will allow you to get a feel for operations while increasing your survivability. Normal mission types include sinking enemy shipping and subs, and launching cruise missiles at ground targets.

There is a combined total of 70 missions to choose from, and they are no different from any mission a fast attack boat might be called upon to undertake in real life. There is no chance for promotion or advancement in the single mission mode. In the career mode you must pilot your boat to your assigned area, then its up to you! The sky is the limit, and most Fast Attack captains find themselves blown to the sky rather quickly...

As for ops, crewmen at their stations will warn you of events within their sphere of expertise. If you want to carry out a specific action, like target and identify a sonar contact, you have to do it yourself. You really take the part of submarine commander and all department heads. Yes, its a challenge!

Training 001

Scenario one involves sinking an unarmed merchant vessel with a torpedo. This is as easy as it gets, so down 10 and up scope...

• 1) Assign the ships sonar signature to a tracking station and get it identified.
• 2) load a mark 48 torpedo
• 3) Go to fire control and plot the targets course, speed and bearing - this information is inaccurate at first and needs to be refined manually before it is entered by basically averaging the information received.
• 4) Since the target is not really a threat we can have a peek through the periscope and get an accurate bearing and range. The range is calculated by measuring how high that particular ship type is.
• 5) Update fire control with this information.
• 6) Now we check our estimation of the targets course by changing ours by 90 deg, or so. Once this is done we once again access fire control to update the firing solution.
• 7) Back to the weapons console to assign the armed tube to the identified track, flood the tube, open tube doors, arm, and then fire the torpedo.

The mark 48 is not like the old point and shoot WWII variety, it uses active radar after a set distance from your ship to guide itself onto the target. Active radar works on the principle of sonar pings and these pings can give the torpedoes position away. As an alterantive to letting the torpedo home in itself you can guide it through its wire control if required.

This is just one example of a firing method. You could use active sonar to pinpoint the target exactly, albeit at the expense of giving your own position away, or even just fire the torpedo and guide it in to the targets area manually. You could even use a harpoon though it would be a waste on an unarmed ship. The advantage of the harpoon is twofold: it is sea-skimming, so much harder to see and evade. And it is MUCH MUCH faster than any torpedo and obviously has much greater range and a far more destructive power.

Other systems are equally involved, from the sonar position for example you can:

• 1) search in passive mode. i.e. looking for targets without putting out a signal of your own.
• 2) search in active mode. This mode gives you a variety of different search area options into which to release an active sonar ping and locate your target. The disadvantage to this method is that if the target also has sonar he can use your ping to locate you. Not recommended against warships. The general rule is that if another ship is detected using active sonar (this will be via your WLR-9) then you can assume you have been located.
• 3) you can deploy two types of towed sonar arrays to help improve sonar reception. These are hyper-sensitive microphones towed behind the ship to avoid its own noise.
• 4) You can locate the various thermal layers in the water in which you sail. Putting a layer of different temperature water between yourself and a target can help mask your sonar signature.

On Target

As you can tell from all the above hitting any target is quite an achievement in this sim and brings a great deal of satisfaction. Evading an enemy torpedo is equally satisfying. When a torpedo is launched you receive its sonar signal which you then have to assign and identify, you use the WLR-9 to check its direction before you begin evasion. A submarine can evade a torpedo even though the torpedo is faster because it can dive and turn faster but this requires split second timing.

The other method of evasion is to use the WLR-9 station to deploy decoys to try and lure the torpedo off its track. The best method is a combination of both of the above, but bear in mind that in order to maneuver quickly you have to go to full power at which point you become more easily detected. You have to balance your evasive maneuvers so you do just enough to escape without giving away your position unnecessarily.

This is not a simulation that will appeal to everybody, in fact not even all submarine addicts. It is very involved, not especially user friendly and it takes a great deal of time to master. And there's the rub! If you are seeking depth of gameplay and realism (no pun intended!) then you will have to deal with a steep learning curve. Fast Attack has great atmosphere and plenty of challenge.

The problem with too many modern simulations is that the AI does all the work - not the case in Fast Attack. You must use your weapons intelligently and position your submarine in the best possible way to avoid detection after firing. There are many important considerations before committing to action, yet very little time to work them through.

As with any high end simulation, experience is the best teacher! You might as well make up your mind that you will die a few deaths before making much headway. Meantime enjoy the ride. Too bad that Sierra didn't include an outside bridge view. The one in Silent Hunter really adds to the atmosphere and helps with that tricky suspension of disbelief thing....Oh well. Turn off the lights, turn up the sound and enjoy the ride!