Alone in my room... lights out... volume up... press the start switch... and...
IT’S DANCE PARTY USA! Dance! Dance little sister, dance! Then, finally, sweating...
panting... one more shot of JD... and on to Sub Hunt. This was the scene most
Fridays during my adolescence. Yeah, I was that unpopular kid - mainly by choice but never
daring to find out otherwise - who would spend most weekends alone in my room, with my
"virtual" friends Intellivision and Atari VCS. One of the most
believable of my
high school acquaintances was this submarine warfare simulation by Mattel. For its time,
the A.I. was right off the scale. We were all used to "random" events in gaming,
and even more used to patterns, but Sub Hunt has a little of both with a surprise
in every game. The basic goal is to wipe out the enemy’s naval vessels with your lone
submarine (sound like an early 60’s war flick?), avoiding their depth charges and
ultimately winning the war.
The graphics are pretty standard for Intellivision, with a rather limited concept of the ocean. You’ll never actually "see" anything underwater except flak. The enemy destroyers loom larger as you approach, the view shakes as depth charges explode, and water color changes with your depth. The sounds are superb, from the explosions that get louder the closer they are (nice touch) to the sub’s engine roar, to the terrific end game theme ("Flight of the Valkyries"), everything adds to the experience. The gameplay is really where it’s at, though. Loads of strategy as you find a good approach route, try to surprise the enemy fleet, line them up and time your torpedo salvoes, all while avoiding getting yourself killed.
Laying silent and laying low was never so much fun. Seek out this highly underrated game and see for yourself.
