Review: Subwar 2050

Geraldine

Re-discovering Amigas after a bit of an absence!
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Aug 4, 2010
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Country
Scotland
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Microprose, best known for their excellent flight sims on the Miggy, decided to go swimming for their next game, Subwar 2050 :)

It was released on the Amiga CD32 in 1994, followed a year later by the A1200 version and could best be described as a flight sim underwater. As you can guess, (sorry OCS & ECS users) this is an AGA only game and for the time, really pushed the visuals, but despite this maintained good framerates even on unaccelerated machines.

The story is set, yes you guessed it, in 2050 and you play the role of a mercenary sub pilot who takes on jobs provided by mega corporations who compete for mining rights through the world's ocean depths. The "competition" can get heated and that's were you come in where you provide a "cleaning" service for your employer by way of missions in various parts of the worlds oceans. These missions have variety from straight up dog fights, guarding important installations to general sneaking about.

Yes its a sub sim, but it has everything you would expect to see in a flightsim of that period. Fast dog fights and use of counter-measures and manoeuvres to avoid enemy missiles and torpedoes. There is a choice of craft, from zippy little combat subs that play the role of fighters, up to large subs that you can use for diving to incredible depths.

Stealth is also an important part of the game as you can use thermal layers in the water (shown on the game screen as green or red layers in the water) to mask your approach from enemy sonar or dive to depths beyond what your peruser's subs can handle.

Another great thing Microprose added to the game was underwater life. You will find whales singing lonely songs, squids darting about or shoals of fish staying together for safety. Finally that Amiga musical meister Allister Brimble strikes again with another great music track that just adds to the powerful atmoshere of the game.

In writing up this review I did a search to find how well this game was rated back in the day. I never saw a score below 70% (y)

There are WHD versions for both versions of the games. In gameplay, both games appear to be identical, but the CD32 version does come with cut scenes that the floppy disk version lacks and this would be my choice along with a Competition Pro CD32 controller and a big screen to play it on :p.

Here is links for more info and I would certainly recommend getting a hold of a manual and (if you can find it) the rather cool Under Currents magazine that originally shipped with the game as it contains lots of background story and handy hints for combat.

HOL: http://hol.abime.net/2169
Lemon Amiga: http://www.lemonamiga.com/
You Tube Gameplay Vid
You Tube Amiga Music Vid

There is also a PC version that has textures on the subs but I prefer the clean look of the Miggy releases. :shhh:

Modern day games like this are hard to find, but you could have a look on GOG for Aquanox 1&2
Here is a link to Aquanox 1 for you PC fans http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/aquanox/

Anyways now for some box shots and remember watch that depth gauge and don't shoot the poor fishies! :LOL:
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thanks Geraldine,

i loved this game, although i must confess to hunting and killing whales:oops:
 
Getting good with your miniature reviews! I completely overlooked this game. It's now on my list to try when I get some real Amiga hardware back. (y)
 
Getting good with your miniature reviews! I completely overlooked this game. It's now on my list to try when I get some real Amiga hardware back. (y)

and this is why this section exists, if one review helps one person find a gem they didn't know about, then it is working! :)
 
(y) Indeed. And this is why I love the Amibay community so much :D
 
GOG Release For Subwar 2050

GOG Release For Subwar 2050

GOG have recently released the complete PC & Mac versions of Subwar. This edition also includes the extra missions pack "The Plot Deepens" along with it. :cool:
 
Always like this game, Microcosm and Subwar 050 are my most favorite games on CD32.
 
Played this one when I was young (but never finished it), bought the PC bigbox some time ago but didn't come around to playing it.
Might need to buy the CD32 version :LOL:

I remember I had fun with it, same as with Aquanox.
 
Just updated the links in my first post as many of the vids I linked to previously have disappeared. :)
 
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