A very good conversion of the old Avalon Hill board game. With minimalist graphics that help give it the appearance of a board game with hexes instead of the usual "flashy" pc games. It takes some time to learn, but eventually you'll be sinking some commies in the Indian Ocean. The game doesn't have much of a plot, it s simply a bunch of scenarios where you can either be the Soviet Union or the United States '' and enter a war between various client states, such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, etc.
It's a naval warfare game, so you must guide your ships to search for other ones, and also initiate combat. You'll have to read the manual through, as the game has a steep learning curve. Once you figure out how to play, it can be extremely fun. There is a lot of data on various warships that also makes the game a good reference manual. The game starts when you select a scenario, and there are several that are all of varying complexity. If you don't have a friend to play with, make sure its on High Aggression. The game plays out with the player either being "Green (US and Allied Nations)", or "Red (USSR and other Communist countries)". Then the game is in the tactical
ops screen, where you must order your air, naval, or submarine forces to undertake tasks and different types of missions.
Most scenarios take place over a short period of time, as an actual war between the Soviet Union and the United States would not have lasted long. Once you can figure it out, the actual gameplay is very good, and I highly recommend 5th Fleet. It is much better than the board game, because the computer can take control of tasks, such as logistics, instead of the player having to know it in their head. The game's music and sound is minimal, though I find myself humming a few tunes from the game every now and then.
