688 Attack Sub
{{Short description|1989 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
|title = 688 Attack Sub
|image = 688 Attack Sub Coverart.jpg
|image_size =
|caption = Genesis box art
|developer = Electronic Arts (MS-DOS)
MicroProse (Genesis)
|publisher = Electronic Arts (MS-DOS)
Sega (Genesis)
|designer = John W. Ratcliff
Paul Grace
|programmer = Ed Fletcher (Genesis)
|composer = Rob Hubbard
David Javelosa (Genesis)
|engine =
|released = MS-DOS
{{vgrelease|NA|1989}}Amiga
{{vgrelease|EU|1990}}Genesis
{{vgrelease|NA|1991|EU|September 1991{{cite magazine |title=The Release Schedule|magazine=Computer Trade Weekly|issue=354|publisher=Opportunity Publishing|date=16 September 1991|page=17|url=https://retrocdn.net/images/6/63/CTW_UK_354.pdf|access-date=25 February 2025}}}}
|genre = Submarine simulator
|modes = Single-player, multiplayer
|platforms = MS-DOS, Amiga, PC-98, Genesis
}}
688 Attack Sub is a submarine simulator video game designed by John W. Ratcliff and Paul Grace and published in 1989 for MS-DOS and in 1990 for Amiga by Electronic Arts. A Sega Genesis version developed by MicroProse was released in 1991 by Sega.
The player takes command of a US {{sclass|Los Angeles|submarine|0}} or Soviet {{sclass2|Alfa|submarine|0}} nuclear-powered attack submarine and plays ten missions ranging from into either Cold War scenarios or combat missions in a hypothetical global conflict. As modeled in the game, the American submarine has more sophisticated electronics and more weapons. The Soviet boat has fewer weapons but higher sustained speeds. Two people can play against each other over a modem (or null modem cable).
Ratcliff and Grace later developed SSN-21 Seawolf, published in 1994.
Gameplay
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Reception
File:688 Attack Sub Genesis.png
Computer Gaming World in 1989 gave the IBM PC compatible version a positive review, noting the game was designed to be a fun game, as opposed to a realistic simulator, and concluding that it was "this reviewer's personal candidate for 'Game of the Year'". 1992 and 1994 surveys in the magazine of wargames with modern settings gave the game two stars out of five, stating that the game was closer to World War II than modern submarine operations, and criticizing the "unrealistic" emphasis on periscope target acquisition.{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=95 | title=The Modern Games: 1950 - 2000 | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=June 1992 | access-date=24 November 2013 | author=Brooks, M. Evan | pages=120}}{{Cite magazine |last=Brooks |first=M. Evan |date=January 1994 |title=War In Our Time / A Survey Of Wargames From 1950-2000 |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=114 |magazine=Computer Gaming World |pages=194–212}} Compute! included the game in its list of "nine great games for 1989", describing it as "swift and exciting as any Mach 2 flight simulator".{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1989-07-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_110_1989_Jul#page/n19/mode/2up | title=Nine for '89 | work=Compute! | date=July 1989 | access-date=11 November 2013 | author=Gutman, Dan | pages=19}} The magazine praised the game's graphics and two-player modem option, but criticized the lack of more than ten missions.{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/1989-08-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_111_1989_Aug#page/n65/mode/2up | title=688 Attack Sub | work=Compute! | date=August 1989 | access-date=11 November 2013 | author=Sheffield, Richard | pages=64}}
Mike Siggins reviewed 688 Attack Sub for Games International magazine, and gave it a rating of 7 out of 10, and wrote that "the appeal of using modern weapons soon wears off and one is left with only the different situations to add spice. Overall though, it is a good game on an unusual topic but would benefit from a second edition".{{cite journal | last = Siggins | first = Mike | title = Computer Games | journal = Games International | issue = 15 | pages = 44–45 | date=June 1990}}
Further reading
References
External links
- {{moby game|id=/688-attack-sub|name=688 Attack Sub}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20081120002512/http://www.meanmachinesmag.co.uk/review/166/688_attack_sub.php 688 Attack Sub review] at Mean Machines
- [http://www.subsim.com/ssr/simhist.html History of Subsims]
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
Category:Electronic Arts games
Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games
Category:Submarine simulation video games