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Gameplay

Silent Service is set in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, with the player assuming control of a United States submarine for various war patrols against Japanese shipping ("Silent Service" was a nickname for the US Navy's submarine force in the Pacific during WWII).

The game allows the player to choose when to attack and a whole range of realistic tactics are available, including the End Around as well as near invisibility at night (if the sub's profile is kept to a minimum). The game's realism was hampered by the simulation's inability to handle more than four projectiles at a time. This was particularly troublesome when battling multiple destroyers, since the submarine would not be able to fire if four torpedoes were already in the water.

The game accelerates real time when not in combat. Sid Meier described a number of key factors that influenced the design of the game: The size of the theatre, the variety of tactical situations, and evolving technology, such as torpedoes that did or did not leave trails of bubbles on the surface, and the use of surface radar. Tasks such as navigation, damage repair, and firing were compartmentalized into different screens to allow players access to a great deal of information, but also focus on the task at hand.

Reception

In 1986, Silent Service won the Charles Roberts/Origins Award for Best Adventure Game for Home Computer of 1985. In 1996, Computer Gaming World ranked it as the 86th best game of all time for having "introduced the control-room inteface for submarine games on variety of platforms."