Big K


Admiral Graf Spee
By Temptation
Commodore 64

 
Published in Big K #9

Admiral Graf Spee

"Ja, ja, mein fuhrer. As you say, ze var is nearly offer, ant ve haf not sunk der single Englicher schip. Ja, but Gott in Himmel, der schweinen vill not stay still! Ja, ja, I know der Graf Spee is der fastest battleship in der Kriegsmarine, but der Tommys must be cheating!"

I cannot believe that commerce raiding was anything like this. You sort of swan around the South Atlantic looking for merchantmen, which occasionally appear as blips on a large scale map. The close range screen allows you to steer in the eight compass directions, specify speed, or fire guns or torpedoes if there's a target in sight. The result is equisitely unplayable. It's almost impossible to get close enough to a target to do any damage, and even if you do, the sight of a little cartoon ship going down hardly gets the adrenalin going. The game gives out a Scuttle option. I'd take it, quick as you can.